Noodles are a staple food in Asian cuisine. They come in various shapes and sizes, and they can be served hot or cold. Egg noodles, flat rice noodles, knife cut noodles the options are endless. What’s your favourite?? This cheap eat staple has something for everyone.

Here are some of my favourite noodle dishes in the Perth metro area. Some of them you will know, others are a little more hidden.

Fugu 8 in West Leederville

Shop 6/115 Cambridge St, West Leederville

Assam Laksa 

This bowl of goodness is sour, spicy, tangy and mighty delicious. The broth is made with mackerel, torch ginger flower and tamarind to give it the sourness. The succulent rice noodles are slurpy good. Whenever I’m in the hood, I can barely resist popping in for a bowl. Also try their char kway teow with duck egg. Authentic food that also looks pretty.

Hifumiya

Shop, 2, Ground Level, 100/104 Murray St, Perth

Udon

Hifumiya make their own fresh Japanese style udon noodles daily. They can sell 150kg of noodles in a DAY! They use a machine to make the noodles and there are only 2 of these machines in Australia. Japanese flour, water, salt and a dash of vinegar. The base for their broth is a Kyoto style with 5 different kinds of sardines and bonito. The flavour of the broth and the texture of the noodles take me right back to Japan. There are also complementary crunchy fried udon that you can add to your udon and they crunchy and salty and also add another depth of texture to your bowl. Also grab some side dishes on the way to the till. Situated down a laneway off Murray Street, you feel as though you’re entering an eatery in a backstreet of Kyoto.

Noodle Forum

Equus Retail Arcade, 203/580 Hay St, Perth

Chilli Pan Mee

Noodle forum make their own egg noodles daily. This chilli pan mee dish is outstanding. With minced pork, shiitake, spicy shrimp paste and topped with crispy anchovies and a sous vide egg. Whenever I’m feeling fussy and not sure what I want to eat I pop in here for a bowl. Absolute comfort food for me. Also their curry laksa is extremely good. So many delicious dishes to try!

Mr Bun

148 Murray St, Perth

Braised Beef Noodle Soup

Another hand made noodle joint. With this dish you can choose between thin noodles or wide noodles (belt noodles.) I more often than not get the wide noodles because I love the texture of them. They are slightly more al dente. The braised beef is tender and the broth is exquisite. When the huge bowl comes out it’s a show stopper. It’s directly across the road from Noodle Forum in Hay street so sometimes I need to flip a coin. They also sell lots of other yummy side dishes that you will want to try.

Tea Woks

2/369 Hay St, Perth

Kolo Mee

Handmade egg noodles with BBQ pork, minced pork, fish cake and topped with pork lard. This is an absolute umami bomb of a dish. It’s one of those noodle dishes you can eat a few times a week and it never gets old. I’ve taken multiple friends here and they are always blown away. You must try this popular noodle restaurant.

U&I Cafe

45 Francis St, Northbridge

Mi Mien Tay Nuoc / Kho

Egg noodles with sliced pork, pork liver, minced pork, quail eggs, prawn, spring onion and bean sprouts. I always get the dry option. The soup still comes on the side and I really love the soup and noodles separately in this dish. This one of the few shops that’s open 24 hours and is fully licensed. It’s perfect for when the pub shuts and you need a bowl of something yummy before you head home. It’s also great if you feel like some Vietnamese food for breakfast. I quite often pop in here for some breakfast noodles at 7am. The pho here is also good is that’s more your jam. Right on William street so it’s also very conveniently located.

Tosaka Ramen

305 William St, Northbridge

Black Garlic Char-Shu Toripaitan

One of my favourite ramen shops in Perth. This Japanese restaurant uses Tori paitan, which is a chicken broth. Unlike tonkotsu ramen it’s a little lighter in style but definitely not light in flavour. This is one of my favourite noodle bar joints in Northbridge. To pair with the amazing ramen they have a nicely curated drinks list. It is often busy so if you get there at peak times expect a bit of a wait. You can order extra noodles if you’re in need of oodles of noodles. I’m already looking forward to my next bowl of ramen.

Hong Kong BBQ

76 Francis St. Northbridge

Roast Combination Noodle Soup

This huge bowl of noodle soup is topped with 3 choices of roast meat. I generally get the noodles with roast pork, char siu pork and roasted duck which comes sitting on top of a steaming bowl of noodle soup. The broth is a classic clear Chinese chicken broth. They give you quite a lot of meat and it’s very filling so I don’t bother ordering any sides or entrees. Even the fresh vegetables are expertly cut into various artistic shapes which I always find impressive. The chilli oil here is one of my favourites in Perth too.

Tra Vinh

149 Brisbane St, Perth

Goat Noodle Soup

This is another must try. The tender goat just falls off the bone. The broth is slightly sweet and herbaceous full of flavour. This is another hearty bowl of egg noodles that won’t disappoint. This popular noodle restaurant will have you frothing over these bowls of noodles.

Endless Delight Chinese Cuisine 

5/145 Newcastle St, Perth

Beef Brisket with Sliced Noodles

This is totally authentic Chinese food. I low key don’t want to tell anyone about this hidden gem because I love it so much! The hand sliced noodles have a great texture. So chewy and bouncy. I have an extreme appreciation of rice noodles. The brisket is tender and totally delicious. The flavours are very simple but the simplicity is what makes this dish so beautiful. Not only are the noodles great the dumplings are up there with the best in Perth. This isn’t a popular noodle restaurant but it certainly should be. Great honest food at an affordable price.

Marubang

318 William St, Northbridge

Marubang Neng Guksu

Ice slushed cold broth noodle with grated radish, wasabi and egg. This is one of the greatest dishes to eat during summer. Ice cold broth that is pure flavour. Slurp away. I have eaten cold noodles at quite a few different Korean restaurants but I think this one is my favourite. Another classic William Street eatery to get your taste buds singing. Their other menu items here are outstanding too. I hear the master stock is over 30 years old.

Kee Hiong Klang Bak Kut Teh

2/800 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park

Pork bone tea soup

The post The Best Noodle Dishes In Perth CBD 5km Radius Under $20 appeared first on Eat With Turner.

Eating in Japan will surely be some of your favourite food memories. Japanese people have very strict table manners and even though you may not be Japanese, it’s very important to learn the Japanese way of eating. There are some basic rules but there are some that are more intricate.

If you are reading this because you are about to go to Japan for the first time, I’m super excited for you!!!

I first went to Japan on a working holiday visa. To be honest, I was a 21 year old kid who barely knew anything about Japanese culture and rules. Thinking back to when I first arrived I must have made a right fool of myself. I quickly learnt table manners and food rules. Now I’m quite versed in these rules I see other non Japanese making the same mistakes I once did. SMH! 

Fortunately Japanese people are extremely forgiving and will happily coach you. In fact they LOVE showing you the way they eat Japanese food. Eating with a Japanese person will actually teach you eating habits that you will take home. They become PART of you and the way you conduct yourself at the dining table.

Here is a list of Japanese table manners that you should know so you don’t break the balance of Japanese culture. 

1) Never plonk your chopsticks vertically in a bowl of rice. This is a custom used in funerals and not at the dining table. Putting a pair of chopsticks vertically in a rice bowl is used as an offering to the deceased person. It’s one of the BIGGEST taboos at a dining table and a very common mistake for a non Japanese person to make.

When you’re not eating, place your chopsticks on the chopstick rest that is given to you. However, if you have received disposable chopsticks, use the paper sleeve to create some origami magic and make one yourself. This is actually fun. GET CREATIVE!!!

2) Never pass food from your chopsticks to someone else’s chopsticks. This is another massive no-no! Once again this is a funeral custom. *warning graphic information* Kotsuage is a ceremony for the close family. The body is cremated and the family member will pick out the bones from the ashes with special chopsticks and pass them to each family member and then transfer them into an urn. Doing this at a dining table reminds Japanese people of this ceremony.

Again this is a very common mistake that I actually made when I first arrived in Japan. Now I have the occasional newbie try to pass food to me and it actually freaks me out. 

3) Eat your food with chopsticks and don’t play with them. Yes this means you can’t show off how well you play “wipeout” on the drums or proving your samurai skills. It’s also bad manners in western cultures to play with your cutlery.

4) Don’t use the narrow end of the chopsticks to take food from a communal dish. If there’s a communal dish, perhaps noodles or okonomiyaki, turn your chopsticks around so you are picking the food out with the wider end. This is for hygiene reasons and is easy to remember. Keep your spit to yourself.

5) Pick your rice bowl up off the table when eating from it. This is another one that is pretty simple to turn into a good habit. This is to do with sitting up straight when you’re eating. You should never bend your head down at the table to consume your food. Japanese cuisine is pretty much prepared as bite sized pieces to put into your own bowl. This applies for miso soup too. Miso soup should be picked up and sipped from the bowl.

Watch some anime and you’ll soon see the characters eating like this. Also try not to leave a single grain of rice. Heads up to keep your head up.

6) If someone pours you a drink, DON’T let them pour their own drink too. This is easy to do if there are only two people at the table. It can be a tricky affair with larger gatherings as there are a lot of variables.

At a larger gathering you should basically watch and learn. You will see what is happening. It can be quite funny and entertaining. So much so that you will WANT to get in on the action, especially if it’s an informal gathering. If you notice someone’s glass is nearly empty, especially beer or sake, pick up the communal bottle and pour it for them.

If someone is pouring for you, be sure to pick up your glass with 2 hands, bow your head and say Arigato gozaimasu  “thankyou.” I quite often hear complaints from younger Japanese females that it’s tiring for them to be at a work dinner because they are the ones responsible for making sure everyone has a full glass. 

As I mentioned, this one is a bit trickier to master but it’s fun learning! Also Japanese people really appreciate when you know this custom.

7) Ramen rules. If you’re reading this and you got this far, I’m pretty sure you are a ramen fan. A couple of rules that are important.

First rule, is to slurp your ramen loud and proud. The ramen is always piping hot, so you use your mouth as a vacuum cooler. Don’t be shy, slurp away!

Second rule, eat and leave. Ramen shops rely on quick turnovers so don’t hang around for long chatting with your friends (even if it’s not busy)

I lived in a small town for a few months called Onomichi. It’s in Hiroshima and it’s very famous for ramen. I was at a ramen shop with a girl, her father and an extremely wealthy man of Hiroshima. The ramen shop was their favourites and it was spectacular. I was taking my time savouring every slippery, slurp of noodle and broth. They were already finished and I felt like I was just getting started. I could feel them watching the clock and watching me. AWKWARD! The girl later explained the rule to me and I’ve since never made that mistake again.

8) Don’t lick or suck your chopsticks. I don’t need to go into detail with this one. Just refrain. 

9) This can be by far the most torturous. Drinking rules. Once the drinks are arriving, refrain from drinking yours until everyone has their drink. Sometimes with a large group this can take a while but you MUST wait for everyone to get a drink. There will be a toast, usually by the boss or the senior person there. They will usually say KANPAI which means “cheers” or OTSUKARE which is something you say at the end of a day’s work. Don’t get all excited and start chugging down your beer before the toast.

10) As with rule #9, don’t start eating before anyone else. 

11) Learn how to say ittadakimasu. This is what you say before you eat. When you’re finished you say gochisousama deshishita. You can shorten this to simply gochisousama which is less formal. This is a way of saying thankyou. It’s also a nice thing to say to the restaurant staff or chef on the way out of the Japanese restaurant. They will definitely feel happy hearing it from you.

12) Show appreciation for the food you are eating. This isn’t difficult because the food is always good in Japan. A Japanese person will wait with bated breath as you try the food. After your first bite, always look amazed and let out the word UMAI!  It means “amazing” and can also be used to describe something like a good singer or guitarist. You could also say OISHII! This means delicious. If you drag out the OI to say OOOOIIIIIISHI! It makes it sound even more delicious! Learn these words and thrive at the table. 

There are exceptions to this rule. If a Japanese person is getting you to try natto (fermented soy beans) they will be expecting a negative reaction for comedic reasons. It has a strong, pungent smell and the consistency of mucus. If you hate it, the more animated you are about it, the better they will feel about their prank! I personally love natto so it doesn’t work on me. 

13) If you are entering tatami mat floor, be sure to take off your shoes. This will encourage you to have a good collection of socks. Holes free please! And if you own a smelly pair of shoes, don’t wear them in Japan. Nobody wants to smell your stinky feet whilst eating. Everyone will think natto is being served.

14) Tipping isn’t a Japanese custom. It’s not expected and can be seen as bad manners.

15) If you have a dietary requirement, you will need to learn how to say it in Japanese. You can’t expect a Japanese staff member to understand you saying “I’m gluten intolerant” or “I can’t eat raw shellfish.” If you find it difficult to say, have it written down or on your phone.

16) No double dipping. If there is a communal dipping sauce, don’t double dip. 

17) Savour every moment. This isn’t about Japanese table manners, this is my strong advice to you. A Japanese dining experience is going to blow your mind. Everything they do is with love, care and passion. Each dish, whether it be a formal restaurant or casual dining, is created to make your palate sing with joy. There is also a lot of pride in the presentation so have a good look at it and admire the beauty. Even the food at a 7/11 or a McDonalds is going to be better than any other in the world. So be sure to stop and smell the roses, take your time and enjoy each mouthful of deliciousness. 

Whether you are in a formal setting or eating at a sushi train, observe Japanese dining etiquette. Observations are one of the best ways to learn.

Ps If you haven’t burnt your mouth with tako-yaki, you haven’t lived. You’ll know what I mean when you get there. 

The post Table manners in Japan appeared first on Eat With Turner.