THE father-in-law and I were enjoying an alfresco lunch at Sayers Sister in Northbridge, before he heads back to the unforgiving British winter.
The temperature was a perfect 34 degrees, as we sipped a carrot, pineapple and orange juice ($8).
The unusual mix was cooling and refreshing: the perfect mix of pineapple sweetness, orange sharpness and a pleasant earthiness from the carrot.
The father-in-law has developed a taste for barra, from several visits down under, and was delighted to find it on the menu ($31).
The skin was a crispy brown and sitting atop a bed of date, cashew, apricot and cauliflower couscous, with wilted baby spinach and a serve of beans, it was a veritable picture.
“It’s lovely,” he said tucking into the firm flesh and flavoursome couscous, pausing to add, with classic British understatement, “The whole dinner was nice.”
I had to agree, as I hoed into a coriander cumin, bean tagine, without the poached egg ($17).
It was so rich and tomatoey it should have been illegal and so huge I had to take half home—or I wouldn’t have been able to fit in cake.
There was a tempting array, all made in-house, but it was the lime and coconut tart ($7.80) that won out.
We were both so full we opted to share, a wise decision given the size and the richness of the slice.
So often lime or lemon slices are too sweet and lack a citrus punch, but this was heaven on a stick, enhanced by a base made of chunky flakes of moist coconut.
Made all the better by a particularly fine earl grey tea for me and a flat white for the father-in-law.
Steph and Mark Sayers opened on Lake Street five years ago, having kicked off Sayers Sister in Leederville previously.
Everything on the menu is made in-house and where possible supplies are sourced locally, including the free-range eggs.
“The honey is from Mt Lawley…and a guy up the road grows the snow pea sprouts,” says Mark.
Which I can report as being fresh, sweet and crisp.
Coffee is something the Sayers care about and like wine it’s blended to suit the season: “It’s like drinking red wine in winter…in summer you drink it lighter and we lighten our blend to the weather.”
by JENNY D’ANGER
Sayers Sister
236 Lake Street, Northbridge
open 7 days 7am–4pm
licenced
