Calamari

Finishing February in Food

Posted by Gary

Finishing February with much the same routine

Regular readers will know my routine. I’m one of those people who handles life better if I don’t have to think too much about things that shouldn’t require a lot of thought. So I like routines and finishing February was no different.

Before I get to the food, though, it was an odd week where I mentioned a dream about my maternal grandfather and then I shared a little about my family history. 

Monday and Tuesday evenings mean what for Yummy Lummy?

I hope you answered salmon!

Crispy skin pan-fried salmon with Hass avocado and beetroot coleslaw dressed with aioli Gary Lum
Crispy skin pan-fried salmon with Hass avocado and beetroot coleslaw dressed with aioli
Crispy skin pan-fried salmon with aioli and smoked cheddar cheese Gary Lum
Crispy skin pan-fried salmon with aioli and smoked cheddar cheese

Please do me a favour

I think I’ve managed to work out how to use e-mail lists for sending post notifications and newsletters. I’d love it if you would sign up using the ‘form’ in the side bar (if you’re using a laptop or desktop) or at the bottom of the post (if you’re using a mobile device).

By subscribing you’ll receive a personalised e-mail from me and from time to time, apart from the blog post I’ll share something new, like my ideas for a cook book sometime this year.

Wednesday means chicken

Before I get to the chicken, Wednesday lunch meant Burger Wednesday at Urban Bean Espresso Bar and I enjoyed the Korean barbecue beef bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) burger with chips and aioli. 

#Humpday burger. Korean BBQ beef bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) with Asian slaw, aioli and UB chips Gary Lum
#Humpday burger. Korean BBQ beef bulgogi (grilled marinated beef) with Asian slaw, aioli and UB chips

I posted a status update on Wednesday afternoon that Wednesday meant chicken tonight and of course, I received comments that included references to the jar of stuff called “chicken tonight” which I’ve never used.

Hump day roast chicken wings on Coon cheesy bread with avocado, vegetables and lime zest Gary Lum
Hump day roast chicken wings on Coon cheesy bread with avocado, vegetables and lime zest
Vanilla ice cream with mint flake Gary Lum
Vanilla ice cream with mint flake

Thursday was all about hot and spicy Spam

Before I get to the Spam, for lunch because it was pay day I enjoyed the SHISH special from Urban Bean Espresso Bar. It was delicious.

#payday S H I S H - P L A T E TIME Braised lamb, Greek pitta bread, Greek salad with a garlic tahini sauce on the lamb Gary Lum
#payday S H I S H – P L A T E TIME
Braised lamb, Greek pitta bread, Greek salad with a garlic tahini sauce on the lamb

I had half a tin of hot and spicy Spam left in the refrigerator and it needed to be eaten because I was going to spend the weekend in Brisbane. Some people would say unkindly that it wouldn’t matter because Spam can’t go off, but I’d like to remind the haters that Spam is food, it contains meat from the porcine shoulder as well as ham.

Hot and spicy pay day Spam with Coon cheese noodles and vegetables Gary Lum
Hot and spicy pay day Spam with Coon cheese noodles and vegetables

Friday was a cooking-free night

I was spending the weekend in Brisbane with my parents and daughters so Friday night’s dinner was on QF1554. It was a chicken and rice dish.

Chicken salad and rice Gary Lum
Chicken salad and rice

Of course, I spent Friday at the Canberra Hospital and for lunch, I had this dish which I think maybe a quiche but it could be called something else. It contained asparagus, mushroom, rice, cheese and egg. You could carve it.

Rice, egg, asparagus, mushroom, and cheese slice Gary Lum
Rice, egg, asparagus, mushroom, and cheese slice

Saturday lunch and dinner

I had a big day in food on Saturday. I took my youngest two daughters to Sandgate for fish and chips.

Larissa and Nicola with fish and chips at Sandgate Gary Lum Gary with fish and chips at Sandgate Gary Lum

I took everyone out to dinner on Saturday night to Hog’s Breath Café at Aspley to celebrate my youngest daughter turning sixteen.

Pork ribs with prime rib and mashed potato and pepper sauce at Hog’s Breath Café, Aspley
Coconut birthday cake Gary Lum
Coconut birthday cake

Sunday breakfast meant that I completed all the food groups in a weekend

So, if we count Friday night, I’ve eaten chicken, fish, calamari, beef (steak) and pork (ribs) so far.

For breakfast, Mum and Dad cooked a bacon (pork again) omelet and some lamb chops plus some scones. So that’s all five food groups in a weekend.

Lamb chops with bacon eggs and scones

How did I cope?

I think I need to fast for a while.

Final thoughts

This coming week will break my routine so strictly speaking I won’t be finishing February with my routine. I’m interstate on Monday, going out on Tuesday night and Wednesday is senate additional estimates hearings. Who knows what I’ll be eating on Wednesday.

Hopefully, I’ll be back to normal next week.

Bacon, tomato, avocado and cheese sandwich Gary Lum
Bacon, tomato, avocado and cheese sandwich

Can you do me another favour please

I’m sort of transitioning my blogging to balance between food blogging and light hearted ‘medical’ podcasting. Please check out the podcast at drgarylum.com/blog

You can also subscribe via iTunes and Stitcher

 

Room service at Oaks on Collins

Posted by Gary

The mains were good, the dessert was horrible

I recently had the opportunity to stay at the Oaks on Collins in Melbourne. I spent three nights in a room checking in on a Tuesday and checking out on a Friday. The check in experience was fast and efficient. When I got into my room I was struck by the kitchenette and the en suite. Both were made for giants. The amenities rack in the shower stall was set at about 170 cm (higher than my eye line). The kitchenette had a microwave oven, a dish washer drawer, a refrigerator and an induction hot plate. The fume hood controls were higher than I could reach and the upper cupboards were also beyond my reach (I’m 170 cm tall). There were also no plates or bowls and no pots or pans to cook with 🙂 I’m not sure what I was meant to do if I went out and bought my own food to prepare. 

So, I was in Melbourne for three nights and one evening had already been arranged with a dinner associated with the meeting I was participating in. That left me options for breakfast and dinner. Over the years I’ve become less and less interested in hotel breakfasts. I’ve already written about my breakfast experiences at Kenny’s Bakery Cafe which was a superb option for me. For the two spare evenings I elected to have room service, mainly because I had a lot of routine work to get through and it is so much easier to just nest in the hotel room and get through it all. 

On the first night I asked for a hamburger and an apple and cinnamon crumble. 

Tuesday dinner. Room service. Oaks beef burger and chips.
Tuesday dinner. Room service. Oaks beef burger and chips.

This burger was pretty good. It was filling and tasty. The chips were also very good. The burger wasn’t as enjoyable as my recent Brodburger experience but then the context was also very different. 

Tuesday dessert. Room service. Apple and cinnamon crumble.
Tuesday dessert. Room service. Apple and cinnamon crumble.

On first inspection, this crumbled didn’t look that appetising when I first saw it. It looked pretty ordinary.

Tuesday dessert. Room service. Apple and cinnamon crumble. This was horrible.
Tuesday dessert. Room service. Apple and cinnamon crumble. This was horrible.

When I tried to eat this it was just horrible. I tried to swallow a few mouthfuls but it was just disgusting. It is very rare for me not to finish a dessert. I think I’ve done it a few times and that’s about it. I would not recommend the apple and cinnamon crumble.

 

On the final night I’d already eaten quite a lot and I didn’t want anything really big. I also had quite a bit of work to complete. I just had a steak with king prawns and calamari.

Pay day room service dinner. Rare fillet steak with king prawns and calamari.
Pay day room service dinner. Rare fillet steak with king prawns and calamari.

This was really nice. The steak was cooked rare. If I had a steak knife the experience would have been more enjoyable, but it was tender enough to cut with the butter knife supplied in the kitchenette.

 

So on balance, the room service meal experience at the Oaks on Collins was okay. The burger and steak were good. I think the less said about the apple and cinnamon crumble the better.

The checking out experience was fast and efficient and each morning I would get a takeaway flat white coffee from the hotel’s restaurant. The coffee was very good. 

 

How have your room service experiences been? Have you stayed at the Oaks on Collins? Do you eschew room service or embrace it? Please write a comment and let me know. 

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All images shot with my Sony α7S with the Sonnar 35 mm f/1.8 prime lens. ©2014 YummyLummy.com

Fish and chips at Stokes Hill Darwin wharf

Posted by Gary

Fish and chips isn’t my favourite food but it comes close

I’m in Darwin for work. I used to live here (from 1996 to 2007). I call Darwin the place where my soul and spirit lives. Don’t get me wrong, I like Canberra. I love the people of Canberra. I like that it’s small without traffic and really is just a country town. Darwin though pops and sizzles. Darwin has life. Darwin is exciting. Best of all Darwin is warm and moist and has Darwin-friendly people. Yep that’s a thing…Darwin-friendly.

I used the RunKeeper app on my iPhone to provide a GPX file so I could pinpoint the places where I captured images.

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The view of the wharf
The view of the wharf
This is where you buy all sorts of food and drink on the Darwin wharf at Stoke Hill
This is where you buy all sorts of food and drink on the Darwin wharf at Stoke Hill
Monday night eating dinner in my happy place. Darwin wharf. Barramundi, calamari rings, and chips.
Monday night eating dinner in my happy place. Darwin wharf. Barramundi, calamari rings, and chips.
Barramundi, calamari rings, and chips
Fish and chips and calamari rings from heaven

 

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Papaya Thai Eatery and cafe restaurant review by Yummy Lummy

Posted by Gary

Tonight I ate at the Papaya Thai Eatery and cafe

Not far from the Rydges Camperdown on Missendon Road is Papaya Thai Eatery and Cafe. It’s not a flash looking place but it was close and I was hungry.   

A photograph of Papaya Thai Eatery and cafe
Papaya Thai Eatery and cafe

The menu reminds me a little of Chong Co Thai in Canberra. I chose the salt and pepper calamari for an entrée and the soft shelled crab as a main meal.

A photograph of Deep fried calamari
Deep fried calamari

The calamari wasn’t really salty or peppery. In fact it was just deep fried, not that there was anything wrong with that. I enjoyed eating it. The squid pieces were a little big and therefore chewy but not tough. The salad had a nice tang to it. I finished it off.

A photograph of Soft shelled crab
Soft shelled crab

The soft shelled crab was delicious. The vegetables were nicely cooked and still crunchy. The chilli wasn’t too hot but it had nice heat. The crab itself was done is a spicy sauce with a good hit of peanut paste to make it retain its flavour while masticating. 

I’d happily eat a quick meal here again. I was satisfied with the portion size and the service was quick and friendly. Not too bad for a suburban Thai restaurant.

 

 

 

Papaya Thai on Urbanspoon

 

Google maps https://goo.gl/maps/7FhGs

 
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Hope you have a great weekend and eat YUMMY