THE East End of Fremantle is still very “colourful”.

After parking in Point Street carpark, where the Hilton Double Tree was going to be built, I was greeted by a man ranting and raving at the pedestrian crossing, then as I walked along Adelaide St a bloke emerged from a gloomy doorway and screamed something at me.

I hadn’t been in the East End for a couple of years, but it appears things haven’t changed that much, so I hot-footed it to Walyalup Koort for lunch.

Despite it being wet and cold, there was a decent buzz about the place with students and government workers streaming in and out of eateries on William St.

The sushi joint Haru, Melts Gourmet Toastie Bar and Short Order were all doing a good trade.

It was too cold for sushi and the concept of a gourmet toastie felt a bit like Laurence Olivier starring in an episode of Home and Away, so I opted for a hearty burger from Short Order.

I had been there before and enjoyed a delicious, great value cheeseburger ($13.50) – an ode to simplicity with a quality beef patty, cheese, ketchup and mustard.

I also shared some buffalo wings (half kg for $16) with friends – a sticky delight with tangy sauce and plenty of tender chook on the bone.

Short Order isn’t one of those gratuitous kitchen-sink burger places and does the simple things well with a small range that includes chicken, fiery, BBQ bacon, short order classic and the mysterious “no name burger”.

But today I wanted to try their FNZ Nashville hot chicken sandwich ($20).

The staff were super friendly and the English bloke behind the till gave me a glass with ice for my  coke, and had a nice air about him.

I was soon tucking into my fried chicken sandwich, which wasn’t overloaded and could be picked up with ease.

They hadn’t gone overboard on the spice and toppings with a nice balance of chilli oil, chilli dust, sauce and pickles.

It was a tasty fillet with a light crispy batter and tender flesh, and the red cabbage slaw on top added a satisfying crunch. 

Rounding things off was a super soft burger bun. Twenty bucks is getting up there for a single burger, but it was very enjoyable.

With the in-laws staying, I decided to broker a peace deal or put them in a diabetic coma with some goodies from Get Chunky, which specialises in big, fat chunky cookies made from premium, locally sourced ingredients.

Situated at the edge of FOMO on William St, the shop is like some futuristic world where everything is gleaming white and scrupulously clean.

It reminded me of the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey when the astronaut is living in a strange white room or a scene from THX 1138.

The girl behind the till was really friendly and I got the Apple Crumble Chunk, Red Velvet, Cookies and Cream, and Rocky Chunk ($8 each).

It sounds expensive for a cookie, but these were super big and almost like a brownie with a dense, filling texture (one could easily feed two people).

My pick of the bunch was the Apple, which wasn’t as sweet as the rest and tasted like a mini crumble with lovely pieces of juicy fruit.

All of them were high quality with top ingredients, so if you like your cookies New York-style – big, bold and brash – give Get Chunky a go.

I shot for the East End, but wound up in the centre of Fremantle. I will be back to try the Land of Nod again.

Short Order
3 William St, Fremantle

Get Chunky
10 William St, Fremantle

by STEPHEN POLLOCK