tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24227746348852918232024-03-19T13:58:32.672+09:30Top End Foodiefinding good food in the NorthUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-47290030875075691062013-06-10T19:54:00.000+09:302013-06-13T18:17:26.595+09:30Bali is in the North so I reckon it counts :-)<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first few days of a 14-day holiday in Bali. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rather than start a whole new blog, I thought I'd piggy back onto this one as all holidays are about food - aren't they???</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>5th of June</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our first night was spent in Kuta at the Mega Grand Resort and Spa Hotel. We arrived at about 8:45pm so, staying nearby made sense.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our driver took us to a warung where we could get a bite on the way to the hotel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, no photos of the food this time but some lovely photos of the hotel room to follow (when we can extract them from the camera).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've switched to the iPhone now as it is more portable and we can load the photos straight away, thanks to a little shop in Ubud called "Zoom" where we actually got a genuine iPhone 5 accessory!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>6th of June</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a beaut breakfast, we thought we'd cross the road to a mini mart and get some bottled water. OMG! 6 lanes full of traffic with no gaps (bemos, buses, cars, 4wd and many, many motorbikes and scooters). We watched a local step out with his arm raised to the side, palm facing the traffic, making a calming motion. The traffic slowed and he made his way across the whole road that way. We weren't confident and continued to wait.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At some point the locals took pity on us and one of the traffic controllers for the hotel crossed half way and blew his whistle to slow the traffic so we could cross.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 11am, we were collected by Nyoman, a local man from Ubud who drove us from Kuta to the Ananda Cottages Hotel where we were to stay for our first three days in Ubud.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The photos of the food from the first 2 days were taken on the camera, so same story as before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a beautiful bungalow with an open-air bathroom. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bath was big enough for two :-)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was also a spacious balcony where we ate breakfast each day. Some photos:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxqbTfHSTrgDRcqlymuKgYIgQcO1xxGrSFUoXQpIJbPJHtOLumrd3F-DJlubc589abASaocjYkeq5i9R2mKQMOmou6SHs0fPG0JrDnTs1UC2WQv2MW56JjVbIIxrmx03I_Al7DqNukC0/s1600/Ubud+photos+052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxqbTfHSTrgDRcqlymuKgYIgQcO1xxGrSFUoXQpIJbPJHtOLumrd3F-DJlubc589abASaocjYkeq5i9R2mKQMOmou6SHs0fPG0JrDnTs1UC2WQv2MW56JjVbIIxrmx03I_Al7DqNukC0/s320/Ubud+photos+052.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">King sized bed and couch</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHZ3mQGtxAP0vFTy-eKUeXoWP709nbAEAFY4dDXj3CZ6PM5NeF40an1g5BBpqnUlzU55tghylJQ6LJfP4hn7k7NeW1ucehhsfdztzoxeoXCEOhcVIdxzp2bitKOh8ehWiquSrJ_cN1fQ/s1600/Ubud+photos+059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHZ3mQGtxAP0vFTy-eKUeXoWP709nbAEAFY4dDXj3CZ6PM5NeF40an1g5BBpqnUlzU55tghylJQ6LJfP4hn7k7NeW1ucehhsfdztzoxeoXCEOhcVIdxzp2bitKOh8ehWiquSrJ_cN1fQ/s320/Ubud+photos+059.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">our balcony</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaLrkgMO5LlOfVqLNx8eabaVE3n0wbOmN6QwzwCoWqaSM0UHIGZ2zKWfayghhdnueXXKDI3HcqOtvH7fTuWoVRb0mfZDLK_g3ZUPRV_jn_JPIz9w-6Iej7oz-tQE3D4YtJfLSKYLtI4w/s1600/Ubud+photos+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaLrkgMO5LlOfVqLNx8eabaVE3n0wbOmN6QwzwCoWqaSM0UHIGZ2zKWfayghhdnueXXKDI3HcqOtvH7fTuWoVRb0mfZDLK_g3ZUPRV_jn_JPIz9w-6Iej7oz-tQE3D4YtJfLSKYLtI4w/s320/Ubud+photos+051.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">a bath for two</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFmdEq00u40XEXsN8oGaVQdEDMW6ggXOOh5ghsHn-OCGBwjOD4rUWiFK7bGoAKswEOO4OlG7iBfgvOAI93Loi1UHj0mvrXmFvyqX6DDAwMim-ZvMsxC7uD7veha5SbVwx8Mexz-mHx1s/s1600/Ubud+photos+049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFmdEq00u40XEXsN8oGaVQdEDMW6ggXOOh5ghsHn-OCGBwjOD4rUWiFK7bGoAKswEOO4OlG7iBfgvOAI93Loi1UHj0mvrXmFvyqX6DDAwMim-ZvMsxC7uD7veha5SbVwx8Mexz-mHx1s/s320/Ubud+photos+049.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">and a rice paddy view!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll pop some photos of the food we had a the restaurant here later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7th to 9th of June</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some photos of breakfast at Ananda cottages Hotel. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYnpUCENQ2f2BH4X8qRTjIOLga4KpDkqeag1IuRXmOhKuSds7Q_wL-5BXb2vntu_fAX5h4ugq1YqbWvx1vevznZUQjqWVrx5lX9R763XzVYibILaoRDI10OCGCfnCkYiyuy9Wt15wdtw/s1600/Ubud+photos+077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYnpUCENQ2f2BH4X8qRTjIOLga4KpDkqeag1IuRXmOhKuSds7Q_wL-5BXb2vntu_fAX5h4ugq1YqbWvx1vevznZUQjqWVrx5lX9R763XzVYibILaoRDI10OCGCfnCkYiyuy9Wt15wdtw/s320/Ubud+photos+077.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">breakfast is usually included with your room in Bali and always includes a plate of fruit and tea or coffee</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggd_jdnQ-RagOM1xu6YVk1IK1EPuwJh7RtHEmvbrIow75ZuhdHH4x5K3EmAyj9S2EGRkhFPqei_Cr1Pv6WV8ds82_s9Z2aJ1dpvfXhq_p-kOCpyxlBbsKIpsvz_p8KI-vm0JaaqWVrFso/s1600/Ubud+photos+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggd_jdnQ-RagOM1xu6YVk1IK1EPuwJh7RtHEmvbrIow75ZuhdHH4x5K3EmAyj9S2EGRkhFPqei_Cr1Pv6WV8ds82_s9Z2aJ1dpvfXhq_p-kOCpyxlBbsKIpsvz_p8KI-vm0JaaqWVrFso/s320/Ubud+photos+080.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">nasi goreng with a fried egg was a favourite for us</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimyM1ZPx1N4Bjo2Llzxbp7eoweIATPErJ-6mwyt5HPoJLreMqSC0VQLslSo4oaOhIBQJq0wJEFlCEeIqagR88vOmfLFRaEvPbOTnJm4CJYvwaO6i8xE9iQd3cNAWgUwNYV7KddqcmRVK0/s320/Ubud+photos+081.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-4246195600037913372013-05-30T15:40:00.003+09:302013-05-30T15:41:41.466+09:30Java Spice Cafe EmporiumWhat a treat this place is!<br />
It has become a firm favourite now.<br />
I decided to inquire about a high tea for mum's 70th. At $35 per head it was very good value as it included bottomless espresso coffee as well as hot chocolate, chai latte and leaf tea.<br />
The food comprised sandwiches for the savoury element, a birthday cake topped with rose cupcakes, mini tarte tatins in apple & sultana as well as quince & slivered almonds. There were also chocolate fudge brownies. The table was decorated with strings of pearls, tealights and pink bonbonieri.<br />
As usual upon arrival, each guest was given water and a cool damp towel to refresh themselves.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYPPIDJGJ2Jrh_GfX9kJ8eOR41t41176dllYcxWFD_Noqf2TP8jgyA90MCjWu86HmUi9zUMOZaQiLeS-6zcf2DEUl1z3yLolGijOHjjzcDFailQPX_HJMmu392Cj-nq0gxxU_ORFrvek/s1600/java+spice+high+tea+overview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYPPIDJGJ2Jrh_GfX9kJ8eOR41t41176dllYcxWFD_Noqf2TP8jgyA90MCjWu86HmUi9zUMOZaQiLeS-6zcf2DEUl1z3yLolGijOHjjzcDFailQPX_HJMmu392Cj-nq0gxxU_ORFrvek/s320/java+spice+high+tea+overview.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">an overview of the lovely table and food</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_2bZFYahGO4MERZAuf_g6HpBKASL_1W80GIf2eAowZU1tKU2_ql9jD004m9gyFCc6pYQZlGJYiBYX0d4AshmL_L-QgPHrZ-YkAq_fH_mhEHJsdwM7YzrGLYEOqu4PmbnRitQ7DAMW54/s1600/java+spice+birthday+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_2bZFYahGO4MERZAuf_g6HpBKASL_1W80GIf2eAowZU1tKU2_ql9jD004m9gyFCc6pYQZlGJYiBYX0d4AshmL_L-QgPHrZ-YkAq_fH_mhEHJsdwM7YzrGLYEOqu4PmbnRitQ7DAMW54/s320/java+spice+birthday+cake.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the birthday cake</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGAXUMh62W5lPGxhqjlkTgcY0C2MXpc4-O0jgXGSzZOOaeHSL3pFLQkm1kkmE6bi8e50Z6QWdT-SjEjvgkLKoHwohFhEQgWKtubrqfsX94JogvDoUEamrSIySkW37cua4vly1MNyR5jo/s1600/java+spice+rose+cupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGAXUMh62W5lPGxhqjlkTgcY0C2MXpc4-O0jgXGSzZOOaeHSL3pFLQkm1kkmE6bi8e50Z6QWdT-SjEjvgkLKoHwohFhEQgWKtubrqfsX94JogvDoUEamrSIySkW37cua4vly1MNyR5jo/s400/java+spice+rose+cupcakes.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rose cupcakes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKIsZCacQBIjM0saMXO3FgdzSYPqPlMmiPfEgvD81iqi2HJ1rlQwAtuhqIx8WKnLvFcQRpiDIz8kBhRTJx2lHCcSULtkzMheHc9GNO2SsxmuhUJj_FUXhtilLinzl6-qucMcKhPHh_hgw/s1600/java+spice+sweets+and+savouries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKIsZCacQBIjM0saMXO3FgdzSYPqPlMmiPfEgvD81iqi2HJ1rlQwAtuhqIx8WKnLvFcQRpiDIz8kBhRTJx2lHCcSULtkzMheHc9GNO2SsxmuhUJj_FUXhtilLinzl6-qucMcKhPHh_hgw/s320/java+spice+sweets+and+savouries.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mini tarte tatins and fudge brownies with triple-decker sandwiches below </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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As a friend reminded me, you need to choose somewhere special for such an occasion. When I called to confirm, Moya told me that she had made the quince tarte tatins especially for mum's birthday tea. The birthday cake was not ordered, it came with the tea and the staff, after finding out my mum's name first, sang happy birthday to her.<br />
The staff were attentive but not intrusive and a good time was had by all. <br />
My only feedback would be - stronger leaf tea and a little more variety in the savoury elements of the food.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-1591843644431267402013-05-30T13:13:00.002+09:302013-05-30T13:15:10.348+09:30Roma Bar Well, I haven't been to the Roma Bar in years.<br />
It was once one of a handful of places in Darwin where you could get good coffee and the food was pretty good too.<br />
My mum turned 70 the other day so we had a day long celebration starting with breakfast here.<br />
Mum had the vego breakfast <br />
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while her friend had the eggs royal<br />
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and I had eggs benedict.<br />
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The coffee was great and the service friendly. Funky music in the background and the space is light and cool. Great value for money too, I'll be going back :-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-24147012486867264342013-01-15T15:57:00.003+09:302013-01-15T15:57:52.767+09:30The Cove<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">No pics, sorry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Went to the new restaurant at the Casino's new resort on Monday the 7th of January.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I found the atmosphere a bit lacking - bright white lighting and angular furniture; and the french doors were closed so there was no view of the lagoon pool - just reflections.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The menu has a good variety of protein choices and an interesting vegetarian selection - including one dish with mushroom "soil". The food was either <u>very</u> good or a bit mediocre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My sister had the pork cheek ravioli entree followed by the beef entree. The latter looked like a stir fry despite there being no mention of noodles on the menu and tasted of keens curry powder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My Mum had the prawn cocktail with mango jelly, avocado and pumpernickel & smoked salmon bites. 6 large prawns were the feature. I'd like to try it if I go again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You can order different oysters individually, the kilpatrick were ordinary - some sort of "kilpatrick sauce" </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(?)</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> was used. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My partner ordered the chowder - or should I sat WOWder! It was lovely and creamy but felt light and fresh at the same time - delish! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For the main we both had the "Sea & Earth", yes, you guessed it, the surf & turf option. Eye fillet, prawns and bearnaise sauce. The steak was cooked very well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Desserts ordered and sampled were:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">the "floating" pavlova with lychee jelly and white sangria sauce - boring except for the basil and lime sorbet which was FABULOUS!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">the prune pudding - aka sticky date pudding-like thing, very yummy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">ginger bread brulee with rhubarb compote, rhubarb sticks and glass biscuit - quite delectable and delicious and I'd have it again. The rhubarb was so nice and tart. Not sure where the glass biscuit was unless it was the sprinkling of white sugar powder on the rhubarb "sticks"?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The wine list had some nice offerings of each variety and we had Salinger by the glass to start with; which I followed with a Temperanillo from SA. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Atmosphere 5/10 (maybe nicer for lunch?)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Wine list 7/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Food 7/10 (some of it was 4/10)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Value for money 7/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Service 7/10 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-77130362684036178582013-01-14T13:05:00.001+09:302013-01-15T12:45:48.995+09:30the rest of 2012<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Ok to wrap up the last year and start fresh here goes:</div>
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<b>Buzz cafe</b>'s Barra in beurre blanc sauce was moist and delicious :-)</div>
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Not sure about the atmosphere here these days, needs a bit of a revamp/spruce up.</div>
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The service was pretty good.</div>
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Can't remember the wine list.</div>
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Oh, any one else hate main courses with no sides? Seems to be the thing these days, I just find it fussy and annoying - as well as more expensive!</div>
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<b>Christo's</b> seafood is still very good. Darned hard to find the
restaurant though! It's tucked away at the back of the shops at
Tipperary waters. Outdoor dining on a breezy boardwalk. I had the
battered jew fish and my dining buddy had the marinara. Both dishes were
delicious. The batter on my fish was light and crispy and the marinara
had large tender pieces of seafood in it. A nice simple wine list and
excellent service - old school stuff by the young woman who is the head
waiter there.</div>
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Did I ever mention my love of <b>Cornucopia</b>? For breakfast in particular. There have been occasions of late where the food hasn't met all of its high standards - I guess that's due to staff changes and not renewing leases etc. Anyway, the morning I went it was all good. The location is wonderful and the atmosphere's really nice. The eggs and mushrooms were cooked beautifully.</div>
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I also went to two of the Vietnamese restaurants here - <b>Ruby</b> and <b>Saigon Star</b>. At both places I had noodle salads. At Ruby (on the left) I had the beef noodle salad with lemongrass and ginger; and at the Saigon Star I had a noodle salad with crispy pork. The small bowls did contain yummy stuff to pour over the salads - I forgot to take a photo before doing that :-). Ruby is better value for money with a much larger meal for only $2 more. Oh, and the salads at Ruby are only on the lunch menu.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And of course, the <b>Cool Spot</b> and what it does best! The iced milk drinks and the excellent, locally made Lo Castro ice cream :-D </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">An extra note about the Cool Spot, I think they may have a new chef as the food has gone from being consistent but mediocre to consistently very good. Not one rotting salad leaf and the barramundi, chips and salad meal is fantastic!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I won SECOND prize for my chocolate cake at the Darwin Show in 2012 :-) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Now for FIRST! </span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-66620433463485895132012-05-09T10:27:00.001+09:302013-01-14T14:09:48.536+09:30May 2012Well, with the Royal Darwin Show fast approaching, I have realised that I haven't blogged for many months now. As the deliciously juicy and tender beef "sartee" at the show 2 years ago prompted me to begin, perhaps I'll hitch my blogging little red wagon to that event again and get re-inspired!<br />
I'll also be entering my chocolate cake in attempt to capture the elusive first prize - having attained a third last year (photo below of my trial run for this year).<br />
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I have quite a few photos from dining experiences over the intervening months, perhaps I'll do a mega post to finish those months off and start fresh....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-16554294473076200622011-06-28T12:31:00.005+09:302011-06-28T13:35:40.208+09:30Il Piatto - pizza, wine and the sunsetOn Friday the 24th we went to Il Piatto with the sole purpose of enjoying what they do well. That is pizza, ambience and a view of the sunset.<br />The wine list had some nice selections on it so we had Jansz schparkling and 9th Island Pinot Gris to follow. Both were delicious.<br /><br />We had one of each of the 5 pizzas on offer between the 6 of us and that worked really well. We also had some desserts.<br /><br />The bases of all of the pizzas are light and crisp and obviously made on site.<br />The quattro stagioni, or 4 seasons was perhaps a favourite, the ham was moist and had really good flavour.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgDxzDEXJycIIxgZuvvZFrk8SqucVyL-_7jkNgeeF_V0JfmOPkZe0PDv92R9UGH-Dt5aW8wxsXR9Tw15alqBmyrH6CZ0MFfmqNWpGiDv4qWI6j9sQRa_Z88XeV64se1q1y5o4iEYd2dY/s1600/quattro+stagioni.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgDxzDEXJycIIxgZuvvZFrk8SqucVyL-_7jkNgeeF_V0JfmOPkZe0PDv92R9UGH-Dt5aW8wxsXR9Tw15alqBmyrH6CZ0MFfmqNWpGiDv4qWI6j9sQRa_Z88XeV64se1q1y5o4iEYd2dY/s320/quattro+stagioni.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623113612565472498" border="0" /></a><br />The margherita was divine in its simplicity. Fresh tomatoes, basil and cheese.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMSLOsf7O2pW4K2bY3rAM5Ma1qaZJOZu1z5CNGQ2UewNzhRN4i1-PWowqDJUh8AeGgQ7MbOpt0Xr7fqiG2L0bUWITn7FRGuhffabgRqh4qmeHU8lL_9y348INYxbc_WDosuhYO-yteqQ/s1600/margherita.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMSLOsf7O2pW4K2bY3rAM5Ma1qaZJOZu1z5CNGQ2UewNzhRN4i1-PWowqDJUh8AeGgQ7MbOpt0Xr7fqiG2L0bUWITn7FRGuhffabgRqh4qmeHU8lL_9y348INYxbc_WDosuhYO-yteqQ/s320/margherita.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623113808751099138" border="0" /></a><br />We also had the quattro formaggi (4 cheeses). Some delicious goat cheese and three others made a really luscious pizza topping.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAAxpZL4beGw4OaI2niPEruNoTXZgpDvoAQCSpyD330IZOaTuSdlpDEriFel7QqzxWSFHlmUXTQpnWfeY2RryriGdSDpOyaIeT_xy1Dm60-CbhDREbQUU4_PoNkKFsZMcgj_ltbb-IsI/s1600/quattro+formaggi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAAxpZL4beGw4OaI2niPEruNoTXZgpDvoAQCSpyD330IZOaTuSdlpDEriFel7QqzxWSFHlmUXTQpnWfeY2RryriGdSDpOyaIeT_xy1Dm60-CbhDREbQUU4_PoNkKFsZMcgj_ltbb-IsI/s320/quattro+formaggi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623114137765693410" border="0" /></a><br />The salami on the siciliana really stood out as a quality ingredient, it was tender and had a nice amount of garlic in it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkvduT2seVlpSRcmRd8rzwS7EezpQlvOA6FMcVTW6yqr0eFwJe366Wif4bqEyROKg8BgE9MC1UJEByPROF4-MmOgG3r1P1XrvJTSuXNqZbv-dAm1CMrAhV3K-176UWaT_lShreJPIlN0/s1600/siciliana.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkvduT2seVlpSRcmRd8rzwS7EezpQlvOA6FMcVTW6yqr0eFwJe366Wif4bqEyROKg8BgE9MC1UJEByPROF4-MmOgG3r1P1XrvJTSuXNqZbv-dAm1CMrAhV3K-176UWaT_lShreJPIlN0/s320/siciliana.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623114429873943410" border="0" /></a>I didn't have the frutti di mare (seafood) one but it was all really big pieces of seafood - mussels, clams, prawns and fish - with no cheese just lots of fresh tomato sauce.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlmV5Q-BuQRd89AuKaunSaehBdzYK3n-vgQfbIAkux30fN_GFjsVoKn7bUlBc-2t4Y6u43RwPWblum3Uvq9Rx-oZIseS-SjOF5zKgYPSWLabMeVkzYDjqePm9prxlI8-uKweH4U7L0gw/s1600/frutti+di+mare.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlmV5Q-BuQRd89AuKaunSaehBdzYK3n-vgQfbIAkux30fN_GFjsVoKn7bUlBc-2t4Y6u43RwPWblum3Uvq9Rx-oZIseS-SjOF5zKgYPSWLabMeVkzYDjqePm9prxlI8-uKweH4U7L0gw/s320/frutti+di+mare.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623114632886582770" border="0" /></a>The desserts were delicious as well. I didn't get photos of all of them but the almond parfait and the three scoops of home made ice cream were real winners! I would also recommend the pistachio panna cotta with strawberry sheets, caramelised pop corn and saffron anglaise. The stand out dessert for me, however, were the the lemon curd donuts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuwnRmEcRmrRaZ7wavkvfXqozXKBnptdllsJTIqJtl37nDYhr2x-VByeoRq0WSF3Tl7rOiehBen-B-7WmQDlQhBfvtYNOwv1fr7qtG-7tUYC1tYh9C3FTzfAlKdPRuVpiuYInr03fg5s/s1600/almond+parfait.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuwnRmEcRmrRaZ7wavkvfXqozXKBnptdllsJTIqJtl37nDYhr2x-VByeoRq0WSF3Tl7rOiehBen-B-7WmQDlQhBfvtYNOwv1fr7qtG-7tUYC1tYh9C3FTzfAlKdPRuVpiuYInr03fg5s/s320/almond+parfait.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623115747854606706" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0z52OQoR8j9Yeqymk2PHiS45xFnT3nwIti_k1bZgRt_gJ7JqoXjZhg4ItMXP1PpsTXX6t3h9OhmUhprS5qrnqudmJTn1pd-4pWmO7TPtO6UXTkkM7dZRiMH14PgRQyIsp6SyIBh1FLA/s1600/3+scoops.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0z52OQoR8j9Yeqymk2PHiS45xFnT3nwIti_k1bZgRt_gJ7JqoXjZhg4ItMXP1PpsTXX6t3h9OhmUhprS5qrnqudmJTn1pd-4pWmO7TPtO6UXTkkM7dZRiMH14PgRQyIsp6SyIBh1FLA/s320/3+scoops.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623116019149437282" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-3373430470573590952011-06-28T12:00:00.009+09:302011-06-28T13:22:11.042+09:30Caf ParapOn the 10th of June my work colleagues and I did our yearly team-building cycle. This year our destination was Caf Parap for brunch.<br /><br />I'd not been there before, it's on Parap Road near where the old Tai Hung Tol was.<br /><br />I'd heard it was very small, but we got there to find they had recently expanded, so our group of twelve fit well.<br /><br />The menu has a great variety of sweet and savoury breakfast/brunch dishes. They make all of their own pastries, bit of a French influence going on. Their coffee is good and they serve loose leaf tea in pots for one, two or three.<br /><br />The dish that was highly recommended was the french toast and it didn't disappoint! It is served with banana and mango. The toast itself is fruit toast, so the combination of the spices in it with the warm fruits was really lovely.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-ZVkImCxInJRATQXVliiYtUmw45g2zVMNlLQhnvQ8brqV8KPjY0euDzVyLvbNYTNo_2yiUbr7I6nXlFRXHPHxIqDqGi8rlJinnA_1mz-gkCMU4FixpOgjrVZbEOH6t2BYrB6UP_uIzc/s1600/fench+toast+caf+parap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis-ZVkImCxInJRATQXVliiYtUmw45g2zVMNlLQhnvQ8brqV8KPjY0euDzVyLvbNYTNo_2yiUbr7I6nXlFRXHPHxIqDqGi8rlJinnA_1mz-gkCMU4FixpOgjrVZbEOH6t2BYrB6UP_uIzc/s320/fench+toast+caf+parap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623094951497708690" border="0" /></a>I had the short stack of pancakes with berry coulis and creme anglaise. To my delight, the berry coulis also had some lovely tart rhubarb in it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCE1huuZlZpBVA06TLxYmIfZkMX35tSQ3Qylz9CMJCr212Iuf4mDpvoHBSa_KplI9LiMgKiFhlxDOq264B7Drg0WcmC9b0-oFxUjlVVFJW2-36xjT0SXGa8_4leE575RWy3MnOevR3vSk/s1600/pancakes+caf+parap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCE1huuZlZpBVA06TLxYmIfZkMX35tSQ3Qylz9CMJCr212Iuf4mDpvoHBSa_KplI9LiMgKiFhlxDOq264B7Drg0WcmC9b0-oFxUjlVVFJW2-36xjT0SXGa8_4leE575RWy3MnOevR3vSk/s320/pancakes+caf+parap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623095348141114082" border="0" /></a>There were also some fabulous club sandwiches that a couple of colleagues couldn't finish they were so generous. I suspect that if we hadn't been cycling back to work, those sandwiches would have done for lunch too!<br />There were so many options with eggs, from fancy eggs like eggs benedict to eggs how you want them with an enormous range of add-on sides.<br />One colleague chose haloumi, tomatoes and spinach to go with hers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjRSHfUQdsO28YdZVS-ez22rBxdkrEZz70ulV4nsMWMWKRGakae-bciowys09v5ANVswkRA0OLOzl_w8lDDzcbYwHJERQHfeAm2t6BTBoNUbPHUQfAfdaRCGEvzfIX_ZZwuG2U-8yMKs/s1600/eggs+and+haloumi+caf+parap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjRSHfUQdsO28YdZVS-ez22rBxdkrEZz70ulV4nsMWMWKRGakae-bciowys09v5ANVswkRA0OLOzl_w8lDDzcbYwHJERQHfeAm2t6BTBoNUbPHUQfAfdaRCGEvzfIX_ZZwuG2U-8yMKs/s320/eggs+and+haloumi+caf+parap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623096745644558130" border="0" /></a>Another colleague went totally vegan with her choice of a combination of sides, including farmhouse potatoes, mushrooms, avocado and spinach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfI7S_YOZYxYxV_pPDJkQpdBostaLAUncaugvRFkK9D117KiKEtz42hcwnxge8-j5fmaseXTBDmZpBEELYPyJWU3ToMUjFcnSpYLaz0131E0fDCWmqvbXgywcSW92zp4X4HYAJ4hOPDGE/s1600/big+vegan+brekkie+caf+parap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfI7S_YOZYxYxV_pPDJkQpdBostaLAUncaugvRFkK9D117KiKEtz42hcwnxge8-j5fmaseXTBDmZpBEELYPyJWU3ToMUjFcnSpYLaz0131E0fDCWmqvbXgywcSW92zp4X4HYAJ4hOPDGE/s320/big+vegan+brekkie+caf+parap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623112982097127218" border="0" /></a>The ambience was a bit bright and noisy, but the food is awesome! I'm looking forward to working my way through the menu :-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-82565071689575963532011-06-03T11:36:00.003+09:302019-04-30T10:43:07.558+09:30HomLast Sunday I went to Hom. It's across Mitchell Street from the Tap bar.<br />
The restaurant has lovely soft ambient lighting combined with wood patterned laminated tables. The menu offers a good variety of dishes, but I must admit, I was there for one thing only, the Nasi Goreng. I had heard it was just like they serve it in Bali.<br />
I was not disappointed, it was delicious! It came complete with a fried egg on top. You can choose what meat you'd like through it, I had chicken in mine and it was tender and well-cooked.<br />
They have a small selection of wines by the glass, I had a tasty Sauvignon Blanc.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUhjMwVFrpT9AOfhaiCT9Xp3ayrJSBcrlNEIYCW3871oBFr34xsyoSVhrJiVaBbk4TwO4-Y0YxKtNfkhuCbXHbNZ8XJNadZNgw1JZ4mgPntLfLnNn5czNYu4gvN_Ii1pmNZTRWLRO_us/s1600/nasi+goreng+at+Hom.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613813845156056274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUhjMwVFrpT9AOfhaiCT9Xp3ayrJSBcrlNEIYCW3871oBFr34xsyoSVhrJiVaBbk4TwO4-Y0YxKtNfkhuCbXHbNZ8XJNadZNgw1JZ4mgPntLfLnNn5czNYu4gvN_Ii1pmNZTRWLRO_us/s320/nasi+goreng+at+Hom.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-10076080458979013262011-05-31T15:27:00.008+09:302011-06-03T11:36:30.096+09:30Wild Oats Wine Maker's Dinner at Bogart'sOn Wednesday the 25th of May I went to a wine maker's dinner. There were 8 courses and 7 wines. Phew, hard work but someone's got to do it!<br /><br />To start the evening off, we had a glass of Semillon Sauvignon Blanc.<br /><br />Ok, the first two courses were queen bouche and eggplant caviar, they were served with a Sauvignon Blanc.<br />The queen bouche comprised a pastry casing filled with capsicum marmalade topped with grilled goat cheese. The rich sweetness of the capsicum marmalade was well combined with the creamy, slightly salty goat cheese. The eggplant caviar was a delicious mix of eggplant, garlic, cumin and olives - it had a lovely smooth texture.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlI1e0fmXEqcdkKqV5B1OytiYJjdueT9c16cb2Va_uvYnsZNUzlDvISpBiUYA-zGOCKeqfIEysuM3vpNqwUW7g1vq36S-DYJ2IeYDoRJ3S1Me4sWppss6UzEHJ2-LVGrbcNxmtOJoKeQ/s1600/1st+course2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlI1e0fmXEqcdkKqV5B1OytiYJjdueT9c16cb2Va_uvYnsZNUzlDvISpBiUYA-zGOCKeqfIEysuM3vpNqwUW7g1vq36S-DYJ2IeYDoRJ3S1Me4sWppss6UzEHJ2-LVGrbcNxmtOJoKeQ/s320/1st+course2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612758454039219218" border="0" /></a>The next two courses were prawn tartare and spanish mushroom. They were served with the Rose and the Pinot Grigio.<br />The prawn tartare was marinated in lime juice, coconut milk, red onion and green chilli. It was tender and slightly spicy and went very well with the Rose. Corn chips and prawn tartare = winner combination of texture and flavour.<br />The spanish mushroom was really delicious, there were seared red emperor slices atop a field mushroom with chorizo cream (and a bit of mash!). The flavours in the dish went really well with the pinot grigio. We all agreed that the Pinot Grigio would stand alone as a quaffing wine too!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTURN-cf-35VzM0flr1qLx_iWm-YETHS7TFDK26gbz0iH5EbAGNw7OhoBhVJgEnk3_BREzpqXoFPv7KeswmfP4k-duxBBNTEIbeuFcaZukmmLt0VX_vUdKyt7N5s5a5FSsdHR3HXG46w/s1600/2nd+course.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTURN-cf-35VzM0flr1qLx_iWm-YETHS7TFDK26gbz0iH5EbAGNw7OhoBhVJgEnk3_BREzpqXoFPv7KeswmfP4k-duxBBNTEIbeuFcaZukmmLt0VX_vUdKyt7N5s5a5FSsdHR3HXG46w/s320/2nd+course.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612760376119294370" border="0" /></a><br />Courses 5 and 6 were an eye fillet carpaccio served with Temperanillo and cajun lamb cutlet served with a Cabernet Sauvignon.<br />The carpaccio had black pepper and capers with it and a generous amount of good olive oil. The slices were wafer thin and wonderfully tender. The Temperanillo was a lovely surprise, fruity and light, another very good quaffing wine!<br />The cajun lamb fillet was absolutely delightful, tender and juicy and lightly coated in a delicious mix of spices. It came with a yoghurt sweet chilli sauce on the side.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsWBxj4EgtyPo0Z0KJR83z3Fc6hc5MDa9CSlmluOL1eLNbMHQ0jzW5s1Kzs5-TgPmOenODhyphenhyphenZW6uDfBUBXfsrgb5UARuuYhA23WClCPavvsOh5iW7Pxi1YJrDkbg1O4lvlN-L7i1N4Z14/s1600/3rd+course.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsWBxj4EgtyPo0Z0KJR83z3Fc6hc5MDa9CSlmluOL1eLNbMHQ0jzW5s1Kzs5-TgPmOenODhyphenhyphenZW6uDfBUBXfsrgb5UARuuYhA23WClCPavvsOh5iW7Pxi1YJrDkbg1O4lvlN-L7i1N4Z14/s320/3rd+course.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612762307113448962" border="0" /></a>Course 7 was dessert! A creme brulee topped with Grand Marnier, served with a Traminer. The brulee was gorgeously silky and the wine had delicious fruit, they went really well together.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAt3TscxhCVLZpOyXjeHua1c-cYceZnU_OKo0iDdIT_MdFPBTKQk82rNMIBVbVQkFp3EC5UfO2cXiBzPLt9PO9xdrwuqslLOL_TSLM5P8u6cbZrZBXTyaZYlBGDZabF-UeXC76pxFoRMI/s1600/4th+course2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAt3TscxhCVLZpOyXjeHua1c-cYceZnU_OKo0iDdIT_MdFPBTKQk82rNMIBVbVQkFp3EC5UfO2cXiBzPLt9PO9xdrwuqslLOL_TSLM5P8u6cbZrZBXTyaZYlBGDZabF-UeXC76pxFoRMI/s320/4th+course2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612762934291670994" border="0" /></a><br />The last course was the cheese course, served with Shiraz.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d8CyTJdBxWs/TeSKda252tI/AAAAAAAAAGA/qRYTWBTLZlw/s1600/5th%2Bcourse.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d8CyTJdBxWs/TeSKda252tI/AAAAAAAAAGA/qRYTWBTLZlw/s320/5th%2Bcourse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612763273640925906" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-59924620738042731022011-05-23T13:31:00.003+09:302011-05-23T14:22:17.470+09:30Tim's/Ten Litchfield, whatever it is called!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">On Friday night I went to this restaurant, I'm not sure what it's name actually is, as both names are up on signs at the front</span>. <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />There were five adults and two kids in our party. Kids eat for free if you order before 6:30, so that's what we did.<br />We ordered chilli prawns, garlic prawns, 2 steaks and a thai beef salad.<br />The steaks were reported to be really good (as one of our party is a chef, I feel safe in that conclusion!).<br />The creamy garlic sauce that covered the prawns tasted more like a white sauce :-( but the chill prawns were good.<br />The flavour of the dressing and the tenderness of the beef in my Thai beef salad were excellent and the portion of meat was generous. The salad part wasn't particularly "Thai" as it consisted of cos lettuce tomato and cucumber with some grated carrot and snow pea sprouts. All of the ingredients were fresh and tasty though, so it was a nice meal.<br />If you have a young person whose birthday it is, take note that the restaurant owner will sit at your table and do a magic trick which will have them amazed! A great touch and I think that the young girl in question that night will remember it for a long time!<br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-46725644217624645822011-05-23T13:17:00.004+09:302011-05-23T13:31:13.156+09:30even more April and May!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Okay, two more dining times.<br /><br />1. More good food from the burbs: I had a beautiful lamb kofta meal (topped with minted yoghurt sauce) with pulao rice at a friend's place recently, preceded by delicious little tomato and feta tarts (with fresh basil from her garden!) - TALENT!</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfItEBMenv0dNkE-YDCG-BgkanRvtNgBIiqtiIKMj0hrm3SaZCgK97UbbS_nsumFQlOaaUir90a0aUbJ16C5CmgsFU46bYWoQixhr85nn2fsavQxpSG2n-mkSkq9XLyQK6fDwyp4GENyg/s1600/dinner+at+Dawna%2527s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfItEBMenv0dNkE-YDCG-BgkanRvtNgBIiqtiIKMj0hrm3SaZCgK97UbbS_nsumFQlOaaUir90a0aUbJ16C5CmgsFU46bYWoQixhr85nn2fsavQxpSG2n-mkSkq9XLyQK6fDwyp4GENyg/s320/dinner+at+Dawna%2527s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609754697729684946" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">2. I go to Nightcliff markets most Sunday mornings with a bunch of fantastic folk who get together to train</span> at<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> 7am and then we have coffee and a bite. I had a wholemeal crepe with slivered almonds, sliced banana and maple syrup - YUM! There were also BBQ pork ball rice<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> paper rolls and thai fish cakes</span></span>.<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> What a great start to the day!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERTOLGrNNWVKaYOR9QOtpNt0YNuN0ajpE34CgLyvpD2eBKlQa1zhN3jPZmFmm7iODP2qcLIa8b75jHDIk1d09bYg3Cw9iTwoE1GcIVUE0cpcM9YVBb5zaQRA9S2tLI5R8KzZ61hTQdfQ/s1600/market+food.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERTOLGrNNWVKaYOR9QOtpNt0YNuN0ajpE34CgLyvpD2eBKlQa1zhN3jPZmFmm7iODP2qcLIa8b75jHDIk1d09bYg3Cw9iTwoE1GcIVUE0cpcM9YVBb5zaQRA9S2tLI5R8KzZ61hTQdfQ/s320/market+food.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609756008761552098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-68336877857925176572011-05-23T13:09:00.003+09:302011-05-23T13:17:07.951+09:30more April and May<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I went to the Cool Spot for breakfast and got the vego cooked breakfast. It had mushrooms, spinach, tomato and eggs. The mushrooms were really delicious and the tomato was lovely and ripe. They also use real butter on the toast.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZqBnClQc-2aU16uplY-4U6wu0icbRuy4qhPDIIM8EXremB1EDaCUb8NhQcEf3lBtb-Q9sHaZcgVGJfhhFxMRSUbVg8p7JZ9rrHD8ntm9Ag4iw1icXIMbXSkTj8O7JA1z281vp1VX_kU/s1600/cool+spot+vego+breaky.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZqBnClQc-2aU16uplY-4U6wu0icbRuy4qhPDIIM8EXremB1EDaCUb8NhQcEf3lBtb-Q9sHaZcgVGJfhhFxMRSUbVg8p7JZ9rrHD8ntm9Ag4iw1icXIMbXSkTj8O7JA1z281vp1VX_kU/s320/cool+spot+vego+breaky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609752586550229394" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Also, on the recommendation of a friend at work, I have been trying their iced milk drinks and they are really good. My favourite is the iced mocha or the iced coffee as they use espresso coffee and a scoop of coffee gelato in it!</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-64192584094132081012011-05-23T12:38:00.006+09:302011-05-23T13:08:26.421+09:30April and May<span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Quite remiss of me, but I have been dining out and not </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">blogging! Time to get back to it.<br /><br />Most notably, I had what turned out to be an Easter French toast odyssey!<br /><br />First there was the new menu at Jamaica Blue (at Casuarina) which includes different toppings for toast and french toast that are all very tempting. Some of the toa</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">st t</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">oppings I'll be going back for include roasted tomatoes and mushrooms or rico</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">tta, banana and honey.<br /><br />On the day I went with a friend, I ordered french toast with caramelised bananas and</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> caramel sauce - sadly, no bananas (?) so I had to "settle" for bacon and maple syrup. The bacon was beautifully crisped and the slices of toast were thick and fluffy.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDABtmQJWwHck1KNT5PFJGVGn9ejrLahSD6UoXsOY6uuuR1JEFvkAB9Fn5stlDF4uQ0-jS_6n8BG9WyFvhnpXVUceHpCveCevO8UKZ1gYJd6uk_90Qk8r0oPf5U6enrBxMp9bZRUkydOI/s1600/jam+blue+french+toast2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDABtmQJWwHck1KNT5PFJGVGn9ejrLahSD6UoXsOY6uuuR1JEFvkAB9Fn5stlDF4uQ0-jS_6n8BG9WyFvhnpXVUceHpCveCevO8UKZ1gYJd6uk_90Qk8r0oPf5U6enrBxMp9bZRUkydOI/s320/jam+blue+french+toast2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609744909160530130" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The second French toast moment was at Il Lido. A friend flew in from Bali in the early morning and I got a call saying let's go for French toast!<br />WOW! This French toast is just awesome! It was served with poached pears, King Island vanilla yoghurt and tangy berry sauce. The view of the waterfront area is really lovely and it was a gorgeous dry season day.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUEnZcANX8VkrP5p0wBY_lSTpXI-YX-uIYFt6nx7J_-pbbE8rRyfyw2qBDpxvYO2mrDD-MsT8t1GGKsX0KE9sHoMIZ_lm2ZyZc317t927_gjRzErUrxyokZqYbPeNAC2xsxN_NfvrVMc/s1600/il+lido+french+toast+side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUEnZcANX8VkrP5p0wBY_lSTpXI-YX-uIYFt6nx7J_-pbbE8rRyfyw2qBDpxvYO2mrDD-MsT8t1GGKsX0KE9sHoMIZ_lm2ZyZc317t927_gjRzErUrxyokZqYbPeNAC2xsxN_NfvrVMc/s320/il+lido+french+toast+side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609746168433114098" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21aNO9UJZrQhe7gb2o2wpRtkaKrsH04yYHuKCtNG-OC0jOe6NScdZK6Mr4Hdjy6NeGwTlmikU8rcxq4ok_Sd-BHZR4RZ3lfNJdLLQ5Jq3PTkYd0987A_gs0InXpm8miCQgY_oc8QQaLo/s1600/il+lido+french+toast+front.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21aNO9UJZrQhe7gb2o2wpRtkaKrsH04yYHuKCtNG-OC0jOe6NScdZK6Mr4Hdjy6NeGwTlmikU8rcxq4ok_Sd-BHZR4RZ3lfNJdLLQ5Jq3PTkYd0987A_gs0InXpm8miCQgY_oc8QQaLo/s320/il+lido+french+toast+front.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609749896692008034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The third French toast moment unfortunately has no photo</span>. <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I visited my parents and was greeted with hug and a plate of French toast! Delicious.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-51864524537254953552011-03-21T15:07:00.005+09:302011-03-21T15:20:11.541+09:30Virginia Tavern<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So, Desi and I landed at Virginia Tavern on St Patrick's day. </span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We'd been out to Bees Creek teaching Soo Bahk Do and </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">rather than wait until we got back in to town to eat, we thought eating locally would be better.</span> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The food was very good.<br />Desi had the grilled fish and chips while I had the chicken parmigiana with chips and salad.<br />The chicken parmigiana was made from a whole huge chicken breast (I had to take half home) and the chips were awesomley(?) crispy and cooked with fresh oil.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsPEs_CaGv5DcdNONyTdZouXofHM2-N-n1Fbqygy9QH23Y72LtIqTq5DtIROvJJCiXH6Pc3NCKPB6lvF_G6pXLpqJlIYGmc55p95jtwaTljJ2iSm4Ui2LZDCHYgYmX_ONMN97t9fSGGc/s1600/from+phone+21Mar11+020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsPEs_CaGv5DcdNONyTdZouXofHM2-N-n1Fbqygy9QH23Y72LtIqTq5DtIROvJJCiXH6Pc3NCKPB6lvF_G6pXLpqJlIYGmc55p95jtwaTljJ2iSm4Ui2LZDCHYgYmX_ONMN97t9fSGGc/s320/from+phone+21Mar11+020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586405279863111858" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVMLTZfXA60gpsiVTy7vRTZ9mUvmvmCMxqsCWvJzwPvwqb8nUV4RQlW0jigy6wBnWllIULnqHihAXaMRHvXXzwL5q1VWwwejt5kaFciKnVnxtESZ5nUQ9b30N9V6lbySOZvsd3RxfRfY/s1600/from+phone+21Mar11+018.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVMLTZfXA60gpsiVTy7vRTZ9mUvmvmCMxqsCWvJzwPvwqb8nUV4RQlW0jigy6wBnWllIULnqHihAXaMRHvXXzwL5q1VWwwejt5kaFciKnVnxtESZ5nUQ9b30N9V6lbySOZvsd3RxfRfY/s320/from+phone+21Mar11+018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586405801819074434" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The grilled fished looked tender and well cooked. All of the salad ingredients were fresh and tasty.<br />It took a while for the food to come, but I'd eat there again, the food is good :-)<br /><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-69714589802030625092011-03-14T16:27:00.003+09:302011-03-14T16:35:22.978+09:30Good Food in the 'burbs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBrImfEA7XU80RcqhyphenhyphenXsu-W2P4vFpIhjvdcbj1kK-R6ilkV82FLjS6VllNgL5mEsAW2AFK2ufD379753xLVIf_6H1LuRI0oa-vEA6N9sx5mie3cGAzthoHNyqzQDCRW9vMF7bXa4eSwY/s1600/sauage+rolls+from+the+suburbs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIBrImfEA7XU80RcqhyphenhyphenXsu-W2P4vFpIhjvdcbj1kK-R6ilkV82FLjS6VllNgL5mEsAW2AFK2ufD379753xLVIf_6H1LuRI0oa-vEA6N9sx5mie3cGAzthoHNyqzQDCRW9vMF7bXa4eSwY/s320/sauage+rolls+from+the+suburbs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583826854734564290" border="0" /></a><br />I dined out in the suburbs last night. The meal was gorgeous as always, but I'm blogging about what was being made for the kids lunches the next day!<br />The most delicious little sausage rolls. The pastry was light and crisp and the filling was a delicious, meaty mixture with lots of vegetable in it (tricky parents!). No tomato sauce required!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-12955472405261653412011-03-05T11:02:00.009+09:302011-03-12T22:53:18.067+09:30K-tongThis time with pictures, thanks to my awesome new Nokia C5 phone :-)<br />Desi and I went to K-tong (at Casuarina, above the food court) on Friday night, she already knew what she was going to have, as did I :-)<br />Desi ordered the beef noodle soup and I ordered the BBQ pork chow mein, the same dish as I have had the last two times I came here!<br />When her soup came out, I could smell the star anise that had been used in the broth, fabulous!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuW5fxrbkBybvVY89AXgylRyG0kJFNgOf2MkoncnWa4wSerd2vBPK5V-iVTzUn9HoCQJTs4roQWLbQlyP3GnnEAiVaMJU6tP1wElukZaR5NSewhyphenhyphenLRE6b1fxj8s2mMfvWNJFHrr5rs10/s1600/beef+noodle+soup+at+K-Tong.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuW5fxrbkBybvVY89AXgylRyG0kJFNgOf2MkoncnWa4wSerd2vBPK5V-iVTzUn9HoCQJTs4roQWLbQlyP3GnnEAiVaMJU6tP1wElukZaR5NSewhyphenhyphenLRE6b1fxj8s2mMfvWNJFHrr5rs10/s320/beef+noodle+soup+at+K-Tong.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580407592113344242" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInYG98Jk6_2iXKbFmDM10aYlhPuMwTSZfi9h54Db_o6ZaqDdamtET2UH0uSDdxaGxadOH78enULlo4SJA_8GhtlRZ25ClWyphyphenhyphend-XxtfESgePkKKYl4ldeiVIIbZVSqv8tnYo5byqsbQ/s1600/BBQ+pork+chow+mein+at+K-Tong.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInYG98Jk6_2iXKbFmDM10aYlhPuMwTSZfi9h54Db_o6ZaqDdamtET2UH0uSDdxaGxadOH78enULlo4SJA_8GhtlRZ25ClWyphyphenhyphend-XxtfESgePkKKYl4ldeiVIIbZVSqv8tnYo5byqsbQ/s320/BBQ+pork+chow+mein+at+K-Tong.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580408654614158482" border="0" /></a>The chow mein is just awesome! The noodles are fried and then covered in a delicious savoury sauce that tastes a little of ginger. There is a lot of vegetable in the dish and generous amounts of the BBQ pork that I love.<br />On the two previous occasions I came here and had the same dish for my lunch, it was large enough for two! I had to take it away. This time it was simply a nice large serve for one.<br />They are pretty busy here, so the only downside is that you don't always have a clean table to sit at.<br />At $14.50, the chow mein is a good price for the amount you get and the service is quick and friendly.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-24063678711077242322011-02-27T10:36:00.004+09:302011-03-05T11:40:02.571+09:30Raging Bull Steak HouseTook my pa out to lunch for his birthday. We went to the Raging Bull steakhouse in Parap.<br />Those of you who have been around for a while will remember the location being called "Jessies", where you got awesome steaks and chilled red wine Darwin style back in the 80s.<br /><br />The steaks were beautifully cooked. The distinction between medium well and medium was there and the flavour of the meat and it's tenderness were excellent.<br />You have a choice of salad and chips or mash and vegetables. I like lightly steamed vegetables, but the vegetables that came with the steak that day were so lightly steamed that they were almost raw. However, the mash was all smooth excellence!<br />Your drinks are brought promptly and the table service is reasonable (although last time I came here, they forgot our entree entirely!) and the food comes out when the steak is cooked - so if you order your steak well done it states on the menu what the cooking time will be so you know what to expect.<br />They appear to have a wine cellar but we weren't offered a wine list and I didn't think to ask.<br /><br />I will go back as the steaks are fantastic, the rest I can cope with in the pursuit of such excellence :-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-82619284920600974172011-02-19T15:43:00.002+09:302011-02-19T16:22:01.978+09:30Finlay's JointBrand new year! Yay! More dining out to be done.<br /><br />First foray for the year was Finlay's Joint. I went with a friend on Sunday last.<br />I'd booked for lunch at 12 but we were both hungry earlier so we got there at 11:30.<br />Man that place is noisy! The acoustics are really bad and as soon as there are more than about 12 people inside the large dining room it's hard to hear each other talk.<br />I love the old furniture and the chairs are really comfortable.<br />We grabbed menus and quickly went to order.<br />We were informed that the lunch orders wouldn't be made until after 12 as it was still their breakfast service time. The only other places that do this so strictly to my knowledge are places like MacDonald's and Hungry Jacks. Finlay's is a restaurant/cafe with a full kitchen so I'm at a loss as to why they couldn't do a steak sandwich and a chicken parmigiana before 12.<br />We were told that we could order now (11:30) but wouldn't get the food for at least another 25 minutes. <br />As we didn't want breakfast foods, we made our order and ordered tea to drink in the interim. The tea came out quickly but was really weak, it was awful.<br />There are self-serve/shared bottled sauces and self-serve water from a cooler.<br />When the food arrived, there were generous servings.<br />The steak in the sandwich was good quality and tender; and the chips were really good.<br />The chicken schnitzel was a good thickness and well-cooked.<br />Unfortunately there were rotting greens in the salad. I find this disgusting and it's really a pet hate for me - it should never happen.<br /><br />ambience: 5/10<br />food: 7/10<br />service: 6/10<br />wine list: none<br />value for money: 8/10Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-13497819923687910372010-12-30T12:49:00.007+09:302010-12-30T13:16:08.587+09:30CornucopiaAhh, Cornucopia. An old favourite for Sunday brunch and always a great place to take visitors.<br />For those of you who haven't been (what the hell are you doing living in Darwin and not visiting here?), Cornucopia is a cafe/restaurant located at the Museum and Art Gallery on Conacher St. It's open for breakfast and into the afternoon.<br />You sit on a raised deck overlooking the water, which even on a hot day remains cool and breezy. So when booking, asking to have a table outside is the way to go.<br />Booking is recommended, especially on Sundays and most days in the tourist season. On Sundays, you can expect a request to rebook your table or you may indeed be the second (or third!) group of people to use that table that day.<br />So, to the menu. The decision is usually a bit tough as they offer fancy eggs, for example, eggs royale (with smoked salmon), delicious salads and really good fish and chips.<br />On this occasion one of my friends and I had the raw energy salad, not as boring as you'd think. A good variety of tastes and textures for example, marinated beans, cheese, sultanas, roasted peanuts, grated carrot, bean sprouts and other salad vegetables.<br />My other friend went for the light snack of the fish cakes. They came with a good sized side salad and dipping sauce. There were three on the plate and they looked as if they were made from fresh white fish with herbs through them, wrapped in very thin bean curd sheets and deep fried.<br />Always check out the specials menu for the salad of the day, it's always good. The regular salad item is also very good, it's a smoked salmon and snow pea salad with avocado, topped with an orange and poppy seed dressing.<br />One thing to note, and it is on the menu for your information, they don't split bills here.<br />The service is efficient and friendly and the portions are a good size.<br />Apologies, I didn't check out the wine list.<br /><br />ambience: 8/10<br />food: 8/10<br />service: 8/10<br />value for money: 8/10<br />wine list: another time!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-86022106708483195582010-12-23T19:30:00.003+09:302010-12-23T19:40:05.037+09:30the cool spotOkay, so there are some things that are really kick arse about this place and some things that are at best mediocre.<br /><br />Kick arse list:<br />the view<br />the banana splits and other ice cream fabulousness<br />the hot chips cooked to perfection in fresh oil<br />the barra with salad and chips<br />the hot breakfasts<br />Alawa cake shop cakes<br />the lemon meringue pie - as it is now, not how it was in the past!<br />its opening hours<br />consistency<br /><br />Mediocre list:<br />expensive toasted sandwiches<br />cheesecakes with way too much gelatine in them<br />atmosphere inside<br /><br />Bad list:<br />the guacamole on the nachos<br />rotting salad mix in the salad main coursesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-68889761551278749272010-12-11T19:51:00.005+09:302010-12-11T20:24:24.098+09:30Sandy'sDespite sounding like a 70s character, this cafe has really good food. In a previous life it was Spiros, you know, the cafe where you had to walk through clouds of second-hand cigarette smoke to get into the joint?<br />Actually, you still do. Well, soon enough you won't have to do that, it's a good thing too, as I want to eat here more regularly!<br /><br />The salads at this place are really good and really good value. I had the pesto lamb salad for $16.90. The lamb was tender and juicy and there was a substantial amount of it. The salad was large and included rocket. It was topped with a smooth dressing that was nicely tangy. There were also triangles of pita bread with tzadziki on them decorating the plate.<br /><br />I have heard the crispy chicken salad with potatoes is fine as well.<br /><br />The cafe is neat and tidy with some couches along the windows and a row of comfy bench seats along one wall. It's brightly lit and you smell the coffee when you walk in.<br /><br />Food: 9/10<br />Service: 7/10<br />Ambience: 6/10<br />Value for money: 9/10Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-59892976514051323382010-11-17T14:13:00.006+09:302011-01-19T12:09:02.478+09:30Tasty HouseI went to lunch at tasty house (in the mall) with some mates before they headed OS a few weeks ago. We had the lunch special which is two dishes and rice as well as 5 yum cha items for $16.<br /><br />We chose some beef with ginger and spring onion, fried rice and stir fried vegetables. For yum cha we chose some coriander dumplings, 2 serves of prawn dumplings, and 2 serves of steamed pork buns.<br /><br />The food was delicious, the combination of the dipping sauce flavours and the prawn dumpling flavours was an exercise in synergy (ie. the sum of the flavours was greater than just the two components' flavours!). The beef dish also merits special mention, it had a lovely balance of flavours.<br /><br />The service was friendly and attentive and the atmosphere was really nice - high ceilings and darker colours in the decor worked well together.<br /><br />Food: 7/10<br />Service: 8/10<br />Ambience: 8/10<br />Value for money: 8/10Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-24923840056539858112010-10-20T09:03:00.004+09:302011-01-19T12:08:00.985+09:30Yum ChaI went to lunch at Yum Cha (on Cavenagh St) on Sunday just gone. For older Darwinites, the restaurant used to be the Lee Dynasty restaurant - the first Chinese restaurant in Darwin to not serve pink coloured sauce on their sweet and sour dishes.<br /><br />This weekend lunch option is so popular with locals that you must book.<br /><br />We had a selection comprising turnip cake, taro puffs, rice flake pork rolls, stuffed eggplant and the prawn rice rolls. We drank chinese tea throughout the meal.<br /><br />The service was quick for the food.<br />Top ups for the tea had to be asked for a few times and the water requested didn't come.<br /><br />I would have liked some fresh green vegetable options with all of the starches and meats - I remember that on a previous visit they had a lovely green vegetable special.<br /><br />Anyway, the food is great and I would go there again and again just for the prawn rice rolls and chinese tea!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2422774634885291823.post-51748263263401242152010-10-18T12:37:00.013+09:302010-11-11T15:58:59.471+09:30Il PiattoI went to Il Piatto on Friday night.<br /><br />The ambience of the place is fantastic, table cloths, beautiful glassware & plates and gorgeous lighting. The view is also one of the best from a restaurant in Darwin. The chairs are very comfortable and the decor is neutral and elegant.<br /><br />Our entrees were the oysters, the seafood salad and the carpaccio of beef.<br />The oysters were very good and were simply presented with slender wedges of lemon.<br />The seafood salad was mediocre and not flavoursome due, in part, to being underdressed.<br />My $25 beef carpaccio was on the menu as having rocket leaves but came with lettuce mix and was almost tasteless except for the cracked pepper crusting on the outside of the beef and the shaved parmesan. There was not even a simple dressing on the dish aside from being circled by three thin lines of balsamic glaze (possibly from a bottle).<br /><br />Mains were taglioni with slipper lobster (a.k.a. balmain bug), chicken stuffed with cheese & sun-dried tomatoes with a sage sauce and a pizza siciliana (salami and black olive).<br />It all sounded SO good.<br />The pasta was bland and you could only really taste the tomato sauce base with a meagre amount of the "slipper lobster" having been cooked to rubbery tastelessness.<br />The chicken tasted like it had a coles chicken seasoning on the outside of it and my friend said there wasn't even a hint of sage flavour in the sauce. As it was decorated with rosemary - I did wonder if they had any sage out the back at all....<br />The pizza on the other hand was suberb! The tomato base was rich and full of flavour and the crust was light and crisp. The other toppings were salami, small whole black olives and really nice cheese.<br /><br />Two other items of note were that we had overservice regarding the taking of our order, pretty sure we were asked at least 4 times within about 15 minutes if we were ready to order. While this overservice did translate well regarding water top ups and drinks service, it was getting annoying at the begnning of the evening.<br /><br />The other is that the wine list comprised either boring but quaffable wines that you can get at the local bottle shop or Italian wines. Being unfamiliar with the latter - as I suspect a few Darwinites may be, it would have been lovely to have someone knowledgeable among the staff suggest one.<br /><br />I think this restaurant is well suited for having a superb pizza with a glass of quaffable wine and soaking up the sunset.<br /><br />But to call it fine dining is well off the mark.<br />The food is pub food quality - which is fine when you're in a pub, not fine when you are paying wads of cash for it in a restaurant that is dressed up as a fine dining restaurant.<br /><br />A note to the unsuspecting - no take away is available. I had a fairly assertive discussion with one of the waiters and managed to take half of my pizza home, but it was hard work.<br /><br />I feel quite strongly on this issue. I have paid for it, therefore it is mine to do with as I will. Give me a waiver to sign. Let me know before I order - perhaps a note on the menu, and I will order less (ie. no $25 carpaccio) so that I won't have left overs to hassle you about!<br /><br />So, the numbers:<br />AMBIENCE: 9/10<br />SERVICE: 6/10<br />WINE: 4/10<br />FOOD: 3/10 (with the exception of pizza and oysters)<br />VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/10Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0