Eating Out: The Painted Bird Eating Out: The Painted Bird Source: Supplied YOU only have to look at the streets of Perth to see that Christmas party season is in full flight. And at The Painted Bird, a restaurant that was named after a children's book, the birds, chooks, chickie babes and old ducks are painted up to the nines as they get into the Christmas spirit. Ben Toye, who took over the old Quarter on Hay just six weeks ago after eyeing the vacant site longingly from his old kitchen over at E'cucina, is catering for them all with his signature dish. There is, indeed, a painted bird on the menu at The Painted Bird. This one is a duck, a plump little bird that is confited, "painted" with a mustard and orange glaze and wrapped in puff pastry. Toye then whacks it on a white plate with some silky smooth pureed spuds and duck jus and calls it "duck pie" ($36). It's not really, but who cares? It's a dish that sings like a canary. Well, that's what it did with my son, Fletch, who mopped up every dot of jus on the plate. There's a lot of duck going down in this blokey little restaurant hidden behind the Wesley Church on Hay St. Along with the pie, there's tea smoked duck in a tiger prawn salad starter ($19.50) and there's duck ham on a charcuterie platter. The other dishes are all what I'd call Shane Warne dishes very meaty, very blokey and very rich. Hmm, I'm sure there was a thick edge in there somewhere. Think mountains of pan fried potato gnocchi hand rolled to silky smoothness with a wintery ragu of different cuts of pork, lamb and veal cooked for hours to melt your heart tenderness ($29). Add some aged parmesan and white truffle oil and, like me, you'd make a mental note to spend an extra hour in the gym next day. Long, slow cooking is what Toye does best, especially with the slow cooked lamb shoulder. After an overnight stint in the low oven, the lamb is pulled off the bone by Toye and wrapped up like a sausage to sit on top of a soupy beetroot risotto ($34), with a delicate circle of pea and mint ravioli to crown the colourful affair. Some of the dishes are a bit heavy handed. But what they lack in plating finesse they make up for in flavour. There was an overenthusiastic pangrattato crumbing on the broccolini ($8) and, here, less was definitely more. Toye's feminine side could be nurtured, perhaps by his business partner, Kat Milton, who also used to work over the road at E'cucina. There is room for zhuzhing up the fit out slightly. At the moment it's a bit stark. However, the central spot is the perfect venue for a laid back beginning to a Christmas party assault on the town working your way through the plethora of nearby small bars. And, like us, if you make it through to dessert lemon tart ($15) and a decadent choco delice ($15) you'll be fortified enough to get through the lot without eating another thing. That's why an army marches on its stomach, not on the appetite of a fabled paper bird. And, at the end, this old duck was stuffed. Top Drops: West Cape Howe Wines Source: Supplied 2011 West Cape Howe Two Steps Shiraz Mount Barker/Frankland. Premium fruit from across the Great Southern was matured separately for 18 months for this wine. A heady wave of juicy black fruits and a kick of pepper and spice, anchored by ripe tannins. 2013 West Cape Howe Riesling Mount Barker where this variety thrives. Plenty of lemon and lime to tease the palate, structured by firm, crunchy acidity. Will cellar well. 2012 West Cape Howe Cabernet Merlot A 75/25 blend sourced from all over WA. The intense, toasty bouquet is a prelude to a palate wrapped by juicy red berries and a sprinkle of white pepper and red licorice.