I am so Pleased to Meet You

Let's all welcome a new neighbour to Northbridge because as their name would suggest, this place is definitely friendly in terms of food and service. Newcomer Pleased to Meet You is one of Clint Nolan's crew and joins it's successful siblings La Cholita, Who's Your Mumma and Harvest.

Since I'm a rather large fan of La Cholita, I was definitely keen to try out this new restaurant which has some exciting dishes that include suckling pig, sliders and reuben bao buns. Sound good to you? Because it sounded damn good to me!

Since it was the first day of trading with a liquor licence (for the past couple of weeks they've been BYO while waiting for their licence to go through), Jeremy and I arrived at 5.30pm for an early bird dinner. We were worried that there would be crowds to contend with if we got there later, and it seemed like our plan worked we were some of the first diners in.

The fit out is gorgeous, as you'd expect from Nolan. A great use of wood with natural light streaming in through the windows. There's a wall of green plants jutting out and four long communal tables for dining at, plus plenty of counter space. It's bright, airy and welcoming.

The service is fantastic. Refreshing icy cold water with mint and lemon is poured into glasses for us and brought out immediately. They operate via counter service here, so you place your orders and pay at the counter which is more like most breakfast places but it does suit the operation of this restaurant.

The menu is written on a large board next to the bar, which does make things a little difficult if you're taking your time to look them all over. It would be better if they kept copies at the tables too like they do with the drinks, but it's not a huge issue when there's not too many people there crowding around reading it.

We place our orders at the bar (where I immediately fall in love with the bubbly and friendly waitress) and then take a seat. We've each ordered a drink and they're quick to come out, both with frosty mason jar mugs to drink out of.

I've chosen a Western Australian apple cider called George the Fox (handler for $10). As far as apple ciders go, this one hits the spot. Bubbly, light and refreshing. I really enjoy it throughout the meal.

Jeremy chooses the 500mL Kirin Fuji Apple Cider ($15), which is a Japanese import. It's a much lighter colour than my drink, a pale green cider that's sweet and delicate. You can actually taste the fuji apple flavouring in it.

After we've sat with our drinks for a few minutes, the food starts arriving at our table. Eager to try as much of the menu as possible, we've chosen to order a single unit of selected items to share between us. It's always more fun when you get to sample as many different dishes as possible!

The first item to come to our table is the Duck Taco with Corn Salsa ($6). Zingy, sweet duck is covered in succulent duck and crunchy iceberg lettuce. It's wrapped in a soft tortilla which is reminiscent of those at La Cholita only larger and somehow softer.

It's such a fresh dish, with each bite juicy and flavoursome. You can't really go wrong with any of the ingredients inside so this one is a definite crowd pleaser.

The next dish to come out is the Pork Crackers & Avocado Dip ($10). Naughty, naughty amazingness! The crackling is satisfyingly crisp and not at all oily; working well with the smooth mashed avocado.

This is the perfect kind of bar snack, with the avocado and crackling really complimenting each other. Maybe not something you could in good conscious (of your health) eat every day, but pretty moorish and enjoyable on an infrequent basis.

One of Jeremy's favourite dishes for the night is the Salt & Pepper Squid Banh Mi ($8.50). It's a take on a classic Vietnamese dish where you can have a wonderfully crusty french stick with strips of carrot, cabbage, cucumber and coriander, plus crisply battered squid.

The bread is fresh, offering a good amount of crunch as you bite down. I love how much zing it has, with all the flavours well balanced and full of vibrance. While normal banh mi have pork paste and meat inside, the squid in this one is a nice change. 

Jeremy's other favourite dish and mine for the night is the Beef Tongue Reuben Bao ($6). It might be little, but wow. Seriously, wow.

The bao is a pillowy soft bun that dents from merely being touched. It's ethereally light; the inside with a smoked been tongue slice, with flecks of cheese and a slathering of russian dressing. This dish changed the bao game for me, taking a traditional Chinese dish and making it something akin to fusion genius. Am I raving? Yes, but it was that good!

After spying the Coal Roasted Suckling Pig rotating over open flame behind the counter, we can't not order a serving of the meat. Could you resist?

We choose 200grams ($10 per 100grams) and it comes out cut in different shapes and sizes; accompanied by a little cup of chimichurri sauce (an Argentinian sauce for grilled meats). 

The meat is slightly smokey and extremely juicy. Sometimes this cooking method can dry out the meat, but in this case it is on the money. Especially when you get those pieces with a layer of fat - they just melt in your mouth!

The chimichurri is a sauce made of parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano and vinegar. It's sharp but slightly sweet at the same time.

The smoke from the pig fills the restaurant, so beware when you go - your hair and clothes will end up smelling like smoke. Mine sure did - almost good enough to make me hungry again haha!

That was all we'd ordered so far, but both of us have a little more capacity to eat so we go up to the counter to order a couple more small dishes.

First of all is the Pulled Pork Slider ($6). Along with the bao, this was one of my favourites for the night. A toasted brioche bun houses a heap of sweet, barbeque sauced pulled pork, coriander and pickled cabbage.

I can't really explain why this was so good - is it okay to say it just was? Crunchy, soft, sweet and sour. It's meaty, well seasoned and balanced in flavours. I can see why the waitress smiled in such approval when we placed the order for this menu item!

The Watermelon Salad with Goats Curd ($8) is our final savoury dish for the night. Out of all the dishes it was probably my least favourite, though it still tasted good. A mixture of cucumber, watermelon, fresh herbs, onion, fried onion, sirarcha sauce and goats curd are piled high in a bowl.

To my surprise, all of those ingredients actually compliment each other quite well. I do think that there's not enough of the promised watermelon and goats curd though, and would have liked to see more of these throughout.

We've eaten a great deal by this stage - even though some dishes were bite size when shared between us. However we can't help but be persuaded into trying dessert after our lovely waitress tells us it's too good to resist. Who doesn't love s'mores!

The S'mores ($7) dessert is one of three available. There's also ice-cream nachos and bubblegum soft serve. Both sound great but I do love a good marshmallow so I'm sold on this option which is actually the most expensive of all the desserts.

Three scoops of rich chocolate mousse with piped caramel mounds, housemade graham crackers and toasted marshmallow.

What a sweet way to end the night - and it's a dessert that you should definitely share unless you have a real sweet chocolate tooth. I love the marshmallow which is not store bought, it has such a light fluffiness without a grainy residue like many do.

I have to say, Pleased to Meet You really impressed my boy and I. We eat out often enough, but it's not often we will rave non-stop on the way home. This restaurant hit the spot for us. Inventive, fun, and tasty. The dishes were simple but well executed, with flavours that are sure to please the crowds which I have no doubt will flock.

What a great addition to Northbridge - I can only hope if you go, you enjoy it as much as we did!