Last week I met up with two hard to pin down friends. Our busy lives, combined with the plethora of interesting new restaurants in Perth, caused a minor brain fade. Consequently we ended up making a spur of the minute decision about where to eat, and got a reminder that sometimes it’s okay to have no idea where you’re going.
Beetroot Ravioli Circa © The Ponder Room
The decision was made all the more difficult because we wanted to try something new. But also knew that the evening would be a gabfest as we caught up on what we’d been doing for the past four months. This meant it was imperative that we could hear each other, which rendered several of the new restaurants ineligible.
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| Circa © The Ponder Room |
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| Circa © The Ponder Room |
We started with Ligurian olives and toasted ciabatta bread. The bowl of warm olives was huge, there was no way of finishing them. Next came the mains.
The spaghetti with crab, lime, chilli, white wine and crème fraiche had a good proportion of crab and wasn’t overloaded with cream.
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| Circa © The Ponder Room |
The pan seared duck breast with braised chicory, carrot and blood orange puree was very rich, though the blood orange sauce helped cut through.
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| Circa © The Ponder Room |
Beetroot ravioli, with butter, sage, pecorino and hazelnuts, looked almost too pretty to be a savoury dish.
As the restaurant emptied we ordered dessert. Fried custard with ice cream and pistachio nuts and Yoghurt panacotta with chocolate profiterole.
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| Fried Custard Circa © The Ponder Room |
This was the second time I’d tried fried custard and I can highly recommend it. My guests were apprehensive until the first spoonful went into their mouth, now no custard is safe.
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| Circa © The Ponder Room |
The service was friendly and incredibly patient especially considering our indecision. They even told us we didn’t have to rush as they started putting chairs on tables and sweeping up at the end of the night.
