Dullsville? Hardly: Perth people share the city they know

Marvelous: Where to get Perth’s best dirty chai latte

MARVELOUS: What I really love is having a drink with my workmates and my friends. A lot of people think the Perth CBD is quiet; that’s because they don’t know where to go. There are so many great bars. I love this place, Picabar, and I love Hygge Bar on Mounts Bay Road at the base of Jacob’s Ladder. It serves mostly craft beer, but it also does cocktails and wine. My biggest complaint about Perth is that too many places serve the same thing, so I’m always looking for bars and restaurants that serve different craft beers, especially those from WA. I also like venues that have live music like The Bird or The Rechabite. The CBD is great for entertainment. You just have to know your way around.

Chuonkin Thai Restaurant in Barrack Street is fantastic. I’ve been there multiple times. It’s always busy, which is the surest sign of a good place to eat. I also like Hifumiya in Murray Street, which is fantastic for noodles.

When my mates ask me where they can get a cheap but good meal I always recommend Soi 29 in 160 Central. It’s inexpensive, it’s quick and it’s very good.

And there are so many great places for coffee in the city I can’t narrow it down to one, so I’ll give you my top three. Smooth Operator in Milligan Street, Howard’s Groove in Howard Street and Telegram Coffee in the State Buildings. I’ll normally get a chai latte. If I’m feeling adventurous I’ll get a dirty chai latte, which is a regular chai latte with a shot of espresso.

As far as concerts go, Fred again.. [ed’s note: a musician, not a typo] was pretty cool and I’ve been to lots of great shows at Jack Rabbit Slims, a great live music venue in Northbridge. But probably the most memorable — I wonder if I should say this considering his reputation — was Kanye West at the Perth Arena in 2014. That was before he was cancelled.

Holidays? I love Albany for the views and for the cafe culture. And the Margaret River region has a lot of great craft breweries that are worth a visit. Cheeky Monkey and Wild Hop are the two I would recommend. I don’t travel to drink and to eat, which is what you might think, but it’s an added bonus.

Karen and Gus: Footy, burgers and the WA holiday spot you just can’t beat

KAREN: What we do for entertainment? Football! I like lots of other things — movies, theatre, ballet — but footy is my first love. Yesterday I went to the ballet at His Majesty’s and then the footy. We are members of the Eagles and we go to the game every second week. I also love to read, but I am not a member of a book club because I don’t drink wine.

GUS: And we watch all the other games on TV. I also love cars and motor racing. I own several vintage cars, which I ‘race’ (I use the term loosely). I love watching motor racing on television, I’ve been up to Singapore to watch the Formula One and I go out to Wanneroo.

My favourite restaurant is El Greco in Stirling. It’s a very reasonably priced family-run Greek restaurant that opened just before COVID. They served takeaway to stay afloat during the lockdown. We supported them through COVID and we like the food and the service. It’s also very convenient. Easy to get to, easy to park right out front.

For cheap eats, though, it’s Hungry Jacks – a quick, cheap meal on the way home from the footy.

KAREN: If we are driving around the Swan Valley we’ll stop and have a burger at Alfred’s Kitchen in Guildford. The burgers are excellent and it has a nice welcoming atmosphere.

GUS: Coffee? I much prefer a pub to a cafe.

KAREN: We often go to Tassel’s Bar and Bistro in Innaloo. We go there for dinner and to watch the footy and for anniversaries and celebrations. It’s a regular spot for our family.

In terms of concerts, I reckon my favourite-ever concert was Adele. Incredible stage presence, amazing voice. You liked Adele too, didn’t you, Gus?

GUS: I did like her. I didn’t know a single Adele song until I went to the concert, but she was great.

KAREN: You really loved The Rolling Stones.

GUS: They were fantastic. The Rolling Stones would have to be my best ever. Also loved Midnight Oil. And the By The Sea concert, just before COVID.

KAREN: That was wonderful. It was on the beach. There was Icehouse, You Am I, Dave Graney, James Reyne.

GUS: My favourite holiday spot is Exmouth. It’s not as good as it was in the 1980s and 90s, but it’s still a really good spot. Totally unique.

KAREN: It’s very remote and has a small population and everything is pretty basic. But that’s what makes it so wonderful. The beach is beautiful and the water is warm.

GUS: The diving is unbelievable. Goggles and a snorkel is all you need. We were up this year for the turtle hatchlings. Just sensational.

KAREN: The baby turtles! They were so beautiful.

Karen: The fine art of living

Ballet is what I do for entertainment. I danced from the age of 16 to 58, but then I had a health issue and I can’t dance anymore. I haven’t danced for a couple of years, but I can still put my leg over my head! Dance is still my passion and I am going to WA Ballet’s production of La Bayadere at His Majesty’s tonight. I am an art consultant and I have been working in the arts industry for 40 years, so I love everything to do with the arts. And I love movies. I especially like the French Film Festival, which has just finished. I also love new Australian movies.

My favourite Perth restaurant is Ekiben which is up the road in Angove Street in North Perth. It is a Japanese restaurant and is fabulous. I also love Chinta Cafe on Scarborough Beach Road. It has a Balinese vibe. They do a great breakfast. The building used to be a petrol station, so the setting is really interesting.

For coffee I love this place, Hank’s Corner [Scarborough Beach Road North Perth]. Like Chinta, it’s also been converted from serving motorists to serving food and coffee. It used to be a motorcycle repair shop and a tyre store. They have done an amazing job of renovating it. Did you have a look inside? It’s very cool. They serve great coffee and it has a fantastic atmosphere. An almond latte out here in the sun is a wonderful way to start the day.

For cheap eats, I’m the wrong person to ask –I’d rather make a salad from my own garden.

I’ve been working hard in the past ten years so I haven’t seen enough of Western Australia. Like a lot of West Australians I have travelled more overseas than my own state. But I do want to go to Esperance. Everyone raves about it. I love getting out in nature.

Anne: Retired and loving the Leedy life

For entertainment I drum. I joined a samba drumming group on the weekends and I do full-moon drumming down at the beach. When it is a full moon we take our percussion instruments to Pinnaroo Point, which is just north of Hillary’s, and celebrate nature at its most beautiful. I also do line dancing. I’m part of a modern line-dance group and we meet two or three times a week and have socials. And next week there is a flash mob. And I love movies. I go to the Luna Outdoors all the time. I like to go anywhere you can find a drink afterwards, which is not hard in Leederville. It’s such a great place. Everything I need is here and within walking distance.

I don’t eat out a lot, though. It’s just not a big thing for me. I don’t mind the Kitsch Bar Asia just up the road here on Oxford Street. I enjoy good food, but I’m not particularly bothered by where I eat. I’m happy to have a glass of wine with cheese and crackers. It’s the company that’s important, not the food.

My favourite place for coffee is this one. Tentazioni’s. They do a nice Italian roast that is slightly stronger. I keep coming back, so it must be my favourite coffee shop.

For cheap eats, as I said, I’m not really a foodie, so I’m usually directed by my friends. They take me to South Terrace in Fremantle, which has lots of nice little places. I do love food trucks. We sometimes will pick something up from a food truck in Scarborough on a Thursday night. And I like the food trucks at the Monday Night Markets on Beaufort Street in Inglewood. It’s always busy and a lot of fun. Just a great atmosphere.

Travel-wise I’ve done a lot of Europe so I need to see more of WA. I love Exmouth for snorkelling. It’s nice staying on the beach and literally being able to walk into the water. But I have been there since it has been modernised. I prefer to keep away now that it has changed. I walked the Cape to Cape a couple of years ago with friends. That was terrific. I love anything outdoorsy.

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