Checking Perth Traffic Freeway Cameras before rushing home

Many people do not realise that there are over 20 traffic cameras on the Main Roads Western Australia website which you can get an immediate snapshot of the traffic on your route home.

You can also get the most comprehensive summary of the traffic situation from Main Roads website here.

Budget eats - Twenty restaurant dishes in Perth under $20

Here's the rest of the Perth dishes under $20..

Pho at Viet Hoa
Unit 1, 349 William St, Northbridge, 9328 2127
Open 7 days, 10am-10pm

Possibly Perth's best Vietnamese restaurant (Tra Vinh is better imho), this place is known for serving divine food at a pinch. With 59 items on the menu it may be hard to choose, but pho is a fast favourite, being the typical authentic dish. There are six different styles of pho to choose from, costing from $9 to $9.80. Pho is a steaming, flavoured noodle broth with beef or chicken and green herbs and bean shoots. If you're keen to splurge a little, a great value dish is the Viet Hoa beef salad "hot", which combines beef scotch fillet with lemongrass, chilli, garlic, tamarind and vegetables for $15.50. You'll need to order steamed rice separately, starting at $2.50. While the interior is pretty plain, this place is always full to bursting - sometimes uncomfortably - so book if you can.

Bibimbap at Poppo
137 Barrack St, Perth, 9325 5997
Open Tues-Thurs, Sat and Sun, 11am-9.30pm and Fri, 11am-10.30pm

The lunch specials at this modest Korean and Japanese restaurant in the city need to be seen to be believed. You can choose from eight dishes for $7.90 and five plates for $8.90, all accompanied by a miso soup, rice and a small kimchi, which is a spicy Chinese cabbage salad, or opt for pickles if you prefer. The regular's favourite is bibimbap ($7.90), a bowl containing portions of minced beef, carrot, zucchini, and rice, topped with a fried egg. Mix it all together and you're sorted. Another star is the Katsu curry ($8.90), and if you're really peckish, you can order California rolls or dumplings for $3.90.

All you can eat tapas at Gypsy Tapas
Highgate Court, cnr High St and Queen St, Fremantle, 9336 7135
Open Thurs-Sat, 11am-11pm

Tapas in Perth is not something that usually comes cheap, or generous, so when you can get away with shelling out $7.50 per plate, or $30 for all you can eat, indulge! The banquet deal is available for lunch and dinner, and includes delicacies like chunky meat balls rolled around Bocconcini and cooked in tomato sauce, or crunchy brie salad showered in walnuts. All plates come with warm Turkish bread, served in a colourful, eclectic interior that has been decorated with garage sale and op shop items - very Fremantle. Bring your dancing shoes because there's live music every night from 8pm and toes regularly get tapping. If you really want to splurge, the 11 course degustation, complete with wine, coffee, and dessert for $80 is amazing value. Reservations are a must.

Chicken karaage at Kulcha Cafe & Noodles House
Unit 2, 49 Boas Ave, Joondalup, 9300 9828
Open Tues-Sun, 11.30am-4pm and 4pm-9.30pm

Self described as a cafe dining restaurant, this cheap and cheerful joint packs out at dinner, so lunch might be a better time to try their much loved chicken karaage dish for $8.50, although the place will still be bustling. Expect a piping plate of thin fried chicken pieces that are crispy yet moist, expertly seasoned and piled high. Make sure you dip into the side servings of sweet soy and mayonnaise - they compliment the dish perfectly. Family friendly, this humming Asian eatery is fine to BYO to, with corkage charged at $1.50 a head.

Yakisoba at Ninniku Jip
867A Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park, 9355 1988
Open 7 days, 5pm-late and Fri-Sat, 11.30am-3pm

This one's for the kids. Anything on the Japanese and Korean fusion tiny tacker's menu costs $7.50, and the yakisoba, or egg noodle with chicken pieces and vegetables, is a fave. Even better, there's a rare play area for the kids, allowing parents to sit back and relax while keeping an eye on their offspring through a large glass window. Mains for big kids start at $12.50 for noodle dishes, but probably the best value dish is the sizzling beef bulgogi, which for $19.80, sees you with a generous serving of thinly sliced meat, marinated in a mixture of juice squeezed from grated garlic and ginger, soy sauce, chilli, and pineapple juice, with rice soup on the side. According to the owner, it's the kids that ask to go back to this one.

Meat mix platter at The Prophet
907a Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park, 9361 1101
Open Mon-Fri, 12noon-3pm and every night, 6pm-9.30pm

With free bread, eye-watering garlic dipping sauce and pickled turnip on arrival, tasty food and a convivial atmosphere, this simple Lebanese diner gets two thumbs up. If you like sharing, the meat mix platter will fill two people comfortably. It combines a selection of entrees and mains, and despite prices just going up by 20% - their first rise in five years - it's still great value for $27.60. You get two dips - baba ganoush, hummus, avocado or labneh (fermented yoghurt) - plus a shish tawook (chicken marinated in lemon, garlic and coriander), a shish kebab, and a skewer of kafta minced lamb, served with salad and flavoured rice topped with pine nuts. The father and son chef team also make a scrumptious vego platter, also a sizeable feed.

Pad Thai at Tida Thai
73c Leach Hwy, Willagee, 9337 9935
Open 7 days, 5pm-10pm

We all know what Pad Thai looks and tastes like, it's a firm favourite on any Thai menu, and usually the most reasonably priced. The prawn and chicken noodle dish at Tida Thai manages to undercut most restaurants, listed on the menu for $11.80, and cheaper again if you opt to take away. The small, simple eatery is in a convenient location with plenty of parking and is popular with local families. Their massaman beef is also popular, it comes in at $14.50 for those dining in.

Tacos at Santa Fe Restaurant
315 Hay St, Subiaco, 9381 2571
Open 7 days, 10am-late

Cheap, filling Tex Mex is what you'll find in this Mexican tequila lounge. Your best bet is to roll up on a Tuesday, when tacos go for $2 each. Crunchy corn envelopes are stuffed with chicken, shredded beef, frijoles, or chilli con carne, as well as lettuce and salsa, and three to four would likely do you for dinner. Be prepared for a wait though, when this place gets slammed, timing goes out the window. If you're after bargain booze, make a beeline to Santa Fe on Mondays for free Margaritas, or saddle up to the themed bar any night from 6pm-7pm for Happy Hour. Always busy, always noisy, always fun.

Chicken with cashews at Sunflowers
Shop 46, Claremont Arcade, Bayview Tce, Claremont, 9383 3443
Open Mon-Sat 11.30am-2.30pm, Sun-Thu 5pm-10.30pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-11.30pm

Like any hidden gems, this is a fantastic find for lovers of Chinese. Upstairs above Witchery and overlooking Bayview Terrace, this family friendly venue swells with diners during spring and summer. Lunch specials are the way to go if you want to watch your pennies. For $8.50 you get rice, and your choice of a long list of freshly made dishes - no bainmarie here - including satay chicken, curry fish, sweet and sour pork, prawn chow mein and beef and black bean sauce. The chicken with cashews and almonds is one of the regular's favourites, both for the flavour and great value. If you stop by for dinner, reasonable bites are still available, try the salt and pepper squid for $16.50 or share the boneless banana duck with plum sauce for $18. Corkage for BYO is $3 per bottle.

Steak and quiz night at the Mighty Quinn
112 Wanneroo Rd, Tuart Hill, 9349 9600
Open Mon-Thurs, 11am-3pm, 5.30pm-9pm, and Fri-Sun, 11am-9pm

This Irish pub has a good value special nearly every night of the week, and all the plates are piled with food, so it's near impossible to choose one that represents the best value. If we were pushed, we'd have to go with the Wednesday $12.90 Steak and Quiz Night. The deal includes a 300gram porterhouse steak, cooked any way you like, with chips or mash & salad garnish and the chef's sauce of the day. Quizzing starts from 8pm and if you're clever, you could go home richer than when you arrived, thanks to a $200 first prize. It's loud, busy, and bookings are understandably essential for Wednesday. If red meat ain't your thing, head in on Monday's when all pastas go for $15, Tuesday night is Schnitzel night for $1 more, and the rotisserie is on all day Sunday, when roast meat and three veg sells for $14.

Green chicken curry at Angkor Cafe
144 Murray St, Perth
Open 7 days 11am-9.30pm

This Cambodian style green curry chicken tastes even better when it costs less than a tenner. During lunchtimes, several meals go for $6.90, including rice, and this dish is one of the clear winners, combining the traditional coconut milk sauce with broccoli, beans and lemongrass. If you miss it at midday, it's not much extra to dine at dinner time, going for $9.90 plus an extra $1.50 for rice. Vegetarians will also be satiated at lunchtime, with egg noodles tossed around vegetables and tofu in a dark soy sauce on the lunch special list, or $8.50 in the evenings. As the name suggests, this cheap and cheerful eatery pays homage to the Angkor Wat temple, so expect to see the walls dotted with pictures of Cambodia's biggest tourist attraction.

The best food in each restaurant in Perth for <$20

I don't know about you but I am sick of reviews that tell you such a restaurant is good and when you go there, your experience does not match the reviewer simply because you had the wrong dish. For me, once I find a place is good, I go back there and usually almost by default, I stick to what I know.

What about having a list of restaurant DISHES rather than restaurants that you must try? Well, someone has.

Full credit must go to Fleur Beinger of Perth Now, who prepared the following guide to the 20 best places in Perth to eat for under $20. I'll add my comments in red along the way if I've been there.

20 best eats under $20:

Pho at Tra Vinh (also worth trying the dry noodles with chicken on the side.. no idea what it is called even till now)
Vietnamese Chinese Special Noodle House
149a Brisbane St, Northbridge, 9228 2788
Open Sun-Mon, 10am-9pm, Thurs-Sat 10am-10pm

There are stacks of variations of this famous Vietnamese soup, but if you want to get really authentic, order the Combination Beef Pho for $10. Breathe in the aroma of cooked and raw slices of beef, beef balls, beef tendons and tripe, sitting on ho fun noodles in a steaming flavoured soup. Bean sprouts and mint are served on the side for you to add as you wish. If some elements of the concoction are pushing your culinary boundaries, order the combination you prefer or keep it simple with raw beef slices only, for $9. Hoi sin and chilli sauce sit on the table to dip your meat in. If that doesn't float your boat, give the Special Tra Vinh noodle soup a go. It combines sliced pork, seafood, prawns, fish balls, squid, liver and a quail egg with rice noodles for $10.

Annalakshmi Restaurant
1st floor, Barrack St Jetty, Perth, 9221 3003
Open Tues-Sun 12-2pm and 6.30-9pm but closed Sat lunch times
www.annalakshmi.com.au

This unique, Indian vegetarian restaurant asks that you pay what your heart feels, leaving room for you to tailor your donation to your financial situation. The concept was founded by a Hindu monk some time ago - Annalakshmi is the name of the Hindu goddess of food - and it spread to Perth. The food is cooked "with love by homemakers," and is help-yourself buffet style. An average meal consists of pilau rice with cashews, two Indian curries plus a samba, cabbage stir fry and even dessert. Oh, and coffee, tea and juice is included too. Volunteers clean up and your dosh goes to a not for profit organisation which supports Asian charities. Leave with a full tummy and a happy heart.

Beef Rendang at Sparrow (definitely worth having a try of this one)
Cnr Lord and Lincoln St, Highgate, 9228 2238
Open Mon-Fri, 11.30am-2.30pm and 5pm-8.30pm, Sat, 5pm-8.30pm
and
434A William St, Northbridge, 9328 5660
Open Mon-Thurs, 5pm-8.30pm and Fri-Sat, 5pm-9pm

It's a fair bet to say the energetic, enthusiastic and eccentric owner, Sparrow, attracts the crowds almost as much as the rock bottom prices. Beef Rendang is the dish de resistance, made up of three pieces of incredibly tender meat soaking in a delicious gravy sauce for $6.50. Add rice and you've got a bargain Indonesian meal that pleases your tummy and your tastebuds. The interior is cheap and cheerful with tightly packed tables and chairs that are always brimming with bodies.

Parmigiana schnitzel at Morley Ale House
Cnr Walter Rd and Progress St, Morley, 9276 8733
Mondays, 6pm-10pm (orders close at 8.30pm)

It can be hard to find pub grub at reasonable prices these days, particularly when it's common to pay upwards of $22 for a simple parmy, so here's a solution. Schnitzel night on Mondays at the Morley Ale House will see you swap $12.50 for a slab of chicken, pork or beef with one of a long list of tasty toppings. They offer mushroom, pepper, guacamole and sour cream, grilled egg plant and roasted peppers or hawaiian, but the traditional parmigiana upper deck is the regular's favourite. Expect a generous serving of salad and chips on the side. The non-special menu items are pretty good value too, with the priciest dish, the surf and turf, maxing out at $26.

Satay sticks at Mak's Place
313 William St, Northbridge, 9227 0190
Open Wed-Fri, 12noon-3pm and 5pm-9pm, and Sat-Sun, 11.30am-9pm

It's rare to find a menu with nothing over $10, for both lunch and dinner, but the dishes of Indonesian and Indian Halal food served at Mak's Place can all be ordered for a blue note or less.STM's Holly Wood raves about the satay sticks, claiming they're the best he's had in Perth, which is that's no mean recommendation. For $6 you get five pieces, and can choose from chicken, beef or lamb. If peanuts sauce doesn't do it for you, go for the Nasi (rice) or Mee (noodle) Goreng at $9.50. The interior is smart and clean cafe style with modern paintings on the walls - much classier than you'd expect for a place that's cheap as chips.

Pea and ham soup at Alfred's Kitchen (haven't tried the P&H soup but the burger was great)
Cnr Meadow & James St Guildford, 9377 1378
Open 7 days a week, 5pm-3am
www.alfredskitchen.com.au

This place has been serving up its signature meal since 1946, and even in today's prices, it's a cheapie. Half a litre of home made pea and ham soup - a large - will set you back $4.50 for, or shell out $3.00 for a small, of 225ml. If you're drawn to their other stable, the burger, go for Alfred's special, a hamburger with egg, cheese and bacon jammed between three pieces of toast, finished off with a lick of pickle spread for $8.50. The popular eatery has 40 burgers on the menu, starting at $5.20 for a basic burger which should still fill you up. It's rich on atmosphere, with a wood log fire burning out the front and four big bench seats for friendly, communal dining. You might leave smokey, but you won't leave hungry.

Steak sanga at Mondo's Butchers
824 Beaufort Street, Inglewood, 9371 6350
Sidewalk 'cafe' open Saturdays only, 8am-2pm.

If you're making your way home after a particularly long night and you can't afford the standard $18 sting for a big breaky, make your way to Mondo's, where owner Vince Garreffa is hawking $5 roast beef, lamb or pork sandwiches on Saturdays. From 8am you can get yourself two thick slabs of meat dripping with roast juices, jammed in New Norcia sourdough bread and wrapped in alfoil. Keeping things simple, you can dine in the bus stop nearby. Set off early to avoid the queues, which have been growing since the storefront slap-up started in April. Sadly, the price is about to rise to $7.50 (which is still pretty good for roast), so get in quick.

Teriyaki Don at Taka (I always go for the katsu chicken with lots of extra mayonaise and sweet soy sauce)
150-152 Barrack St, Perth, 9221 4771
Open Mon-Sat, 11am-9pm and Sun, 11am-5pm
And
Shafto Lane, Perth, 9324 1234
Open Mon-Sat, 11am-9pm

Who says you can't get cheap Japanese? Fill up at lunch or dinner time with a Teriyaki Don at Taka. You get a tray holding a large bowl of chicken in teriyaki sauce sitting on a bed of rice with salad on the side. The large version comes with miso soup and will set you back $7.30. If you're into sushi, the teriyaki sushi rolls are a bargain, with five pieces going for $4. It's pretty squishy in both city venues, so be prepared to suck in your stomach as you move between the rows of tables. The atmosphere is better at the Shafto Lane venue, which has some tables outside under a leafy cover.

Porterhouse steak at Llama Bar
Cnr Rokeby Rd & Hay St, Subiaco, 9388 0222
Open for steak night on Tues and Wed from 5pm

There's no beating Llama's $10 steak night for amazing value, held on the first three Tuesdays and every Wednesday of the month. You'd think it might be a thin slab for that price, but it's a thick, juicy chunk done any way you like it, nudged up to a serving of mash potato, covered in either mushroom, pepper corn or bearnaise sauce, and topped with ribbons of sweet potato chips. Given the swanky setting and funky clientele, this is a great way to have a classy, cheap night out. Unsurprisingly, it's incredibly popular so you need to book at least three days ahead, and naturally you're expected to buy a drink. If you hang around, free entertainment starts later, most recently a live band called The Royals.

More Perth Cheap Restaurants: List is continued in this post here

$1 Wild Bean Coffees 6am-10am till 10/7/09

Get into Wild Bean Café at BP Connect, between 6am and 10am and tell ‘em Nova sent ya to get a barista made coffee for $1! They’ll also hook you up with a Wild Bean Café Promo Card ... which is like your golden ticket with some great Wild Bean Café offers on it!

You can also enter to WIN a Day Out with Nova. Start the day enjoying breakfast with Nathan & Nat with Shaun McManus, followed by your choice of adventure! You choose how you would like to spend your ultimate day and we will make it happen! PLUS there are 3 Ticketek vouchers valued at $200 up for grabs! Hurry! $1 coffee offer ends July 10th 2009.

Need a good coffee now?! Click here to find a Wild Bean Café near you.

For competition terms & conditions click here

Where to Park in Perth? Tips you always wish someone compiled

You are meeting up with friends and you're thinking about where to go for coffee. Did you ever consider your coffee could cost you $6.50 if you choose the wrong place?

In South Perth, parking your car for two hours will cost you $1.50 / hour on the riverside before 5:30pm. In Applecross, with four cafes it costs nothing to park your car. In Fremantle, everywhere is ticket parking. If you can, next time you go out, take a few photos of parkng signs and email myhomeinperth @ gmail.com with the location of where your photo was taken. Bookmark this page and this might help you plan your next pub, dinner or coffee outing.

Most Dangerous Roads in Perth during Peak Hour Traffic

One thing many people want to know when getting from A to B are the intersections that take more than five minutes to get through. The problem we don't usually realise is that impatience leads to many accidents.

RAC has published the top 10 RED spots - intersections where people get most angry about in Perth. Six of the 10 are in the northern suburbs which we'll leave it up to you to conclude what you may about that... here are the best intersections to avoid in Perth.

WA's worst traffic red spots - and why:

1. Burns Beach Rd – Connolly Dve
The merging of lanes at the intersection's roundabout combined with the volume of traffic causes congestion.

2. Tonkin Hwy – Horrie Miller Dve
High volume of traffic from the airport and industrial area; inadequate traffic lights system.

3. Beaufort St – Walcott St
On-street parking blocks traffic flow and the traffic light system is inadequate for the amount of traffic.

4. Gnangara Rd – Beechboro Rd
A non-controlled intersection with heavy traffic including trucks.

5. Mitchell Fwy – Hepburn Ave
Merging lanes can't cope with the amount of traffic.

6. Joondalup Dve – Cheriton Dve
A non-controlled intersection with high traffic volume.

7. Reid Hwy – Malaga Dve
Long delays at the intersection's traffic lights and a high volume of traffic.

8. Great Eastern Hwy – Roe Hwy
Long delays at the intersection’s traffic lights and heavy traffic including trucks.

9. Reid Hwy – Alexander Dve
Long delays at the intersection's traffic lights and a high volume of traffic.

10. Reid Hwy – Mirrabooka Ave
Long delays at the intersection's traffic lights and a high volume of traffic.

The locations of RAC Red Spots have been mapped on Google Maps here

Perth Wild Bean Coffees @ BP

I'm a big fan of coffee and was very excited about the idea of having cafes at BP Outlets around Perth. Wild Bean has since been open for around two years now I think. Recently, I took the effort of trying as many Wild Bean outlets as I could. I have only tried three and generally, I'm not all that impressed. The idea is great! Good coffee at convenient locations! Too bad McDonald has also started rivalling with McCafes.

The first time I tried Wild Bean was when they first started. I think it was at the East Perth BP which I found to be serving very good coffee. At each outlet, I ordered a regular latte.

BP South Perth was quite a rush job at around 7pm on a weekday. The milk was not really well frothed and the coffee tasted quite awful.

I have tried the Myaree BP a few times and the quality seems to be going down. I keep wondering whether each of the BP staff are trained as barristas or is there just one of them that is, but he could be helping fix the car wash at the time and you get the wrong person.

Even when I was in Mandurah, I made the effort to get a coffee from the Mandurah BP at Mandurah Forum just before the drive back to Perth. The coffee was quite mediocre but was slightly countered by the friendly staff who made it. Still wasn't cafe coffee but not too bad. I start to wonder whether maybe its the cofee beans that they use?

One coffee that I WAS happy with was at the BP near Success or Beeliar. The froth was thick and strong and the coffee didn't taste burnt like in other places.

So there you have it.. a quick run through of Wild Bean coffee in some BP outlets. I will continue to add in more as I try them. If someone from BP comes across this, I would love to hear their response and maybe a little background to Wild Bean coffees and barristas would be great. Hope that BP coffees do start to improve as well.

Great time for Perth Bus & Train Fare Increases

Catching a bus in Perth will get more expensive as the State government celebrates the recession with fare increases. Perth commuters will have to pay more for their bus, train and ferry tickets starting 1 July 2009. For the next two weeks, the fares are:

	STANDARD			CONCESSION
	Cash	SmartRider - cost per journey		Cash	SmartRider - cost per journey
		15% discount	25% discount		15% discount	25% discount
2 Sections	$1.60	$1.36	$1.20	$0.60	$0.51	$0.45
1 Zone	$2.30	$1.96	$1.73	$0.90	$0.77	$0.68
2 Zones	$3.50	$2.98	$2.63	$1.40	$1.19	$1.05
3 Zones	$4.30	$3.66	$3.23	$1.80	$1.53	$1.35
4 Zones	$5.10	$4.34	$3.83	$2.10	$1.79	$1.58
5 Zones	$6.20	$5.27	$4.65	$2.40	$2.04	$1.80
6 Zones	$7.10	$6.04	$5.33	$2.70	$2.30	$2.03
7 Zones	$8.20	$6.97	$6.15	$3.10	$2.64	$2.33
8 Zones	$8.90	$7.57	$6.68	$3.50	$2.98	$2.63
9 Zones	$9.60	$8.16	$7.20	$3.90	$3.32	$2.93
DayRider (A)	$8.40			$3.30	$2.81	$2.48
FamilyRider (B)	$8.40
Student (C)					50 cents - no discount
All fares GST inclusive. Fares calculated are rounded to the nearest whole cent based on normal rounding convention

These are the new fares after 1 July 2009. But at least the table looks prettier.

	STANDARD			CONCESSION
	Cash	SmartRider - cost per journey		Cash	SmartRider - cost per journey
		15% discount	25% discount		15% discount	25% discount
2 Sections	$1.70	$1.45	$1.28	$0.60	$0.51	$0.45
1 Zone	$2.40	$2.04	$1.80	$0.90	$0.77	$0.68
2 Zones	$3.60	$3.06	$2.70	$1.40	$1.19	$1.05
3 Zones	$4.50	$3.83	$3.38	$1.80	$1.53	$1.35
4 Zones	$5.30	$4.51	$3.98	$2.10	$1.79	$1.58
5 Zones	$6.50	$5.53	$4.88	$2.40	$2.04	$1.80
6 Zones	$7.40	$6.29	$5.55	$2.70	$2.30	$2.03
7 Zones	$8.50	$7.23	$6.38	$3.10	$2.64	$2.33
8 Zones	$9.30	$7.91	$6.98	$3.50	$2.98	$2.63
9 Zones	$10.00	$8.50	$7.50	$3.90	$3.32	$2.93
DayRider (A)	$8.80			$3.30	$2.81	$2.48
FamilyRider (B)	$8.80
Student (C)					50 cents - no discount
All fares GST inclusive. Fares calculated are rounded to the nearest whole cent based on normal rounding convention

Why you won't see Krispy Kremes in Perth

I was talking to someone at a recent franchising expo in Perth and they said that starting a Krispy Kreme store in WA is not as easy as many people realise. Each Krispy Kreme store needs a factory to support it, so in order to start a store in WA, they would need to get a factory set up in WA. Either that, or the Krispy Kremes would need to be "sent" from a factory interstate, challenging the idea that the donuts are freshly baked. 

This may help us at least give up hopes that a KK store in Perth is imminent. Not exactly a Perth hack, but more like a mental hack to give it up for now.