Perth, in Australia's southwest is said to be the most isolated city in the country. It's calm and laid back with a young but growing food scene. Written by Ishay Govender-Ypma (@IshayGovender) for Fine Dining Lovers, 7 June 2017.
"What makes Perth so interesting is the access to produce," says Max Brearly of Offshoot Creative, a communications expert working with the food and hospitality industry. "Australia as a whole has great produce but, here, in Western Australia, we have distinct food regions from the Southern Forests to the Swan Valley, to the Gascoyne." Brearly says you can expect to find a variety of ingredients, often considered "exotic" elsewhere, like abalone, marron, rock lobster, truffles, wild caviar and indigenous ingredients, particularly in the northwest. "Our wine regions, especially Margaret River, where I live, are famed for premium output," he adds. Relatively, the food scene is green compared to the likes of Melbourne. "I can't wait to see how it develops around the waterfront," Adie Chapman, founder of Oh Hey WA walking tours, tells me.
Perth's historic center is a tangle of Victorian and Art Deco buildings, modern skyscrapers and derelict once-grand historic dames that could do with a thorough renovation. Moana Coffee is an unexpected retreat upstairs in Hay Street, in a restored heritage building shared with an artists' exhibition space. On the skinny balcony you can enjoy a post-shopping light lunch and a great coffee, away from the crowds downstairs. But crowd is a relative term –Perth lacks the elbow-to-elbow shoving of bigger cities.