Once again, my family and I are back for dinner at The Gaya, Applecross. It has actually been a while since my very first visit and recently, we thought of making plans to dine at The Gaya. It was also a coincidence that Head Chef and Owner Leo invited me to return as there are new additions to the menu. While devouring on our starters, I had a chat with Leo and it was really great to hear that the Gaya has been doing well since its opening last year. Great job!

To start, we had an Amuse Bouche comprising of Cheese Fry and Rice Pancake. The cheese fry was lightly fried with soft, creamy textures of cheese inside. Ahhh it was just melt in your mouth. The rice pancake was fluffy and tasty. Yep, it was a great start to the night.

 Cheese Fry (bottom left) and Rice Pancake (top right)

For the starters, we shared an Arancini ($12), Gaya Crab Croquette ( $14) and Beef Cream Roll ($14). The Arancini was fried to perfection with its crispy finish on the outside while retaining the soft textures of risotto inside. The basil pesto, pan fried kimchi and berry sauce blends well with the arancini, giving it a great flavour. Yum!

 Arancini

The Gaya Crab Croquette is a deep fried homemade cream crab croquette served with spicy tartar sauce. Like the Arancini, the crab croquette was deep fried to perfection. One bite and all you hear is crunch crunch crunch. Sink you teeth into the croquette and you get tender and creamy pieces of crabmeat. Oh and not forgetting the spicy tartar sauce, giving an irresistible zing to the crab croquette.

 Gaya Crab Croquette

Our third starter was the Beef Cream Roll. This is probably one of our favourite starters. On the outside was the thinly sliced beef which wrapped and held the asparagus, cream cheese, enoki mushroom, capsicum and cucumber in place. The beef on the outside was tender and juicy and the flavours just worked so well in this starter from the other ingredients. It was oh so creamy and delicious!

 

Beef Cream Roll ($14)

Not long after our mains arrived. Each of the main comes with three small side dishes. The three side dishes for the night were beansprouts, kimchi and paprika.

Mum had the Gaya Bulgogi ($28). The Gaya Bulgogi consists of marinated sliced beef with vegetables and sweet potato noodles in hot pot, topped with enoki and served with ginseng chili paste sauce with butter rice. The sliced beef was marinated to perfection with its juicy and tender texture. The broth was very flavoursome from the beef and vegetables. It was a hearty and lovely dish which complements well with the fragrant butter rice.

 

Gaya Bulgogi ($28)

What do you order on a cold winter’s night? Something to keep you and your belly warm right? I had the Seafood Stew ($28) which consists of stewed scallop, prawn, fish and squid with vegetable in hot pot topped with dried bonito served with roast bread. It was a perfect dish for a cold, chilly night. The broth was full of flavour and the seafood was very fresh. It was so good that I managed to finish everything and yes, that’s including the soup. All that remained was a squeaky clean hot pot.

Seafood Stew ($28)

Dad had the Gaya Combo ($30) which is a Korean style combo meal served with pan fried fillet of mackerel and chef special’s of four side dishes with rice and soup. The mackerel was fresh and pan fried to perfection. The side dishes were tasty and the flavours actually do marry well with each other. It was   lovely.

Gaya Combo

To finish off, we shared the Homemade Gaya Gold Pave Chocolate ($9). Mixed grain, green tea and cacao are the three flavours of the gold pave chocolate,  topped with a 24k gold flake. Presented with care and attention to detail, it was a great ending to the night with beautiful flavours of the mixed grain, green tea and cacao surrounding the chocolate.

Homemade Pave Chocolate (Left to right) – Mixed Grain, Green Tea and Cacao

It was really great to return to the Gaya after a while and I’m loving the new additions on the menu. I would like to thank Leo for inviting me back to The Gaya to try some of the new additions and some of the food that I have not ordered before. It was our pleasure to dine at The Gaya again. Keep up the good job!

Oh and to my friends who bought the 2014/2015 Entertainment book, you can find a voucher for The Gaya where you can get 25% off the bill. How awesome is that!

Mel’s Rating : mmmm (excellent)