The Crepe Cafe, Morley Galleria

(Picture: Exclusively Food)

Daniel, Ezra and I went to the Galleria early this morning, and by early I mean when it first opens at 9am. We stopped at the food court upstairs at the Centro Galleria in Morley, and instead of opting for the usual McDonalds, we decided we'd have something different for our Saturday breakfast. So we went to The Crepe Cafe. I am so happy we made the right decision!

I ordered the Farmhouse Crepe, which is savoury and consisted of chicken, mushrooms, cheese and bechamel sauce. It was absolutely scrum-diddly-umptios! I was holding Ezra as he was asleep and thought I'd just have a little mouthful and wait until Daniel finished his so he can hold Ezra. After that mouthful, I just kept going and going and going until it was all gone. My motherly multi-tasking skills were on display for everyone to see.

Daniel had the Banana Bender, which is waffles, bananas, ice-cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. I know that that was yummy as that is what I would normally get, only at lunch though. Daniel loved it.

This cafe just makes you want to learn how to make crepes and waffles so you can have them all the time at home. So I Googled away searching for a basic crepe recipe, that you can add your own fillings to. One I found is here. I also want to make the bechamel sauce, I remember when done my first year of Diploma in Hospitality Management, we were taught how to make it, but I forgot, so Mr. Google to the rescue again - bechamel sauce.

Yum yum yum 5 stars!

Pines Restaurant - Rendezvous Observation City Hotel, Scarborough

On Saturday the 3rd of October my fiance and I hosted our engagement dinner at Pines Restaurant which is in the Rendezvous Observation City Hotel in Scarborough.
We invited family and friends to what to turned out to be an awesome night of eating, drinking and then back home for karaoke.
Pines Restaurant is buffet style with a roast carvery. They had a special price going, $29 for adults, down from $52, children 4 - 12 cost $16 and infants 1 - 3 cost $3, all up including 2 bottles of wine and soft drinks, for 12 adults and 4 children, cost $474.50. That is such a good price I think.

The Food
I had high expectations of the food before we got there so was a bit disappointed when it didn't meet my expectations. You know how at some buffets you go to, you know you shouldn't stuff your face with everything just because it's there, but you do anyway? And then you go back up for more? Well I'm bad for that, I usually will keep eating until I'm fully bloated and have to sit there for a while before I can go so that I'm able to walk properly. That just didn't happen for me here. Sure the food was nice and it was edible, but there was just nothing special about it that made me want to go back for more. I guess that's a good  thing for the restaurant.
My fiance loved the prawns. He had a dinner plate full of them. I went and got a couple and got back to the table and realised you have to peel them yourself, so I just left them there, I hate peeling prawns, so not good at it!
Hmmm...I'm trying to find something good to say about the food, but all I can think of is ordinary. Well, it's not a bad thing.

The Service
The service was real good. The waitresses were very attentive and we were seated at our table very quickly.
Out of all the restaurants I have been to in Perth, I think the waitresses at Pines Restaurant are the most on to it. We didn't have to wait very long for drinks, and they were very friendly and helpful. Our dirty dishes were cleared very promptly also.

The Ambience
Pines Restaurant was very busy. There were quite a few large groups and lots of smaller ones, this didn't distract from the relaxing atmosphere that comes with an ocean view. Although they do need to clean their windows, you can't beat a view like the Indian Ocean which is only 100m away.

Overall
We had an awesome night. Pines Restaurant is a great place to share memories with family and friends. On the way home and even when we got home everyone complimented at what a great night they had and that Pines Restaurant was a very good choice.
3 1/2 Stars!

Branchy's Holiday Homes - Moore River, Guilderton

Moore River

At the moment, we are on our way home from our long weekend holiday in Moore River, Guilderton.

We rented a holiday home for the weekend from Branchy’s Holidays Homes.

It was a 2 bedroom home at 10 Brockman Street, Guilderton (named The Butterfly House), which actually looked like a shack crossed with a flat. The house itself was nothing impressive. Quite old and it showed. I was expecting something much more nicer seeing as we paid $480 for 3 nights with below par “self-contained” facilities. I don’t think it’s worth that much at all.

Walking through the door, the ambience even felt old. Everywhere badly needed repainting, the furniture needed to go back to the 70’s and the bedrooms and bathroom needed some TLC. It was one of those places you don’t trust sitting down in.

We ended up hauling the double mattress in to the lounge room as the bedrooms felt gloomy. Lucky we brought our own mattress protector, sheets, blankets and pillows.  

The plan was our 8 month old son would sleep in a room in his porta-cot and we would sleep in the other...if you get my gist. But I just didn’t like the feeling of our son sleeping in there by himself, so we all bunked in the lounge.

Trying to cook on a very small, camp-like gas oven/stove was a mission and a half. It was one where you had to turn the gas on and use a match to light it, instead of one of those clicker things we have at home here. And seeing that Daniel has quit smoking 2 months ago, we didn't have a match or a lighter did we. So off we went to the servo to buy some...and we were also able to sneak in a bottle of wine...so it wasn't all bad.

I don't want to sound like I'm fully bagging the place, parts of it were nice...all the parts that weren't the house...

The grass, the trees, the birds and the...flies...no, not the flies, argh....stupid things, especially the blowflies!!

There weren't that many flies though, just wait until summer...Summer in WA is fly season, they are everywhere in summer!

The town of Moore River is beautiful. The scenery is awesome, you have the river, the beach, the bush, and even a lone kangaroo was across the other side of the river hopping about.

There is a beautiful sunset which we went to watch on Sunday night.

Guilderton has a country club, town hall, servo, cafe and camping grounds all places are very friendly and you can tell the locals of Moore River appreciate the business that holiday makers bring.

There are playgrounds plotted all over the town which is awesome when the adults want the kids out of the house but not down by the water. The whole feeling of the town is of relaxation.

All in all, the house we stayed in is a thumbs down, but I'm sure Branchy's Holiday Homes has other houses that are nicer than the one we stayed in.....

The town itself its absolutely beautiful and we are seriously considering going back for Christmas, but we will stay at the camping grounds instead. The camping grounds was actually our first choice but it was all booked out! Guess that tells you how beautiful Moore River is.

Sieana's Mt Lawley

Saturday night just gone my playgroup met up for dinner at Sieana's in Mt Lawley as a celebration that we have successfully kept another person alive for over 6 months.
For me, that was my first night out without my fiance and son since his birth, so it was a special time for me to be spending it with 6 other mums whom I am growing closer to each week. Going out with them, even though they are all older than me, made feel young again (I'm only 21 but feel like an old lady that stays home all day).

Sieana's sent a good vibe, a young hip vibe. It was very busy and everyones chatter filled the room. I absolutely loved the feeling, like you're in the "in" crowd, having lots of people around you.

Food
Being from a little town by the river and sea, I love seafood so therefore ordered the Spaghetti Marinara. When ordering it I had envisioned mussels in the shell, prawns, scallops and squid. But when it arrived there was only prawns and squid in there which was a bit disappointing. Every other marinara I've had at least had mussels in it. Anyway, I ate it. It was nothing spectacular, had no pizzaz, just a plain spaghetti marinara.
A couple of the other mums ordered pizza, which they seemed to enjoy. And the others had pasta as well which they also seemed to enjoy.

Service
The waitresses were definitely friendly, but seemed to be a bit daft at times. We asked what desserts they had  (the menu said to see the cake fridge for a variety of cakes...but there was no cake fridge...), and she told us there was sticky date pudding, which they didn't have, and didn't tell us until we asked where was the one we ordered when everyone else had their desserts. Also she said they had mudcake, then when another waiter came and bought the desserts he's asking, "who ordered the brownie?" Huh? No-one said anything about a brownie. So he asked the lady who had originally ordered the sticky date pudding if she would prefer the "brownie". Apparently he was talking about the mudcake, but he was still insisting it's a brownie, when it obviously was a mud cake. So therefore, he had given the mud cake meant for one lady, to another. So he had to go back and get another mud cake.
I have no idea how any of the deserts tasted as I was super full...that day I had McDonalds for breakfast, and KFC for lunch (p.s KFC chicken in Perth is disgusting compared to NZ).

Overall
I liked the feeling of Sieana's Mt Lawley, but there was one thing I didn't like. I didn't like that the tables are too close to each other. I couldn't move my chair back as there was someone sitting smack bang behind me. I had to manoeuvre myself so I could get in and out of my chair.
So I give Sieana's Mt Lawley 3 1/2 stars.

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PhillipaW

Hillarys Harbour Resort Apartments

This was one of the best places we have stayed at, with the best location I think.
Hillarys Harbour Resort Apartments is a 4.5 star resort located right next to AQWA and the Sorrento Quay Boardwalk with bars, gift shops, cafes, takeaways and restaurants at your fingertips. A very short walk to the beach and just across the other side is The Great Escape attraction park. You can also depart from Hillarys Boat Harbour to go to Rottnest Island on Rottnest Fast Ferries which departs 3 times per day.

Apartment
My fiance and I had a 2nd floor self-contained 1 bedroom apartment with a view of the harbour from our balcony which was beautiful.
We had a full kitchen and laundry facilities. This was another place that felt like our own little home.
The apartment is very clean and tidy with modern furniture and fixtures.

Resort Facilities
The resort was quiet yet very busy with families coming and going to and from their daily activities.

Hillarys Resort has an outdoor swimming pool, spa, sauna and barbecue area which were all very nice and well maintained.

The atmosphere at Hillarys Harbour Resort Apartments is very relaxing and has a hint of tropical to it.

Parking
You have your own secure key card parking which is underground. You have to pay a deposit of $50 to make sure you don't run away with the key card which is the norm at hotels/resorts with their own parking facilities.

Dining
The resort does not have in house dining such as a restaurant, but there is a full kitchen in each apartment so you cook your own meals. Otherwise you can take a walk to the Boardwalk and dine there at the many restaurants, cafes and takeaway bars.

Service
The service is very good and the receptionist is quite helpful in letting you know where you can go for entertainment and how you can get there on public transport.

Overall
My fiance and I loved staying here, I can't remember how much it cost but I think we paid around $400 for 2 nights.
We thought it was excellent value for our money.
5 stars!

Viet Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant, Northbridge

Ok so I was going to do a review on Viet Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant in Northbridge but we went a while ago and I don't really remember it. But I'll try anyway, it might come back to me as I'm writing.

I remember we had ordered way too much than we could eat, and the duck is really yum.
Driving past the restaurant it is always busy, which was no different when we were there.
We had quite a large party, 10 adults and 4 children, we didn't have to wait to be seated or very long for our meals.
The dishes are real good value for money and the service is super friendly and helpful.
I think actually I really liked the place.

Food
Very delicious and quite large portions.

Service
Excellent and friendly.

Ambience
A bit crowded but that's nothing to moan about as it tells you the restaurant is good. Nice plants and decorations. The mirrors on the wall are good for checking you're still looking your best.

I found a photo from our time there:

From left: Tony, TJ, Daniel (fiance), and Phillipa (me)

As you can see from looking in the mirror the place is packed.
From what I remember there was nothing bad about this restaurant and I will definitely go back.
5 Stars!

Scarborough & Absolute Beachfront Accommodation

After being disappointed with Rydges Hotel Perth (see post below), we decided we'd go home, and look for somewhere else to stay the weekend.
For some reason, instead of searching the net as usual, we decided to look in the phone book, yep you read right, we still have a phone book. Flicking through the yellow pages we thought might look in Scarborough, right by the beach. There we found the Scarborough & Absolute Beachfront Accomodation. We called them up and asked if they had any accommodation available for the weekend and we were lucky enough that they had one Family Apartment left.
The couple that owned it were on Karrinyup Road doing up a house and as that was on our way to Scarborough, we could drop off our deposit and give our credit card details there and pick the key up at the apartment.

Service
The couple that own are adorable, really nice people. The kind of people that don't judge you by appearances. We turned up to the house in a Mitsubishi Lancer that obviously looks like a young persons car, a bit boy racer but with no mods. My fiance and his cousin stayed in the car, cousin with his hoody on and fiance with a cap and shades on, both looked kinda shady actually.
But they were real nice. They even let us have a late late checkout of 6pm!

The apartment

The apartment we stayed in was very homely. It was a 2 bedroom 2nd floor self-contained apartment with a full kitchen and full laundry facilities. There were queen beds in both rooms and a chest drawers in each room with a wardrobe and full mirror as well. It was absolutely fantastic. It felt like it was our own little place for the weekend. We did not want to leave.
It was very clean and well maintained.
We had a balcony out front that overlooked the beach which is only about 200m away with private direct access.

The apartment complex is on the Esplanade so shops, restaurants, cafes and bars are only a short stroll away.

My fiance and I absolutely loved staying here and will definitely go back one weekend. It truly is a beachside retreat with uninterrupted views of Scarborough Beach, peaceful and quiet, yet so close to all the action.
A definite 5 Stars!

Just Cuts, Morley Galleria

I was in dire need of a haircut and because we are saving up for our trip back home to NZ in March I had no choice but to go the cheap option of Just Cuts.
Before my fiance and I took our son into KMart to get a PixiFoto, I decided I'd go get my hair cut next door at Just Cuts.
The good thing about Just Cuts is that you don't need to make an appointment. So I walked in, said I wanted my hair cut and they sat me down straight away.
The hairdresser Rachel was well presented and very friendly. I told her I just wanted to get rid of my ugly split ends, fix up the layers and asked her to redo my side swoop fringe which had fully grown out.
It all took 15 minutes and cost $25! It was an extra $6 for a blow dry but I decided to keep it wet as I'm not a fan of blow dryers.
One downfall is that my side swoop fringe isn't as I envisioned it, but it still worked so I was fine with it.
Just Cuts do not do colour nor do they style your hair. They wash, cut, blow dry and blow wave. For just a cut is a flat rate of $25, no matter how long your is.
Overall, it was super cheap and they don't skimp on experience or quality.
4 Stars!

Rydges Hotel, Perth

The Rydges Hotel Perth city can be summed up in one word...claustrophobic.
That is the exact feeling my fiance and I got when we walked into the reception and then again in our room.
We booked online using our Rydges Priorirty Guest membership.
We booked the Executive King Room and when we walked in we felt so squashed. The windows did not open which didn't help at all. We couldn't be in the room any longer so immediately went down to reception and asked if we could upgrade assuming the next one up would be much much better than the one we booked. Therefore, we went to the Club King Room which is the 2nd most expensive room in the hotel on the 16th floor (top floor). We walked into that room and it wasn't much better. We sat in there for 5 minutes debating whether we should even stay or not. My fiance was adamant he was not going to be staying here so that was it. We went down to reception, told them we did not like the rooms and asked for our money back. Thankfully, they gave us a refund and we were on our on way.
I guess that's what we get for choosing a hotel in the city, but still, Rydges in Rotorua NZ is very nice and we thought that being Perth, it would be better here.
If you like being closed in a box Rydges Perth would be the hotel for you, unfortunately, not for us, so I give them 1 star. That star goes to the girl on reception who was helpful in the end and gave our money back.

Abbey Beach Resort, Busselton

We stayed at the Abbey Beach Resort in Busselton in 2007, for my fiance's 21st.

Driving up the driveway the front was beautiful. So serene and welcoming, we couldn't wait to go inside and check out our rooms.

The foyer was also beautiful and the reception staff were very friendly even though we arrived later than we said we would.

My fiance and I walked into our spa suite which was a bargain price of $430 for 3 nights which we bought from Discover West and also included a hire car in the package (see previous post).

Spa Suite
Our spa suite was very intimate. It was very clean and the atmosphere was very calming. We had a view over the pools and garden area below. My fiance's cousin stayed in a room across the other side and while on our balconies we could yell out to him and say hello. One bad thing though is that there was a man across from us sitting on his balcony in his undies...not a nice sight.

Daniel on our balcony

Restaurant
There are two restaurants, the Brasserie Restaurant which is more formal and the Reflections Cafe which is casual dining. We went to the cafe for dinner which was very nice. We were in a party of 8 adults and 3 children. The food was great and the service was real good too. My fiance and I also went to the cafe for breakfast which was very pleasant. No disappointments at all.

Facilities
There are 2 outdoor swimming pools (which were occupied by ducks as it was August and quite cold, so no-one was going to swim anyway) and 1 indoor heated swimming with a children's wadding pool. There is also a spa, sauna, squash and tennis courts and playground for the kiddies to play. This resort really does have it all.

Overall
We had a lovely weekend away at Abbey Beach Resort.
My fiance and I went for a romanitc walk along the beach which is right behind the resort.
The resort is very family friendly but also great for intimate getaways as the resort has many different styles of accommodation.
Will definitely stay again.
5 Stars!

One of the outside pools

Discover West Holidays

I booked a weekend away with my fiance for his 21st birthday at the Abbey Beach Resort via the Discover West Holidays website back in 2007.
The website has awesome deals and up to 65% off accommodation, hire cars, cruises, tours and holiday packages all over Western Australia.

The Website
The website is easy to use and the best thing is that they let you pay by bank deposit if you book 2 weeks in advance, otherwise you have to pay by credit card.
They have a vast array of providers all over Western Australia and the format easy to use.

Specials
They give you a book full of coupons you can use at shops, attractions and restaurants valued at $400. You also get free nights at selected properties, free airport transfers and a free Perth Welcome Tour when you book with Discover West.

Packages
We got a package that consisted of 3 nights accommodation in a Spa Suite at the Abbey Beach Resort and car rental from Hertz for the awesome price of $430.

Service
I did have to speak to them on the phone and the service was excellent. They were very understanding and very helpful.

Overall
Discover West Holidays is an awesome way to book holidays in Western Australia. They have excellent packages and have unbeatable prices.
4 Stars!

Welcome

Hi there and welcome to my first ever blog!

I hope you like what I write and come back to read more!

I will be blogging about restaurants, hotels, products and services and reviewing them.

You will be getting my honest opinions with no hold backs.
My fiance and I have stayed at many hotels, resorts around the Perth area and also in Rotorua NZ (where we lived before coming to Perth) and are expanding our range.
We live with his lovely parents and have been since we moved to Perth in May 2007 as we cannot afford to get a place of our own just yet. So for some away time and to take a break of having a full house the cheaper option is to go stay at hotels and resorts for the weekend.
Before we had our son we stayed at a hotel nearly every 2 months. When I got pregnant we had stopped, but now our son is older and is sleeping through the night (thank God!) we are able to get back on the horse.
We also love to eat out (who doesn't). Whether it be for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

So sit tight and I hope you will enjoy my reviews!!