Ramon's at Willow Pond, Canning Vale

This restaurant is located at the back of Willow Pond with the carpark at the front. Therefore, you need to walk down a corridor to get to the reception area. The restaurant was nicely decorated with a Japanese theme with a small bar outside the kitchen and outdoor seating area. It had a nice atmosphere for a suburban restaurant and was not rowdy. The owner is also a martial arts instructor http://www.budokan.com.au/ who teaches within the same vicinity hence, the Japanese theme throughout the building and restaurant.

I came here for a function for dinner and a set menu was presented.

The entrée of roast capsicum soup was nice and light. The capsicum was not overpowering and had a good balance of herbs. The baguette crutes were crisp.

Braised beef cheek with sweet potato mash, peas and jus

For the mains I had the beef cheeks which was nicely presented. The meat was tender and succulent. The jus complimented the meat well and had the right balance of seasonings. The sweet potato mash was nice but a bit plain and the peas tasted as they should have.

Chocolate and hazelnut brownie

For dessert, the chocolate and hazelnut brownie was better than expected. It contained a cake layer on the bottom of the brownie and was covered in chocolate sauce accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice-cream which was very rich and filling.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience here and it felt more secluded compared to other restaurants as it was located at the back of the building. The food was pleasant and I would definitely come here again as the service was good. They also have high tea which I am interested in trying out.

http://www.willowpond.com.au/restaurant/restaurant_menus.htm

Pastacup, Canning Vale

What could me better than freshly made pasta by hand? There is an option to pick a size, sauce and pasta. There are also specials, combos and mains available. This place has great tasting pasta and when purchased as a take-away meal it comes in a cardboard box of varying sizes. The dough is put through a machine when you choose which pasta you want. There are samples of the pasta at the counter from which you can choose from. The are different sizes for meals:

• Small $11.45
• Regular $13.45
• Large $15.45
• Family Size $29.95
• Kiddies $5.95

I had the beef lasagne as a take-away meal and the pasta was cooked al dente and there was a substantial amount of minced meat however, I was considering of asking for extra sauce in the future as the meat flavours overrode the sauce for my liking. However, the sauce was really nice and fresh and had the right amount of salt unlike other lasagne's that I have tried. The family size box is very large and would be enough to feed two to three people.

On the other hand, I was not particularly keen on the cannelloni which was quite dry and the ingredients seemed like they were over processed, I will not be trying this one again. This time round the pasta was slightly undercooked.

As for my dining-in experience, this was not so enjoyable. None of the tables are cleared until a new customer is seated and awaiting for their dish to arrive therefore, the tables were cleaned as you waited. All the surrounding tables contained dirty dishes which was unappealing. When we had left we were the only customers and the tables still had not been cleared. We received two pieces of complimentary sour dough bread and a small container of parmesan cheese. I tried The Angry Sausage one with Fusilli and the other with Chilli Fusilli pasta. The pasta was slightly undercooked in both dishes. The dish with Fusilli lacked sauce and was a bit plain. The dish with Chilli Fusilli was quite heavy, spicy and contained more sauce. The Chilli Fuslli seemed thicker than the standard Fusilli. We struggled to finish our dishes and felt full.

Although I have mixed experiences with this place, I will be back and could see this place as a regular take-out joint as a healthy alternative comparable to other take-away places or even as a casual dining in experience. It comes down to who the cooks are on the night and what you order.

 Family Size $29.95 (Take-away)

 Family Size - Special of the day - Two combination's (Take-away)

Beef lasagne (Take-away) $13.45

Complimentary sour dough bread and parmesan cheese

 The Angry Sausage with Fusilli pasta $13.45

 The Angry Sausage with Chilli Fusilli pasta $13.45

http://www.pastacup.com.au/menu/

Nicholson's Bar & Grill, Canning Vale

I have been here a few times over the years and it just seems to be getting better. There is seating inside and in the beer garden outside. There was a family oriented culture and was relaxing.

I tried the chilli mussels as a quick snack which came with crusty bread on the side but it turned out to be very substantial. I shared this with my partner and we felt very full afterwards. It was enough for a main meal and I didn't have dinner afterwards. 

I will be back again. The only downfall is that there is no eftpos facility, only an ATM.