Buy West Eat Best’s Plating Up WA is set to return in June 2024 and the team at Miss Mi Perth can’t wait to help you taste your way around the state’s renowned local produce!
About Plating Up WA
Plating Up WA is an initiative of Buy West Eat Best and the Western Australian Government, which celebrates the diverse and plentiful produce we are blessed with. Participating restaurants including Miss Mi Perth will be showcasing their hero Plating Up WA dishes during the month of June.
We will be offering a delicious pork lechon stuffed with spicy coconut braised kale and served with a zesty sesame lime salad. Learn more about our offer here.
Perth foodies should keep an eye on the Plating Up WA website for more announcements for 2024 and get ready to book your table in celebration of WA’s best produce.
While we wait for more exciting news, we sat down with Miss Mi Perth Head chef Alex De Leon to find out more about his favourite WA ingredients.
Q&A With Miss Mi’s Alex De Leon
Q: Plating Up WA will return in June 2024, giving Perth foodies the opportunity to taste some of our state’s best local produce. What wonderfully wintery local goodies can diners expect to see on the Miss Mi winter menu?
One of the dishes we’ve been working on is local Fremantle octopus paired with squid ink adobo sauce, pickled green chilli and vinegar curry leaf gel. The combination of the rich octopus and sauce with the bright chilli and vinegar is delicious and we’re excited to put it on the menu.
Q: As a chef, why is it important to you that the restaurant supports local farmers and producers?
A: From a chef’s perspective, buying local allows me to access the freshest and highest quality ingredients, which enhances the flavour and quality of the dishes we prepare.
It also enables us to support our local producers, fostering a sense of community with the people who grow and produce the food. Building those relationships is so important, and it allows us to get a deeper understanding of where our ingredients come from and how they can be utilised.
On top of that, supporting local producers supports sustainability by reducing carbon emissions associated with long-distance transportation.
Q: Miss Mi’s ethos is to pay homage to the art of the Asian grill… and West Australians love a barbie! How do you use these similarities to bring the Miss Mi concept to life? How does WA produce play a role?
A: At Miss Mi, we embrace the similarities between Asian and Western grilling traditions and infuse them with creativity and innovation. Both cultures share the experience of gathering family and friends to feast around a smoking hot grill – and at Miss Mi we embody that spirit of generosity through our service and food.
In much of Southeast Asian cuisine, the food is a direct representation of the local produce available, so to keep the authenticity of that experience we focus on ingredients we can find from local WA suppliers and incorporate it with traditional techniques to create a new experience.
Q: From farmers and fishmongers to cheese makers and winemakers, WA is home to some pretty amazing temptations. When you’re not cooking up an Asian feast at Miss Mi, what local produce do you seek out on your days off?
A: Normally on my days off I look for simple produce to cook up for my family. One of my favourite dishes to make is kare-kare, a thick stew that with a sauce like satay peanut sauce, filled with ingredients such as beef tripe, ox tail and trotters from my local butcher. I also add different vegetables depending on what’s in season, from string beans, eggplant, bok choy and banana blossom hearts.
Q: Last year as part of Plating Up WA Miss Mi showcased our famous succulent Szechuan Lamb Ribs which celebrate local WA lamb farmers. What local WA produce do you think you’ll focus on for the campaign this year?
A: This year we’ll focus on Linley Valley Pork, who have been supplying West Australian grown pork to locals for over 30 years. We’ll be making a whole pork belly lechon with crispy crackling, stuffed with spicy coconut braised kale and served with a zesty sesame lime salad.
ABOUT MISS MI
Miss Mi Perth’s place in the 2024 WA Good Food Guide Top 100 establishes the restaurant as one of Perth’s ‘must visit’ dining experiences. Book your table in advance to avoid disappointment.
Ready to experience Miss Mi Perth? Book your table today or view the latest menu.