Alfred B.
Yelp
I was at Duendé about a month or so ago with our daughter and enjoyed it immensely - so I was pleasantly surprised when the owner asked us to come back to check out the new menu - apparently it came into play only a few days after my visit. Who could resist? So this time - using Lady FWO's birthday as a convenient excuse to get out to Leederville again we hopped on a train and were soon sitting in much the same spot as before - in the little outdoor area chatting to Phil the owner and chef Johnny who ran through the new dishes - some completely new additions, others a little changed and some old favourites as they have been always.
The drinks list concentrates on Spanish and Portuguese offerings, but not to the exclusion of some very good Australian and other European wines; and we kicked off with a glass of Weingut Brundlemayer L&T 2013 Gruner Veltliner for me - lemon and pepper on the nose, with a crisp, dry palate redolent of celery, lime and white pepper - and a drop of champagne - Jean Paul Paradel by De Sousa Brut NV for Lady FWO - floral and biscuity bouquet, crisp, citrusy and delicate palate, with a fine and sustained bead.
A small bowl of oil and bread helped whet our appetite as we considered our order. In the end we decided on a couple of examples from the tapas portion of the menu - fried whitebait and chicken and mushroom cigar- before moving on to four larger (but not too large) dishes.
The whitebait was some of the best we have had - crisply fried but not a drop of oiliness, and with a small bowl of mildly spicy chipotle aioli to dip, a great start.
A Fidel Castro sized cigar of juicy and moist minced chicken and mushrooms encased in a spring roll pastry, fried and served with salsa rosa - a zesty mayo infused with tomato sauce - came then and also ticked all the right boxes.
Now we moved on to the next part of our Spanish inspired culinary experience.
Grilled haloumi sat curled on a bed of pepperonata, along with bell peppers, roasted and collapsing with sweet juices running freely - and surrounded by a swirls of chimichurri - with its characteristic fresh, garlicky, herbal notes - it was a wonderful amalgam of flavours and textures. Sweet, spicy, nutty.....loved it.
Next came tender, succulent Goldband snapper, perfectly cooked, on a bed of farro, cauliflower cream and a smattering of bitter greens and flowers on top. It looked beautiful on the plate and the taste lived up to expectations - the farro provided a chewy, nutty addition to complement the sweetly flavoured, well-seasoned fish, and the creaminess of the cauliflower sauce - crisp, sharp flavours from the greens gave another dimension to this excellent meal.
Spiced chick peas -buttery, nutty and starchy the chick peas were cooked in a delightfully spicy and zesty sauce of tomato and chilli, with wilted spinach and silverbeet folded through - scattered with fried shallots and capped with an exquisitely perfumed saffron infused labne. For me this would be, with flat bread, a perfect breakfast - and indeed since we visited I have cooked it up a couple of times just for that. Excellent!
Finally we tried Brussels sprouts crunchily, crisp, well-seasoned with scattered sea salt, on a foundation of tender white beans, roasted heirloom tomatoes and a slab of creamy, crumbly baked ricotta. This was another well put together dish - salty, creamy, nutty, buttery and freshly flavoured.
Naturally lunch would not be the same without a little more wine, and we moved, after our initial glass to a bottle of the wonderful 2014 Amber from Cullen in Margaret River. This was their first orange wine - a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, left on the skins for a time to impart a hauntingly golden hue with flecks of apricot at the edge - an intensely fragrant bouquet of orange marmalade, pears and dash of honeyed sweetness - the palate is creamy, full flavoured, with notes of dried figs, peaches and with a citrusy saltiness on the back palate that leaves you wanting more.
It was another excellent meal at this Leederville icon - a pioneer of Spanish food in Perth it still ranks among the best -very good food, well cooked and an interesting wine list combine to make a visit an experience to savour. And our waiter was exceptional as well - friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable and engaging.
Disclaimer: We were the guests of Duendé - the food was complimentary, while we paid for our drinks.