Kitsch Bar

Wooden pallets from the Re Store used as backrests. A corrugated iron door from the Perth Boys Juvenile Detention Centre. Fish bowls in trees.

These are some of the items embellishing Scotsman Iain Lawless’ latest endeavour, Kitsch Bar. Since its opening some two months ago, I have been there a couple of times. Weeknights are cosy and quiet enabling one to enjoy a drink from the range of Asian beers (such as Chang, Kirin and Tsingtao) and ciders. Friday and Saturday nights are awfully busy, but getting a table is not impossible. The location is central, the food spectacular, and the staff amazingly friendly.

Inside the bar & restaurant

The bar

Ian the bartender

Shelves of sauce bottles

A wall of chef’s aprons

Iain tells me that Kitsch Bar almost never happened – a 7 year wait and lots of patience did eventually led to a liquor licence acquirement. Having lived in Thailand for 2 years, he learned a lot about Thai cooking, especially street food; hence the Thai-centric themed food menu. Anita is his head chef who, with her team (which includes a young Thai ex-KPMG accountant) prepare authentic Thai dishes with fluidity and care. Many times throughout the night we notice the team smiling and laughing – they are having a good time. While the majority of Iain’s time is spent at the bar in Leederville from Tuesdays to Sundays, Epicure in Subiaco is where you will find him on a Monday – a training restaurant where he instructs on how to cook and prepare Thai dishes. He is a busy man.

The kitchen

Where the action happens

At some point during our conversation I made mention of Chat Thai, Spice I Am, Saap Thai, Longrain, and Sailors Thai – a few of my favourite Thai restaurants in Sydney. He responds in saying that Kitsch Bar’s food is in similar style to both Sailors Thai and Jimmy Liks in Kings Cross. That is, Thai food with perfect balance between sweet and salty, and spicy upon sour – food which is also wonderfully aromatic.

On my first visit I go with my mate on a Thursday night for dinner and drinks. He entrusts me to take care of the ordering because of my Thai background. We order the Duck nam prik ong with iceberg, tomato & pork scratchings ($14.80), Chiang Mai larb with smoked fish, pork, cashews, spring onion & red nam prik ($18.00), Deep fried salmon salad with watermelon, lime leaf, mint & roasted shallot chilli dressing ($18.80), Spiced green papaya salad with peanuts, cherry tomatoes & sweet, salty pork ribs ($17.80), and steamed rice ($3.60 pp).

The first dish to arrive is the duck nam prik ong with iceberg, tomato & pork scratchings, a traditional Northern Thai spicy tomato dip with vegetables. The dish could easily have been named “duck nam prik ong with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and pork crackling”, but hey, the former sounded more posh. Normally it is made with minced pork, but in this case, minced duck. It is a nice hot appetizer that we eat with rice rather than the lettuce. We down it all, even the dried chillis. Very good.

Duck nam prik ong with iceberg, tomato & pork scratchings

Duck nam prink ong

Next is the Chiang Mai larb with smoked fish, pork, cashews, spring onion & red nam prik, which is a Northeastern Thai salad of mullet and pork. The mullet is prepared by rubbing palm sugar on it, and then smoking the fish on a wok. The result is a firm and fleshy textured fish that is caramelised and sweetened with an intense smokey taste. The salad is hot, salty, sour, and sweet because of the chillis, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. It goes well with the rice.

Chiang Mai larb with smoked fish, pork, cashews, spring onion & red nam prik

Our Deep fried salmon salad with watermelon, lime leaf, mint & roasted shallot chilli dressing is a fresh and vibrant Summer dish that is presented beautifully and eaten up pretty quickly. It is sweet, citrusy and slightly salty. It does wonders for our tastebuds.

Deep fried salmon salad with watermelon, lime leaf, mint & roasted shallot chilli dressing

Lastly, our Spiced green papaya salad (“som tum”) with peanuts, cherry tomatoes & sweet, salty pork ribs is served up. It is requested hot. My mate enjoys the dish but sweats profusely, wiping his forehead several times during eating. I think he had a wet right sleeve afterward. The som tum is sweet, sour, salty, and of course hot. The sweet and salty pork ribs pair up well with the som tum. It is the most authentic and better tasting papaya salads we have had at a restaurant in Perth. (Of course you’ll find authentic hand carved som tum at many of the Thai festivals in Perth).

Spiced green papaya salad with peanuts, cherry tomatoes & sweet, salty pork ribs

Sweet and salty pork ribs

For dessert I order a chocolate sandwich with peanut brittle ice cream ($7.60). My friend is full on beer and chilli. He’s worn out, so doesn’t order anything. The chocolate sandwich is just like a Snickers bar. It is sweet and salty, soft and velvety, rich and smooth. The peanut brittle ice cream is a perfect accompaniment to the chocolate sandwich. The dessert is damn good.

Chocolate sandwich with peanut brittle ice cream

Chocolate sandwich

Peanut brittle ice cream

On a subsequent visit a “small” group of approximately 30 of us go to Kitsch Bar for drinks and food. Restaurant manager Jamie manages to reserve a table for us beforehand – we don’t have to stand around aimlessly like chicks in a chook pen. Iain taps me on the shoulder and assures me that we will get another table to accommodate for the numbers, and promised to take care of me and my friends for the entire night. He exclaims, “If there is anything you want, let me know, and it will be done. Anything, from extra chairs, food, drinks, anything!” Several times during the night Iain checks up on me to see how we are going. He ensures our “stay” at Kitsch is a pleasant and welcome one. Lovely guy, and one of the most enjoyable people to speak to if you do ever get the chance. We order two of each dish on the menu, and somehow in my drunken state, I still managed to take some photos of the food.

Prawn crackers with yellow rock chilli salt

Spiced corn fritters with chilli plum caramel

Steamed pork dumplings with hot chilli sauce & sticky soya

Roasted gai yang with nam jiew dipping sauce

Coconut mussel pancake with beansprouts, green mango & sweet chilli vinegar

Braised angus beef with black vinegar & hot and sour salad

Hot and sour salad

Vietnamese fried pork with yellow beans, tamarind & mandarin

Steamed rice

Tapioca pearls with pandan ice cream

Kitsch is a fantastic venue to go to with a small group for drinks and dinner. I would advise against larger groups because Kitsch only does table service. This makes it hard to keep track of what is ordered. You cannot go to the bar and buy drinks. This meant that at the end of the night our group came up $200 short in unclaimed drinks. So me and one of my mates had to cover the rest.

Despite the above, Kitsch Bar is a wonderful establishment that really puts a stamp on Thai street food. The food is authentic as well as modern, can be ordered according to preference (hot or mild), and really hits the spot. A fantastic little place and highly recommended. My suggested dishes to order are the Chiang Mai larb with smoked fish, pork, cashews, spring onion & red nam prik, the Deep fried salmon salad with watermelon, lime leaf, mint & roasted shallot chilli dressing, a Spiced green papaya salad with peanuts, cherry tomatoes & sweet, salty pork ribs, a Coconut mussel pancake with beansprouts, green mango & sweet chilli vinegar, the Tapioca pearls with pandan ice cream, and Chocolate sandwich with peanut brittle ice cream.

Kitsch Bar
Address: 229 Oxford Street, Leederville
Tel: +61 8 9242 1229
Web: www.kitschbar.com.au

Opening Hours:
Bar
Tuesday (5:00pm – 10:30pm)
Wednesday – Saturday (5:00pm – 12:00am)
Sunday (2:00pm – 10:00pm)

Kitsch-n
Monday – Cooking School
Tuesday (6:00pm – 10:00pm)
Wednesday – Saturday (6:00pm – 11:30pm)
Sunday (3:00pm – 9:30pm)

Related posts:

1. Songkran Festival 2010