restaurant amuse in perth

this is jumping the gun a little but i just had to post about restaurant amuse before the rest of the holiday.

my ever-resourceful and extremely convincing man-friend (he's too old to be a boy, isn't he) managed to get us a friday night reservation on 24h notice. apparently, weekend reservations require three months advanced booking - and we most definitely see why! but carolynne the owner was a real sweetie and squeezed us in (on a four-top, no less!) when there was a last minute cancellation. so with some fortuitous timing and empty bellies, we did something i'm not so proud of (we flaked on my friends, who to their credit, were most understanding and who i like to think would've done the same...)

dramatic evening aside (you should've seen us when carolynne emailed with the good news!!!) we rolled into amuse just after 730pm (thank you nick for the ride) and smacked our lips in anticipation of a long-awaited dinner, little did we know that dinner would stretch to a glorious four hours :)))))

dinner at restaurant amuse ranks way up there on my list of memorable meals and is possibly my new favourite restaurant in the southern hemisphere. the restaurant is done up in what i term casual luxury. the chairs were all eames (!!!) and it was understated elegance at its relaxed best. we were very comfortable in our flannel shirts and jeans, oops and there wasn't that snooty stuffiness you find in other less acclaimed establishments. what struck me was the sheer innovation and creativity evident from the menu. who'd have thought to pair beetroot cooked in cranberry juice? and served on a cocoa-coffee crunch to balance the tartness of the juices with a little bitter. the freshness of the produce made a world of difference too!

potato chips served with salt-vinegar foam. a reinvention of salt&vinegar chips!

even the bread was fantabulous!

the beetroot cooked in cranberry juice and served on a bed of cocoa-coffee with feta

crab with bacon, corn puree and bacon broth (!!!) served with the yummiest shrimp toast ever

snapper done just-so and with a very deft japanese touch (nori and mirin)

pork belly with seared scallop and crackling

duck on a springroll of duck confit with leek puree

passionfruit palate cleanser

pre-dessert of cotton candy and mascarpone with strawberry
(one slice was candied as a surprise!)

and the pre-dessert was doused in blood orange juice for the candied sugar to dissolve and take the bite out of the juice!

milk-coated honeycomb with thyme ice cream and honey cake :)

peppermint marshmellow, baileys truffle and financier petit fours

if you have just one night in perth, this is the place to spend it :) i'm definitely revisiting at first opportunity.