by Cellobella on Monday, October 11, 2010 · 3 comments
Liz Green performed while we ate.
Saturday night we went out to dinner with some close friends at Harvest in Fremantle.
We chose Harvest because it was in our Entertainment Book (so we got a discount) and it was half way between our houses.
And as a bonus – right next to our table – Liz Green sang for us.
Liz was in Perth as part of the One Movement festival this weekend – now that is cool – having the festival come to you!
Liz is from Manchester and her first song was a capella – impressive.
Groover and the Abstar
The food was very fancy.
I had the beef lasagne for an entree – which was steak tartare with a parmesan crunchy top – it might sound… unusual but it tasted delicious.
I liked my venison sausage and black bean casoulet less but it was still very nice.
Groover had the chicken salad with popcorn – I must say the popcorn put me off ordering this but on tasting it – omg – delicious – and the peas tasted fresh from the garden.
That's me and the Evstar
We’re loving the Entertainment book – definitely got my money’s worth – and will probably get one next year too.
Plus you’re encouraged to try new places.
Win win.
Popcorn chicken salad: It tasted a LOT better than it looks... trust me.
I don’t like queuing for food – hell – I don’t even know how to spell it – here’s hoping that’s correct – so when we got to the Northbridge Chinese restaurant on Sunday an hour after opening I was somewhat dismayed to have to get an orange coloured raffle ticket – number 23 – and wait – our clothes steaming in the packed entryway.
Of course I’d rather take my chances and wait at a packed out restaurant than sit down immediately at the half empty one next door…
And the waiting turned out to be good.
First of all it gave us a chance to check out all the food so we knew what we’d go for. Secondly we built up an appetite.
I wanted the veges… to balance all the yummy deep fried stuff… and they were delicious.
Of course we partook of the steam trolley.
Boy do the waiters move fast in Yum Cha. What a business model! Bang bang bang – food immediately at your table – before you know it you’ve said yes to three prawn dishes and two pork and something you’re not even sure what it is – or was before it was deep fried in yumminess.
And the tea. I love Chinese tea and Groover had picked up a great tip from Kylie Quong’s TV show. If you want the waiter to refresh your pot – just take the lid off it. Forget trying to catch their eye – you’ve got no chance at the speed they move.
And suddenly you’re on the street – stuffed to within an inch of your life – wondering what the hell just happened and busting for the loo.
Have you noticed how many “home” brands there are in our major supermarkets these days? Not just the really cheap versions – the old “black and gold” labelled gear – but now a more premium range.
In Coles for instance you get their Smart Buy cheap brand… then the You’ll Love Coles brand and a new Coles premium brand.
It’s the same in Woolworths… the cheap brand and the “Select” range.
They are usually substantially cheaper than the other brands.
It’s nasty.
It’s insidious.
And I know it’s mostly the same food.
I remember going to one of the dairy companies to see how they processed milk and seeing the cheddar cheese being chopped into smaller blocks and being wrapped in plastic with several different labels.
That’s right.
The same cheese – just different labels.
So I know it’s most likely the same food but – and this is my sticking point – I don’t like being manipulated by the big corporate supermarkets into squeezing out the smaller manufacturers. The other manufacturers. I just don’t like it.
I buy branded food on principal… my one-woman stand against the corporate giants who will one day ONLY sell “their” food – and then who will get to set the prices?
Here are the really simple rules. Answer each of the five questions. Tag five bloggers you would like to pass the meme to. Have them link back to you and to this post as the source meme.
1. What food do you consider the best “date” food? In other words, what meal or food item do you think is sexiest to eat in the company of someone you would like to look sexy around?
I think you should always start with classic French food. It’s posh but you know what you’re getting and there are rarely any nasty side effects… well, apart from the garlic… The risks of loving on your first date are enough without the prawn jalfrezi repeating on you when activities below the equator (so to speak) have been initiated.
2. What well-known person would you like to share a meal with—with or without clothing. (saying whether or not clothes are involved is optional).
Mr Darcy, no shirt. Is that really a question??
3. What does your perfect breakfast-in-bed look like? (Food AND the details, please. Candles? Music? Flowers? Hot tub? Dancing girls?
Grilled pancetta with crushed roma tomatoes, hand-torn basil on crusty Italian toast. Served with a long black coffee and fresh orange juice, a trashy novel and sans children.
4. What do you consider the best application of whipped cream to be?
On scones with jam… or pavlova… You are after all asking a 6th generation Australian.
5. Oh-God-No, Biff, the yacht is sinking! You are sent to the galley to retrieve the food. What luxury food items do you snatch first? The champagne? The caviar? Smoked Salmon? Truffles? Chocolate? Or something else?
Who took the wine? Own up now! Because I want to share your lifeboat.
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Or check out the youtube video below to see how the tfp photographs the food in front of her.
You can also go to her site to see the photos of the food we ate. Yum!
Of course my little fussbudgets – though professing to be “starving half to death” – weren’t interested in eating it. And he had presented it so beautifully.
Sure, he might do some bad things, but overall he’s a pretty good egg (to keep the foodie theme going). You might say he’s E for Excellent.
Speaking of which… Babyamore (Trish) nominated my blog as E for Excellent. Thanks Trish. You made my day!
What has this photo got to do with the tale I’m about to tell. Nothing. But I just love this image taken of a woman in Key West. Look closely and you’ll see she has one “dead eye” open. Neat.
So here’s the thing…
If you noticed that the back fridge door had been left open and everything in it had completely defrosted and had probably been so for more than 24 hours, would you empty it out and chuck all the food away – given that the temperatures were over 35C during the day, or would you, as Groover did, just turn the fridge back on and then casually mention it to me three days later?
She inspires me to try and take good food photography… here’s my latest attempt. This is salmon cooked on some kind of wood – I forget now – the chef’s special at Mythos Restaurant at Universal Studios in Orlando. Tasted bloody good too.
We went out to lunch yesterday at some restaurant whose name we can’t remember but was just outside Stamford mall – oh yes we went to a mall – and decided that Americans do do food well. Sure the portions are big but the service is great, the food is delicious and the restaurants cosy. On top of that it’s relatively cheap. Groover and I had meals yesterday that would have cost around $20 a plate in Perth for half that.
I can see weight gain could be an issue.
But as well as they do food well, the coffee is lousy.
Trying to explain to someone in Starbucks that what you want is a long expresso style coffee – impossible! Of course saying “a long black” which is what we call it in Australia is out of the question. I am missing my Saeco…
In the meantime we’ve experienced another aspect of American culture: The doctor’s surgery. My Orchid Hunter has a very nasty flu. Feverish, heavy cough, sleeping for nearly two days solid – he feels terrible and when you have a houseful of 12 people you want it sorted out quickly.
My sister has found this great doctor. Here’s how it works for her. He charges an annual fee of around US$1500 per child. For that fee you get a doctor who is prepared to see you anytime. This guy will come to their home. He will go with you to specialists. If your kid breaks his arm at school he’ll go to the school and sort it out. He only wants a maximum of 300 patients and that means he can really take care of your child when the child needs him.
For my sister, whose eldest daughter has had needed a lot of medical care, Dr Eric is their lifesaver. And the surgery is a delight! I wanted to be sick and a child again. Check out the photos of the different exam rooms filled with murals and fun lazer lights.
Hugamuga sat on a hippo couch while Dr Eric spoke to him and explained what he was doing. He was so engaging. He did a test for strep throat and told us how it worked – like a pregnancy test – in simple terms that made us understand without making us feel thick. An excellent experience. Brilliant.
Having the whole family in one house is lovely. The house is big enough that we have our own space – indeed my sister – Aussie to the core – calls out “Cooee” to find her kids, and it is nice to have time to make Christmas together.
The two girls and their Uncle – my bro – have already put on a Christmas play. My sister – must make up a name for her soon – has a little theatre in the basement, and as you can see in the photo below they went to some trouble with their costumes. Poshi Junior is Father Christmas, Bear – her cousin – is Rudolf and Uncle Banana is naughty Vixen.
The best bit was JP throwing her hands up and saying “Poof” whenever she wanted the scene to end. Hilarious. And “Poof” has become the new word of this Christmas.
Today we go to a foodstore where there are singing vegetables. You gotta love America!
There is snow on the ground and the kids have spent every second since we arrived sledding. I decided to hang inside for a while and talk to you dear internet but you may see me skidding on the ice soon. Yes it rained after the snow and the top layer is hard and slippery.
Thai Airways was surprisingly good. We went Perth-Bangkok-New York. That’s about 6 hours to Bangkok and then 17 to New York. The food was great. My rule for aeroplane food is to always take the Asian option and I wasn’t disappointed. Rogan Josh lamb curry, Hokkein noodles with stir-fry pork, Chicken something or other.
Bangkok Airport is one year old. Some long name starting with ‘S’ my plane spotter son told me. It has the largest single terminal in the world and it is impressive. Walking down the moving sidewalks to the shopping areas feels like a science fiction movie. But already the cracks are starting to show literally in the flooring. It may look new but it lacks soul.
Perhaps I’m expecting too much but even JFK had some interesting artwork on the walls and of course Vancouver Airport is lovely. It’s not often you can say that about an airport! What did Douglas Adams say?
It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the phrase, ‘as pretty as an airport.’ Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort.
The other surprise, given that we bought the cheapest seats we could find, was the amount of leg room. Seriously good. The plane configuration was 2-4-2, and we managed to get window seats so we were “comfortable enough” down the back. We weren’t expecting much so we were happy.
And the 17 hour flight. Recommended. If there’s one thing I can’t stand is hanging around in airports and all that security checking they make you do these days. Sheesh.
Speaking of which, I don’t mind the putting your moisturiser in a plastic bag, the continual scanning of my handbag, the walking through metal detectors, even being patted down by a perfect stranger wearing a gun gives a little frisson to the journey… but what I really find irritating is this ban on water. Even water you’ve bought in an airport on the right side of security… take that to another airport and finished or not – in the bin it goes. The world has gone insane.
Back to the long flight, we had prepared. I asked my GP for some sleeping tablets so that we would definately sleep and they worked. Although Groover did manage to drop half of them. Note to self – next time get the bigger tablets. My sleep was a little fitful as I was terrified I’d needed to and had forgotton to get visas. What’s the worst that could happen – I thought to myself half-way to New York, trying to think positive – we could be turned around and sent right back! Luckily we didn’t need them – I’m sure the travel agent might have mentioned it if we had and after giving immigration our fingerprints and photo they let us through.
Driving to my sister’s house from JFK, Groover and I felt we were in a movie set. The images are so familiar. I half expected to see a high-speed car chase. They never show you the outcome of those chases do they? The mile long traffic jams caused by the wreckage left behind. Yes, we ended up in our first traffic jam.
We started a game of “numberplate bingo”. This is a lot more fun in the States where there are 50 states to get. So far we’ve sighted 13.
Today is a recovery day. We’re all determined to stay awake for as long as possible to try and force ourselves into this time zone. I’m feeling a bit dizzy as I type so I hope to last the distance. My brother and his girlfriend arrive late this afternoon and my sister and Mum and Dad will be here about 10pm. Christmas has begun.
