King Street Cafe, King Street

My friend and I decided to visit King Street Cafe once again, but this time we didn't have meals - we went just for some desserts. I love the the interior of the cafe, except for the lighting. They probably thought that the few windows would allow more sunlight to filter through but unfortunately not.

Chai latte

Carrot cake

Flourless raspberry and chocolate cake

(Firstly, sorry for the bad photo qualities, my camera wasn't functioning!)

I must say that the carrot cake is absolutely delicious! The other cakes look so yummy, but we couldn't try the rest of them because the cake slices are too large and we didn't manage to finish them. I have always loved King Street Cafe but this time the poor service totally irks me. The waitresses were so rude and I just couldn't stand it.

The other day we tried their breakfast menu, thumbs up!

Yet still, I think this place is worth trying - but not now - cos their October menu looks rather plain. I can't wait for the November menu to come out :) King Street Cafe serves a whole range of fusion food - a mixture of Oriental and Western cuisine. You probably should try their breakfast like I did the other time!

Location: 44 King Street, Perth CBD, WA 6000

Price Range: $10 ~ $15

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Zekka, King Street

Zekka is located along Kings Street - a street with an array of posh and luxurious shops in the city. Zekka is actually a men's boutique, which they later expanded a cafe beside it probably to cater to their customers. I love the ambience of the cafe, the peaceful and quietness of it. Well especially the touch of 'environmental' colours in their modern design.

Chai latte, $3.80AUD

I love the blend of spices in the drink - it's so strong yet light, and I'm glad that they don't have excess milk in it like most chai lattes do. I love their chai latte - it's probably one of the best chai lattes I've ever tried. This is a Must-Try!

Mocha, $3.80AUD

I'd say this is pretty ordinary, and I hate the coffee glasses. Why can't they just stick to the traditional cups :(

There wasn't a name to this, but I'm guessing it's a quiche-like pastry. There's capsicums, onions, mushrooms, goat's cheese and spinach. It's really, really good. Fine food priced at $9.50AUD, a tad too expensive but worth it!

Banana bread with butter, $3AUD

I love, love, love their banana bread! It's different from the ones I have tried in many places because the banana taste is really strong - not artificial. You can taste it when banana flavourings are added in place of the real fruit itself, you know. Theirs is the real banana itself, but you gotta chew longer for the taste to evolve. They warmed it up and the bread tastes so good with butter. Thumbs up!

I love how simple yet stylish their paper cups look - I definitely have to visit Zekka again and do coffee takeways. Love it x

I don't know how to describe Zekka's style, but I love those weird, out-of-place decorations. And most importantly, the wooden furnitures - they appeal to me a lot.

Fashion magazines

I never expected Zekka to serve good food or coffee - I only thought that it will only be the interior design that will keep me visiting - well that's because I'm judging by the fact that it's a boutique-based cafe. But it turned out surprisingly good, and I definitely will encourage you to visit. You really should try their chai latte!

Location: 76 King Street, Perth, WA 6000

Price Range: $10 - $15

Website: http://zekka.com/

My Rating: 4.5/5 (The only thing I hate about the cafe is the music they play, it's like African / Reggae, which isn't to my liking)

Lemon Lane, Claremont

Lemon Lane is located at a tiny lane in Bay View Terrace, in fact just a street across Claremont Quarters. The contemporary graphics on one side of the wall is probably the key factor that draws in most customers - well their cute little logo is the main thing that intrigues me to visit the cafe.

I apologize because I didn't take any photos of the interior of the cafe, but it is pretty ordinary looking with brown tables and chairs. They used to have free WiFi but apparently they took it down because the last time I asked they said it wasn't available. It might be restored, so I'm not sure about it. Lemon Lane is very busy especially in the morning because most working people and students usually drop by to do coffee takeaways - but in spite of their hectic morning business their service remains good!

Poached eggs with bacon strips and spinach in French dressing

I love this breakfast set because it makes me feel so healthy, and the presentation is so appealing. I'm just a little disappointed because the poached eggs are overcooked :(

Ham and poached eggs drenched in buttermilk and cheese sauce

This breakfast set seemed pretty special to me because that yellow sauce is definitely something new to me. However, it tastes a tad too sour for me, and I don't really like the combination of ham and egg with that weird sauce. But I'm glad that the poached eggs are nicely done, not overcooked nor too raw to be eaten.

This is the vegetarian omelette with some mushrooms inside. I would say this omelette is actually pretty average because there is no wow factor in it.

Bacon, spinach, dried tomatoes and poached eggs

This is again pretty average, well except for that special sauce (unfocused in photo). The sauce is the key thing to this dish because it really adds some flavour to the bland, boiled spinach and poached eggs! I don't know what it is made up of, but I can taste some pesto, lemon and pepper in it. This breakfast set would have been blah if it wasn't for the sauce.

Coffee takeaways - mocha.

I love the design of the paper cups and the marshmallows they offer with your drink. Their mocha is good, in fact one of the best I have tried in Perth. I like my mocha unsweetened, and their mocha suits me because the bitterness of the coffee beans does not take over the coffee.

Raspberry and Cheese muffin

All the muffins that I have tried in the past are sweet muffins, like the usual chocolate chip or blueberry muffins. This is my first time trying a sweet and savoury muffin, and I love it! The muffins are freshly baked daily and I like how you can actually chew on the raspberries in the muffin. The raspberries are so juicy and luscious while the muffin itself is soft with an outer crispy crust. The cheese itself gives the muffin a really great flavor. I tried their blueberry muffins the other day and it was really good too :)

You probably should visit Lemon Lane in the afternoon during teatime or something to try their coffee and pastries. Well that's because I don't really recommend you to try their breakfast menu :p

Location: 40 Bay View Terrace, Claremont WA 6010

Price Range: $15 ~ $20 per main + coffee

Website: http://www.lemoncafes.com.au/index.html

My Rating: 3.5/5 (Breakfast menu can be better!)

Choux Café, Swanbourne

This café was introduced to me a few weeks ago by my sister's friend and I finally have the chance to try it today. Choux café is located in a suburb a few bus stops away from Stirling Highway in Perth, and you can conveniently make your way there by train or by bus. I must admit that the exterior of this café wouldn't have allured me to try their stuff if not for the recommendation because it is pretty dull-looking.
But despite of its outlook, I was greeted by the cozy and domestic interior (Eiffel-tower-themed), together with their respectable staff. The word 'Choux' is pronounced 'shoe', and the lady who attended to me told me that it means 'little cabbage' in French. The tables and chairs seemed like they were bought secondhand, but the fact that all furnitures and cutleries come in different country-style designs made the ambience so relaxed and laid-back.

I tried some of their macarons and they are yummy! The only downside of them is that they crack easily - my macaron looked pretty messed up just after one bite! The green one, which is avocado and pineapple flavored (special!) tastes the best. The apricot-flavored macaron is a great disappointment judging by the fact that it looks so pretty! I thought it would taste great, but I couldn't really taste the apricot flavor, and shouldn't an apricot-flavored macaron be orange in colour instead? My friend likes the lemon macaron best because the lemon does not make the macaron too sour, but instead it is a nice blend of sweetness and acidity. The white chocolate caramel macaron is quite ordinary to me though. But overall, Choux's macarons are great :) They are priced at $2.90AUD each, but if you buy 5 macarons, each will cost just only $2AUD!

My friend and I tried mocha and cappuccino respecitively but I thought they tasted just okay. I wished their coffee was served warmer - to me thats really important!

This is probably called the caramelized apple strudel (I forgot the actual name of this pastry, my apologies!). It's really good and I have to say double thumbs up to this pastry! It tastes as splendid as it looks, and I love the cake layers because they fit in so perfectly. Firstly, the cooked apple isn't too soft like most apples are in pastries. Secondly, the caramel isn't too sweet, and it really brings out the real roasted sugar taste (yum). The sponge cake layers are really light in flavor, and I like the fact that I can taste more of the egg in it, rather than the butter - because - the crispy strudel layers are already buttery. Ah lastly the custard is the key component to bring the sweetness to this pastry, and it's really, really, delicious. This is a Must-Try!

Religious à la Vanille (I have the same question as you do - why religious?) - made of a creamy paris brest topped with a rose essence and dark chocolate macaron. This pastry seemed delightful to me until I tried it because it turned out to be an utter letdown! Well I feel that it was too sweet for me. The macaron itself is already a sweet treat, and the custard filling in the brest is again too rich in sugar. The solid condensed milk that sticks both components together is way too sweet as well - so the overall pastry turned out really sweet, which isn't to my liking, unfortunately. The only thing I like about this pastry is the macaron and the crusty pastry.

Quiche Lorraine

I love the thin crust of the quiche which is somewhat similar to the crust of Portuguese egg tarts, and the filling itself is really good, except for the bacon strips which are probably overcooked because they are somewhat harder to chew. But in overall, I love the quiche!

Nevertheless, Choux café is worth trying because of their caramelized apple strudel (or whatever it is called)! I will definitely make another trip there (probably for breakfast) to try their almond croissant and other pastries :)

Location: 93 Shenton Road, Swanbourne, WA 6010, Australia.

Price Range: $10 ~ $15

Website: http://www.chouxcafe.com.au/index.php

My Rating: 4.0/5

Black Star Pastry, Newtown

I made a trip to Sydney last month and visited this little cafe in Newtown, located just fifteen minutes away from the city and just a distance away from the University of Sydney. My cousin brought me to this lovely place and introduced me this splendid pastry called the Strawberry and Watermelon Cake with Rose Cream. The first sight of it already made me drool, and the few rose petal toppings perfected the cake. The rose cream is lightly beaten, and you can taste the freshness of it when it melts in your mouth. It's really delicious and I certainly haven't tried something so fruity and flowery at the same time. The watermelon itself is a unique choice
made by the chef because watermelons are not easy fruits to make in pastries due to their high water content. Who would have known that watermelons can be crispy and not soggy when sandwiched in a cake? It also balances the moist cake layers, and the little strawberries and blueberries top off the cake with a mere sweetness which makes it refreshingly tasty. Here are some other pastries that I'm unfortunate enough to not try them yet, but they all look so good nontheless!

Latte, pretty average though

This cafe is pretty cramp but it is great that small stools are provided outside. The ambience is so homely but it is a pity I didn't manage to take a photo of the outlook because I was too busy eating the strawberry cake! I just wish that the cafe has more tables to cater to their ever-growing customers in spite of their location - it is a pretty inconspicuous cafe located at the dead end of a street which you would usually overlook it. Anyway, this cafe is worth trying for because that cake will definitely not disappoint you :)

Location: 277 Australia Street, Newtown, NSW 2042

Price Range: $10 ~ $15 per person

Website: http://www.blackstarpastry.com.au/

My Rating: 4.0/5 (Could have been better if it wasn't for the latte!)