Monday: SRM and I went to Han’s for a late (not through our own choosing, believe me!) lunch. Yes, I know I said I was tired of Han’s, but we just needed somewhere quick and easy, and I was sure I could find something I hadn’t tried yet on their menu. I chose the chicken ginger for AU$9.95 and a serve of steamed rice for one (AU$1.40). This was delicious, though I would’ve preferred an even stronger ginger flavour. I only managed to eat my way through half the chicken, and took the rest home to have for breakfast the next day.

Tuesday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister Juji! – I went for a walk in search of noodles – didn’t find anywhere new but had one of the specials at Perth Noodle Wok – Thai garlic chicken noodles (AU$9.00, I think!). I treated myself to one of my favourite drinks, which I don’t have as often as I’d like, due to the sugar – A&W Root Beer. Most people I know think it tastes like cough medicine, but I love it (don’t like cough medicine though!). Perth Noodle Box is the only place I’ve found in Subiaco so far for lunch that sells A&W Root Beer.

The takeaway box holds a lot of noodles! Once again, I couldn’t finish the whole thing and took the rest home.

The egg noodles came with chunky pieces of chicken, bean sprouts and bok choy in a garlicky sauce – there was an abundance of chopped garlic (you should be able to see it in this photo, clinging to the noodles), with lots of it sitting right at the bottom of the box, in the pool of tasty sauce. I loved it, as I’m a big garlic fan, but it would probably be too much for many people. I had to chew on two pieces of chewing gum after that instead of one piece, and then had to refresh with two more new pieces shortly afterwards!

Wednesday: by the time I was able to get lunch it was 2:30PM – I was starving by then. I needed something very quick and decided to grab a Whopper Junior Meal from Hungry Jack’s.

The fries were not the freshest I’ve ever had, but still much better than the worst McDonald’s fries I’ve had.

I was hungry enough to eat a Whopper but got a Whopper Junior because it was so late, and I didn’t want to be full for dinner and have to eat dinner really late. The Whopper Junior was enough to stop my tummy hurting anyway.

SRM ordered the small (or maybe it was called regular) teriyaki fish set. Teriyaki fish, rice topped with black sesame seeds, a little salad and three tiny tempura shrimps, all for around AU$12.00 I think – I’ll have to double-check that. SRM described his dish as “solid” – nothing to be amazed or horrified about, but good enough for lunch.

The set also included a bowl of miso soup. We were both impressed by the size of the bowl, bigger than they tend to be when served with a set.

I was eager to try Toraya’s chicken karaage (AU$4.00, 2 pcs). Of course two pieces of fried chicken on their own would not be enough, so I got myself some teriyaki chicken sushi (AU$4.00, 4pcs) as well.

I thought the rice in my sushi seemed a little wetter than it should be, and the chicken a little salty, but overall it was fine. I’d have to try it again to know if that’s normal for Toraya sushi. Probably not my sushi of choice, if that’s the usual standard, but we’ll see.

The chicken karaage was freshly cooked and delicious, but again I would’ve liked a stronger ginger flavour. I always think if you’re going to use ginger in dishes, you should be able to really taste it. It doesn’t have to be overpowering, but it’s no use if you eat the dish and think, “oh yeah, I guess I could sort of taste the ginger”. I’d have it again, though – you’d have to really stuff up a fried chicken dish before I wouldn’t eat it – like serve it burned black or with beaks – heh! Instead of barbecue sauce and/or mayonaise, the karaage came with a spicy dipping sauce (like what they served with karaage at Jaws Kaiten Sushi) – yum. The sauce was served in a paper patty pan, like the sort you bake muffins or cupcakes in. Quite cute, I thought, and saves on washing up, I suppose.

Friday: I used up much of my lunch break just walking around Rokeby Road, soaking up the sunshine. Out of convenience (as I was running out of time) I grabbed myself a small combination from the Chinese place at the Pavilion Markets (AU$8.30, three meat or vegetable dishes, plus rice and noodles). I chose garlic chicken and vegetables, honey chicken, black bean beef, and had both fried rice and stirfried rice noodles. It came topped with two prawn crackers. The honey chicken batter was sticky and sweet and really quite moreish, but the chicken inside was overcooked and shrivelled – quite disappointing. Everything else on my plate was tasty though.