Monday, August 26, 2013

Red Opium, Thai-inspired tapas @ East Perth, 6004

Located just the opposite of The Perth Mint is an awesomo hidden gem, a Thai-inspired tapas restaurant - Red Opium.
If I were to walk down this street, I don't think I'll ever notice this restaurant.
My friends and I came here on a weekday evening. We were excited to try this place out because:
#1 it's in the entertainment book ;P (cheap asians hauhauah)
#2 they had a tapas menu
#3 unique names for their dishes
They say, never judge a book by it's cover. So don't be fooled by the entrance, you'll be amazed once you enter the restaurant. 
These photos does not do this place justice ! (I need a camera :( Someone want to donate ;P? ) The concept and decoration of the little restaurant is amazing. It felt like you were in a different part of the world :)

What was so cute about this place is that there was a mini chalk board with my name on my reserved table. 


Now lets talk about the food & drinks :)
Cold Thai Milk Tea - $4
My friend ordered this but I did have a sip of it. It tasted nice haha that's all I can say. But my friend said it tasted like Teh-C

Thai Iced Coffee - $4
Personally, the coffee didn't taste strong at all (which I like) and it was super sweet (just how I like my coffee :D) Definitely give these drinks a try!
Small Plates: Yin & Yang Dips - $12.80
The Yin & Yang dips comprised of: Papadum, creamy prawn & minced coconut dip, fresh cucumbers, minced pork and tomato dip and crackles.

One word: AWESOME!
A great sharing starter. I was expecting a strong sweet coconut flavour.. but there was none.. and I was glad that it didn't as well. 
The minced pork and tomato dip had a slight hint of spiciness but I wished it was spicier!
The manager kindly offered more papadum after we finished ours.. and surprisingly we said no thanks.. what were we thinking? (totes lost our inner asian-ness :P HAHAHA) 

Small Plates: Petite Satay - $7.80
They came out in 4 mini skewers. I have had a few bad experience with chicken satay sticks. Usually the chicken is dry or the sauce is just crap but not at Red Opium! It was soft and tender and definitely not dry. I recommend this :)

Small Plates: Mixed Entrees $10.80
So this is what you get; Vegie spring rolls, potato wrapped around a prawn, crab claw and steamed chicken. Honestly, there wasn't anything amazing about this mixed entree but what I really enjoyed was the crab claw ! Unlike the few crab claws I have tried which are stringy, floury and tastes fake xD The crab claw at Red Opium had the flakey meat yay!
Other than that, there wasn't anything special. Everything was fried til it was crispy and they drained the oil enough :)

Soup: Tom Yum (Extra Spicy) - $7.80
I like spicy stuff and from my experiences.. When I order something extra hot... It really isn't that hot but daymn..don't be fooled by the clear broth of this to yum soup! It is packed with flavours and boy..was it spicy..delicious spicy! So for you tom yum spicy lovers out there this soup will not disappoint you at all!
The waitress offered me some cucumber cos' she saw me struggling finishing the soup since it was quite spicy ..and to think I wanted to grab extra chilli as well....
Big Plates: F-Duck - $23.80
I've only tried this type of curry once before and it was a crappy experience (and I was put off fro ordering this dish ever again from any restaurant) but after reading all the rave about this dish I just had to give it a try!
And I was glad I did! I can't say much about the dish...you have to go try it out yourself :P

Big Plates: Pad Thai - $14.80
So we order the vegetarian one.. taste wise - it was okay, no wow factor and nothing special about it - but didn't taste horrible. Not something I'd be like "OMGOSH YOU MUST ORDER THIS"
Dessert: Assorted Ice Cream (mango, mangosteen, coconut) 
Unfortunately for us we went on a weekday.. Penny told us that there was a larger selection of desserts available on the friday (?) & weekend only.
So we ordered the 2 types of dessert that was offered on a weekday.
The ice-cream tasted awesome. Nice and creamy.
Dessert: Mango Rice Pudding
I'm not a fan of this dessert (but then again, I never liked rice-pudding), however my friend enjoyed it a lot.


Overall: Awesome!!

Food: 4 /5
Atmosphere: 5/5 
Service: 5/5 Wonderful service
Will I go back? Yes yes yes!
Recommended? Definitely! I came here using the entertainment card, but will be coming back regardless if I get discount or not!

Red Opium on Urbanspoon