Perth Voice Interactive

LUNCH at Bossman Coffee hit a minor bump when I discovered they only do coffee and Greek pastries.

Undeterred, my lunch companion and I headed next door to Munchies Sushi, where the queue was long and the place pumping with Japanese efficiency.

The ginger fish bento box special ($17.50) sounded so good we agreed to share it and a mixed sashimi ($19.50).

What an inspired choice it was, the sashimi arrived first with its slices of fresh tuna, salmon, Hokkaido scallop and the rather unfortunately named horse mackerel.

Sitting on a bed of spinach and drizzled with a soy and sesame dressing the raw fish was fantastic, soft in texture and fresh on the tongue.

When my mate ordered miso soup ($2.50) I declined, having experienced some rather nasty versions in the past, but he allowed me a spoonful and it was so good I’m revising my opinion.

The bento box arrived, the two colourful serving dishes looking like pieces of Lego, and we tackled the vegetarian spring rolls first, delicious little morsels of savoury crunchiness.

The ginger fish, with the rather un-Japanese rocket and spinach salad, was magnificent, the spiciness of soy contrasting with a slight sweetness.

It was so good I downed chopsticks in favour of a spoon to better tackle the last morsel, and the sauce.

Sated, we left the bright and funky Munchies and headed back to Bossman.

Lights from old cymbals, magazine racks held with guitar strings and old speaker boxes that double as racks for a display of old spirit bottles create a dark and moody atmospheric.

The pastries are made by Evangelia, the owner’s near neighbour, and picked up fresh every morning as he heads to work.

My lunch companion revealed an unknown side, declaring he’s a baklava connoisseur.

“If I ever get married, I would have a baklava wedding cake,” he said.

Evangelia’s won high praise, and I was impressed by his depth of knowledge on his special subject.

“They’ve used walnuts, which is the best…there’s a nice floral contrast in taste, it’s not just syrup,” he waxed lyrically.

“They are moist enough for the pastry to be soft but still crisp–and most importantly they are big enough,” he said tackling his share of a larger than usual slice.

And he was impressed by the sophistication of a strong, hot chocolate that didn’t have a marshmallow on the side.

While I was just impressed with everything, including a Greek version of a custard slice, galaktoboureko, which I couldn’t pronounce, but had no trouble getting my taste buds around.

And the single blend Panamanian coffee was the perfect foil to all that sweetness.

by JENNY D’ANGER

Munchies Sushi
Bossman Coffee
669 Beaufort St, Mt Lawley