A week away and food poisoning | #DeadDuckDilbert | Paying to pee | Trooping the Colour

2013/06/18 by Gary Lum

Last week I travelled to Salisbury for a meeting. This is my second visit to the UK and my first to Salisbury.

Because it was work travel Dead Duck Dilbert would accompany me. You can find the images on twitter and Instagram by searching for #deadduckdilbert (I note Facebook is now hash tag friendly).

Follow me on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Dilbert at home on my suitcase

This was captured just before I left home

———-

For new readers DDD first came with me on my trip to the CDC in Atlanta Georgia earlier this year.

———-

Virgin Lounge CBR waiting for VA661 With chips

I flew the CBR to SYD leg with Virgin Australia so I was able to use the new CBR Virgin Lounge. It was pretty nice.

———-

Dead Duck Dilbert and boarding pass for VA661 in the Virgin Lounge CBR

The beginning of DDD’s journey through four airports and quite a few train stations.

———-

Dinner on VA661 Vegetarian quiche

The flight was in the evening so I had a meal. This was quite nice.

———-

Dessert on VA661 Lemon meringue tart

This was a bite sized hit of sweetness and tartness but in a good way.

———-

Air New Zealand Koru Club lounge snack and passport

I fly quite a lot with United Airlines to North America because they offer the best fares of the day mostly. I’m now very familiar with this lounge now. I was surprised though to see the hot dog cart closed.

———-

Dead Duck Dilbert in Koru Club SYD

———-

Message to Instagram and Twitter about being away

I wasn’t sure what sort of internet access I’d get on my iPhone while overseas. My experience with London previously had been with a T-Mobile sim card and the coverage was patchy. This time I elected for an O2 sim card which I purchased in Australia but couldn’t activate until I arrived in the UK. I thought I should let friends know I may not be around to view and like their images and status updates on various social media platforms.

———-

On board EY455 (a Boeing 777) with Dead Duck Dilbert SYD

As soon as I sat down I whipped out DDD and captured an image.

———-

Kraftkorn bread with mushrooms on EY455

This was pretty nice bread. Inside it was stuffed with mushrooms.

———-

Dinner Arabic Mezze of hot and cold appetisers on EY455 SYD to AUH

A nice collection of savoury tastes

———-

Arabic spiced loin of lamb with courgettes pumpkin freekeh and sauce on EY455

The flavours were amazing even at >30 000 feet and having a dried out nasal mucous membrane. I recall an Heston Blumenthall program that demonstrated the benefit of nasal douching before eating to achieve a better flavour experience. If only I had carried on a nasal douche pack.

———-

Vanilla Ice Cream on EY455

This was delicious

———-

Coffee on EY455

Etihad does a nice coffee service with lovely accoutrements.

———-

Breakfast Croissant and a big lump of butter on EY455 SYD to AUH

Airline croissants are always very buttery

———-

Breakfast Frittata with sausage and potatoes on EY455 SYD to AUH

This was a little stodgy and there were Instagram comments about the condom like appearance of the sausage skin

———-

Okay #DeadDuckDilbert we made it to Abu Dhabi where it’s a lovely 30 °C at 6.30 am ETIHAD Lounge Terminal 3

———-

EY19 AUH to LHR Looks cosy if you could get those seats

The seat configuration wasn’t too bad

———-

#lunch Bread for dipping on EY19 AUH to LHR

———-

#lunch Arabic Mezze with delicious hummus on EY19 AUH to LHR

Another version. This was better.

———-

#lunch Chicken biryani with fried onions, cashews and sultanas on EY19 AUH to LHR

This was really very nice

———-

#dessert Sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce and pistachios on EY19 AUH to LHR

Not as good as Bron’s but nice all the same

———-

Once at Heathrow London I scramble to top up my Oyster card and activate my O2 sim card. I take the underground from London Healthrow on the Piccadilly line to Green Park rendezvous with another Australian delegate and catch the Jubilee line to Waterloo train station. We then take the South West Train from Waterloo to Salisbury.

———-

#DeadDuckDilbert at Salisbury Railway Station (SAL) while on the South West Train from Waterloo to Salisbury

The English train system is truly remarkable. If you ever get to visit London, get an Oyster card and spend as much time seeing things travelling on the underground and other trains.

Some audio of the Underground lady’s voice which always entertains me

–

———-

#dinner tonight at Da Vinci

I caught up with some American colleagues before the meeting and we ate here http://www.davinciofsalisbury.co.uk/

———-

#dinner duck at Da Vinci

This didn’t taste as I expected. It didn’t taste off but it wasn’t a pleasant taste.

———-

The following day at about midday I started feeling a little off colour. It was like I knew I was ‘getting something’. Later in the afternoon I started getting abdominal cramps and started to feel a little light headed. On the bus ride to our accommodation I nearly fainted. As soon as I got to my hotel room door I hit the toilet. That evening I had regular painful abdominal cramps with profuse diarrhoea. I had no nausea and no vomiting. I had no fever. I did have a headache and by morning despite drinking as much water as possible I knew I was at least five per cent dehydrated. The skin on the back of back was veinless and when pinched it remain pinched for a few seconds.

There are three common causes of food poisoning, viz., Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens. I’ll leave it to you to look up food poisoning associated with those three toxin elaborating pathogens. I believe based on timing and symptoms my culprit was Clostridium perfringens. Importantly, common things are common, I’d wager it was Clostridium perfringens. Combined with my irritable bowel syndrome I knew I was in store for a rough few days. That said, I recovered sufficiently in the morning to attend the meeting. Although I wasn’t infectious (it’s an intoxication rather than an infection) and as a competent infection control medical practitioner I knew what I had to do.

———-

#dinner whitebait at Da Vinci

Fried guppies anyone?

———-

#breakfast Eggs Benedict Fairly ordinary at the Mercure White Hart Hotel. This was Tuesday morning before my symptoms started.

———-

Wednesday evening. Steak sandwich at Mercure White Hart Hotel

Okay. This was a big mistake. This is an example of the dissociation that occurs in my mind when I know something but allow my lust or gluttony overrule common sense.

———-

On Wednesday evening I was feeling a lot better. The diarrhoea is largely settled. I had rehydrated myself. I still felt delicate but I thought I felt hungry. What I was really feeling was better than feeling totally crap the night before. I thought about eating some toast. I should have sought clear fluids or a jelly. Instead I saw steak sandwich and immediately wanted it. I was really stupid. When I was asked how I wanted the steak I said rare because that’s what I like. I didn’t think about it. Did you see how blue that steak was? I was putting red raw meat into my mouth and expected my damaged intestinal mucosa to do its thing. Of course it couldn’t do its thing and the only thing it could do was purge with extreme prejudice. All that said and yes I’m an idiot. It tasted damn fine. Full marks to the Mecure White Hart. Dunce cap for me.

———-

Hello everyone message about poor access

As far as hotels go, I rate the Mecure White Hart 3 out of 5. Each day my door was left unlocked by the cleaning person. The cold water tap for my hand basin had a problem. I had to turn the toilet lever twice each time to flush and given I used the toilet nearly every twenty minutes throughout Tuesday night that was a lot of lever action. The most annoying problem though was the free wifi. The access was sporadic and the signal strength was poor (no wonder it was free). I couldn’t access my work e-mail from my MacBook. My iPhone worked faster on O2 3G than the wifi. Staying connected was a struggle. If it wasn’t for feeling so crook this would have been much more annoying than it already was.

———-

Salisbury Cathedral

This place was spectacular.

———-

On Thursday afternoon the rain stopped and my intestines were starting to become friendly again (although farting without worrying was yet to be tested). I went inside while a service was going on. The cathedral is huge. Inside there is a clock that was built around 1376. It’s the oldest working clock on earth. That is over 600 years old.

I can’t not mention or comment on the English summer. I missed it. Apparently the English summer occurred the fortnight before. A two week summer apparently to the locals was fine. I can’t conceive of an enjoyable life with such a short summer. It rained nearly the whole time I was there and it was cold. There wasn’t much difference to being in Canberra and it’s winter here.

———-

Food poisoning in Salisbury means I’m doing cup a soup 😞 at The Cavendish

On the Thursday evening after visiting the Salisbury Cathedral I went to a Tesco supermarket to find something bland. I found a jelly cup and some soup. On the Friday I was close to feeling normal again. After the meeting finished on Friday afternoon we caught the train to London and I checked in to The Cavendish. This is a comfortable boutique hotel on Jermyn Street. This was a very comfortable hotel. I had a classic room. That is, a small room with a bed, television and bathroom. I was happy with that. I was there for a night so I could catch my flight home the next day. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a reasonably priced well positioned hotel in London. Jermyn Street is apparently the place to visit if you need shoes, shirts or suits. I wanted to continue respecting my intestine rather abusing it so I went to the local Tesco and bought soup again.

———-

Before going to London Heathrow on Saturday I managed to see the Trooping of the Colour. It was pretty cool seeing the horses, hearing the 41 gun salute (yes 41 not 21) and then watching the fly past. I love watching military aircraft. These flew low and slow. It was awesome.

From the wikipedia site. “The gun salutes begin on the arrival of the Queen at Buckingham Palace, with the King’s Troop firing a 41-gun royal salute in Green Park and the Honourable Artillery Company firing a 62-gun royal salute from the Tower of London grounds. Finally, the Queen and the Royal Family on the palace balcony witness a flypast by the Royal Air Force, often featuring the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Red Arrows.”

———-

While walking around a little bit on Saturday morning I needed to go to the toilet. I had to pay 50 pence to get in. That’s the most expensive pee I’ve ever had. The toilet wasn’t even clean. It was pretty disgusting. This should be contrasted to the London Heathrow Etihad lounge. In the toilet there was always someone there who was continuously cleaning the toilets and folding cloth hand towels.

———-

Okay #DeadDuckDilbert we’re going home in the Etihad Airways Lounge

———-

#dinner Vegetable soup in the Etihad Airways Lounge

———-

#dinner Sea bass cooked in paper. This was #yummy

———-

Ah #DeadDuckDilbert I should have chosen a beef and mushroom dish in Salisbury rather than the poisoned duck #foodpoisoning

———-

#dessert Key Lime cheesecake

———-

Okay bye everyone. On board EY18 LHR to AUH Say goodbye #DeadDuckDilbert with Carrot juice

———-

EY18 is an old Airbus 340

———-

Tomato soup on EY18 LHR to AUH

———-

Grilled salmon and mash on EY18 LHR to AUH

———-

Tiramisu with caramel sauce on EY18 LHR to AUH

———-

Well #DeadDuckDilbert with a sore throat I say hello Abu Dhabi

———-

#breakfast on EY18 LHR to AUH

———-

The hazy tarmac of AUH (Abu Dhabi). It’s 30 °C.

———-

Our second last flight #DeadDuckDilbert Nice lemon lime juice too. EY450 AUH to SYD.

———-

#dinner Pea soup with crème fraiche on EY450 AUH to SYD

———-

#dinner Steak sandwich with onions on EY450 AUH to SYD

This was delicious

———-

#dessert Strawberry and Chinese gooseberry pavlova with caramel sauce on EY450 AUH to SYD

———-

#snack Baklava and vanilla ice cream on EY450 AUH to SYD

———-

#breakfast Fruit on EY450 AUH to SYD

———-

#breakfast pastries on EY450 AUH to SYD

———-

#breakfast fruit smoothie and #coffee on EY450 AUH to SYD

———-

Not so great #toast on EY450 AUH to SYD

———-

At last I was back in Australia. One last flight. VA632 SYD to CBR.

———-

This is the last bit of aeroplane food I would eat on this trip. #snack on the last flight VA632 SYD to CBR.

———-

Okay, that was a massive post. Sorry if you’ve had to take a toilet break to read it I love my job. Being able to participate in meetings with colleagues doing similar work is rewarding. This was a successful trip. It’s a pity I got so ill but I wasn’t about to let my intestines dictate my work performance. Now that I’m back home, I have a good dose of ManFlu.

Queensland Day and Bunsen burner love

2013/06/09 by Gary Lum

Thursday 06 June 2013 was the 154th celebration of Queensland day and the day Queensland got its constitution.

I had a 6 am teleconference and needed coffee

I like being in the office early. It’s quiet and it means I get more work done.

———-

That said I need more coffee when I start earlier than normal.

———-

The best part of this year’s Queensland day celebration was Queensland day breakfast with Bron

A Mavi Breakfast wrap with all that bacon, egg, cheese, mushroom, hash brown and BBQ sauce goodness.

———-

A sign was posted on the window of my work area (click to see the comment).

———-

Almost as good as breakfast with Bron is the cookies and cream cheesecake Bron brought in for me to enjoy at lunch time

———-

The final Queensland day image I posted (click on the image to see the comment)

———-

Friday was my clinical day

Coffee at Cafe Hoz

I’m tempted to eat breakfast on Fridays at the hospital

———-

In preparation for a big night at Rama’s I had a light lunch

———-

In the afternoon I recaptured my love for the Bunsen burner

———-

I hope you had a good week. How do you celebrate your state, territorial, provincial day?

Queensland Pride | #QLDER #ORIGIN Game 1 State of Origin Rugby League the Greatest Game of all (yummylummy.com)
Brave Reds give Lions a big fright (3news.co.nz)
Basic Types of Chemistry Lab Equipment (chem.answers.com)
Brave Reds give Lions a big fright (news.theage.com.au)
State of Origin: Darius Boyd expected to recover in time to start for Queensland (abc.net.au)
Brave Reds give Lions a big fright (bigpondnews.com)

Rama’s Fijian Indian Restaurant in Pearce

2013/06/08 by Gary Lum

On Friday evening after a pretty busy week Bron and I enjoyed a night out at Rama’s Fijian Indian Restaurant in Pearce.

Bron and I have dined there a few times before

It’s been a little while since we last ate there and after a long week we were pretty keen to enjoy a reasonably filling meal, not gluttonous but filling. Rama’s doesn’t disappoint in terms of flavour and variety. I do need to explore other restaurants in Canberra that serve Indian food, but I will happily keep coming back to Rama’s.

Pappadum
Deep fried crispy bread 4 for $3.00 but these were complimentary before the starter

———-

Mixed Entree
Vegetable Samosas (2 of), Fish Pakoras (2 of), Bhajia (2 of) serves 2. [$22.00]
The Bhajia was really nice. The pastry of the samosa was really good and Bron rated this really highly.

———-

Chicken Dhai Wala
Boneless chicken pieces cooked in a spiced yoghurt sauce. [$22.00]
This was a spicy dish but not really hot. You certainly got a sense of heat but the spiciness was lovely.

———-

Beef Kofta
Ground meat balls cooked in a rich creamy sauce and topped with blanched almonds. [$22.00]
The sauce with this dish was creamy and smooth. It was wonderful soaked up in the rice. Four meatballs though was a little light on, although we were full, for $22 a dish mainly of sauce was a little too expensive. Perhaps a smaller serving dish and less sauce.

———-

Raita
Grated cucumber in spiced yoghurt. Ideal for cooling the palate. [$5.00]
This was lovely and refreshing although it could have had a little more cucumber.

———-

All curries are served with unlimited rice at a charge of $2.50 per person.

———-

Roti
Wholemeal pan fried bread.(g) 1 for $2.50
Who can say no to fried bread, even if it is wholemeal. It sopped up the sauces nicely and coated the chicken in a jacket of happiness.

———-

For dessert Bron brought me some of her cookies and cream cheesecake. YUMMY!!! This was truly amazing.

———-

The food at Rama’s is really nice, spicy, tasty and served with a genuine friendliness. The restaurant itself is a little cramped. As a non-drinker I don’t care that it is BYO only but you should know they do NOT charge corkage and will happily provide a cooler for the bottle.

The takeaway service is also very popular and they deliver. In my opinion, a mark of a really good suburban restaurant is their takeaway service and I’ve been told by many friends that the Rama’s takeaway is very good.

Now for the all important non-food ratings. I’ve uploaded a page to help readers make sense of what I’m on about. You can find it at http://yummylummy.com/restaurant-non-food-ratings/ That’s where the Rama’s rating will be too.

———-

We will eat again at Rama’s. It’s a friendly and cheery place with very nice food.

Rama’s http://www.ramas.com.au/
Dine in menu http://www.ramas.com.au/Dine-In%20Menu.htm PDF http://www.ramas.com.au/Dine%20In%20Menu.pdf
Take away menu http://www.ramas.com.au/Take-Away%20Menu.htm PDF http://www.ramas.com.au/Take%20Away%20Menu.pdf
TripAdvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g580466-d909626-r126155786-Ramas_Fiji_Indian_Restaurant-Woden_Valley_Greater_Canberra_Australian_Capital_Ter.html
Reviews http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g580466-d909626-Reviews-Ramas_Fiji_Indian_Restaurant-Woden_Valley_Greater_Canberra_Australian_Capital_Terr.html#REVIEWS

Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/oYYV9

View Larger Map

Queensland Pride | #QLDER #ORIGIN Game 1 State of Origin Rugby League the Greatest Game of all

2013/06/05 by Gary Lum

Regular readers will know my passion and pride in being a Queenslander. I’ve referred to the greatest competition in the greatest game of all many times in this blog, that is, State of Origin rugby league.

To all my friends and family who support New South Wales and the Blues, I’m sorry if you find me offensive on nights like tonight.

For readers not familiar with State of Origin rugby league history. Queenslanders (Maroons pronounced marones) are known as the cane toads (Buffo marinus) and NSW (Blues) are cockroaches. These are affectionate terms of endearment. As they say, State of Origin is mate against mate, state against state. For those interested, it was Kangaroo great Barry (garbo) Muir who coached the Queensland side from 1974 to 1978 (two years prior to the adoption of Origin selection criteria) and during this time Muir coined the term “cockroaches”, the descriptor of the New South Wales rugby league team still used by the Queenslanders.

Growing up in Brisbane I remember watching year after year footy players who regarded themselves Queenslanders playing in blue because they followed their dreams of playing in the biggest competition at the time, viz., the NSW Rugby League. The late Senator Ron McAuliffe was instrumental in getting the state of origin concept up and running. In 1980 I was in grade ten at Brisbane Grammar School and I remember watching the first Queensland state of origin team train on our footy ovals. It was a little odd watching rugby league players on our rugby union pitch but for me and my mates it didn’t matter. These were legends. Big Arty Beetson and the young Wally Lewis who would go on to become The King, the Emperor of Lang Park.

Queensland is the greatest state in the federation. I loved growing up in Queensland. That should not detract in any way my love for the Northern Territory, the greatest territory in Australia

Guess what? Tomorrow is Queensland day. Yes, that’s right 6 June celebrates Queensland day when the Queen gave her approval and signed the Letters Patent on 6 June 1859. On the same day an Order-in-Council gave Queensland its own Constitution.

That said, as much as I would like to see Queensland win another series and make it eight in a row, if the games are tight and tough and close, if NSW wins it will be good for rugby league and it will be good for state of origin. This is the greatest sporting competition on earth. It really needs to be close and tough. After seven series victories, it will reinvigorate the game to have a NSW series win.

I had a little fun at work today

Friends asked why a blue shirt? I wore my syphilis tie so there would be a pox on the blues

———-

My game day footy lunch

Chunky steak, bacon and cheese hot pie

———-

Ready to watch the game in my XXXX Queensland Maroons beanie

———-

Tonight is a dinner that for me is quintessentially footy and Queensland. I’ve blogged before about my favourite sandwich

A battered fish and coleslaw sandwich with potato scallops washed down with another great Queensland drink, viz., Bundaberg ginger beer. Check out previous post on this

I have many Victorian friends at work who refer to potato cakes when they’re potato scallops. #justsaying #thatisall

The first game is currently on. Win or lose it’ll be exciting and there are two more games in the greatest game of all. I hope whatever you’re doing you have a great night. #QUEENSLANDER

Smoked ham hock my way | #bestblogs13 (yummylummy.com)

Bron’s Mexican magic and other food fun | I’m a slow cooker convert

2013/06/02 by Gary Lum

All the images are from my Instagram account. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

On Friday I had another hospital day except this Friday was very special. As part of my refresher training I got to attend a National Neisseria Network meeting and its gonorrhoea* day. It’s been five years since my last NNN meeting and I’ve especially missed my gonorrhoea and meningococcal meningitis/septicæmia friends. There were lots of hands shaken plus hugs and kisses with old friends. It was good to be back with mates.

I started the day with some avocado on toast

———-

Because parking in Canberra is less than easy (to put it politely) I set off early to find an all day parking spot ($9). That gave me time to have a nice coffee at the Elk and Pea. References to Elk and Pea in Yummy Lummy.

———-

After a great day I went to have dinner with Bron at the Canberra Southern Cross Club. References to Canberra Southern Cross Club Jamison in Yummy Lummy.

I wanted a steak

Look at the unctuous Hollandaise sauce! It all sat on a bed of mashed potato.

———-

I didn’t need this but I wanted to try Hummingbird cake

It wasn’t very good if I’m honest. I should have asked for baked cheesecake.

———-

I woke up on Saturday and decided I wanted an omelet

Yes that’s cranberry jelly because jam is good with anything (my personal motto). This was a Gruyere and coon cheese omelet with parsley (no meat).

———-

Grocery shopping is not complete without a flat white coffee at Gourmet Deli at Westfield Belconnen

———-

I bought a Status Quo CD at the supermarket. Don’t judge me.

Coles have used a Status Quo song for their discount pricing. Many Australians believe the band has sold out.

———-

For my birthday Mum and dad got me a Myer gift card for $50. [Myer on Twitter] I had every intention of buying a new toaster. I went past the slow cookers and saw this and couldn’t take my eyes off it.

———-

In the last post I mentioned my shelf of shame

I’m grateful to friends who saw no shame in having a shelf with tinned meat in it. Many of my former school mates do believe like me that SPAM is meat.

———-

Okay so this is where this post means the business. Last night Bron conjured some Mexican magic and made a splendid nay stupendous meal of chicken with mole sauce. Bron had made this before but last night’s meal was served with corn bread too.

———-

Corn bread out of the oven

It was beautiful

———-

Chicken with the chocolate mole sauce off the stove

———-

Our meal was served with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream

———-

I ate mine as a tortilla

———-

I ate three of these. This was the skinniest one

———-

At the end there was a little salsa, guacamole and sour cream left over. Bron asked what should be done with it? What did you think I did with it?

———-

For dessert Bron made a David Lebovitz inspired Orange-Cardamon flan

———-

Just so you know how good it looked served up. It was magnificent. Do you like the way it’s garnished?

———-

Yummy corn bread

———-

I had a food baby after dinner. It was amazingly good. Thank you Bron. It was spectacular.

———-

Sunday was welcomed with avocado on toast again

———-

I needed to buy food for the slow cooker, so why not have another coffee

———-

Lunch was grilled coon cheese on toast

A blogger friend, viz., Hilah Johnson from Hilah Cooking asked what was coon cheese. Check it out at http://coon.com.au/index.html

———-

Today I used my new Breville Fast Slow Cooker for the first time. I’ve never used a slow cooker before.

I looked at a few on-line recipes as well as some of Bron’s and thought I’d do a pork curry. I ended up making it up as I thought about it. Bron convinced me not to go with a prepared packet mix.

I used the following ingredients:

Belly pork and pork forequarter chops ~1 kg
Onion brown 1
Green pepper corns 1 small tin
Water chestnuts 1 small tin sliced
Peanut paste 1 small container
Coconut milk 1 tin
Star anise 2
Chinese five spice a couple of good pinches
Brown sugar 1 tablespoon
Chinese broccoli as much as you like
Bok choy as much as you like
Carrots as much as you like
Potatoes 2 cut in quarters

I browned off the meat and onions and then added them to the bowl along with all the other ingredients plus some water. I locked the lid and set the cooker to six hours and waited.

It may not look too flash but this pork curry was delicious. I have three containers in the refrigerator for work lunches this week.

It’s been a good few days in food. I hope you have a good week and enjoy eating.

* One of my favourite infections as a Clinical Microbiologist is gonorrhoea and more specifically, one of my favourite microorganisms is Neisseria gonorrhoeæ. I have a few microorganisms that are more favourite. Maybe one day I’ll blog about them. When I was working in the Northern Territory of Australia, I was really interested in gonorrhoea in Indigenous Australians and antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeæ.

Dinner at Eat 86 | @eat86 @EatShootBlog @hercanberra (yummylummy.com)
Mexican dinner party | Shout out to @davidlebovitz | #bestblogs13 (yummylummy.com)
Slow Cooker Mexican Cauliflower Rice (no ricing required) (heidieliseb.wordpress.com)

What’s happened this week food wise? | Spam spam and more spam | Chairman and Yip

2013/05/26 by Gary Lum

All of these images are from my Instagram account. If you want to read the comments and see the likes please click on the image. Feel free to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Since my last post about the crust-free meat mince pizza I’ve been pretty occupied at work and then this weekend has been a combination of going out and eating and today being at work again.

On Wednesday morning I made green eggs and ham

The green came from some parsley I added to the egg before whisking it.

———-

On Wednesday night Bron came over and shared some of your super yummy salted caramel macarons with me

This was about the best salted caramel macaroni I’ve ever tasted

———-

Bron also brought over some beef pie she’d made

This was a fantastic meal

———-

On Thursday morning I had spam and egg

A nice light but filling breakfast

———-

Thursday night it was my turn to cook for Bron

Salmon and vegetables

———-

Bron was given a box of Champagne truffles as a gift by a work mate after she did a spectacular job on a project

These were pretty delicious

———-

Friday morning was another egg and spam meal. Omelet

———-

Friday was spent at The Canberra Hospital, so I bought lunch

Bacon and onion quiche with a caramel thick shake. The quiche was way too salty. I don’t think I’ll do that again.

———-

On Friday night Bron and I went to see Iron Man 3 in 3D. We enjoyed it.

———-

On Saturday morning we went to the Belconnen Fresh Food Markets to check out some groceries and other things.

I had a pale breakfast at Beppe’s Tuscan Kitchen. It was pretty good and filling too. The bacon was a little too salty for my liking and the egg was slightly over cooked.

———-

While in Tom’s Superfruits I spied this jar of pickled onions

Hilarious | Bum Hummers | 1000 farts in a jar

———-

On Saturday night Bron and I went out with some friends to Chairman and Yip for dinner. This is one of the finest restaurants in Canberra and never fails to please. I’ve reviewed it here a few times. Search Chairman and Yip in Yummy Lummy

I started with stuffed mushrooms

These were stuffed with pesto. Always good.

———-

For a main I asked for pork chops honey gin seng red dates goji berries and then we shared

The lighting was pretty low in the restaurant. Sorry about the poor quality of the images.

Trip Advisor reviews

———-

Bron asked for sea perch and our friends asked for the beef and scallop hot pot plus the caramelised pumpkin and cucumber

It was a lovely plate of flavour

———-

Chairman and Yip is a must do for anyone serious about eating in Canberra. A very worthwhile restaurant to visit.

Dunny rating is 2½ out of 5. If it wasn’t for the Aēsop hand products it would rate 2 out of 5. The urinal plumbing had obvious corrosion. The hand basin was old. The hand dryer was weak and there were no paper towels.

The napkin rating was a pass. They were cloth. Cloth=classy.

———-

For dessert I had a takeaway Tiramisu from Gelato Joe’s

It was okay. They ran out of churros so I was disappointed.

———-

To make up for the poor egg experience at Beppe’s Tuscan Kitchen Bron made her fabulous poached eggs

Nothing beats Bron’s eggs

———-

I spent today at work. After a weekend away with my kids last weekend and a day off this week because of illness I had a lot of catching up to do.

———-

Tonight I made some pumpkin soup

I used onion, ginger, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, Kent pumpkin, white wine, curry powder and coconut cream

———-

The finished product

I topped the soup with a little parsley, Gruyere cheese and coarsely ground black pepper

———-

I hope you have a great week ahead. I’m planning to. If you haven’t worked it out, I like spam

My week in Instagram (yummylummy.com)
Dinner at Eat 86 | @eat86 @EatShootBlog @hercanberra (yummylummy.com)
Goodbye Brisbane | #likeCanberra | #LoveBrisbane | #adoreDarwin (yummylummy.com)

Paniyiri and a food mix | #loveBrisbane warmth compared to #Canberra | #paniyiri2013

2013/05/19 by Gary Lum

All of these images are from my Instagram account. If you want to read the comments and see the likes please click on the image. Feel free to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

The day started with a sleep in. It was a lovely day in Brisbane. It was about 17 °C when I got out of bed. I heard in Canberra that this morning was a frost laden –6 °C. I’m so glad I was in Brisbane and not in Canberra.

For breakfast we started with some of Mum’s pikelets with some maple syrup.

This is Mum’s recipe

1 cup self raising flour
1 egg
¾ cup milk
1 heaped table spoon of sugar
Vanilla
1 tablespoon of melted butter

Mix and then let stand for an hour if you can be arsed
Cook and flip when bubbles form and burst

Mum’s pikelets are delicious.

———-

We then had to go to Westfield Chermside so Miss16 could buy some things with gift vouchers she got for her birthday. Miss12 persuaded me to buy some beef jerky. I’ve never had it before. I’m not sure I’d eat a lot of it.

After taking Miss12 to school so she could help out with a junior gymnastics display I took Miss18 to Paniyiri for work experience and Miss16 and I decide to stick around and enjoy some Greek food.

As it turned out Miss18 was at the entrance and accepted our tickets to enter.

Musgrave Park isn’t that big but in the area just in front of the Brisbane Greek Club there is a stage and that’s where most people sat to enjoy the entertainment and eat the food. Behind the entertainment area were the food stalls. There were so many. Most were selling much the same sort of Greek food. Some were selling regional variations. There was a good combination of savoury and sweet.

When we arrived, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was speaking to the crowd. He was followed by the Queensland Premier Campbell Neumann.

For lunch I chose some meat

Greek lamb yiros. It was pretty good. There wasn’t too much fat but just enough.

———-

Miss16 chose a chicken souvlaki wrap which she enjoyed. Sorry no image.

———-

The main stage

———-

The dancing was popular

———-

We ate Loukoumathes (Greek honey puffs) while watching the dancing. I’d never had them before. Apparently a few hundred thousand of these sweet little treats will be made over the weekend. They were sweet and they were nice to eat while watching Greek dancing.

———-

I thought I would do more walking http://runkeeper.com/user/garydlum/activity/182548727 but we did more eating.

My youngest brother took Mum and Dad out to yum cha for lunch while I was driving my daughters around.

Mum and Dad brought home some char siu bao and prawn dumplings for us for afternoon tea.

———-

My last sunset in Brisbane for a couple of months

———-

For dinner we had something light

Chicken lettuce and mayonnaise sandwiches

———-

For dessert we had a sweet Greek treat

Baklava or as Miss16 calls them sweet lasagne

———-

After dinner I went to pick up Miss18 from Paniyiri and her work experience day

When we arrived the fireworks were starting.

———-

My pre-sleep treat

Turkish delight

———-

Paniyiri http://paniyiri.com/#
Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g255068-s408/Brisbane:Australia:Events.And.Festivals.html
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/K97IS

View Larger Map

Gymnastics and Hog’s Breath Cafe | @hogsbreath (yummylummy.com)
Places to Visit in Brisbane:The Library (australianloop.wordpress.com)

Gymnastics and Hog’s Breath Cafe | @hogsbreath

2013/05/18 by Gary Lum

It’s been a big day. My three daughters all had things on and I’m happy I could get them all there on time without any major problems. Okay, there are some Brisbane drivers who did not appreciate a couple of rapid lane changes when I couldn’t quite understand the new road system in Brisbane. I’ve now lived in Darwin and Canberra since the beginning of 1996 and have gone soft when it comes to driving. Brisbane has changed so much and the motorways and overpasses are something more like the roads I’ve seen in Los Angeles. I’m surprised I made it everywhere and back today. Because I only visit every couple of months, my ability to navigate traffic is a struggle. Ask anyone who knows me and I am very directionally challenged.

Today Miss18 was a volunteer at Paniyiri which is a Greek festival in Brisbane. Volunteering is part of her events management course. Miss12 had gymnastics training and Miss16 had the South East Queensland Regional Senior Women’s Artistic Gymnastics competition. I was able to watch the L9 (MIss16) and L8 competition this afternoon. Miss16 did okay. She came second on the uneven bars and third on the floor. I captured a nice video of her floor routine on my iPad but then accidentally deleted it. Fortunately I had already posted a low resolution version to YouTube. I wish I could recover the original video without resorting to paying for an app to recover the file. I know what you’re thinking, Gary was one of those dorks holding up an iPad while video recording an event. Yes I was! The camera is a good one and the quality is very satisfactory.

I tried to enhance the quality by using the YouTube enhancement tools but it’s pretty shaky and grainy.

The competition was held at Moreton Bay College

I needed lunch. A bacon, egg and hash brown burger. I hope I don’t get sick. I noticed the eggs and hash brown were pre cooked and then heated again on the hot plate. I nearly said something but figured, it’s a typical school sporting event and hopefully everything was cooked properly the first time through.

———-

Moreton Bay College is a pretty well endowed girls school.

I’ve never seen illuminated podia before.

———-

Tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate birthdays and Mother’s Day. My birthday was on 1 May, Miss16 and Miss18 had their birthday on 8 May and my Dad has his birthday on 23 May. Miss18 also got a part-time job to her her get through her events management course and business degree. We decided on Hog’s Breath Cafe because it’s family friendly and a decent meal for hungry mouths.

I had an avocado prime rib steak

———-

Miss12 and Miss18 asked for a crispy chicken burger each

———-

Miss16 asked for the TexMex chicken steak combination meal. It was huge.

———-

The meals took quite a while to get to us because the restaurant was so busy. They’ve opened up more recently and enhanced the parking area.

———-

I asked if anyone wanted dessert. Miss18 shook her head. Miss12 smiled and said yes and Miss16 said no and then Mum asked about banana bread and butterscotch sauce…Miss16 relented.

This shot doesn’t do the plate justice. It was an extra large plate almost covered in a deep layer of butterscotch sauce. Mum and Miss16 really enjoyed it.

———-

The plate is so long the ice cream is blurry. This is the Strawberry pavlova Miss12 and I wanted.

———-

It’s been a good day. Tomorrow Miss18 heads back to volunteer at Paniyiri and Miss12 has to help with a gymnastics competition for juniors. That means Miss16 and I get to enjoy Greek food at Paniyiri by ourselves.

Hog’s Breath Cafe http://www.hogsbreath.com.au/
Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255068-d725584-r138936888-Hogs_Breath_Cafe-Brisbane_Queensland.html
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/8AAzl Address 1401 Gympie Road Aspley QLD 4034 Telephone (07) 3263 8444

View Larger Map

New York Grill (minglewiththefoodies.wordpress.com)
Places to Visit in Brisbane:The Library (australianloop.wordpress.com)

Cupcakes and @luke_nguyen Fat Noodle

2013/05/17 by Gary Lum

Last night I flew to Brisbane to have an extended weekend with my daughters and parents.

Thursday was a pretty big food day and I just didn’t think about my weight.

A work mate shared his Mum’s Macedonian sweet treats

———-

For lunch about eight of us in the branch had chips and gravy. One of us even had a pie, chips and gravy (not me).

———-

I got to the Qantas club with about 30 minutes to spare

I was given the mango sorbet to try. It was pretty good.

———-

On board QF960. The 737-800 has been updated.

I watched a movie during the flight

———-

I may not have had a pie with my chips and gravy but I did have one for dinner on the flight

———-

Dessert cake

———-

When I got to my parents’ place they were eating dinner and Mum gave me a small plate

Shepherd’s pie

———-

Miss16 started making some cupcakes at about 9 pm because a friend of hers is having a birthday on Saturday so she wanted to make something to share with her on Friday.

Some friends on Facebook, twitter and IG suggested I may have applied a Daddy tax. I didn’t do anything to discourage that notion but truth is Miss16 didn’t make enough to fill the baking tray.

———-

They look good don’t they? Vanilla cupcakes with passionfruit icing.

———-

We had an early start for the school run this morning

Peanut paste on toast with coffee

———-

One of the annoying things about Canberra (and in fairness Darwin) is the ban on plastic bags.

———-

Today I was taking my parents in town by bus so I had to buy a go card

———-

I promised Mum for Mother’s day I’d take her to the refurbished City Hall. Mum used to work as a volunteer at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and spent a lot of time at City Hall.

———-

I remember winning school prizes at school speech nights and being down there

Mum tells me she used to sing down there for her school choir

———-

City Hall now contains the Museum of Brisbane. It’s a really nice little museum. I’d happily go again and again. One of the features for now is the exhibit on World Expo 1988 Brisbane.

Do you remember what you were doing in 1988? I was in medical school and we’d catch a train from Bowen Hills to the Mater Hospital and walk through Expo.

———-

I think it’s fantastic that Doug Anthony the deputy PM and leader of the National Party usurped Malcolm Fraser the PM of the day and supported Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen in the bid.

———-

The Light Fantastic

———-

After spending about an hour in the museum we walked over to the Treasury building to meet up with Miss18 and have lunch. Miss18 announced she’d got a job to help her get through her TAFE/QUT courses so we celebrated.

The Treasury building

———-

In the Treasury Casino building is Luke Nguyen’s restaurant Fat Noodle

———-

We waited near some stand up tables and read through the menu and I noticed the cloth napkins

———-

We could see into the kitchen too

———-

After being seated at a large table near a window we received a pot of Chinese tea

———-

Dad asked for the Fat Pho Noodles

His only concern was the large fillet of beef in the bowl which he would have preferred sliced.

———-

Miss18 had pork and prawn wonton

Not as good as Mum’s wonton of course

If you want to read about Mum’s wonton click here and here

———-

Mum and I both asked for the Singapore noodles

This was spectacular

———-

The after lunch Belgian chocolate mint was delicious

———-

Apparently this German sausage hut also serves big pork hocks on request

———-

All in all it’s been a good day.

Now to rate Luke’s restaurant. The meal was fantastic and I would recommend anyone visiting Brisbane to try it out.
The dunny was interesting. The pedestal was solid and sound. The urinal was an older stainless steel model with a sturdy grate. It was big enough for two well proportioned men to stand next to each other without inducing hesitancy. I like a good firm grate to stand on so there is less of a chance of urine spray on the floor. The hand basin was motion detector activated but a little shallow. The hand drying unit was a pseudo air blade. It was pretty pathetic. If you’re going to use an air dryer and try to imitate a Dyson Air Blade, just buy the Dyson. My dunny score is 3.5 out of 5.
The napkin score is pass. Cloth napkins always pass.

Fat Noodle http://www.treasurybrisbane.com.au/Dining/Pages/Fat-Noodle-.aspx
Menu http://www.treasurybrisbane.com.au/Dining/Documents/FN%20Brisbane%20Menu%20web%20081212.pdf
Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g255068-d3748303-Reviews-Fat_Noodle_Restaurant-Brisbane_Queensland.html
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/R6hAE

View Larger Map

Dinner at Morks in Florey with Tony Robinson (Baldrick)

2013/05/17 by Gary Lum

It’s Wednesday night and Bron and I had a big dinner date. Morks. We were so excited.

This was our third dinner at Morks. We’d been there twice before and when Benn greeted us at the door it felt like we were coming home for a meal.

When we chose the dishes we wanted Benn remarked he was surprised we didn’t ask for the John Dorey again because we’d asked for it the first two times.

The first time at Morks http://yummylummy.com/2013/03/14/thai-to-die-for-the-best-canberra-restaurant-experience-in-some-time/

The second time at Morks http://yummylummy.com/2013/03/28/dining-at-morks-restaurant-bestblogs13-shout-out-in_the_taratory/

We both felt reasonably hungry so we chose two entrée dishes and two main dishes. We chose the soft shelled crab and the crab balls with pickled ginger to be followed with the Duck Maryland and the lamb cutlets.

While we were waiting for our entrée to arrive who should appear but Tony Robinson of Black Adder fame.

Click on the image to see the comments from local Canberra IGers.

———-

Just after Benn delivered the entrée dishes he came out with an extra dish. Fried pork wonton with a mint lime sauce. This was an amazing dish. The wonton were delicate and tasty and the sauce added a zing that lingered for some time. It was nice to mix up the mouthfuls of soft shelled crab, crab ball and wonton. The crab balls were tasty with a really nice texture and they were nicely complemented with the pickled ginger.

Given a choice I’d eat this every time I visit Morks.

———-

Soft shelled crab

———-

Crab balls and pickled ginger

———-

After three entrée dishes we were feeling very satisfied. It was good that the restaurant was so busy and there was a good amount of time between entrée and mains. It gave us time to digest a little and enjoy a good chat.

———-

The lamb cutlets were really tasty and nice. They weren’t too fatty but had enough to ensure a good flavour sensation. The lamb was served with some sticky rice which was lovely.

———-

The Duck Maryland was the hero of the night. The skin was crispy and the flesh was fall off the bone tender. The duck was served on a pan fried disc of rice that had been molded with egg and various herbs and spices. Along with the rice was a delicately sweet side of lychees and tomatoes. This was a perfectly balanced dish the red curry sauce when eaten with the rice was heavenly.

———-

I ummed and ahed about whether to have dessert and then Benn brought out complimentary lychee sorbets. One each. This was just what we needed and ended the meal perfectly.

———-

Thank you again Mork and Benn and everyone in the team for another great meal. We’ll be back again to continue our journey through the menu.

Morks http://morks.com.au/
TripAdvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g255057-d2069126-Reviews-Morks-Canberra_Greater_Canberra_Australian_Capital_Territory.html
Google map http://goo.gl/maps/AO0WX

View Larger Map

Morks Dining Menu http://morks.com.au/index.php/menus/main
http://morks.com.au/templates/wa_theme/images/mork_menu.pdf

Meet the team at http://morks.com.au/index.php/team I am assuming Benn maintains the social accounts.
You can follow Morks on instagram at morksrestaurant facebook and Tumblr

‘Tis the Season…for Soft Shelled Crabs (savannahbest.wordpress.com)
Maryland’s Finest Crustaceans (thebestofbaltimoree.wordpress.com)
Tony Robinson digging around NZ (stuff.co.nz)
Italian and Sons | #bestblogs13 (yummylummy.com)
Dinner at Eat 86 | @eat86 @EatShootBlog @hercanberra (yummylummy.com)

Yummy Lummy

Gary's rants and raves about food (and a little about life)

Category Archives: Restaurant reviews

A week away and food poisoning | #DeadDuckDilbert | Paying to pee | Trooping the Colour

Queensland Day and Bunsen burner love

Rama’s Fijian Indian Restaurant in Pearce

Queensland Pride | #QLDER #ORIGIN Game 1 State of Origin Rugby League the Greatest Game of all

Bron’s Mexican magic and other food fun | I’m a slow cooker convert

What’s happened this week food wise? | Spam spam and more spam | Chairman and Yip

Paniyiri and a food mix | #loveBrisbane warmth compared to #Canberra | #paniyiri2013

Gymnastics and Hog’s Breath Cafe | @hogsbreath

Cupcakes and @luke_nguyen Fat Noodle

Dinner at Morks in Florey with Tony Robinson (Baldrick)

Follow “Yummy Lummy”

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Related articles

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Related articles

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Related articles

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Related articles

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Related articles

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Related articles

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Related articles

Please feel free to share this:

Like this:

Follow “Yummy Lummy”