Asian flavours, fresh pastries and pub hits: Why Baillie Hill is Vic Park’s new food hub

A good meal doesn’t just get people out of their homes. It can also be the catalyst for luring old buildings out of retirement.

Consider the city’s long abandoned general post office that’s now part of a formidable (and essential) CBD food and drink hub.

At the other end of the Terrace, a popular brasserie has made its home in the former Royal Insurance Co headquarters. And let’s not forget the western suburbs boatshed and its unlikely second act.

Once upon a time, all these buildings lay dormant and underutilised, waiting for the kiss of true love – or a sideways glance from the right property developer – to wake them from their slumber, Sleeping Beauty-style.

One of the newer admissions to this congregation of the born-again is Baillie Hill: a dining precinct in East Victoria Park that opened in January at the site of WA’s first dedicated maternity hospital.

If you’ve ever wondered what $25 million of combined state, federal and private sector funding gets you in terms of redevelopment work, wonder no more.

While I can’t speak to what Baillie Hill looked like pre-facelift – embarrassingly, I didn’t know it existed, even though I’ve lived most of my life in the area – its current iteration is bright, welcoming and sympathetic to the space’s past as well as its present.

Federation-era detailing and red brick exteriors are a constant throughout, but the dining areas are spacious and open. Native waterwise plants are all around and there always seems to be landscaping happening. I’m not mad about any of the above.

Cosmetic benefits aside, this makeover also created different spaces and venues that awaken throughout the day.

The earliest riser among these is Beth’s Bakery which occupies the rotunda building that Baillie Hill’s namesake Elizabeth Baillie built in 1912. It’s the only venue that’s tenanted and not run in-house, but in partnering with the likes of Laurance Greenfield (Community Coffee Co) and baker Sam Blaikie (Goods), management have assembled a team that understands the café and bread caper.

Around midday, the rest of the gang starts to stir. The Berwick, the precinct’s pub-style offering, is Baillie Hill’s most visible offshoot thanks to the umbrella-shaded tables and giant TV screen near the entrance. The cooking follows suit with modern-day public house hits including fish and chips that’s flaky and crunchy in the appropriate places; burgers; salt and pepper squid and other bar snacks du jour, plus wood-fired pizzas with puffy, gently blistered crusts slicked with a bright sugo. Grazie Parco Pizza.

But most of the interesting stuff is happening at Milly’s Acre, the section of Baillie Hill that includes a semi-outdoor area next to the gardens, children’s play area and Greensleeves: a kiosk slinging good house-made gelato.

It’s here that you can best see – and taste – some of the Asian influences that new executive chef Aldren Teo brings to the QR code-equipped tables. Think rectangles of prawn sesame toast crowned with black and white sesame seeds; a Thai-inspired grilled beef salad wheezing with chilli; plus the terrific scotch egg clad with spiced carrot served with a mophead of turmeric-pickled shredded papaya.

I also suspect Teo might have had a hand in developing the Vietnamese coffee-flavoured gelato at Greensleeves, too.

As mentioned, QR code ordering is available: one of many concessions made by both owner and diner for making a venue this big run. See also fetching your own cutlery and the at-times confusing crossover between the menus in each venue and the rules on what you can order where.

One solution is to head to the bar and place your order with staff directly. Not only does it allow you to, say, order the tacos at Milly’s Acre (they’re only served there) but get them delivered to your table at The Berwick: it also lets you peruse the end of bin wine specials too, that I can’t seem to find on the app.

More importantly, it’s a reminder that at the end of the day, the purpose of any pub is the pleasure of human connection.

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