J was very happy with her crispy chicken rice.

The skin looked especially really crispy this time. They probably do serve you the extra crispy overfried bits of fat that a more refined restaurant wouldn’t, but hey… obviously we keep eating all those bits of fat.

Thursday – I returned to Munch Terrace with SRM, C and J the very next day. SRM and C had crispy chicken rice, and J had laksa. Due to indecision on my part I was still stuck at the counter ordering when J’s laksa arrived, and she’d dug in with gusto. So all I have is the photo of my stewed chicken noodles (dry style). This was soooo good. The chicken pieces were tender and silky smooth, and the noodles used were the same springy thin egg ones used in wantan mee that I love so much. Under the noodles were beansprouts, and it all sat in a very tasty dark sauce. I think they’d drizzled a little sesame oil over before serving. The smell was enticing. When all the chicken, beansprouts and noodles were gone, I drank every last drop of sauce down. I’ll definitely eat this dish again. In fact, looking at this photo makes me wish I could have it again right now.

Friday – SRM, J and I decided to try somewhere we haven’t been for lunch before – Le Croissant on the Cove (Shop 24, 108 Royal St, East Perth). This is the bakery where SRM got the cakes for his birthday afternoon tea. In addition to cakes and pastries, they serve a selection of sandwiches and hot meals in their cafe. They have quiche and pies (beef and mushroom was particularly tempting, maybe next time!) and sausage rolls with flaky, buttery-looking pastry (you know that rich, buttery pastry French bakeries are famous for!). SRM grabbed a sandwich to go, but J and I decided to sit in the cafe and eat ours. Like Aroma, the sandwiches and rolls at Le Croissant have names; J chose the “Paris” (AU$8.50) – focaccia with marinated chicken, sundried tomatoes, avocado and cheese, served freshly toasted.

I chose the “Como” (AU$8.50) – very similar to the “Paris”, except that it was made with Turkish bread, also toasted, and pesto mayonnaise instead of cheese.

Our sandwiches were perfectly toasted – crispy crusty hot exterior, hot yet soft interior, with the fillings nicely warmed all the way through.

I didn’t think the pesto mayo had much of a presence in the Como (I think it had mostly been absorbed by the bread; I really couldn’t taste much pesto anything), but it was chockers with the marinated chicken (which was very well-seasoned and extremely tasty) and everything else. I was really surprised how good the avocado tasted to me. Regular readers will know I’ve written on numerous occasions about my dislike for avocado, especially in salads. Maybe my tastes are changing again – I have also written about how my likes and dislikes have been evolving as I get older, which is quite exciting and enjoyable (in the past year I’ve rediscovered fetta cheese, miso soup, sour cream and chopped fresh mint in salads). Or maybe I’d have always preferred cooked (or at least hot) avocado to fresh, raw avocado, but after eating cold, fresh, raw avocado which I didn’t like, I was too put off to try warm or cooked avocado. I’ll have to test the boundaries and keep you posted. :)