Bask in la belle époque at Balthazar

There are certain moments in life where you just want time to stand still, like the instant when you look into the eyes of your beloved for the first time, walking down the aisle on your wedding day or, celebrating the birth of your child. These are the moments that go deep into your heart and leave you forever altered in a marvellous way.

Balthazar is one Perth wine bar that is known to have this effect on people. Open for about ten years, it’s one of those places that doesn’t advertise, is rarely written about, but that everyone knows is one of the most memorable dining spots in town. Housed in the historic Lawson Building, this Howard Street legend beckons only the most discerning crowd.

Walking into Balthazar is reminiscent of a French-style bistro from the early 1900s. Dark chocolate furnishings, rustic taverna-style chairs, red silk lampshades hung upside down and art-nouveau wall paper adorns the walls. The owners of this establishment are clearly serious about their wine. It is estimated that Balthazar plays home to about 500 bottles which are displayed throughout the restaurant. This allegiance is testament to the name of the restaurant – Balthazar is another word for wine cellar.

The atmosphere at Balthazar is sultry and sophisticated helped in part by the mood lighting which seems to flicker like candles in a darkened room and the strains of jazz piano and Ella Fitzgerald singing the blues. My elegant finance-guy and I are die-hard romantics and Europhiles so this restaurant was right up our alley. Balthazar made me reminisce about times I had spent in Paris and trips made to the market in the south of France on my bicycle. It reminded me of how important it is to relish the simple pleasures in life.

To start we ordered the tasting plate – a medley of dates stuffed with foie-gras and wrapped in crispy prosciutto, beetroot tart with crème fraiche, rabbit and pork terrine with pistachio nuts. These morsels were sublime. The freshness of the ingredients and the delicate flavours of each perfectly presented parcel titillated our palates in anticipation of what was to come. A mango sorbet in between courses was the perfect refresher. We closed our eyes and moaned with pleasure at the sweet reprieve of the chilled mango in our mouths.

For our mains, it was unanimous - duck breast with cherry mustard, duck leg crepe and madeira sauce came highly recommended by our charming server Patrick. His suggestion of the smoked Amelia Park beef, celeriac, blue cheese and peppered popcorn was equally right on the money. Perfectly cooked the duck breast was plump and pink, fanned out on the plate. The duck leg crepe was slightly crispy and richly flavoured by the madeira velouté. The beef was succulent and contrasted beautifully with the crunch and spice of the peppered popcorn and celeriac mash.

Balthazar presents a chic Bohemian mystique evocative of la belle époque where poets such as Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Toulouse Lautrec, also known as the so called “gentlemen of the Moulin Rouge” got sloshed on absinthe and used it as a means of persuasion.

Absinthe is a drink derived from the Artemisia Absentium plant and other spices such as liquorice. Coined the “the green fairy” by poet Rimbaud, it is said to be capable of evoking vitalizing effects with sexually enhancing aphrodisiac charges enjoyed by Bohemian drinkers in the 1800s.

I will definitely be going back to Balthazar and recommend they put some of that magic love potion on their menu. Personally, I didn’t need the help of a magic potion on my date, but just in case in you need a Plan B here’s one of my favourite absinthe cocktail recipes:

Surprise Sex

1/2 measure absinthe

2 measure apple schnapps

1 measure sambuca

1 measure bacardi

1/2 measure vodka

To taste apple juice

Add ingredients to a shaker, add apple juice to match personal taste. Stir and serve.

Passion Rating★★★★★
Food:★★★★☆
Service:★★★★★
Ambiance:★★★★★
Overall:★★★★☆

Get your Soul Fed at Cantina 663

Break-ups are a bitch. No matter how you slice it, whether it’s you that calls it off or them it is no less painful. It’s an interesting phenomenon how our hearts naturally go out to the person that got dumped. For me, saying good bye to someone special is heart-wrenching. Even if you know that they are not for you, the fact is you did get together because of some pretty dazzling qualities they showed you that are hard to forget, you connected deeply and it can hurt like hell.

A person very dear to me once told me that their definition of true love is your soul's recognition of its counterpoint in another - some of you may also recognise it as the line used by Vince Vaughan in Wedding Crashers to hit on unsuspecting female targets, dateless and looking for love. But really, this quote begs the eternal question. Is there really one person out there for you, or, are there many suitable mates for one person? My theory is that when we feel as if we have found our one and only love in our partner or spouse, we stop looking and being open. We cease to be aware of other potential soul mates around us. I like controversial theorist Barrie Dolnick’s definition of a soul mate as "someone who reflects or matches your energy and your path in life. ... whose power and potential are complementary to your own”.

But is the imminent notion of soul mates restricted to those we have had as lovers? Have you ever noticed that there are certain people who enter your life at a particular time for a reason that becomes apparent later? I have had a number of soul friends in my life, flitting in and out when I have needed them the most and leaving a lasting memory and the gift of being loved.

To commemorate the departure of one of my soul friends, a group of us went out to dinner at Cantina 663 (www.cantina663.com) in Mount Lawley. Cantina 663 is one of those rare places you go back to over and over again for the incredible food prepared using fresh, organic produce and cooked with a conscience. The food is inspired by what is best and in season and the wine list reflects the diversity of Italy, Spain and Portugal.

The locale itself is housed in Astor Lane. You can take a seat at the distressed, tobacco leather banquettes inside the restaurant or settle in at one of the tables that stretch into the arcade. The decor is rustic Spanish and creates the feeling of being in a well-worn cantina – ‘cantina’ is the Spanish word for wine cellar or saloon. It is warm, quirky and mixes just the right vibe of grungy cool and über chic for Mount Lawley’s ‘too cool to care’ glitterati.

Cocktails at Cantina 663 are sensational. My crew tried the Hendrick’s gin, tonic and cucumber and Espresso martini while I savoured a deliciously refreshing gin sour with maraschino cherries and went back for round two. Other tantalising offerings include a cantina house made sangria with brandy, Spanish gin, limoncello, lemon, lime, orange, clove, cinnamon, vino and soda or, what about the Midnite in Sicily – Appleton rum, ginger liqueur, averna, bitters, lemon and lime.

To start, we ordered the char grilled olive bread, the salumi platter with house pickles and duck liver parfait with onion jam. The bread was designer charred and had a wonderful smoky flavour. The salumi platter was a welcome surprise of hot and cold meats– Serrano ham, warm Italian blood pudding, grilled chorizo and house-cured bresaolo (cured beef). The meat tasted gutsy and packed a punch – a hearty dish for the strapping men at my table. The duck liver parfait at Cantina 663 is iconic and did not disappoint – creamy and decadent, the duck liver marries perfectly with the sweetness of the onion jam smeared on the seared bread.

For mains Mr F – shredded dude # 1 had the house-made pappardelle with rabbit, sweet corn, bacon and mascarpone; Big W – shredded dude # 2 chowed down on the baked salmon with cider, potato, almond and french beans while shredded dude # 3 Dizzy-O and I knocked back the slow cooked lamb rump with bean stew, thyme, pecorino and lemon. All our meals were noteworthy but the house-made pasta with rabbit was definitely the star of the night!

Service at Cantina was friendly, fast and furious. We got booted off our table at 8pm. Here’s hoping that this was just a once off experience at Cantina 663 and that the charm it is known for doesn’t get blown away by its increasing success.

Despite the abrupt ending to our evening, we had a great night at Cantina 663. The meals are real soul food - simple, nourishing and keep you going back for more. Cantina 663 is also a good place to go for a quiet date and some real conversation. Who knows you may even find your soul mate. Rumi, the famous Sufi poet has a great poem about finding your one true love – he says “lovers don’t just find one each other, they are in each other all along.” Makes sense to me.

Passion Rating★★★★★
Food:★★★★☆
Service:★★☆☆☆
Ambiance:★★★☆☆
Overall:★★★1/2☆

Tumbling Toward an Ocean of Ecstasy in Bali

There’s something deeply intoxicating about making love in the ocean. The healing and transformative power of water combined with the hormones released during love-making has the power to enhance your arousal levels and stimulate more intense, longer lasting orgasms.

I can’t say that I have ever had such an intense, sexual experience involving the sea, particularly when I imagine having to flick sand out from my nether regions, but what I do know for sure is that when I eat while looking at the ocean, or on the beach after a swim, it always tastes better.

My girlfriend and I decided that we would spend a few days exploring the beachside bars and restaurants that had been touted as must-sees during our trip to Bali. The first place on our list was the much lauded Kudeta – a swanky beach side ‘after-hours’ spot known for its sunsets and fabulous cocktails.

Kudeta is set right on the beach in Seminyak and is a place for the ‘beautiful’ people. Lay back on a king size day bed and watch the sunset while you sip on your berry Bellini shaken by Kudeta’s in-house mixologist. We found the vibe so intoxicating, were it not for being schmoozed by a sleazy US expat whose nephew was on Neighbours, we would have stayed.

For dinner we head to La Lucciola, just up the road. ‘Lucciola’ means fire fly in Italian and when you arrive you immediately understand why. The restaurant is an open-air pavilion and fronts directly onto the beach. It is a magical experience to walk across the foot-bridge over a stream into the restaurant and have your pathway lit up by blazing tiki torches and tree lights. Sarong-clad waiters eagerly await to attend to your every whim and provide you with a small torch to make your meal selection and preserve the very romantic mood lighting.

To finish the evening, my movie pal took us to his British friend Charlie’s new after-hours tapas and cocktail bar The Sea-Circus. Charlie got the place started with the help of an illustrious cast including a few designers from Paris and Australia (Joost Bakker who designed our very own Greenhouse Cafe) and a chef who used to work at the famous Sydney restaurant Longrain. His tapas style menu was scrumptious – yellowfin tuna & watermelon tartare with witlof & citrus; mahi-mahi & tofu fritters with chilli jam & spring onions; and tart citron with clotted cream & limoncello.

The look of the restaurant is fanciful -beachside casual meets circus chic. We enjoyed a cocktail in the circus-themed dining room which is played out in the aesthetic, vibrant yellows for the chairs and sky blue for the tables, under a lofty tent-like structure draped with string bulb lights. I would definitely recommend this place for a special, group get-together or just a round of drinks.

When all is said and done, no matter whether you are by yourself, with your lover or just a bunch of good friends, enjoying good food and wine by the ocean has a healing effect on my psyche that transcends my need for sexual satiation- it nourishes my soul.

A few nights ago I went with a group of friends to have a picnic at City Beach. Carlos, an Engineer from Guatemala prepared this fish stew from shark he had caught earlier on in the day.. it was delicious and went down beautifully with a glass of chilled Flying Fish Chardonnay from our very own Swan Valley... hope you like it...

GUATEMALAN FISH STEW

500 grams fresh, deboned fish

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

one small onion finely chopped

2 small carrots and 1 zucchini finely chopped

small tin of corn (or fresh)

1 tin of peeled tomatoes

Coriander

Virgin Olive Oil

salt

pepper

1 lemon

*any other veggies left in fridge

Carlos served it to us with steamed rice.. amazing!

Get Shucked at Palais 85

Picture this. Sweeping views of the Perth city skyline at sunset over the Swan River, crystal chandaliers, richly coloured satin drapes, beautifully upholstered high back dining chairs, elegant set tables. Palais 85 is a restaurant that oozes style and sophistication and sets the mood for what could be one of the most amorous nights of your life. I was brought here by a broad-shouldered rugby hunk turned finance guy for a special night out. Our eyes lit up as we entered this palatial looking restaurant and hoped that it would live up to its name, princely prices and put us in the mood for love.

My muscular date was as smooth as the bottle of Veuve Cliquot he ordered. Chilled decadence with just the right amount of pop and froth. The coolness of this golden nectar was a tingling accompaniment to the dozen freshly shucked oysters served to us on glass platter atop shaved iced ready for the sucking. I found it deliciously sensual to be fed natural oysters from the shell whilst being squirted with lemon juice.

Oysters have always been linked with love. When Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sprang forth from the sea on an oyster shell and promptly gave birth to Eros, the word "aphrodisiac" was born. The dashing lover Casanova also used to start a meal eating 12 dozen oysters. The jury is out or whether or not oysters may or may not cause people to fall in love with each other but they have been touted as being rich in rare amino acids that trigger increased levels of sex hormones. They have long been a favorite of food lovers throughout the centuries, beginning with the Roman emperors who paid for them by their weight in gold. I am not convinced about the arousal impact of the humble oyster but I have long had this belief that men who enjoy devouring fish, shellfish or sushi are more adventurous in the bedroom.

We also tried the braised pork belly with wild berry coulis, savoy cabbage and pear chutney. Crispy and smoky the pork belly contrasted well against the sweetness of the berry coulis and pear chutney. For our mains we ordered the crispy skinned barramundi with blue ridge marron, eggplant caponata, potato cake and lime foam and the beef angus tenderloin with sautéed marinated prawns, broccolini, carrot, potato mash and chilli garlic jus. The barramundi skin was tough and chewy and had an insipid flavour. The cremated beef tenderloin was not much better with its broccolini sidekick still raw and tasting of soil.

Service at Palais 85 was akin to the quality of the overall meal, consistently mediocre with fleeting moments of greatness. It is at times like this when you realize how much the company and conversation makes up for what could have been an underwhelming dining experience. The world that night at Palais 85 faded into the background as I was otherwise mesmerized by other more compelling and passionate distractions.

I would not recommend Palais 85 as a restaurant to go for the ultimate dining experience, but sitting on the outside patio with a glass of sparkling champagne in my hand, a smattering of oysters and the splendid views of the water make it a great place for a pre-dinner drink and romantic conversation. You could even take a picnic rug in the car and go and sit down on the foreshore afterwards to watch the sunset and put my theory to the test.

Passion Rating:★★★★★
Food: ★★★☆☆
Service: ★★☆☆☆
Ambiance: ★★★★ ☆
Overall: ★★★☆☆