Monday, May 25, 2009

Weekend Food Wrap

Friday Night:

Hungry Jacks. I had to pick my sister up from the airport at about 10pm, and she had warned me that she demanded a 'Melbourne Pizza' before arriving at Mum and Dad's (she lives in Townsville). I ate a light snack at tea-time, saving space for this pizza. Thing is though, her flight was delayed by more than an hour and the pizza was thusly cancelled. I had no food of substance in the house, and all the restaurants were closed, so I had to get something on the way to the airport. Whopper with cheese and regular fries was my selection. I get US food-chain take-away probably once or twice a year, and even then it is only Hungry Jacks (haven't had food at Maccas since 1989). Jesus it's awful food, and almost impossible to eat whilst driving. Oh there was special sauce on my shirt. There's something in the burger that is ice-cold, something lukewarm, and something piping hot, and all of it tastes like pre-packed and ill-conceived 'generic burger taste'. What is it? Salt? MSG? How can a beef patty with salad, cheese and bread taste so... I dunno, unlike the sum of its parts? Why do people like this food?

Saturday Night

Dad's 70th birthday. It was fun and odd at the same time. We went to a Posh Restaurant and there was mum, dad, me and my two older sisters. We worked out it was the first time since the late 70's that the five of us, the family unit, were fully together and alone (without spouses, grandkids etc.). We even all went in the car with dad driving and us three 'kids' (39, 47, 49) in the backseat fighting. Anyway, minus the drinks, dinner for five at the Posh was $450 and for that we got, well, you know, food. Dad and Crazy Sister had snails. I had oysters, some spring rolls and some roast lamb with 'herb filling' (which I think was breadcrumbs with rosemary, chives and salt). Mum had a shepherd's pie. We had cake for dessert. The food was okay, but $80 a head? Meh. I guess what you pay for is the ambience. The maitre'd, the waitress who tells you her name, the decadence of looking at a menu with no prices, the 'antique' pictures (awful paintings of knights and ballet dancers) and fuck-awful pastel walls. You get better food for $10 in Chinatown, and a superior ambience. I'm a snob, but not a food snob. I don't get paying $80 for dinner.

Sunday Night

Back home late and feeling lazy, I cooked an eye fillet under the grill, doused it with salt, picked it up in my hands and ate it like a savage. I lightly steamed five brussel sprouts and ate them like lollies, also with my hands. Then I had vegemite and cheese on biscuits while watching an SBS film, along with a mandarin and a bowl of muesli (yes, at 10pm). Posh restaurants and US food-chains be damned. I like making it up as I go along.

What did you eat?

73 comments:

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

It's my birthday tomorrow.

We're having a great big fuck off lamb roast with veggies and mint sauce at home.

Nothin' finer.

Melba said...

Curious to know where on earth you ate with snails AND shep pie on the menu. Sounds very ecclectic.

I LOVE the fact you willingly buy, cook and eat Brussels sprouts. Until today I was the only person I knew who did that.

Over the weekend we ate: Fri. night: seafood with left over rice made into a quick pilaf. Sat: toast for brunch, can't remember dinner, oh curry from a jar, Sunday, more toast, some party pies at son's footy game, coupla snake lollies, dinner was bok choy and ricotta vego lasagna.

Louche said...

I've had bronchitis all weekend so it's been about comfort food.

Fri - Thai takeaway featuring Red duck curry

Sat - Sugared ricotta donuts at awesome Italian Pasticerria Papa's in Haberfield

A B.L.A.T at a cafe in the 'burbs when househunting. Bacon could have been crispier.

Osso Bucco and Mushroom risotto at Mum's house.

Sunday - very little due to all food consumed on Saturday. Dinner was chicken breast stuffed with ricotta and spinach.

Lewd Bob said...

Takeaway curry, homemade (by me) orange and poppyseed cake with cream cheese icing, homemade (by Mrs Bob) chicken & vegie pie in filo pastry, homemade (by Mrs Bob) flake fillets with prosciutto and asparagus, baguette with jam, tuna sandwich.

I also had cause to eat Hungry Jack's recently. First time in maybe 10 years. It sucked hard.

I also had cause to eat at an expensive (overpriced) restaurant recently with friends. Cost a packet. Then we got a puncture and I had to change the tyre, drunk, at 2 in the morning. That sucked even harder.

Mr E said...

Eighty bucks a head and you get Roast Lamb and Shepards Pie?

Where did you eat? Gordon Ramsay's Nanas place?

squib said...

On Fri I did my famous chilli pasta. It's so nice when it's cold and I think it kills the winter bugs

On Sat we had Indian take away. I had palak paneer...

i don’t give an onion bahjii

for any other curry

but you my spinach slurry

they can keep their vindaloo

and their chicken tikka aloo tiki doo

i just want you my dear paneer

my oozy green elixir

i wish you were the world’s oceans

with fluffy basmati rice islands

and i could float on you
in a poppadom boat

Lewd Bob said...

That boat would soon become soggy and unsustainable, Squib.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

That boat would soon become soggy and unsustainable

But delicious!

Pepsi said...

I've never eaten anywhere without the prices on the menu, but I'm not that posh though I did have High Tea at Fortnum and Mason once.

Friday night -turkish meal with mates at the local up the road

Sat - scrambled eggs with spinach & english muffin for lunch and lots of jack with ice for tea & something around 3am but am not 100% sure what it was.

Sun - bacon butty for lunch and BBQ chicken & salad for tea.

(I munched on Haigh dark chocolate most of sunday too)

Brussels sprouts - isnt that parent torture spew food?

wari lasi said...

Nothing of any culinary note really.

Out on very rich mate's boat yesterday and a picnic at Fisheman's Island. I knocked back an invite to go out on another boat with Deni Hines. Lamb cutlets and forequarter chops eaten with fingers staright off the bbq. Dip them in the ocean for salt. Oh, and chicken sausages. They over cooked to buggery so we took a load home and had that for dinner. Emma had broccoli with her sausages. She loves broccoli. Incidentally I love sprouts too and here they are horrifically expensive.

It was, as always, a great day. Just a bit sunburnt today though.

squib said...

That boat would soon become soggy and unsustainableThat's probably what naysayers said to Columbus, too

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

The Nina, The Pinta and The Poppadom

Perseus said...

Happy birthday Ramon! 45? Roast lamb is the BEST birthday dinner, particularly for us winter-birthday types.

Melba - Mont Albert... and it was just like the suburb. They think it is posh because it's not Box Hill. Oh and I love snake lollies.

Louche - Surely bacon is no good for broncitis anyway?

Bob - you can bake cakes? I'm, impressed! I have also changed a tyre in the middle of the night - in the rain! It sucks, but like me, did you feel manly afterwards?

Mr. E - More like Margaret Fulton.

Squib - I think you're harsh on the vindaloo. It is a wonderful dish, if extremely punishing.

Pepsi - Never mind what you ate - 3am food you can't remember? I want to know what you got up to!

Wari - I heard an unsubstantiated rumour that Deni's on the powder. It may have been a cracking boat ride.

squib said...

Can someone tell me is 'I was never there' grammatically dodgy? Melba would know

Melba said...

I don't think so, squib. Methinks it's ok. I also think it doesn't sound like something you'd be writing in a formal document, and if "your Honour" follows, then who cares if it's grammatical or not? Meaning is clear, there's no confusing double negative, but it does sound a bit clunky.

"I've never been" sounds nicer though.

What's the context?

Melba said...

Actually, I've thought a second now. "I wasn't there" is better. Obviously.

squib said...

The context was me addressing someone who has died

I wanted to convey not that I was not there, but that I was never there. Is that okay? Thanks Melba

Melba said...

I think it's ok then. Defo.

squib said...

ta!

Louche said...

Bacon is good for everything, Perseus.

Crispy fried pig is one of the great gifts from nature to mankind.

Louche said...

Oh, antiobiotics help too.

kitten said...

I had the banquet at the Flower Drum on Sat night - 6 courses of seafood, quail, crab, duck, crayfish, and steak. It cost substantially more than $80 per head, but it was very, very nice. I couldn't finish my last course of eye fillet beef, so they wrapped it to go. Who knew the Flower Drum does takeaway? Anyway, had that for dinner on Sun.

Perseus said...

Ah Kitten... the Flower Drum, private school rugby boys - a pattern emerges...

I hope you didn't pay. In my experience, The Flower Drum is a place you only go to when 'the company pays' (client lunches galore when I worked in Melbourne). Did you have the Mount Mary?

wari lasi said...

Crispy fried pig is one of the great gifts from nature to mankind.

Absolutley louche. As I think I may have said many times.

Perseus. Not sure if she's on the blow. I met her briefly on Saturday night. I should have looked more closely at her eyes but she didn't seem out of it. We discussed the fact that I had met her Mum at the duty free shop at Brisbane Airport a couple of months ago.

kitten said...

No, I paid. I realised long ago if I had to wait for other people to take me out and pay, I would never get to go to the places I want to go to. So there is a group of us that are working our way through the top restaurants of Melbourne, without any need for a special occasion or another's wallet.
Top picks so far - Attica, Ezards, Flower Drum. Most overrated - the Botanical.

Mr E said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr E said...

Ah, the Flower Drum.....

I haven't been there in thirty years.

I didn't get to finish the meal either, mainly because one of the people at our table shot the guest of honour in the leg with a .38 revolver during the second course.We thought it best to leave.

Perseus said...

Oh, more information please Discharge. PLEASE.

Was it Munster (Kinniburgh)?

patchouligirl said...

I opted out of a girls night out on Saturday night and stayed home and made gozlemes (turkish pizza) instead. If you've never tried them or made them they are delicious and dead simple to make. We ate freshly cooked gozleme, watched tele, stayed warm and dry and got an early night. I probably saved myself $100 on the night out and earned the appreciation of my family who would have otherwise slummed it on papa guiseppe. I just don't get the attraction of a girls/boys night out anyway.

Puss In Boots said...

Friday - 2 minute noodles.

Saturday - 2 minute noodles.

Sunday - 2 minute noodles.

Budget travelling sucks.

Also Melba, I love brussels sprouts. So does my boy. We buy them all the time. They're a staple at our house when in season.

Oh, and Pers, $450 for 5 people? That's a bargain, that is. Although considering what was on the menu, it does seem over priced.

Perseus said...

I'm with you PG - a boys' night out to me is a night out without girls, therefore, not appealing.

Puss - watch out. You'll get scurvey.

Anonymous said...

Puss, you've been to Brussels, haven't you? What do they call them there? Sprouts?

Melba said...

Sorry, pedant warning: Gözleme is not Turkish pizza. Turkish "pizza" categories would be either pide (boat-shaped, base is similar to "normal" pizza) or very thin, round ones which are called lahmacun. You eat a stack of them with lemon squeezed on and parsley, roll them up. YUM. Gözleme is more like a spinach and feta "pie": layers of pastry with spinach/cheese mix or other mixes. Not to be confused with suyu börek. The common denominator in all these dishes would be the filling combinations: cheese and spinach, minced meat and onion, egg sometimes, sucuk (beef sausage.)

Anonymous said...

I eat the same thing virtually every day. Steak and steamed veggies for breakfast, skip lunch, then fruit for tea. Oh, and 4000 cups of tea throughout the day. I do break the routine if I go somewhere or have visitors, but I find that sweet or rich foods tend to make me drowsy.

Also, brussels sprouts are great.

shitbmxrider said...

Friday: Cold Pizza from the nite before

Saturday: Slept thru breakfast; Ham/Swiss Cheese/Tomato Sandwiches x3 lunch; Lamb Kebab dinner

Sunday: Slept thru breakfast; 6" Italian BMT Subway lunch; didnt have dinner.


Not too exciting really. For dinner tonite I had a tin of peaches.

Puss In Boots said...

Boogey - no haven't been to Brussels. I was supposed to be going there with the boy. Maybe they call them 'petit chou'??

And in costume news (since I'm sure you all care), I think I have decided to go as Alcina from Handel's opera of the same name. My problem now remains in what to wear. The opera is supposedly set in the late 700s, but all the stage photos I've found have the characters dressed in baroque costumes (since Handel wrote it in the 18th century). So now I don't know what to wear.

Of course, after I've visited the Prado museum and the Louvre, I might change my mind on the costume if I see something I really like. I quite like Tissot's paintings, but I don't know where I'd get a dress like those in Too Early or L'Ambitiuse.

Lewd Bob said...

I've been to Brussels and they call them 'vile weed'.

wari lasi said...

Of course, after I've visited the Prado museum and the Louvre, I might change my mind on the costume if I see something I really like

And go dressed as a 4 wheel drive.

Happy Birthday Ramon. You lucky boy, you share May with me (12th), Emma (18th) and my mother (23rd).

Have a nice day. And it has not gone un-noticed (by me anyway) that you have not revealed how old you are today.

Perseus said...

First Kitten out-snobbed me, and now ShitBMX has out-bachelored me. I'm losing my schtick.

Yes Ramon, happy birthday, and yes, come on, we want the age.

Perseus said...

Oh, and Alex: Steak and steamed veggies for breakfast every morning? I can barely muster the will to put the kettle on before work, let alone prepare a meal.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

47.

Are people happy now?

wari lasi said...

We're ecstatic mate. Do you feel better for having let that go?

Perseus I'm with you. Coffee is the best I can manage. On the advice of a doctor I know I also make sure to have 2 tablespoons of psyllium with milk 3 or 4 times a week.

Lewd Bob said...

Steak for brekkie is very old school.

Happy birthday comrade INH. I am also over the moon that you have revealed your age. I can go about the rest of my day have attained a state of nirvana.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

The stage where birthdays caused me any angst is long gone.

Perseus said...

The stage where birthdays caused me any angst is long gone.

Will you say that in four years' time?

Perseus said...

I mean, three years'?

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Probably.

Worrying about it isn't going to make me any younger.

Mr E said...

Happy Birthday Ramon.
Try to remain cheerful in the time you have remaining. I've found it helpful to focus my bitterness and disappointment into an abiding hatred of young people in general. It can be a great comfort in the darker moments of the twilight wait for death, and a great conversation topic among your remaining contempories.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Mens sana in corpore sano, Mr E.

Melba said...

Happy Birthday, Ramon. Thanks for sharing about your age. No birthdays have caused me any angst and it's all relative. To someone, I'm always going to be Hot Property.

And it's our wedding anniversary today. Woo hoo.

squib said...

Ramon, I thought you were way older than that, you young thing you. Happy Birthday!!

Melba, Happy Anniversary!! Did you buy the lucky man something?

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

I share a birthday with Lenny Kravitz.

It's also Independence Day in Georgia

kitten said...

I'm just glad Perseus asked the question this week, otherwise I'd have had to admit to my normal bachelorette diet of Lean Cuisines.

On another note, I have international guests this weekend - where should I take them if I wanted to show them something distinctly "melbourne".

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Other than pubs, Kitten?

Perseus said...

Kitten: Mario's, Brunswick Street.

That is all.

Perseus said...

Oh - take them to the footy Sunday. Essendon play Geelong at Docklands. Buy tickets today.

Melba said...

Thanks squib. We are doing traditional, it's the second one, so it's cotton. Technically, we are newly weds.



HONEY, IF YOU'RE READING STOP NOW OTHERWISE YOU'LL RUIN THE SURPRISE.










I don't think he reads this blog you never know.

I got him a box from the $2 shop that cost $4 and has "I Love You" shit on it. I got a cotton long-sleeved t-shirt from Bonds and wrote a poem fragment on it, with love hearts. And shit. And a cotton tea towel that I kind of made into a card, writing on it in my best Victorian Cursive, saying how ace he is and how he is the best this and that (eg, sheet changer and dish washer etc). I am going to buy exclusivo chocolates and wrap them in the tea towel. And I've booked dinner at a little French Bistro in the 'burbs. Getting out of St Kilda for a nice tea.

Sorry for long comment. Back to Ramon. Who's cooking the lamb? What will you be drinking? Any pressies yet?

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Dad pressies thus far;

DVD of Double Indemnity,

Chocs,

Tee shirt,

Nice PJs.

Pepsi said...

Happy Birthday Ramon.

Kitten 3am at Pony shows Melbourne in all its glory.

"...they call them vile weed" my crush on Bob is developing quite nicely.

Melba said...

What constitutes nice PJs for a bloke, Ramon? I'm guessing they're not that Peter Alexander fancy-pant-shit?

Or maybe they are.

The Bonds thing I got Clokes as a PJ top is pretty thin fabric and will show his nipples, which will embarrass him.

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday Ramon.

Happy wedding anniversary Melba.

Happy independence day Georgia.

Lenny Kravitz can get fucked.

Perseus: I find that a big breakfast with a bit of protein in it is the best cure to a slow morning start. You do have to get up a bit earlier to cook it though. It helps if you have a light meal in the evening and wake up hungry.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

They look vaguely Turkish.

I might lounge around wearing them and my Fez.

squib said...

That sounds so sweet, Melba. I completely ran out of ideas by our 7th and I got him a mug, after looking everywhere for something copper. As the years roll by, the presents get crappier. Except for me. For Mother's Day, I got a Celestron Skyscout. It is INCREDIBLE

wari lasi said...

where should I take them if I wanted to show them something distinctly "melbourne".

Is the Daily Planet still open at Elsternwick? What about Vlado's? That was a carnivore's paradise. Is that still there? Chinois? I haven't been to Melbourne in 15 years. You can probably tell.

Happy Anniversary Melba, to you and hubby. Your presents sound very thoughtful, he must be a lucky guy.

My gift to you:

Windy today, overcast but no rain. 27 degrees. Key Draw at the Yachtie tomorrow night.

Perseus said...

"Key Draw at the Yachtie tomorrow night."Swingers?

wari lasi said...

Not quite Perseus, but it is a fairly liberal place.

You normally have a key to the club with your membership number on it. They draw a number out each week and if the member isn't present it jackpots. I think it's about K5,000 (just over $2,000) at the moment.

wari lasi said...

I couldn't be bothered with the a-href shit, but they even have a web site.

http://www.rpyc.com.pg/

If you have absolutely fuck all to do, have a look. It's a nice club.

patchouligirl said...

Gözleme is more like a spinach and feta "pie": layers of pastry Yeah I admit Turkish pizza is an open thing and gozleme are closed. They are probably somewhere in the middle of being a pizza and a pie - the pastry is self raising flour and yoghurt. You roll it out, fill it and fold it once, then fry it. When I think of spinach and fetta pie I think of those filo pastry things baked in the oven. Compared to that gozleme is way more like a pizza.

I hope everyone likes my new avatar better than the cat being strangled by the snake one. I'm feeling more cheerful this week.

Melba said...

You're right, PG, it's not really a pie, like the layered ones baked in the oven. There's no English equivalent really. Pastry is probably the best word for it.

Desci said...

Happy birthday, INH. May death come quickly to your enemies. xo

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Thanks Dess.

That's the best birthday greeting I've had so far.

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday Ramon. I hope your work let you do lots of fun stuff today like abuse the journos and make the comms graduates fetch you coffee.

Unknown said...

Well I'm officially late to this party.

Happy birthday, Ramon. Hope the lamb was good and the beer was cold.