There’s a lot of great little bits and pieces in today’s newsletter, but none are more important than the recent sighting of a Pictilabrus brauni off the coast of Albany by Océane Attlan — a PhD candidate with the UWA Oceans Institute. Also known as a Braun’s wrasse, the fish was initially discovered in 1996, and has only been officially recorded one other time since then, when it was sighted during a 2009 scientific survey.
Anyway just a fun little story for your hump day, hope it’s a good one whatever you’re up to!
Troy Mutton, Editor-In-Chief, Perth is OK!
EAT & DRINK
Opening Friday: Masa Mesa brings El Salvadoran and Argentinian flavours to Nedlands
A new restaurant celebrating the flavours of Latin America is arriving in Nedlands soon, with the arrival of Masa Mesa to Hampden Road on February 13.
Masa Mesa is the work of husband-and-wife duo Erick and Lara Martinez. Erick, a chef, hails from El Salvador, while Lara is Argentinian – but they’ll be drawing inspiration from their extensive travels trying street food throughout Latin America.
That means handmade pupusas play a huge role in the menu, made with masa dough and filled with gooey cheese, your choice of pork or black beans, and its traditional accompaniment of fresh tomato salsa and curtido, a tangy house-pickled cabbage slaw.
Empanadas are similarly snacky, filled with Argentinian-style beef asado and baked, or fried and filled with chicken, corn and smoked queso.
THE LATEST FROM PERTH IS OK!
NEWS
$240m St Martins Centre redevelopment plans revealed for Perth CBD
The transformative, $240 million project will reshape the centre into a reinvigorated, vibrant precinct with a mix of retail, dining, entertainment, office and 243-key lifestyle hotel.
SPONSORED
Kick off AFL Origin weekend with Origin Countdown
Headed to Optus on Thursday afternoon, there’ll be special appearances from some of the AFL’s best hosts, sporting personalities and footy legends, plus the chance to win tickets to the sold-out AFL Origin match on Saturday.
SCIENCE
“Extremely shy” fish spotted near Albany
Measuring less than 7.5cm and described by researchers as “extremely shy”, an incredibly rare fish has been spotted by UWA researchers in a kelp forest off the coast of Albany.
WHAT’S ON
Perth Design Week reveals 2026 program
The week-long festival opens on March 18, and aims to spark important conversations about design issues that impact us all – like sustainability, housing, urban density and social wellbeing.
TODAY/TONIGHT (FRINGE EDITION)
Casey Filips: Virtuoso
The Man. The Myth. The Idiot. Tobias Finlay-Fraser is the greatest actor of his generation. Only problem is, he's played by little-known actor/comedian Casey Filips. Virtuoso is an award-winning one-man comedy hour following actor Tobias, a pretentious yet charming idiot.
WHAT’S ON
Farewell Fringe, hell Perth Festival, St Jerome’s Laneway and more: What’s on around Perth this week
And that’s not even the half of it — Sophie Ellis-Bextor is in town; it’s Valentine’s/Galentine’s weekend; the Perth Lynx begin their finals campaign at home; there’s an immersive screening of The Goonies; and the dapper two dudes you see above are here all the way from Italy… It’s all happening!
CCAPTUREDD
‘Gram of the Week
After a couple of years talking about it, Bathers Beach finally has its own shark barrier.
Check the video to hear from some locals about what it means to them.