Whilst it was raining cats and dogs in my hometown of Sydney, I was basking in the sun enjoying a beer at the Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle, Perth. Little Creatures Pale Ale is my favourite Australian beer. It is packed with heady floral notes and refreshing citrus. It has the body of an Adonis and I simply cannot fault it.
Having lived in Perth a decade ago, it was lovely to return to this spot as since we last met I have certainly imbibed a great deal of their product! I remember the brewery was busy and shiny and not much has changed. Luckily we are early enough to secure a lovely al fresco spot on the harbour.
The menu is impressive and full of oh-so-tasty things that my pregnant friend unfortunately cannot have… What a pregnant lady cannot eat was a real eye opener… Poor things. No feta, no smoked salmon, no aioli, no beer… It goes on in this depressing fashion. So for today, Shaz will have to live vicariously through us…
“I took the liberty of ordering you a large beer… It’s all I can do…”
We start with Hommus with a Roasted Peanut Vinaigrette. I have never had the combination of peanut and hommus… It certainly works.
Chicken is ok for expectant mothers and this dish of Freerange Chermoula-spiced Chicken Tenderloins with Raita is punchy and alive. The Moroccan spice mix is well balanced and the zing of lemon makes this dish summery and appropriate fare to consume in the sunshine.
The chips, or “bippies” as baby Keira calls them are received well, with their crisp, skin-on outer and their fluffy white inner. Baby enjoys the bippes… Maybe even a little too much.
I love mussels and for some reason, I always seem to eat mussels in Perth. Perhaps this is because they feature on more menus here than on the East Coast, perhaps this is because I have made this association and now it has become protocol, but whichever it is, today I had the best mussels I’ve ever had. The waiter asked if I’d like them extra hot. He knows me too well. Served in a simple tomato chilli broth these mussels are painfully good. I mop up the garlic-laced sauce with crusty, chargrilled bread and I don’t want it to end. I want to stop time and live in this musselly moment for always.
Being a brewery, you’d think that Little Creatures would be a fairly adult environment, but they certainly cater for children and many of them frolic in the sandpit whilst the adults frolic in the amber.
The only thing to perhaps tighten up a little at this establishment, is the service. We were served by many different people whose lack of focus on specific areas and customers meant that things were forgotten.
As I gaze seaward and admire the galleon docked in front of us, I feel content and a little smug as the “jealous” comments roll in on my Facebook check-in.
