PEKOPEKOEATS VOL. 140 | JUN 2025
It's been a while!
Hi all!
It's been months since the last newsletter.
On reflecting during the 4 or so months of not writing, I've come to the conclusion that I'll ramp down the frequency of these newsletters to make these more sustainable and cut out a couple things (like the visit counter) to reduce the friction of writing these.
Ramping down also reduces the stress of "finding new places to eat", which is something that yes, we do care about to an extent. But in this economy - I place more emphasis on visiting places with that meet two criteria. Firstly, places with menus that genuinely excite us (and is worth the $$$, why pay for something we can make at home?) and secondly, food that is worth the calories (especially given I'm in a cutting phase right now).
This decision comes partly from an effort vs. reward perspective, and the fact that frankly, I've gotten a little bored of writing about food from an objective, formulaic perspective (there's only so many things one can say). Some of you guys might know I'm a bit of a watch guy and writing about watch related stuff has been a nice breath of fresh air at times.
Anyway, what we've checked out over the past couple of months (don't worry, we have enough backlog for the next couple of newsletters already).
Let's aim at monthly newsletters at a minimum (for now) 🫡.
Ten & Sen
Badoyell
Jing Wei Lanzhou Beef Noodle
Artem (tsukemen)
Madeleine
Omakase Haku
7 Grams
ICYMI 📱
Ten & Sen (Leederville)
In late March 2025, the folks behind Rojiura Curry Samurai (Perth) opened up a Hokkaido curry ramen concept, Ten & Sen.
Expect a rich, tonkotsu hybrid broth ramen and specialty dishes from Hokkaido.
Ten & Sen's rich broth lends itself well to the colder weather - reminiscent of the geographical location of Hokkaido, the northern most island of Japan.
Now onto the elephant in the room. Bowls of ramen here are a little on the steeper side - especially if you get the $33 option with all the trimmings.
The price difference between the $23 bowl and the $33 bowl can be somewhat justified by the additional toppings you get. At places like Nao Ramen you could probably expect to pay anywhere from $2 - $5 for toppings, I suppose.
Flavour wise, being a tonkotsu hybrid with miso or chicken broth, lends itself to be a fairly rich broth. It has been some time since our initial visit, but from memory we didn't find too much flavour difference between the two broths - maybe cause both were quite rich. That, or the spice level wasn't enough to make a massive difference (we say that as people who enjoy a mild level of spice).
Badoyell (South Perth)
OG Pekopekoeats followers will know that Badoyell (back in Spencer Village) was one of the first places we ever blogged about. That was back in 2019. Badoyell opened up a second location in South Perth (next to Red Rooster) in late 2024.
We've since visited a handful of times and can confirm the quality mirrors that of their original, Spencer Village branch. The must order here is their Taiwanese beef noodle soup - a homey, hearty, soup with chunks of beef brisket.
If you're not feeling anything soupy, then grab the mala pulled pork. The mala-ness of this pairs well with the creamy, soft boiled egg.
Another staple order of ours here are their fried chicken bites. Reminiscent of our fave fried chicken snack at T4.
This South Perth branch is quite small and cosy - so we'd suggest booking if you're going there on Friday or the weekend.
Jing Wei Lan LanZhou Beef Noodle
Lanzhou beef noodle restaurants are popping up everywhere in Perth these days, which is great for competition. Rising tides raise all boats anyway. We got invited to try Jing Wei Lan a while back during Easter.
Taste wise - Jing Wei Lan rivals that of Qin's or Mr. King Beef Noodles. The broth did seem to run a little cleaner than Mr. King Beef Noodles and Qin's as well. Like Qin's - you also get a free noodle refill. Handy for those with bigger appetites.
At time of dining, our only constructive bit of feedback we gave was for them to add a bit more garnish to make it more visually appealing.
Definitely get the fried chicken which came in a generous serving. Juicy and flavourful. Kewpie mayo was also available on the side for free.
Artem Tsukemen
A solid attempt in tsukemen from the team at Artem. This is also one you'll have to book to avoid disappointment as seating is limited. Be sure to check their socials for their next tsukemen night).
Overall a solid tsukemen attempt from the team at Artem. Flavours hit the mark. Our only constructive bit of feedback is on the noodles. The noodles did tend to clump together, which didn't make for the best of eating experience, especially given tsukemen is as "dipping" type of noodle.
Madeleine
This one's been on the list for a while and didn't disappoint. Service was warm and friendly and food was executed well. Flavours and textures were balanced.
With restaurants which err on "finer" or "daint-ier" dining like Madeleine, bigger eaters or non-drinkers might find themselves a bit peckish after their meal.
The best dishes of the night - the souffle and parmentier. Two quintessentially French dishes.
Omakase Haku
In early May 2025 we visited Omakase Haku and had yet another enjoyable experience. This visit marked our sixth visit to Omakase Haku. Reflecting back on the food, our peak visit was around this time last year when we had our fourth visit. Having said that - Chef Young still dishes up some of the best Japanese food we've had to date.
The Omakase Haku page has recently been updated to cover all five of our previous visits.
Eddy Pekopeko.eats
Here are some of our favourite dishes of our 6th visit.
Creaminess and sweetness from the hotate and uni. Saltiness from the caviar. Chef Young's signature lime zest to cut through the richness.
Dry aged akami giving a "jelly" like texture.
Finishing up with the provocative caramel ice-cream with caviar, EVOO and a splash of Hibiki whiskey. Our next visit to Omakase Haku will be in a couple months time.
7 Grams Vic Park
Our friends who were once behind The Fave in Floreat (one of the most under-appreciated cafes back in it's day) are now behind the new 7 Grams branch in Vic Park.
We visited a week after grand opening in May 2025. Naturally, there were some teething issues which they were working through, but we're confident that with Chef Jake (ex-Santini, The Fave, Wildflower and more) managing the venue, all these issues will be ironed out over time.
Over the past couple of months we've been averaging Korean fried chicken at least once, if not twice a month, at places like GoGiYo BBQ, Chicken Lab and Bob Jo.
We'd probably rank 7 Grams' chicken as our favourite fried chicken place - by a small margin. We found the batter to still remain crispy even when coated in sauce, unlike Chicken Lab's.
During our visit, I unexpectedly enjoyed their tuna kimchi soup (jiggae) a lot more than I had expected. Plenty of tuna.
Their rose tteokbokki was enormously sized - probably reflective of its $36 price point. Enough to feed four humans, easily. Looking forward to returning shortly to try our more of their Korean dishes.
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