perth: pleased to meet you, northbridge.

deciding what to eat for dinner in perth was a giant pain in the ass, because all the cafés close by 4pm, leaving us with limited options. googling turned up pleased to meet you, which was pretty near where we were staying (and they also had cornbread), so we headed over. it was a weeknight, so the place was quiet. only one person was running the floor- he was the bartender, waiter and cashier all rolled into one, and an efficient one at that. i was impressed.



it's a tapas bar, but because of X's limited stomach space, we ordered separately. i liked that it's small plates, because it means i get to try more things. what i got was the raw beef san choy bau (A$12), a beef reuben bao (A$6) and cornbread with maple butter (A$6).



the cornbread was the last to arrive, but it was absolute highlight of the meal. it redefined cornbread for me- i never knew that cornbread could be that good. it came in a thick wedge, alongside a generous quenelle of maple butter. the cornbread was rich, buttery and intensely savoury, with a toasty crust but crumbly insides. paired with the slightly sweet maple butter, it was a sweet-savoury combination that ticked all the right boxes for me. it was so good that it's since become my benchmark for cornbread.



the raw beef san choy bau was not too bad- it was a refreshing starter, what with the crunch of the lettuce wrap and the slightly tart beef filling.



i felt the beef reuben bao was a letdown, though. the bacon-esque beef filling was tasty on its own, but there was just too little of it, and paired with the slightly wet steamed bao, it just didn't work for me. i ended up just eating the filling. the meal left me with mixed feelings- on one hand, the cornbread was glorious, but the other two didn't quite measure up.

we weren't meant to return for another meal, but we were in the area and wanted dimsum, but learnt that it wasn't available for dinner. so... i decided that i could do with another serving of the cornbread. this time, the dishes that i picked were really good. along with the cornbread (of course), i got pork fingers with bbq mayo (A$9) and a warm beetroot salad (A$10).



pork fingers were basically battered pulled pork tenders- seriously good, but it got to be a bit too much after a while. and since the dishes were for sharing, portions were not exactly sized for one person to finish. i ended up sharing it with X.



i finished the entire serving of the warm beetroot salad on my own, though. they meant it when they said warm- it was comfortingly so. i liked the salad because there was a mix of textures and flavours- crumbles of goat's cheese and an utterly delicious savoury granola. i was initially undecided about ordering the salad, because how inspiring can a salad be, right? they proved me wrong though, with that beetroot number.

the cornbread didn't seem to be as good as previously- not as toasty. it was probably because it was a busy night for them, compared to our first visit. still, it was a really good cornbread. it's one of those things that i would want to go back just to have again. if it were in singapore i would probably keep returning whenever i have a cornbread craving.


pleased to meet you
38 roe street
https://www.facebook.com/pleasedtomeetyouperth/