This Feature

MAY 10-11 2014
MARION
GRASBY
THE HOME
COOK’S GUIDE
TO ASIA
HITS &
MYTHS
Meet the creative force behind
WA’s most stylish charity event.
plus »
BEAUTIFUL
BOARDS,
MALICIOUS
MACHINES,
SWINGING
SISTERS &
PERFECT PEAS
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VRETL0048/320X255/WW
Editor Julie Hosking Deputy editor Amanda Keenan
Designer Andrew Richardson Staff writer & books editor
William Yeoman Staff photographer Robert Duncan
Stylists Rachael Ciccarelli, Elizabeth Clarke, Hannah
McGrath, Charlotte Swanborough, Monica Morales
EDITORIAL
Newspaper House, 50 Hasler Road,
Osborne Park, WA 6017.
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e: [email protected]
ADVERTISING
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9482 3723, [email protected]
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9482 3442, [email protected]
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9482 3131, [email protected]
OFFICES
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Brisbane JF Media (07) 3844 5888
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WA & National Peter Stevens 0412 922 839,
[email protected]
Cover image The Owl, STYLEAID Mythic. PICTURE RICHARD JEFFERSON
magazine
10
featured
10 STYLE & SUBSTANCE She’s the
visionary behind one of the hottest
tickets in town — and a real champion
of WA designers. Meet Mrs STYLEAID.
16
16 COOKING Marion Grasby loves fine dining but
not at home. The popular cook shows you how to
make food that is simple and delicious — fast.
18 WINE Ray Jordan tries some creative Kiwi
imports, plus stock up at a spicy library.
4 YOUR SAY Letters
5 STARTERS Ros Thomas rages against the
machines, plus your guide to the good stuff.
19 FOOD Amanda Keenan doesn’t hook enough
fish to satisfy but reels in the curry flavours.
6 STYLE COUNSEL Get on board.
Published for West Australian Newspapers Limited, ABN 98 008 667 632, 50
Hasler Road, Osborne Park, WA 6017, by Liam Michael Roche and printed offset by
Colourpress Pty Ltd, ABN 17 009 172 276, 54 Hasler Road, Osborne Park, WA, 6017.
Registered by Australia Post Publication No. WBF 0906. Recommended and maximum
price only ISSN 0705-7792. West Weekend Magazine is a supplement to The Weekend
West and must not be sold separately. There is a cross-media relationship between
West Australian Newspapers Limited and Channel Seven Perth Pty Limited.
Find us at facebook.com/westweekend
19
20 OUTSIDE Sabrina Hahn digs up plentiful peas,
plus your questions answered.
7 I LOVE THIS PHOTO This musical dad had
some odd instruments and real charm.
7 TAKE FIVE with WA singer-songwriter
Ruby Boots.
8 YIN & YANG These swinging gals bonded
over their love of old-time musicals.
6
21 BOOKS The queens of clean are back with an
alphabetical attack on all those stubborn stains
and stinky smells, plus more new releases.
22 THE OTHER SIDE Robert Drewe heads back
to the pictures.
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Call Seacrest today to discuss the vision for your new home.
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seacresthomes.com.au
your say
When I read the article about the names
Australian babies are given, I had a smile on
my face for the rest of the day and I seriously
laughed out loud whenever I thought of the
children named Bailey and Kahlua, let alone
Talula does the Hula from Hawaii. Robert
Drewe, you make my day every week. Thank
you. » Stephanie Corcoran, Northam
Yin & Yang (26/4) told a positive story
about the achievements of someone
with a disability, and just how supportive
a community can be. Yet in the same
edition, Rob Broadfield’s restaurant review
disparaged people with disabilities, twice
in the one paragraph. Apparently there had
been such a failure in the kitchen that “a blind
person who’d lost the sense of touch” must
have been responsible, or “a chef without
fingers, perhaps? An amputee grill man?”
Sorry Rob, too tasteless to be funny these
days. » Penny Fogarty, Yokine
What memories your ABBA picture story
(Super troupers, 26/4) brought back — me
and my sister dancing around the lounge
room to Waterloo, using our hairbrushes
for microphones; wearing my ABBA T-shirt
until it wore out, going to a fancy dress party
with a group of friends dressed as the fab
four (we looked so good in white lycra). Yes,
ABBA is definitely “fourever” for this age-old
fan. I’ll be picking up a copy of that book
quicker than you can sing Money, Money,
Money. . . » Marie Wilson, Perth
LETTER OF THE WEEK
W
hat a fabulous Saturday morning read was Robert Drewe’s
A household name (The Other Side, 26/4) — a laugh a minute.
It was definitely worth a snap and share to my girlfriends for a giggle.
You have to wonder with a name like Stalin, Hippo or Haven’T ’ (to
name only a few that Robert featured) if these kids will spend their
pre-deed poll years begging their tormentors to take it up with their
parents. If this new generation of parents are going to continue down
this path, they could at least consider such names as Santa Claus or
Christmas in the hope of spreading a little joy in the schoolyard!
» Jenny Salt, Rivervale
Although Robert Drewe talked more of the
Brownies than the Scouts (Scouting for
Ideas, 19/4), both were great organisations
for kids to belong to and learn life skills. I look
back on wonderful times shared with the
girls. It is a shame that, as with everything
else, this organisation which was formed so
that “all” children could learn life skills is now
too expensive for those who could really
benefit from it. You may make fun of the
badges but I know girls strived hard to see
how many they could achieve. Badges have
changed over the years to suit the modern
era but I wonder how many young girls
these days could sew on a button? Some are
battling to cook, as these skills are not being
passed on. Bring back the affordable Guide
and Scout movements so all children can
learn the life skills that are slowly dying.
» Blossom, Waroona
plus »
NAMING RIGHTS,
COOKING BEEFS,
BOLD PALETTES &
CUSHY CORNERS
APRIL 26-27 2014
win
The writer of the letter
judged the best in
May wins a one-year
gym membership to
Good Life Health Club.
You can work out by
yourself, train with a
personal trainer or take
a yoga class while your
kids are looked after.
For the nearest club,
see goodlife.com.au.
Winner judged from current entries and notified by phone.
Employees of The West Australian and their immediate families
are ineligible to enter. Entrants’ details will be used for marketing.
See WAN privacy policy at thewest.com.au/privacypolicy.
We would love
to hear from you.
Please send letters
to the editor to
westweekend@
wanews.com.au
or Letters,
West Weekend,
Newspaper House,
GPO Box D162,
Perth WA 6840.
Letters should be
200 words or less
and must contain
writer’s full name,
home address
and day phone
number. They
may be edited
for purposes of
clarity or space.
Mellen Events, Bluehawk Presents and The Music House proudly present
“a recital that approaches perfection”
Sydney Morning Herald, 2012
In recital with Terence Dennis, Piano
Perth Concert Hall Tuesday 13th May, 2014
THIS TUESDAY–BOOK NOW! Ticketek.com.au 132 849
starters
WHAT'S WHAT
OUR GUIDE TO THE GOOD STUFF
Losing control
ROS THOMAS
WHO » Perth is painting the town red for WA’s
600,000 volunteers during National Volunteer
Week, from Monday to March 18. Landmarks
including the Bell Tower will be illuminated in red,
while the Causeway will have flowers planted in
the shape of a V. See volunteeringwa.org.au.
WHAT » Anzac Coves
is a moving exhibition
about a troupe of World
War I soldiers who
entertained others in
between fighting. It’s
DownStairs at the Maj
until August 29. See
hismajestystheatre.
com.au.
WHERE » Conquer your fear of snakes with a
one-day course in Chidlow. Bob Cooper and his
team will cover everything from the psychology of
fear to live snake-catching scenarios and first aid.
The May 18 course costs $330. See snakernr.com.
WHEN » Heart attacks
are more likely on
Mondays because people
ignore warning signs and
delay treatment until the
weekend is over. Find out
the warning signs at heartattackfacts.org.au.
WHY » not show off your cooking skills by hosting
a high tea, dinner or picnic in June to raise money
that will help Alzheimer’s Australia support people
with dementia, their families and carers. Register
your event at bringittothetable.com.au.
win
Like a Woman is a cool collection of jazz
and soul classics by artists such as Aretha
Franklin and Etta James. Celebrating the
women of the world, the double CD is a
great last-minute Mother’s Day gift. West
Weekend has 40 copies to give away. To enter, put your name,
daytime phone number and address on the back of an envelope
and send to West Weekend Like a Woman competition, GPO
Box 2940, Perth WA 6800 or enter online at thewest.com.au/
competitions using the codeword WOMAN.
Entries close and winners will be drawn at random at 10am Friday and notified by post. Employees
of The West Australian and their immediate familes are ineligible to enter. Entrants’ details will be
used for marketing. See WAN privacy policy at thewest.com.au/privacypolicy.
I AM AT WAR with my machines. This week,
I am at choke point with the toaster. It cannot
contain the crumbs from even a single slice
of bread. Its crumb tray is like men’s nipples,
a useless feature that should have been
engineered out of the final design.
I’ve taken to upending my toaster over
the sink and shaking it violently until I hear
its innards rattle. When it cannot cough up
another single speck of bread dust, I give
it one last slap to remind it who’s boss and
plonk it back into its corner of the kitchen
bench.
Next morning, as I pull my machine out
to toast my slice of kibble rye, I see it has
dumped yet another load of sooty crumbs and
flame-grilled raisins from some dark orifice.
I’m already cheesed off with the
dishwasher — a computerised princess who
recently gagged on a pea. Or so the repairman
told me when he asked me for $180 to remove
it. For three days, a fetid pool of bilge water
had refused to drain from the bowels of the
machine. To stem the smelly tide, I transferred
cupfuls of grey swamp-water to the sink, then
got down on my hands and knees and groped
around in her murky fundament, hoping to
release the blockage. The repairman thanked
me for doing the dirty work and sieved out
a lone pea, swollen and grey, but capable of
gumming up a sophisticated machine several
hundred times its size.
I’m afraid the house is ganging up on me.
The doorbell has begun checking if we’re
home by ringing itself at two in the morning.
The first time it happened, I was startled
awake by the loud peals echoing down the
hallway. Suspecting a brazen burglar, my bloke
leapt out of bed and began fumbling about
in the dark for a weapon. He stumbled over
teenage son’s tennis bag dumped by the front
door. Fuelled by adrenalin and primed to inflict
some racquet abuse, my bloke wrenched open
the door brandishing a Prince Warrior Junior,
RRP $59. A cool breeze invited itself in and
gusted down the passageway, slamming the
hallway door and waking all three children.
Two nights later, our midnight caller struck
again. There were phantom chimes during
the day as well until my husband ripped
the doorbell from its casing. (Visitors now
spook us by magically appearing on the back
veranda when their volleys of doorknocking go
unheard.)
I keep reading scary stories about how
our machines will soon do our thinking for us.
Human evolution will stall as our gadgetry
becomes superior. Bollocks! All my appliances
are still hopelessly dependent. Their
shortcomings might push my buttons but
they won’t do a thing if I don’t push theirs.
We’re yet to get a robotic vacuum cleaner,
though friends say they’re marvellous. I’m all
for handing over my gritty floors to a robomaid who works tirelessly through the night.
My husband says they’re a stupid gimmick
and a Hoover needs a human to do a decent
job. (This from a man who has never used
one.)
I can remember when chess champion
Garry Kasparov lost to IBM’s Deep Blue in
that pivotal victory of machine over man.
But that was years ago and I’m not yet being
chauffeured by a driverless car. My selfcleaning oven still won’t clean itself.
I’d like to think I’m
still the boss of
my machines.
Boffins predict by 2030, computers will
have all but disappeared from sight. They’ll
be everywhere yet nowhere, ubiquitous yet
hidden, just like electricity and running water,
and my children at bedtime. Apple’s iCloud will
follow us silently and seamlessly, absorbing
our thoughts as we think them (my dirty ones
will stream live to iPorn).
Right now, my computer is attached to
an overcrowded power board via a spaghetti
junction of cables. The wi-fi regularly goes
AWOL. It’s hopeless upstairs. Last week, I
discovered my 13-year-old squeezed into the
corner between his bedroom door and his
wardrobe, crouched over his laptop. “I’m doing
my maths homework. Really, Mum! This is the
only spot where the wi-fi works.” For once, I
believed him.
The next morning at 6am, still half asleep,
I nearly garrotted myself on the ethernet
cable which teenage son had strung overnight
across the stairwell. “What the heck?” I
demanded, pointing to the blue cable looped
to the walls with globs of Blu-Tack. “Oh, that,”
he said. “I ran the internet cable upstairs to
get Google.” (All the technology in the world
means nothing if you have a teenage boy at
the controls.)
For now, I’d like to think I’m still the boss of
my machines. At least until my smart phone
outsmarts me and incites a mutiny among my
appliances. That’s when the phantom doorbell
will give the signal, the freezer will have a
meltdown and my coffee machine will serve
nothing but decaf.
[email protected]
10.05.14 westweekend
5
style counsel
Fish tales
Slice up some salmon sandwiches on this
acacia wood board with cast-iron detail, $50,
Kitchen Warehouse, Osborne Park 9444 7244.
Measure up
The Soho glass
board from Salt &
Pepper doubles as
a conversion chart,
$15, Minkz Furniture
and Homewares,
Osborne Park
9242 4277.
Colour code
Choose a different shade for meat,
bread and fruit for easy care. Cutting
board set, $70, Kambo’s.
Cheese mate
There’s no doubt what this
paddle board was made for, $100,
Kambo’s, Malaga 9208 7555.
Shades
of grey
Keep your
pastry cooler
for longer by
working it
on marble.
D.line board,
$30, Kitchen
Witch.
chop chop
She’ll be apples
Give fruit and cheese extra
crunch with this bamboo
beauty, $25, Kitchen Witch,
Subiaco 9380 4788.
Cutting
edge
The smart
Scanpan
beechwood
board stores
its own handy
knife, $55,
Kambo’s.
No matter how you slice it, there’s
a board that’s right for the job.
STYLIST CHARLOTTE SWANBOROUGH
Animal attraction
Made in England, the Foxwood Farm
paddle board is so cute you may
prefer to serve rather than chop, $16,
petersofkensington.com.au.
Circle work
The Soho round
glass board is also
an eye-catching
resting place for the
dish of the day, $10,
Minkz Furniture and
Homewares.
6
westweekend 10.05.14
Quick sticks
Cut your baguette
perfectly every
time with this
purpose-made
piece, $25, Kitchen
Warehouse.
Surf’s up
Hungry dudes will love
plating up from the
Solana surfboard, $25,
The Hospitality Store,
Northbridge 9328 2000.
Bright spark
These fruity helpers will
brighten up your kitchen.
Reversible and dishwasher
safe with a non-slip rubber
trim, Dexas eggplant and
orange boards, $9 each,
petersofkensington.com.au.
take
FIVE
i love this
PHOTO
Ruby Boots »
singer-songwriter
Cherie Cadd recalls a real
charmer and wonderful dad.
I
love this photo of my dad, Roy Menzel.
The joy and happiness on his face as
he played the wine glasses epitomised
his love of life and his personality. I
think it would have been taken about
1963 in Sydney when he was there for
an ABC TV show. He was a well-known
musician from the 1930s through
to the 80s. He played more than 43
instruments — a lot were made up, like
wine glasses, motor car horns, nails on
a box with a bow, brake drums, potties,
soft-drink cans, balloons etc. Perhaps the most
imaginative instrument, for want of a better word,
was the condom. I was lucky enough to be late-night
shopping in an entertainment section with my
children when he appeared across 20 TV screens on
Australia’s Funniest Home Videos. He was a baker,
taxi driver, tyre salesman, florist, and a musician. He
had a number of rides at the Royal Show, he wrote
songs, poetry and invented the Menzel air pump, a
compost tumbler, solar panels, and a frypan that
I know it’s not cool but ...
I love being not cool. Who
cares if it’s cool? Do it anyway, do
whatever makes you happy,
1
The song I wish I had
written ... is New Slang
by the Shins.
2
If I could go back in time
I’d ... be front row and
centre for the Band concert The
Last Waltz on November 25, 1976.
3
worked off gas for camping, to name a
few. While he never made any money,
he had a lot of fun. He had a licence
to catch sharks off the WA coast in the
40s and he and Mum would set off in a 12-foot boat
and often come back loaded with sharks that were
much bigger trailing along beside them. He was
generous and helpful with his time and would gladly
give you his last dollar. The house was always full of
people from all walks of life and he loved having jam
sessions. He was such a charmer with the ladies. Even
when he was in the nursing home at 93, I’d walk in to
see him and he’d grab my hand and sing Have I Told
You Lately That I Love You. He was the best dad ever.
What’s your
favourite
photo? Send a
high-resolution
image to west
weekend@
wanews.com.
au and tell us
in no more
than 300
words why you
love it. Please
note, this is a
very popular
section, so
publication
may take
some time.
If I could sing with
anyone it would be ...
Emmylou Harris.
4
My motto is ... I love
the quote from Vincent
van Gogh, in fact I live by it: “I
would rather die of passion than
boredom.”
5
Ruby Boots plays the Kimberley Moon
Festival, Kununurra, on May 24 and
launches her self-titled EP at the
Astor Lounge, Mt Lawley, on June 7.
See rubybootsmusic.com.
yin&yang
sense that I’m a bit more dorky. She’s much
more glamorous. I like to play up a bit more on
stage — the lower-status comedy character:
the clown. Jessie’s really good at keeping us
focused, whereas I’m more easily distracted
and make silly jokes that are off-topic.
Alissa de Souza & Jessie Gordon
Alissa, 27, and Jessie, 29, bonded over a love of music,
dance and the fabulous 40s. Now they share their
passion with others as two-thirds of the Cottontail Trio.
Alissa
I had a wonderful childhood with lovely
parents who were supportive of my
involvement in the arts. My parents put me
in movement and music classes when I was
five, I played piano from six to 12, and then
I played trombone. I was also in choirs and
community theatre.
I studied theatre at uni. I had a huge love
of vintage and the 1940s era and so I began
Lindy Hop, a fast style of swing dance that
was developed in Harlem in the late 30s.
I grew up watching a lot of Judy Garland
and all the MGM musicals; I wanted to
replicate that and have more of it in my life. I
love how happy everyone is in the musicals.
I love the cheesiness and the comedy and I
love the way the music is involved in their life.
There’s quite a big swing scene in Perth.
Jess was singing with her band, plus she
was a swing dancer and was often out on
the dance floor and we became good friends
about seven years ago.
Jess is a very stylish, stunning lady and I
admired what she was doing with the singing
and dancing. She was just amazing. We
decided to work on our dancing together and
would look at dance clips and try to replicate
them.
I got involved in Stratosfunk — a Motown
band Jessie’s in — and they were asked to
put on a big show with a 40s-theme section.
The three of us (including Amy Rosato) had
worked so well together so we decided to put
on an Andrews Sisters tribute. That’s how we
all came together for the Cottontail Trio. That
was roughly three years ago.
Jess is a generous and lovely person. For
a long time, our day jobs in the city meant
she was working for the government and
I was working as a barista. I was on the
bottom floor selling coffee and she was on
the top floor, and she’d always come and visit.
She’s a really nice person to be around. She’s
affectionate, so if you need a hug or someone
to talk to about something serious, she’s a
good listener and gives great advice.
We have a lot of fun. We have a similar
sense of humour for the kind of cheese that
we like on stage. Often after rehearsal we’d
end up on YouTube looking at vintage clips of
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and Lucille Ball and
laughing at their screwball comedy.
Jess is an extremely talented singer. She
has the most amazing on-stage presence,
whereas I’m slightly different on stage in the
8
westweekend 10.05.14
‘She’s a
really nice
person to
be around...
she’s a good
listener and
gives great
advice.’
In the swing Alissa (left)
and Jessie love to play up
to the audience. PICTURE
IAIN GILLESPIE
Jessie
I’ve got a musical family — naturally talented
musicians, but no one ever studied music. I
started singing at 15 with a big band called the
Kalamunda Youth Swing Band. My parents
would come along to my gigs and one day they
saw people dancing and thought it looked like
so much fun, so they started going to swing
dancing lessons.
While I was studying anthropology at UWA
and commuting from Kalamunda, I would
come home and find my parents discussing
with animation a particular swing-dancing
step. So I say that I got involved in swing
dancing as dispute-resolution management.
A few years later I met Alissa. Swing
dancing is very friendly, warm and welcoming
so we would see each other around and be
friendly but weren’t friends until we decided
to form a ridiculous performance troupe that
never had a name. It was the two of us plus
another girl; then Alissa and I started hanging
out and talking about dance and music and life.
I love many things about swing. It is one
of the first forms of popular music that was
disseminated widely with the new technology
from the 30s and 40s. It captured a spirit and
freedom in the culture at the time when not
everything could be taken for granted because
it was a time of war.
I enjoy the look and feel of that era. It
definitely informs the way I dress and think
about life, but at the same time I’m really
stoked that I live in the 21st century and can
own property in my own name and don’t have
to worry about who or when I marry.
There are so many things that are great
about Liss. She is the ultimate show person, so
she can be quite shy and retiring and then all
of a sudden she’ll come out with the funniest
joke. She is often the person who finds the
release valve in any situation.
That’s the way the team balances out
because Alissa is there to provide that
hilarious respite. During rehearsal, Amy and I
will be quite serious about the harmonies or a
dance move and, inevitably, Alissa comes out
with some dance move that’s so goofy and
wonderful that we all take it up. What usually
starts as a joke becomes part of the repertoire.
She’s got so much natural comedic timing.
Alissa is constantly entertaining and she’s just
adorable. She’s one of those people who make
you want to smile because she is naturally
quite effervescent. She is humble and funny all
the time and she’s very smart.
When you start looking at Alissa you can’t
stop because she is very engaging. There are
many strings to her bow. On stage, Liss is the
goofy character and I am the one who does
all the talking and explaining. We both try to
be funny, but in different ways.
The Cottontail Trio & the Supper Club
perform The Golden Era of Swing at The
Fly By Night Musicians Club, Fremantle,
on Friday, May 16.
Interviews: Grace Millimaci
FAMILY PASSES AVAILABLE ticketek.com.au
YoGabbaGabbaLive.com.au
DREAMWEAVER
From humble parade to A-list extravaganza, STYLEAID has helped put WA
designers on the map — all for a great cause. Behind each fantastical creation
is a former go-go dancer with a passion for fashion and an inspiring work ethic.
WORDS AMANDA KEENAN » PICTURES RICHARD JEFFERSON
Cheyne (The Mythical White Creature) wears NiStore white cotton pant
$110, nistore.com.au; hat, belt, scarf and shoes, stylist's own; flute, WA
Music Company, wamusic.com.au; Lily (The Girl) wears Flannel Lucy in
the Sky long dress, $885, flannel.com.au; gloves, stylist's own.
CONCEPT & STYLING ALY MAY HAIR DIRECTION SUE
MORGAN @ BE BA BEAU MAKE-UP DIRECTION CAROL
MACKIE AND HENDRA WIDJAJA @ MAC MODELS CHEYNE
BUCZEK FROM SCENE, CLAUDIA TODMAN FROM CHADWICK
MODELS, MADDY G AND LILY MCAULIFFE FROM VIVIEN'S
10
westweekend 10.05.14
feature
T
PICTURE ROBERT DUNCAN
HEY ALL CALL HER ALY MAY — rarely just
Aly and never Alison. The way those three
sharp syllables roll of the tongue sounds like
some kind of stage name — which is fitting,
really, because for Aly May life is quite the
performance.
The much-loved mother hen of Perth’s thriving fashion
industry is like a back-up singer of the rag trade — a bit of
a show pony who wasn’t always confident or ambitious
enough to be in the spotlight, and a talented perfectionist
who gets enormous pleasure from helping others shine.
She’s a pixie-cut doyenne who has dressed windows and
people and influenced what you see and wear in ways you
would never realise.
She’s an accidental but hugely influential mentor
to the likes of Aurelio Costarella and a trailblazer who
helped transform this once unglamorous town, a stylist
and storyteller with an untamed imagination. She’s a
former go-go dancer and a current go-getter. She’s also
the creative visionary behind STYLEAID Perth, a onenight-only extravaganza which continues to turn heads
and empty wallets, raising more than $1 million for the
WA AIDS Council in its 17 years.
Aly says her predisposition to all things fabulous was
born 61 years ago in a magical land far, far away, in a
quaint fishing village called Aldeburgh in Suffolk, where
witches and gnomes lurk in the woods down the road,
fairies live in the bottom of the garden and three little girls
have hardworking parents who double as their very own
personal costume designers.
“My brain and my creativity, that all comes from such
a rich childhood,” she says with a sentimental smile. “My
childhood was full of Enid Blyton: Secret Sevens, Famous
Fives, and lots of adventures and visiting houses we
thought were haunted and going to woods and picking »
10.05.14 westweekend
11
« flowers. Out in the morning on your bike and not home until you knew
it was teatime and perhaps mum would pack you a picnic. I remember
there was a field down the end of the road and when it snowed we
would go down and try to make igloos. We nearly succeeded, actually.”
Her painter, decorator and sign-writer father Maurice Read and
housewife and seamstress mum Margaret were “straightforward but
inventive” people who indulged each daughter’s creative whim. Lesley
did horse-riding, Tiggy piano and Alison, the middle child, ballet.
The highlight of each busy year, though, would be the Aldeburgh
Carnival. All the kids in town would dress up for the street parade but
Lesley, Tiggy and Alison were impossible to beat. Tough and canny
Scotswoman Margaret would run up the clothing part of the costumes
on her sewing machine while Maurice would knock up the rest.
The culmination of all these street parades came the year before the
family moved closer to London, when Aly and her sisters and friends
took inspiration from the poem Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, about
three sleepy children who set sail in a wooden shoe. Dad fashioned an
enormous clog out of papier mache and fixed it to a go-kart base while
mum made Wee Willie Winkie-style nighties and nightcaps for three
of the younger girls and sailor jackets for the older girls, who pulled the
float down the street.
Margaret ensured her daughters were always dressed immaculately.
Though there was no school uniform she would send her girls off to
class in handmade grey tunics and skirts with white shirts. “We were
stood up in front of the assembly saying ‘How smart do they look?’ All
of that show-pony stuff has always been there.” Sunday school meant
summer dresses or, in winter, tweed suits with velvet collars. On the
12
westweekend 10.05.14
boat trip to visit family back in Scotland the girls would have to look
the part as they steamed into port. “My mother would dress us up
in little sailor outfits: navy blue suits with white panama hats, white
sandals and gloves.”
Later, her mum would arrange for her to receive the catalogue for
Barbara Hulanicki’s London it-brand, Biba — Aly was allowed to choose
one outfit each season. “There was a beautiful cream, pin-corduroy
with a big high-stand collar . . . the pale-blue long-line waistcoat . . .
a long-line knit top with a pair of knickerbockers and it was in this
browny-tan glitter knit. The best thing was it had this amazing belt
with this great big gold butterfly clasp. It was hot sh.., you know? So
this whole thing about fashion: OK Mum, well it’s your fault, really.”
She studied visual merchandising and retail design and display
at Windsor technical college (“I wanted to be a fashion designer but
I never felt I was good enough”) and worked part-time in a groovy
greengrocer (“they sold eggplants and zucchini and peppers” instead
of the bog-standard Brussels sprouts and cabbages).
A self-described Mod with trademark short hair and high hemlines,
Aly also worked as a go-go dancer for mobile disc jockeys. She’d have
a local Italian bootmaker craft bespoke platform boots — “I had a pair
with shooting stars up the side”. She would make her own hotpant
suits — and she would make a lot of money. After school she picked up
a job doing window design for high-end department stores but in 1972
her career was over before it began — so she thought.
“Falling pregnant in 1972 was really hard to handle,” she says of
the romance with first husband Brian Lawther that saw the birth of
“70s love child” Harriet, now 41. Eventually she’d return to work, »
Maddy G
(The Owl) wears
Aurelio Costarella
sequin gown, $1870,
aureliocostarella.com;
Reny Kestel Millinery
Ivory feather
headpiece, $695,
renykestel.com.
Lily (The Girl) wears
Fenella Peacock
hand-shredded white
silk dress, $389,
Rafia Chic Shebka
handmade booties in
Sahara, $300, from
Nell's Emporium,
Mosman Park
9284 6009,
fenellapeacock.com.
EXCELLENCE & LEADERSHIP IN TOURISM EXPERIENCE
4/52
2007
åå42!.30/24å/0%2!4/2
feature
« getting a job as a colour consultant and salesperson for fancy furniture
store Holmes of Reading. As always, it was about the outfit. “I went
and bought myself a beautiful cream linen safari-style suit and a hat —
thanks Mother — and I went to the interview and I got the job because I
wore a hat. It was a natural straw hat and I had beautiful two-tone, tanand-rust T-bar shoes with block leather heels. Beautiful.”
Aly would scoot all over London on her trailbike, doing drapery for
wealthy clients along the Thames. By 23 she was divorced, and moved
to Australia with new love Peter May in 1979. They worked in Sydney
before driving across the Nullarbor with their cat, Ruddles. She’d
thought the trip would be a hoot. “I looked at the map and I saw all these
little names and thought ‘Oh, little villages all along the way, that will be
nice!’ They were roadhouses. I couldn’t believe I was in such a place.”
It would only get worse when they arrived in Perth. “I couldn’t even
find a shoe store.” She began work at Boans on their fashion floor,
before being headhunted by Myer. Boans poached her back to do their
windows. “I remember we had to change all the windows to green and
yellow for the America’s Cup.”
A job at Aherns came next, when an opportunity arose to help out
on a shoot. “My boss said ‘I need somebody to iron the sheets and fold
the towels; it needs a woman’s touch’. They were doing the May sale
catalogue. And that was the beginning of styling — I loved it.”
She transferred to the in-house advertising department and styled all
the store’s shoots, dictating the looks for each season, and then began
directing the runway shows. “I’d totally found my place,” she says. “This
was it. Then I started to get introduced to the cool crowd. I was noticing
there were designers here and started to take notice of the Australian
fashion industry.”
Aly says she brought about change to the local fashion industry that
many would now find hard to fathom. “I was the first person, I believe,
to start using hair and make-up for runway; they all used to do their own
hair and make-up,” she says, incredulous. “And models used to arrive
for shoots with their own hair and make-up. So it was like: how do we up
the ante? We actually get people to come in and do hair and make-up.”
After 14 years with Aherns, Aly left in 1996 to freelance. By this
time she was a real girl about town, helping promote and manage
local designers as well as writing and styling for Home Beautiful and
teaching at Central TAFE. She was fashion editor at Perth Weekly and
contributed to other magazines, such as WA Style, and went back to her
early drapery days, working for Monro furniture stores.
Her second child, Holly, who was born in 1987, would come on the
road with her. "She’d be on shoots, she’d be under racks at parades.
Consequently she never wanted to get into the industry (she’s studying
sport science at UWA).”
Then, in 1988, along came STYLEAID, a fashion parade to raise funds
for AIDS awareness, support and research. She was the obvious person
to help pull it all together. “I was asked to come along for the first one,
just to help on the night. It was a bit messy and that’s the other thing I
started to learn — how neat and tidy I am and how process-driven I am.”
It infuriates Aly when people call her a “control freak”. “I’m not a control
freak,” she says. “I just like things done properly!”
STYLEAID began in Australia in the shadow of the Grim Reaper,
the famous AIDS-awareness advertising campaign. HIV had had an
enormous impact on the fashion industry and what began in 1996 in the
US as a bi-coastal initiative to raise money went global two years later.
Where others have dropped off the calendar, Perth’s event remains the
great success story. “When I think about the early days I don’t know how
we ever got it together but we did,” says Aly.
She says the event’s success is down to the team of professionals who
lend their time. “The reason it’s become so epic is because of the amount
of people who want to help me,” she says. “It’s really a team effort.” Still,
she is able to give herself a little credit. “I have witnessed people get
14
westweekend 10.05.14
'Sixteen
years is
a long
time to be
pushing
out an
event
and to
still have
credibility.'
work and succeed in their jobs through social climbing and through
notoriety and I made a conscious decision that that was never going to
be me. I have only got where I’ve got because of hard work.”
The first STYLEAID show, Aly says, was “very much department
store” — the likes of Jane Lamerton and Trent Nathan, and no local
designers. Subsequent shows would lure big-name labels such as Collette
Dinnigan, Morrissey and Akira but it was expensive, and those high-end
international labels would often only begrudgingly supply clothing to a
charity event in little old Perth.
“I thought, if they’re not putting in an effort here then I’m not going
to. And why should it cost us money? This probably would have been late
90s and the local scene was beginning to blossom, so I said ‘OK, let’s just
go WA, let’s support them’. Because obviously PFF wasn’t as big as it is
now, so there was no showcase for WA designers and I began my WA
designer ‘thing’, which has become ridiculous. It’s become so big that I
sometimes wonder how I can deal with it all.”
Costarella has joked that his friend of 30 years needs a website called
Go Ask Aly “because she is the go-to person now for anything to do with
the WA fashion industry — she knows everyone”.
Aly admits that, back then, the STYLEAID committee was reluctant
to be a local-only production. “The committee was saying ‘Oh, we’ll lose
tickets because we haven’t got big names and I said ‘No, we need to put
feature
our money where our mouth is and even if we lose a bit to start with, we’ll
build’.” And so they have.
STYLEAID gets bigger each year. Its famous fantastical themes began
to emerge about 10 years in when the team realised they needed to tell
a different story each year to keep the event exciting and newsworthy.
“Let’s get all the designers to make a red outfit and we’ll use it as a
finale. Let’s everyone make a black outfit. Let’s use 150 models and not
do any changes. Crazy! Then we started to call the event a name and we’d
have to come up with photographs that went with it.”
There has been Renaissance and Opulent, which is fairly selfexplanatory, and Tribe, which brought together all the different “tribes”
involved in the event such as models, designers, audience. She says last
year’s wildly successful Connect theme was a really strong one because
it aligned so beautifully with the sentiment at the heart of STYLEAID.
This year’s theme, Mythic: A celebration of magic, mystery and the art
of storytelling, harks directly back to Aly’s fairytale childhood. She has
even written a backstory to the theme — The Girl and the Golden Bird.
The story was then played out in luxurious detail in the fashion shoot
near Kings Park featuring characters including The Raven Queen and
The Mythical White Creature. “Sixteen years is a long time to be pushing
out an event and to still have credibility, that’s incredible.”
Aly is now known as Mrs STYLEAID, although she is technically Mrs
Seifert, having married Gene — who she met on the internet. He died
suddenly on the day of STYLEAID in 2003. “He was a magical Buddha,”
Aly says fondly. “He healed a lot of stuff in my life and he became very
involved in STYLEAID and became a good friend to so many of my
friends.” When he died her friends held a celebration of his life. “I was
overwhelmed by the amount of love for a man who was here a short
time.” These days she’s loved-up with partner John Smedley, with whom
she enjoys building houses and sailing on their 11m yacht during rare
moments of downtime.
When not fussing over STYLEAID, Aly actually has a “proper” job
as a senior project officer at the Department of Culture and the Arts
and also spends an intense week in Melbourne as choreographer of
that city’s fashion festival. She lectures in “style hunting” at Curtin
University and is also the creative director of the Boobalicious Ball,
which raises funds for Breast Cancer Care WA. She almost runs out
of breath rattling off her list of jobs. For now, though, Aly’s focus is on
the magnificent extravaganza that is her 17th STYLEAID — and this
certainly won’t be her last. “It has taken on a life of its own now so
what do I do. Just stop?”
Claudia
(The Raven
Queen) wears
Tsumori Chisato
black faux fur
dress, $1355,
Yang Li leather
bodice, $2950, Ann
Demeulemeester
feather pins,
$530 each, and
ring, $500; Disce
Mori sheep skull
ring, $1035, all
from Dilettante,
Claremont, 9383
2820, dilettante.
net; Tony Bianco
Arlette boots,
tonybianco.com.au;
headpiece,
stylist's own.
STYLEAID Mythic is on Friday, August 1, at Crown Perth. For tickets,
see styleaid.com.au.
10.05.14 westweekend
15
cooking
RIGHT
AT HOME
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN invited to a friend’s
house for dinner and ended up with a
headache after spending most of the night
consoling your host because one of the
dishes was (in their opinion) a failure?
Simple dishes that don’t require hours of
preparation are kinder on the guests (and
their digestion) and their hosts (and their hip
pockets). When did home cooking become so
complicated and stressful?
Marion Grasby, who first cooked her way
in to our hearts on MasterChef in 2010, says
cooking at home need not be full of drama —
leave the complication to the experts.
“I love to go to a fancy restaurant as much
as the next person and seeing the creations
by amazing chefs, and I’m blown away by
some of those fantastical foams, but as a
home cook it’s not something I want to do,”
she says from Bangkok, where she has been
based for the past 18 months.
“I don’t have hours to spend in the
kitchen concentrating on making 15 different
elements for one dish. Chefs are able to make
those sorts of things because they have a
brigade of people in the kitchen, so those
sorts of dishes are eating-out dishes and
cooking at home is a very different story.”
Simplicity is the key in her second
cookbook, Asia Express, which features 100
“fast and easy favourites” to ensure “speedy
dinners for every night of the week”.
Grasby manages to take the fear factor
out of Asian cooking, particularly the tricky
ingredients. The recipes are full of flavour and
include a tablespoon of advice and a dash of
encouragement, without even a hint of ego.
“I wanted to keep it simple in terms of
what people can easily buy in their local
supermarket, so instead of using a whole
load of wacky, unknown Asian ingredients,
the recipes have ingredients that people are
familiar with,” she says. “I’ve thrown a few in
there, like Szechuan peppercorns or particular
types of tofu, but on the whole there are
ingredients that are really easy to get and
that makes people less intimidated by the
recipe because they know the ingredients.”
Grasby wanted to keep the number
of items and elements in each recipe low
— perfect for people who are time-poor
16
westweekend 10.05.14
'You don’t
want a
bunch of
soy sauces
sitting
in your
cupboard
gathering
dust.'
Asia Express
100 Fast & Easy
Favourites
Marion Grasby
(Pan Macmillan,
$40)
PICTURES JOHN LAURIE
Marion Grasby wants your kitchen to
be stress free, writes Grace Millimaci.
and on a budget — and ensured that all
the ingredients were used multiple times
throughout the book.
“One of the things that takes up a lot
of time with cooking is shopping for your
ingredients and getting them out of the
cupboard,” she says with a laugh. “Recipes
that had ingredients that are a bit oddball
and couldn’t be used quite a few times were
left out of the book because you don’t want a
bunch of soy sauces sitting in your cupboard
gathering dust. So I tried to make the recipes
economical as well.
“People want to be able to cook at home;
it’s just the reality is there isn’t very much
time to do it. And I’m the same — I have a
busy week as well but I want to be able to get
home and cook something really fresh, so I
guess the book was inspired by not just my
lifestyle but also everyone’s lifestyle.”
Grasby has come a long way since
her days on MasterChef. “Food wasn’t
something I figured I could do as a profession
until later in life. I started out doing a law
degree and then I was a journalist, but I
think being able to follow your passion in
life and do the thing you really love is quite
an honour, so I love the fact I get to do it
every day now,” she says. “MasterChef was
definitely a starting block, but it’s really what
you do afterwards; I mean, that was four
years ago now. It’s a matter of coming out of
the show, knowing what you want to do and
working really hard to do it.”
Grasby has created a range of meal kits
that includes curries and pad Thai. She runs
her business from Bangkok, with Marion’s
Kitchen food kits stocked in about 3000
stores in Australia.
“We do 150,000 products every month,
which is a lot of families eating my food,
which is amazing,” she says with delight.
“We’re talking to some retailers in the US and
UK, so I might be sending them out into the
world shortly. Thai food is one of the most
exciting cuisines in the world. I have a Thai
mother and grew up eating Thai food and
travelled and lived here for so long and have
barely scratched the surface of the food here.”
Grasby credits her ability to combine
ingredients with being raised to enjoy food
preparation. Her mum is a trained chef who
encouraged her daughter to spend time in the
kitchen.
“Cooking Asian food comes a lot more
naturally to me than European dishes. Once
you get to know how the balance of flavour
should taste then you can figure it out but I
always say there’s no right or wrong — if you
think something needs more soy sauce, then
you should definitely add more. My biggest
tip for cooking Asian food is to think of things
like soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice as like
the salt of European cooking.”
cooking
CRUMBED CORIANDER
FISH FINGERS
(SERVES 4)
2 cups panko
breadcrumbs*
1 cup roughly
chopped fresh
coriander
finely grated zest
of 1 lemon
2 tsp sea salt
1 garlic clove, roughly
chopped
1⁄2 cup plain flour
3 eggs, lightly
whisked
800g white fish
fillets, cut into
strips about 3cm
wide
vegetable oil, for
frying
lime wedges to serve
TARTARE SAUCE
1⁄2 cup Kewpie
(Japanese)
mayonnaise*
3 tbsp finely
chopped
cornichons
2 tbsp finely chopped
mint leaves
Adding garlic, fresh herbs and lemon zest to the
breadcrumb coating in this recipe boosts these
fish fingers way above the ordinary. You could
also use the same breadcrumb coating to make
chicken nuggets or pork schnitzels.
To make the tartare sauce, mix the ingredients
in a bowl and set aside until ready to serve. Place
the panko breadcrumbs, coriander, lemon zest,
salt and garlic in a food processor and blend until
you have fine crumbs. Tip out into a large bowl.
Place the flour and eggs in separate bowls. Dip
each strip of fish into the flour, then into the
eggs and finally into the breadcrumbs. Pour the
vegetable oil into a large non-stick frying pan to a
depth of 1cm. Place over medium–high heat. Cook
the fish fingers for two to three minutes on each
side, until golden and just cooked. Drain on paper
towel. Serve with lime wedges and tartare sauce.
Panko is a type of large, flaky breadcrumb that
becomes super-crispy when fried and is available at
most major supermarkets or any Asian grocer.
Kewpie (Japanese) mayonnaise is available in the Asian
section of most major supermarkets.
KOREAN GRILLED CHICKEN
(SERVES 4)
1 kg chicken thighs,
cut into quarters
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp gochujang
(Korean chilli paste)
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp finely grated
fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, finely
grated or crushed
1⁄2 cup finely chopped
spring onions
finely grated zest
of 1 lemon
1 tsp black sesame
seeds
1⁄4 tsp sea salt
Korean chilli paste, or gochujang, is a magical ingredient and
absolutely worth a trip to an Asian grocer. It’s a fermented
paste made from chillies, glutinous rice and soy beans. While
it sounds fairly ordinary, the flavour of this deep, dark-red
paste is far from pedestrian. It’s deeply savoury, spicy and
just a little sweet. In Korean cooking it’s used as a condiment,
marinade, dipping sauce and flavour booster for braises and
soups. It’s sold in most Asian grocers and the most common
brand comes in a red plastic tub that will keep in your fridge
for a few months (that is, if it lasts that long). It’s good stuff,
but watch out — it’s highly addictive!
Preheat the oven grill to medium–high. Line a baking tray
with foil. Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl. Add the soy
sauce, sesame oil, gochujang, honey, ginger, garlic and spring
onions and mix well. Spread the chicken out on the lined
baking tray. Place under the preheated grill and cook for 15–20
minutes, turning the pieces over after about seven minutes.
You want your chicken pieces to be cooked through with
slightly blackened, charry edges. If the chicken starts to burn
too quickly, turn the oven grill heat down and move the baking
tray lower. In the meantime, mix the lemon zest, sesame
seeds and sea salt together. Transfer the chicken to a serving
plate and sprinkle with the lemon zest mixture. You can serve
your chicken with a simple green salad, stir-fried vegies or
steamed rice.
10.05.14 westweekend
17
THE INGREDIENTS
wine
Kiwi
capers
Slowly making its
way into Perth bars
and specialty stores,
Soho is a clever Kiwi
company that taps
into different regions.
Definitely worth
tracking down.
Soho Stella
sauvignon
blanc 2013 ($24)
Soho Revolver
merlot malbec
cabernet franc
2012 ($40)
1
2
Founded by Rachael
Carter in 2009, Soho
works with family
vineyards in three
of the Shaky Isles’
best wine regions.
This is a crunchy,
thirst-slaking classic
sauvignon blanc from
Marlborough. Plenty
of ripe gooseberry
and subtle stone fruit
with a decent splash
of lime juice. It tarts it
up nicely into a very
drinkable young savvy.
Just a hint of peppery
spices completes the
picture of this sassy
little wine. 92/100
(Best drinking: Now.
Alc: 13.5%)
From Waiheke Island,
off the North Island.
A merlot-dominant
Bordeaux blend with
malbec, cabernet franc
and a little cabernet
sauvignon. An exciting
region for these
Bordeaux blends, this
one is typically stylish
and balanced with a
classy plush to the
finish. A reminder
that Kiwis in the right
places can make
seriously good red
wines other than just
pinot noir. Textured
and supple. 92/100
(Best drinking: Now
to 2022. Alc: 12.9%)
«
SUGAR AND SPICE » The
items in Anna Zoohori’s
Midland-based Spice Library
might not be catalogued
using the Dewey Decimal
System but you won’t
get an overdue fee for her
chipotle chillies and locally
picked and preserved
lemons. In a nod to Anna’s
heritage, the Spice Library
also boasts an impressive
range of Persian products
including spices, whey
and fairy floss and Persian
Packs for dishes such as
dill rice and chicken. See
thespicelibrary.com.au.
RAY JORDAN
Soho Jagger
pinot gris
2013 ($27)
Soho Havana
pinot noir
2012 ($38)
This is a more
traditional modern
New Zealand pinot
gris. It’s also from
Marlborough, where
award-winning
winemaker Dave
Clouston is in charge.
Has lots of those
custard apple and
pear characters on the
nose, with a rather
deliciously appealing
palate showing some
slight sweetness. It’s
balanced, however,
by a fine, subtle acid.
Complete wine for
drinking with Asian
food. 90/100 (Best
drinking: Now. Alc:
13.5%)
Another very good
Marlborough pinot noir
in a region known for
the variety. Clouston
used fruit from
Yarrum Vineyard in
the Brancott Valley to
create a really complex
mix of spices and dark
cherry on the nose,
plus a little shaving of
dark chocolate. The
palate is substantial
and powerful, with
ripe, firmish tannins,
a liberal dose of oak
and concentrated fruit
delivering stacks of
riveting power through
to a long finish. 94/100
(Best drinking: Now
to 2020. Alc: 14.4%)
3
4
BEST IN SHOW » This sweet book is a
collection of stories and recipes from the
passionate amateur cooks who make
the 600-odd agricultural shows around
the country such delicious affairs. Take
Malcolm Pratt, who shares the lamington
recipe that won a blue ribbon at Brisbane’s
Ekka 13 years in a row. Or Perenjori’s
Robin Spencer, who reveals her secrets
to a prize-winning scroll, and
lifelong baker Shirley Flynn from
Kelmscott, whose jubilee twist
is a real treat. The Australian
Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Liz
Harfull (Allen & Unwin, $40).
Tequila! » Tequila Blu is an Australian-owned tequila
made (of course) in Tequila, Mexico, and cold-filtered
(naturally) with volcanic spring water. It’s produced
by Artisan Spirit Merchants, which prides itself on
bringing high-quality but affordable liquor to the often
cost-prohibitive luxury market. You might have closed
your eyes and blocked your nose before knocking back
a medicinal tequila shot but this smooth stuff is better
suited to cocktails such as the Tequila Blu cardamom
mojito. The juice from blue agave is extracted, fermented,
distilled and then aged in oak barrels for up to six months
to create this “reposado”, or rested, drop. You can find it
at Dan Murphy’s stores for $47.
OOME T
BR
I
THI
E
IS
M
S
Experience Cable Beach at Broome’s
most iconic resort. Indulge in the
complete resort experience with
restaurants, bars, swimming pools
and Chahoya Spa by L’Occitane.
DIO
W STU
EN VIE
GARD
PER
NIGHT
cablebeachclub.com
Ph: 1800 199 099
WH54645
MAY 2014
food
ROB BROADFIELD
curry
FAVOUR
WE WERE IN A BIT OF A PANIC. The small
barra was a bit barren. We scrounged from
its skeleton forkfuls of flavoursome flesh
and shards of crispy skin infused with a
warm spike and dramatic smokiness thanks
to the house-made chilli and garlic sauce.
But much like a Diet Coke-fuelled catwalk
colt, there just wasn’t enough meat on these
bones. To be fair, the waitress had told us
the fish of the day was a 700g specimen,
so we should have realised it wouldn’t be a
whopper.
The fish’s head looked like something
out of the Dark Crystal. It was propped
upwards, the now opaque eyes gazing
defiantly away from the plate; jaws frozen
in a deep-fried scream. “You have taken my
life,” the barramundi rasped, “so you must
pay the price.” Yep, no worries. We hungrily
tore off his wings and plunged sticky fingers
into his intense chilli bath, wondering how
much the hastily inhaled morsels might cost
us. “The price is not known,” the barramundi
continued cryptically, “because the price
is market price.” Turns out it was $45.50.
Impressed by the value placed on his life, the
barra felt vindicated. We, however, felt just a
little violated.
It seems unfair to begin a review with
the only negative aspect of the meal at
this landmark Thai restaurant but an old
journalist mentor once counselled that any
story should begin with the first thing you’d
want to tell your mates about at the pub.
When I asked Stavros the next morning
what stuck in his mind about the meal at one
of our favourite haunts, he said: “The tom
kha gai, for sure.” What about the lack of fish
PICTURES ROBERT DUNCAN
THE PLACE
Dusit Thai
249 James Street,
Northbridge
9328 7647
OPEN
Lunch, Thursday
and Friday; Dinner,
seven days; buffet
lunch and dinner
on Sundays
PRICE
RANGE
Entree....
$8.50-$24.50
Main....
$17.50-$38
Buffet....$29
THE BUZZ
Old-school,
glamorous
restaurant with
reverential service
and an extensive
menu. Best tom
kha in Perth.
THE SCORE
14
1-9 Don’t bother
10-11 Patchy
12-13 Average
14 Recommended
15-16 Very Good
17 Memorable
18-19 Classic
20 Perfection
on the fish, I asked. “Let’s just pretend that
never happened,” he said like a Macedonian
Confucius.
Dusit Thai has been around for almost
three decades, when Khun Somkiat and his
wife Khun Mary opened a small eatery at
233 James Street. In 1998, they moved to
the enormous digs down the road, where
lots of intricately carved woodwork and gold
decor set a most opulent scene. The original
owners sold the restaurant in 2012 to three
sisters, Tasanee, Chantana and Supatra, and,
while the menu has changed slightly (there’s
no longer a separate vegetarian section) and
the cardboard cut-out of the Thai Airways
hostie that used to guard the front door has
gone, the place appears largely unchanged.
The staff, in their traditional outfits
with elephant motifs, are extremely polite.
Although our reservation was not recorded
in the book by the front door, we were
welcomed and seated in the middle of the
big room. A bottle of Henschke Peggy’s Hill
riesling ($32) arrived quickly to slake the
thirst we’d worked up on the nine-minute
bus ride. Dusit Thai is fully licensed but also
permits BYO wine. However, its $10 per
750ml bottle corkage (maybe magnums cost
more?) makes it a little prohibitive.
The menu is extensive, taking in all the
classics as well as some modern Thai dishes,
such as Thai-style fish and chips with a
tamarind and peanut sauce and the popular
deep-fried lamb shanks. We stayed fairly
traditional, opting for tord mun pla, or spicy
fish dumplings ($10.50 small/$15 large), and
goong hom par, or prawns in blanket ($11.50
for two, $16 for four). The six fish dumplings
were smaller than the usual fishcake and
shaped like a quenelle rather than a patty.
They had a good kaffir lime kick and that
familiar springy consistency which aided in
sopping up the cucumber dipping sauce. The
prawns were big, moist specimens wrapped
in spring-roll pastry and deep-fried. They
came with a better-than-standard sweet
chilli sauce and were gone in 60 seconds.
Stavros’ tom kha gai ($8.50/$22.50)
remains the best version of this dreamy
coconut soup we have had in Perth.
It’s packed with all the stuff that gives
the coconut milk and stock broth such
spectacular flavour: sliced lemongrass, lots
of galangal, torn kaffir lime leaves. There’s
loads of chopped coriander stem which,
as well as flavour, adds a lovely textural
component. The thinly sliced chicken breast
is cooked just so and while we missed the
beautiful “pop” of Thai eggplants, slices of
peeled aubergine were a perfectly adequate
substitute. It’s worth going to Dusit just to
have this soup.
When the aforementioned pesky pesce
failed to satisfy, we made a late plea for a
gang keaw whan, or green chicken curry
($19.50/$24.50). While the competitors on
My Kitchen Rules like to order the most
technically difficult dish to test the instant
restaurant cooks, we like to order the
barometer dish: a Thai restaurant has no
excuse but to deliver a great green curry.
And this one is pretty fantastic, packed full
of peas and tender “protein”, as they like to
call it on telly, swimming in a thick and heady
curry sauce spiked with the beautiful shot
of anise thanks to fresh basil. It was just hot
enough to raise a sweat on Stavros’ curryrating scoreboard: his ample brow.
A som tum salad ($14.50/$19.50) didn’t
have enough of that salty dried-shrimp hit
we love but the shredded green papaya,
tomatoes, green beans and peanuts in a
citrus dressing offset the curry nicely.
It’s fair to say that $155 for a dinner for
two isn’t a cheap night out but it’s a good
one. We ended up taking some leftovers
home, and were charged $1 for the plastic
containers. We’ll just pretend that never
happened, either. - Amanda Keenan
*Rob Broadfield is on leave.
10.05.14 westweekend
19
outside
SABRINA HAHN
ask sabrina
Q Every year I have a lawn full of prickles and,
although I don’t use chemicals in my garden, I
will do whatever is necessary to be rid of this
problem. » Marilyn Dixon, Mullaloo
A Spray with Yates Prickle Weedkiller when the
Onehunga weed is actively growing in spring.
If your neighbour has it in their garden, you can
offer to spray or hand-weed theirs as well. Do
not apply if rain is expected within 24 hours.
Q We have a fig tree about 25 years old. It was
becoming quite large so it was pruned heavily.
It bears fruit well but about 100 suckers have
now come up. After cutting they return. Can I
use glyphosate? » Robert Weedon, Byford
A I wouldn’t recommend glyphosate on edible
fig suckers. The best thing to do as soon as you
cut off the suckers is apply straight vinegar
with a paint brush to the cut. I’m not sure how
long it will work for but it is a safer alternative.
Q Why do some of my tomatoes have white
speckling on the skin that also goes into the
tomato itself? The tomatoes otherwise look
healthy. » Rosanne Percival, Albany
A This will be caused by either a stink bug,
harlequin bug or other bugs that attack the
fruit in their early stages of development. Spray
the plants with eco-neem to make them less
palatable for bugs.
Q I have a raised garden bed but after a few
years the vegies now aren’t growing that well.
I have topped up the soil with potting mix,
added a bit of clay, always mulched with pea
straw, added a little trace elements and lime;
pH is slightly acidic. » Lyn Atkins, Parkerville
A You will also need to add good-quality
compost to the potting mix. There could be root
knot nematodes in the soil, or you need to boost
the vegies with a good-quality fertiliser that has
all the trace elements. Rock dust is very good to
address mineral deficiencies.
Send your questions to Sabrina at
[email protected].
Due to the volume of questions, not all will be
answered. Responses may take many weeks.
Please include your suburb.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Q These resinous blobs have
appeared on our Prunus
versicolor. They appear to be
associated with a raised layer of
bark, under which is more resin.
There is no noticeable bore hole.
Should we be worried?
» Linda Jones, Kalamunda
A This is summer canker, affecting
the roots and lower parts of the tree
and moving upwards. It is similar to
bacterial canker but occurs in the summer
months. It is common in poor-draining soils. Try
to improve the drainage and spray with copper
oxychloride when the tree drops its leaves.
20
westweekend 10.05.14
Fields of plenty Peas will keep on giving if you look after them.
peas
PLEASE
Peas are great vegies to grow if
you have kids who are first-time
gardeners. A single packet of seeds
will keep you in peas if you stagger
the plantings over four weeks. A plot
that has grown tomatoes or corn is
ideal for peas.
Peas like full sun, a well-draining
soil with a neutral to alkaline pH,
and organic matter. Never let the
peas come into contact directly with
manures or blood and bone, as they
may rot. And if they get too much
water in the early stages after
germination, they can die.
Two weeks before planting out,
add compost, sheep manure and a
sprinkling of dolomite lime to the
planting area. Turn it all in, water
well and then spend the next two
weeks thinking about the type of
pea to grow and put up a trellis
before planting out.
There are tall climbing and dwarf
varieties of peas. Sugar snap and
snow peas are harvested when the
pods are immature so that you can
eat the whole pod. I grew up with
shelling peas, which have large, full
peas inside the stringy pods. Sitting
around shelling peas is a wonderful
pastime — and there’s nothing quite
like a pea fresh from the pod. Most
peas are ready to harvest about
10-15 weeks after planting.
Shelling varieties
Greenfeast — an heirloom dwarf
with masses of pods and large peas.
Purple-podded Dutch — has
beautiful purple flowers and
matching pods.
Telephone Pole — an old
favourite with heavy crops that
continue for weeks.
Climbing snow pea — crisp sweet
whole pods on a robust climber.
Sugar snap climbing — The most
popular pea because the peas are
full-sized but the pod is also sweet
and juicy. The pod snaps like a bean
when broken in half, hence the name.
Sugar snap dwarf — an early
producer with pods appearing two
weeks before traditional peas.
Yukomo — this Japanese
variety is a tall grower to 14cm
long pods and beautiful purple
flowers.
PLANT NOW
Aquilegia,
hollyhock,
forget-me-not,
cornflower,
poppy,
primula
and sweet pea
Pests and Diseases
Aphids and caterpillars
are the most common pests.
Control aphids with a pest oil or
pyrethrum and caterpillars with
Success or Dipel.
Peas are susceptible to certain
blights and powdery mildew.
Prevention is better than cure so
make sure you spray your peas at
an early stage with eco-fungicide,
lime sulphur or a 50/50 solution of
full-cream milk and water.
Peas are a legume crop and are
great for fixing nitrogen in the
soil; rotate after harvest with root
vegies such as onions, leeks, garlic
and spring onions.
SS
HOT type
books
WILLIAM YEOMAN
page turners
Spotless A-Z: The Ultimate Guide
to Stain Removal
Shannon Lush and Jennifer Fleming
(ABC Books, $20)
The Ancient Paths
Graham Robb
(Picador, $50)
A
re pesky mice driving you bananas? Be
sure to add dehydrated snake poo to your
online shopping list.
Yes, really. Oh, and python poop is more
effective than a viper’s when it comes to keeping
rodents at bay.
That tip is among the many gems from
Australia’s stain-removal queens Shannon Lush
and Jennifer Fleming, who have released the
latest edition of their hit book Spotless.
The new version is in a handy A-Z “one-stop
shop” format, which makes it even easier to
tackle everything from abalone on carpet to a
sticky zip.
It’s easy to see why Spotless has been so
popular since it was launched in 2005. “The
solutions are based on basic chemistry with an
emphasis on low-toxicity stain removal. Mix an
acid, such as white vinegar, with an alkali, such
as bicarbonate of soda, and you get a cleaning
reaction,” the authors say. “There are a couple of
tricks with stain removal. First, don’t panic and
put something on the stain that could make it
worse. Instead, work out what the stain is made
of — protein, carbohydrate, fats, dye, resins or
glue — and apply its solvent.”
Foodies will love the additional tips to fight
stains from the likes of pesto, mulberries, kebabs
With the potential to re-write
history, the prize-winning author
speculates that the legendary
Via Heraklea might have been
an ancient Celtic route. Robb’s
research suggests that this much earlier way
was part of a carefully plotted druid network
designed to mirror the rising and setting sun of
the winter and summer solstices. Robb initiates
the theory that the Celtic Empire had created a
long-forgotten, sophisticated system of ancient
paths preceding that of the Roman Empire.
Fascinating reading, supported by persuasive
argument. » Elaine Fry
and hummus.“We’ve tried to include every stain
imaginable but new ones pop up all the time,”
Fleming and Lush say.
Fear not; if it’s not listed in the A-Z, tackle the
mess by consulting the “mystery stains” section.
It’s like your very own forensics scene.
What’s great about the tips is the fact that all
the grime-fighting tools are inexpensive. When
you consider how expensive — not to mention
toxic — a lot of popular cleaning products are, it’s
good to know that there are cheaper and far less
harmful options. (Out of pure curiosity, we found
— but didn’t buy — snake poo online for $15.)
» Grace Millimaci
INSIDEstory » Five hot tips from the queens of clean.
To get rid
of cat hair
from upholstery
and clothes, wash
rubber-gloved
hands with a cake
of bathroom soap
and water, shake
hands dry and wipe
over the cat hair.
1
When
storing
suitcases, place a
tea bag or cake of
soap inside to keep
bugs and damp
away. Remove
grease stains from
handbags with
cornstarch.
2
Deter
silverfish,
mould and moths
by placing one
camphor ball,
four cloves and
two drops each
of lavender and
eucalyptus oil in a
small muslin bag.
3
Remove
tissue fluff
from garments
by adding old
pantyhose in the
washing machine.
The tissue will
stick to the
pantyhose during
the wash.
4
YOU’RE READING
FINE PRINT
Last Train to Memphis
Sue Eldridge, of Toodyay, is reading
Taking to the Skies by Jim Eames
This most informative book is for fans of aviation in all its
forms, and for those interested in the hidden histories of
World War II. There is a lot of Aussie humour, as well as lots
of sadness due to the loss of many of our pilots and aircrew
who flew with such courage. It is a powerful story, extremely
well written, and one I have had to put down every now and
then to recover from its effect. The account of the flying in
New Guinea will have you on the edge of your chair while the
history of Qantas is an eye-opener. The historic photographs
are priceless and show just how hard it must have been in the
1940s and 50s. The bureaucracy in those days was also an
eye-opener but perhaps it’s not much different today! I hope
all pilots and budding pilots enjoy it as much as I have.
Make lemon
oil by putting
lemon zest on
plastic wrap and
leaving on a sunny
windowsill. The
oil will leach from
the peel on to the
plastic. Store in a
small vial.
5
Peter Guralnick
What: The first in an
acclaimed two-part
biography of Elvis Presley.
Tell us about what
you’re reading
in 150 words at
westweekend@
wanews.com.au
and if published,
you’ll WIN a pack
of five new releases.
The plot: Charts the first
24 years of the legendary
singer’s life up until his
departure for the army.
Clever thing to know:
Kevin Macdonald (The Last
King of Scotland) is casting
online for a film based on
the book.
Why read it: Along with
his 1999 follow-up Careless
Love, Guralnick paints an
intimate, moving and totally
absorbing picture of the King.
Bad Brides
Rebecca Chance
(Simon & Schuster, $30)
In Chance’s latest bonkbuster,
we meet fiercely ambitious Brit
it-girl Milly Gamble and American
pageant princess Brianna Jade.
While down-to-earth Brianna
might not have the drive to take on devious Milly
for the title of Bride of the Year in the season’s
hottest magazine launch, her mother Tamra is
more than ready. Bad Brides is packed with backstabbing, scheming, searingly hot sex scenes
and characters dripping in wealth, if not morals.
Celeb-obsessed readers will enjoy matching
the characters to the real-life celebrities who
inspired them. » Melanie Hearse
Above
Isla Morley
(Hachette Australia, $30)
This sinister tale of the
abduction of a 16-year-old
Kansas girl by a survivalist
who thinks the world is about
to end is what nightmares are
made of. When Blythe finds
herself confined underground in a silo she has
to deal with her desperation and captor Dobbs’
attempts to force her to embrace his lifestyle.
Blythe’s keen survival instinct cautions her to
live peacefully with her captor for the sake of
her son. The story takes a surprising turn when
Blythe escapes and discovers Dobbs is not who
she thought he was. » Sonja Moore
A Mile Down
David Vann
(Text Publishing, $25)
The American novelist’s nonfiction debut is an incredible
true story of an ordinary man’s
extraordinary misadventures
at sea. As a boy Vann always
dreamed of owning his own sailboat, so when,
some 30 years later, the opportunity to buy a
sailboat presents itself, the adult Vann jumps at
the chance. Buoyed by memories of his father’s
brief tenure as the captain of a commercial
fishing boat, Vann enthusiastically takes to the
seas but soon realises the reality of life as a
ship’s captain is far from the smooth sailing he’d
always envisaged. » Jennifer Peterson-Ward
10.05.14 westweekend
21
BUT WAIT . . .
the other side
ROBERT DREWE
MY PERTH MIGHT BE different to yours.
When I was a child my personal map of
the city of Perth existed purely as an
arrangement of picture theatres and
Hollywood offerings. We didn’t call them
“movies” and certainly not “film” or, heaven
forbid, “cinema”, but more than any other
form of amusement “the pictures” ruled.
Mostly centred in Hay Street, my territory
ran from the Mayfair theatrette, near the
William Street corner, past the Royal, to the
Ambassadors, near Barrack Street. These
theatres were all on the river side of Hay
Street. Across the street were the Plaza
and the Piccadilly, snug in their arcades, and,
emulating the pre-television success of the
Mayfair’s newsreels, eventually another
theatrette, the Savoy (decades later to
appeal to the raincoat market), appeared in
the bowels of the Savoy hotel.
Around the Barrack Street corner was the
Liberty, specialising in Continental pictures,
those mysterious, serious and (to a parent)
inexplicably worrying artforms in which
Brigitte Bardot would later upset a 16-yearold’s equilibrium in And God Created Woman
so much that he had to see it three times.
Meanwhile, in William Street the
Wesleyans collected the rent for the Metro
(Theatre of the Stars), which ran MGM
product exclusively. In Murray Street, the
Grand gamely fought Hollywood with plucky
British fare that rather too often for our liking
starred Richard Todd, typecast as a stoic chap,
and the annoyingly baby-voiced Glynis Johns.
We would argue endlessly about the
merits of American versus British pictures
and, by extension, the countries themselves.
America v England could get you into a
scuffle in seconds. The pro-America kids
held the trump card, however. You just had
to say “What about the Coronation picture?”
and at the memory of the regularly enforced
90-minute viewing of the Queen’s crowning,
the young England barrackers instantly
threw in the towel.
We loved exciting pictures: Tarzan’s
efforts in a Hollywood-lot African jungle, and
westerns like High Noon, Shane and Broken
Arrow. But our favourites were comedies,
especially those featuring comedy duos like
Abbott and Costello, and Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis. And here it’s clear that tastes
change. We preferred the frenetic idiots in
those partnerships and resented the straight
men, the Abbotts and Martins, who curbed
their high jinks.
22
westweekend 10.05.14
Now? While I could happily sit through
High Noon again — and I don’t care that
the French think he’s a comic genius — you
couldn’t pay me enough to watch Jerry Lewis.
So we grew up. And along the way we
queued in nervous anticipation in our schooluniform short pants among dangerously
hair-oiled and black-jeaned bodgies and
widgies to see Rock Around the Clock at the
Ambassadors. Not the world’s best picture,
but a breakthrough in other ways.
I invested a lot of pocket money in
those picture theatres but even at a child’s
admission price of sixpence — five cents
— I probably spent more at the Mayfair
theatrette. It was walking distance from
school, it was cheap, and it was, well,
entertaining. It ran a 60-minute looped
program of Movietone newsreels, cartoons,
Pete Smith comedy shorts, James A.
FitzPatrick Traveltalks and, of special interest
to me, the grim Crime Does Not Pay series, a
sort of Breaking Bad of its day.
We would argue
about the merits of
American versus
British pictures.
The beauty of the Mayfair was that
it didn’t matter when you came in. The
program had no beginning and no end. You
entered in the dark, sat there until something
you recognised came around again, and left
in the dark. There were always audience
members coming and going.
If, like me, you were often eating a ham
and salad poppy-seed horseshoe roll from
the deli next door during the show, what with
all the people constantly squeezing past you
to their seats or the exit, it could be a messy
business, often involving beetroot.
The Mayfair was one of Perth’s most
popular spots, always well-attended by both
adults and children with an hour to kill, and it
was a goldmine for its owners. And then, in
1958, television came to Perth. Unfortunately,
there would prove to be one major difference
between the Mayfair’s newsreels and TV
news. At the Mayfair you had to travel to see
the news, as opposed to the news coming to
you. Every evening.
Both newsreels and the Mayfair died
overnight.
FLASHBACK » Linda Evangelista born
At the height of her fame, Linda Evangelista was among an elite
group of gorgeous women known as supermodels. That title is
rather ubiquitous these days but, in the 1990s, the likes of Linda,
Elle, Naomi, Cindy, Claudia and Christy were so well-known that
their surnames were superfluous. Back in the day when fashion
magazine covers were reserved for top models, Evangelista — born
in Canada on this day in 1965 to Italian immigrants – once boasted
that supermodels “don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day”.
She eventually regretted that statement. In 2012, she reached an
agreement with billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault (now married to
actress Salma Hayek) over child support for their son Augustin.
WORD
WISE
SCREEN SHOT » WE’VE CUT
THE CHARACTERS FROM A
MEMORABLE SCENE. CAN
YOU NAME THE MOVIE?
Back when this actor favoured
comedies, this 1989 film about
a neat detective pushed to the
limit by a slobbering dog really
made us laugh. The ill-mannered
pooch — a Dogue de Bordeaux
— proves to be a scene stealer
as he wreaks havoc on his foster
owner’s house, car, clothes...well,
basically anything within reach of
his sticky drool. But the detective
has no choice but to work with
the four-legged companion to
solve a crime and it’s not long
before a bond is formed between
man and floppy-faced beast.
UMAMI
Receptors on
the tongue can
distinguish
between sweet,
sour, bitter and
salty tastes. Then
the Japanese
recognised a
fifth — umami, a
meaty taste that’s
a hit with foodies.
Named for the
Japanese word
for deliciousness,
umami is found
in ingredients
such as parmesan
cheese, tomatoes,
seaweed, green tea
and mushrooms.
Fancy that!
There are 1500 varieties of tea,
with the art of reading leaves
known as tasseography.
1 » Which oil extracted from
the rind of a citrus fruit gives
Earl Grey its distinctive flavour?
2 » Who played the role of B.A.
Baracus in hit 1980s TV show
The A-Team?
3 » The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party featured
in which Lewis Carroll book?
Screen shot Turner & Hooch Fancy That! 1 Bergamot. 2 Mr T. 3 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Picture perfect
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Solo TV sound system. It reveals so much more of
the sound you’re meant to hear that watching TV
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© Bose Corporation 2014. All rights reserved. *21 day risk-free trial and free shipping refers to purchases made by phoning 1800 681 413, via www.bose.com.au or from a Bose store.
21 day risk-free trial and free shipping is not available when purchasing from other authorised Bose resellers. The Bose Solo TV sound system is designed for TVs with bases
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