On Thursday evening Bron took me to dinner for my birthday (which was last week). We went to Eat86 in Braddon. This is relatively new and a new venture for the people who run Ellacure in Bruce.
Having enjoyed previous meals at Ellacure and hearing great reviews from work mates plus reading a blog post on Her Canberra by Trish, I was really looking forward to a nice meal and night out with Bron. Bron had heard good things so we were pretty confident of a great night out.
On walking in you can feel the vibe of the place. The staff are friendly and helpful. We had a table reserved near the bar and fairly central in the restaurant. The menu is written in chalk on the wall and as items run out they are rubbed out. We were advised to try a couple of cheaper meals and one large meal as a guide for the evening. We went for the ceviche, pulled pork terrine and ghetto beef.
These were all delightful. The ceviche was amazing. It was refreshing and full of heat but the chilli didn’t linger and was certainly sharp but not unpleasant. It was a perfect entrée to the evening. I love terrines and the pulled pork was pretty special. I’d happily eat more of it. Finally, the ghetto beef was perfectly cooked. The beef was tender and tasty and chewy in a really good way.
All these images are from my Instagram feed. Click on the image and read the comments.
The ceviche was a perfect start to the meal
The pulled pork terrine broke apart and could be scooped up on the bread
The ghetto beef is a must have
The serving sizes are modest and so by the end of these dishes dessert was not an option but a viable proposition. I chose a caramel popcorn sundae and peanut brittle. The restaurant was pretty dark so my iPhone photography wasn’t too flash. That said, the Instagram comments were pretty good. Click on the image to see the number of likes and comments.
Dessert. Nothing more needs to be said.
Okay onto other things.
It was noisy. My tinnitus was bad that night. I had to concentrate on looking at Bron’s lips the whole night. Not a bad thing Dunny score was 4.5+ out of 5. The music is piped into the dunny. The pedestal was of high quality. The towels were paper. The + comes because of the Aēsop hand products provided. This was a very good touch. If there was a Dyson air blade in there it would have received 5+/5 Nakpin score was fail. Bron believes I’m too harsh in having only a pass/fail for napkins. To me cloth is pass and paper is fail. Fair enough, these were thick paper napkins and better than most. What do you reckon?
Would I eat at eightysix again. Most certainly I would. I’d like to try a seat at the bar looking into the kitchen. If not for anything else, the lighting would be better for my iPhone camera. I feel embarrassed my images do not do the food justice. This is a great place to eat and I look forward to returning again and again.
This morning I weighed myself. I haven’t done this for a couple of months. This morning standing naked I weighed 80.2 kg (or 176 lb for my friends in the USA). Since about Easter I’ve felt myself thickening a little. At the beginning of the year I was about 76 kg. At Easter I was suffering from ManFlu and then had an ankle problem which meant exercising was not a high priority for me. Coupled with some more extravagant eating it should come as no surprise that I’ve got over 80 kg.
I really need to stop eating so much, exercise more and watch what I’m eating. This last week has been a little out of control. Let’s take a look.
Now we need to remember I started the week with the ham hock (which was delicious). I also experienced my birthday (and much of Bron’s generosity). Finally I had one of the best quick meals I’ve ever had last night [click on the links for the images in the posts].
So in between I also ate pretty well.
Roast belly pork
Yes, I ate all that to myself and there was nothing left over.
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Friday morning signalled my last Friday working in the department so I had my last Friday Mavi breakfast wrap.
This doesn’t mean my last Mavi breakfast wrap, just the last one on a Friday. From next Friday I start working as a Visiting Medical Officer in Pathology at The Canberra Hospital every Friday.
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On Friday night I was late at work and so that means takeaway
Before I went to see GI Joe Retaliation I needed lunch. I don’t want to spoil this for anyone. I loved the movie. It’s well worth watching if you like ninja action, guns, heavy machines and very athletic looking actors. I will definitely purchase the DVD when its available.
If you click on any image in this post you’ll see the IG comments made by my IG friends. Some are pretty funny.
It’s autumn
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Mr Owl
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New speed dampening cushions have been installed on local streets. I’m not a fan of them. I am a supporter of better road safety.
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Saturday’s early morning clouds
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Mr Owl this morning. Beautiful blue sky.
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An abandoned car outside the local cop shop
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On a depressing note, my footy teams have not done so well this weekend. The Brisbane Broncos were defeated by South Sydney. The Reds drew their game. The Melbourne Storm were defeated by the Canberra Raiders. So very very sad…
I turned 48 this week (Wednesday 01 May) and enjoyed some fun food.
Before the food though a little reflection. I’ve never really been one to ponder too much about birthdays and getting older. We’re born, we live and if we’re fortunate we age, grow old and then we die. When I turned 30 and 40 I didn’t have a party because in my mind it wasn’t a big deal. Over the last year or so I’ve experienced some evidence of ageing in terms of my health. I’ve had to think more about my weight, my blood pressure and my diet. While I still eat more, I’m more and more conscious of the need to keep my weight at a certain level. On Tuesday night I went to bed and for the first time reflected on the following day I would be 48. Forty-eight sounds old. Forty-seven seemed to be a little way before I hit 50, but 48 is two years away from 50. In my mind 50 is old. That means in 2015 I reckon I’m taking a couple of days off around my birthday and spend some time in quiet reflection. The last place I want to be is at work.
So on Wednesday I woke up feeling quite flat. I needed something sweet and refreshing. The best thing in the morning though was a text message from Miss15 who sent me a pinch and a punch for the first day of the month. Normally I get in first.
I made the smoothie with Chinese gooseberry and pineapple pieces. The coffee was also strong.
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On checking my post office box I had a couple of cards. One from my parents and one from Bron.
Coffee and cards
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I work with great friends. A couple of them decorated the glass outside my work area.
The good news is I move work areas again next week.
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I decided against lunch because Bron was taking me to dinner. When we got there I got a gift from Bron.
Popping candy and chocolate.
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We went to our local Canberra Southern Cross Club at Jamison. The club does a pretty good steak which is what I wanted to eat.
This is a Scotch fillet steak with hollandaise sauce and mash potato.
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Bron bought me a nice cake and we had some at the club. It was great going out with Bron and having a good meal and enjoying each other’s company.
One candle was enough
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The next morning I walked
Hello Mr Owl
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I had some cake for breakfast
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I only had a little
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Office coffee with popping candy
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I got a nerf gun for a birthday present from a work friend
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It’s a nice little pistol
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Chicken and vegetable bake was necessary before I could finish off the cake
For the last week I’ve been eating more meals as wraps. My week in Instagram shows it in graphic detail I’m not sure why I’ve turned to wraps this week. Instagram followers will be familiar with my love of the Mavi Breakfast Wrap over the last 18 months.
I decided on Friday I was so going to make a version of Hilah’s sausage wrap because my version from Thursday night was crap in comparison. I split my snag and added onion.
I did the onions in the afternoon. I needed three large brown onions, a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of brown sugar and a two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I spent about an hour softening the onions with the oil and a good pinch of salt. I then added the sugar and vinegar and stirred regularly for another hour. It turned into a lovely gooey mess of happiness. I also added a little curry powder and smoked paprika for flavour.
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On Monday evening Bron came over for dinner and inspired by Hilah I made a sausage and onion wrap.
Bron brought over some caramelised onion she bought at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. I cooked the sausages like Hilah did in her video and made the wrap. The bread I bought even came with little paper pocket bags.
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The best part of the evening though was that Bron brought over some of her home made macarons and non-churn ice cream. The flavours were orange and cardamon and lemon curd ice creams. The macarons where chocolate with chocolate popping candy ganache and lemon curd.
This dessert was amazingly good. Bron is a genius in the kitchen and a genius in general (yes her IQ is off the charts)
So this week it’s back to a five day work week after two Easter associated short weeks. I’m currently nursing a sore ankle so I’m not walking around as much as I would like.
Sunday’s breakfast was a salad wrap as opposed to a banana smoothie.
Breakfast wrap
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For dinner I kept to the wrap theme and made a salmon and salad wrap
Salmon and salad wrap
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On Monday for morning tea I had coffee with Bron at a local coffee shop at work. Bron brought in one of her peanut paste salted caramel biscuits. It was delicious.
For Monday evening dinner I used the two remaining Elite Meats chicken rissoles and continued the wrap theme
Chicken rissole wrap
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Lyme disease coffee
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On Tuesday morning Bron brought me another biscuit
Tuesday biscuit
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For lunch on Tuesday rather than a meaty treat I went with a mango yoghurt
Mango yoghurt
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On Tuesday night I prepared the Elite Meats scotch fillet steak
Scotch fillet steak
Raw goodness
Cooked happiness with a salad
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Extreme weather coffee
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After collecting my mail I thought I’d capture an image of the building I work in
Scarborough House
Scarborough House
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For lunch I had a mixed berry yoghurt. If you click on the image you’ll see the Instagram comments. They’re hilarious.
Mixed berry yoghurt
“Blood” in a Petri dish disease themed lunch
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I went to Bron’s for dinner on Wednesday night and she made a delicious Toad in the Hole
Toad in the Hole
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Bron also made a dessert with fresh free range eggs that we got from Elite Meats
Portuguese custard tarts
These were amazing. So good.
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Thursday Style Manual coffee
So many good Instagram comments with this image
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Thursday was pay day so it was #paydaypieday. This is a curry lamb and potato pie from Urban Bean Espresso Bar.
Curry Lamb Hot Pie
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In the afternoon Bron visited my office and brought over a sweet treat
Portuguese custard tart
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For Thursday dinner I cooked some of the Elite Meats sausages I got. I bought six Black Angus and Burgundy snags and put away three lots of two sausages.
CDC entrance 1600 Clifton Road with Dead Duck Dilbert (3D)
There’s not much around the CDC campus. There are some newly built shops with restaurants but really nothing in terms of stuff to buy if you’re visiting and want to share gifts with friends. There’s also not much to see or do after hours unless you’re willing to catch a cab into town. Given I write a daily report of my meeting participation at the end of each work day (even if I go to dinner) that wasn’t an option. So Dead Duck Dilbert will basically only be seeing CDC and the hotel
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A close up of 3D
Okay, not really a close up
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I’d like to note that in the last twelve months I’ve been fortunate to fulfil two dreams I never in my wildest dreams thought possible. It’s a result of having a great job and very good bosses who drive the work with vision and insight. As a clinical microbiologist, and as someone who built my own microbiology laboratory in my parent’s rumpus room when I was at high school, there are two outstanding institutions in the USA for anyone with an interest in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases and public health. Last year I was able to visit both the old and the newly constructed site of the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases. Words cannot describe the awesomeness of that visit. The second iconic place for me is CDC. With a few years under belt now as a health emergency manager I also got to see the CDC nerve centre, their Emergency Operations Center (EOC). I’m a happy boy.
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The front sign of the Emory Conference Center Hotel
This is a really good hotel. There is free wifi throughout the complex (although it’s a little patchy in the main restaurant making Instagram posting of breakfast a little tedious) and the staff are really really friendly. It may just be Dallas and Atlanta but when I’ve visited other US cities like Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago I have to fake an American accent to be understood. The people of Albuquerque (previous visit in 2009), Dallas and Atlanta seem to understand my Australian accent (strine). The bathroom in my hotel room was great. The water heated up in the shower quickly and I don’t know what it was but the tap water was some of the best tap water I’ve ever tasted. I’d bottle it and drink it every day if I could. The hotel was set in lovely grounds well away from the main road so it was quiet. The bed was also very comfortable.
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It’s still daylight in the early evening in Atlanta.
3D on the perimeter fence of CDC with laboratory smoke stacks in the background
In previous posts I’ve extolled the virtues of my favourite ginger beer, viz., Bundaberg Ginger beer. It’s partly because it tastes the best IMO and also because Bundaberg is such a special place for my family. I always try to support Bundaberg, it’s sugar cane and anything else to do with the town. This Bermudan ginger beer was good. Not quite as good a flavour as Bundy ginger beer though.
So The General Muir is a deli style cafe/restaurant at Emory Point in Atlanta. I saw on the menu it had a Reuben sandwich. I’ve watched many American television food programs on television discuss the Reuben. I’ve heard on television situation comedies the Reuben being described. I had to try one (or possibly two). They have an Instagram account and a Facebook page plus a twitter account
An IG friend told me it is more Russian than American. I’ll take his word for it. All I know it’s one damn fine sarny.
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Reuben goodness
This was amazing. I loved it. I wanted more. Dare I use the awful term mouthgasm??? It really was like an explosion of joy and happiness and ecstasy in my mouth as I chewed tongued and masticated my way through this delightful sandwich.
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The weather is like Canberra at the moment yet I’m in the Northern hemisphere
Yes, with all the eating I did try to exercise. I wasn’t that successful. I only got out twice.
3D and the Emory Conference Center Hotel sign early in the morning.
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Grits. My experience of buttery goodness.
Okay so this is the first time I have tried grits. I know it’s ground corn and I know it’s a staple of the south. The taste was good. It was like butter. It was very gritty though and I don’t think I’d have it every morning. I know I prefer rolled oats.
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My waffle
To remove the grittiness from my mouth I also got a waffle with bacon, pork sausage, berries, nuts and maple syrup. I LOVE North American breakfasts.
We had our Wednesday meeting at another CDC site and we got a takeaway deli order. I tried another Reuben. This was about an order of magnitude difference between this and The General Muir Reuben. I did not like this version of the sandwich.
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CDC EOC
On Wednesday afternoon we visited the CDC EOC. Happy time ×10
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On Wednesday evening we enjoyed a no host (meaning we pay for ourselves, this is important for most national government departments, it’s important not to be seen or perceived to be seen to inappropriately act by providing a free dinner or lunch). We went to the Bonefish Grill at Emory Point.
Entrée at the Bonefish Grill
The lighting was really poor. This actually looks better when I rotate the image 180°. Atlantic sea scallops wrapped in bacon (Oh I love American bacon) with a mango salsa. It looks good even though the scallops were overcooked and rubbery. The mango salsa was delightful.
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Main dish
Sirloin steak, Maryland crab cake and potatoes au gratin. I was up to my third scallop on my entrée when my main meal came out. I had to quickly rearrange my plates and finish my entrée quickly so my steak and crab cake didn’t get cold. I asked for the steak to be rare. It was medium with a hint of pink. I would never send a meal back because I’ve heard too many stories of upset chefs doing things to food that’s been sent back.
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I decided against dessert and pondered the meal (compilation)
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Thursday breakfast
I thought about a stack of pancakes but I don’t think I could have done it. I elected for a spinach, mushroom, tomato and cheese omelet with bacon, sausage, walnuts, berries and some maple syrup.
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We had a no host lunch at La Tagliatella on Clifton Road opposite CDC
This is a Roast duck and black truffle risotto. I couldn’t identify any duck. The black bits are the truffle. It was very salty.
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At the Atlanta Admirals Club after my flight to DFW was cancelled. Now on AA843.
My meal on AA843. I was craving greens after nearly 48 hours. I ate the salad and left the chicken.
The chicken breast looked and felt really rubbery. I tried to cut it but the knife wouldn’t make a mark.
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The cheesecake on AA843 was no where near as nice as Bron’s
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Sitting in the Qantas Club at DFW with 3D drinking ginger ale. Yes I like ginger. I also know that one of my favourite blogging friends Judy from http://petit4chocolatier.wordpress.com/ also likes it.
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And a shout out to Hilah from @hilahcooking She’s one of the coolest Texans I know. I bought this book so I know more about Texas.
If you like blogs and food videos on YouTube please visit her site at http://hilahcooking.com/ I only discovered a little while ago that she spent three months in Melbourne and knows about Aussie love for chicken schnitty.
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This is the calm scene at Gate D14 at DFW at 2100 CDT on Thursday night.
Little did we know what was to come
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I was sitting in seat 1B and I sat there for close to five hours while we taxied out and in and out and in and out and in again.
The cabin lighting gives the bulkhead a pink hue. That’s my breakfast card. It never got used
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Shortly after boarding all the passengers and with the doors closed we taxied out and then spent an awfully long time on the tarmac. The Captain made an announcement saying there was a problem with the engine deicing system. They needed to get the engineers to look at it. We’d taxi back to the aerobridge but not dock. We’d stay in our seats while the engineers ran a range of diagnostic tests and hopefully fix the problem. After more time the Captain said the problem had been resolved and we taxied out. The regulations state that we needed to watch and listen to the in-flight safety brief again. The flight attendants were very good about it. Out on the tarmac we sat again, we assumed the crew were running through checks. After another lengthy period, the Captain announced an associated problem had emerged and we’d be going back to the terminal but not docking. He said if he let one passenger off he’d have to make us all get off and then go through security again. He then explained the engineers would try to bypass the deicing circuits and I couldn’t quite hear the rationale but no one seemed concerned. We taxied back out and again sat on the tarmac for what seemed like more than 30 minutes. By now it as around Friday 0300 CDT. The Captain came on the public address system and apologised that the system was still indicating a problem. They had run out of crew time and would need to park the aircraft in a hanger and have the system examined thoroughly. After the second trip out onto the tarmac we’d been told that because of tight crew times instead of landing in Brisbane we would land in Auckland and another crew would take us to Brisbane. By that stage I knew I would have missed my connection from Brisbane to Canberra. I had a date with Bron and basically I knew that wasn’t going to happen The Captain made a final point that with Qantas it’s all about safety before schedule hence the twitter hash tag I started #safetyb4schedule
As we docked with the aerobridge we got off and were assigned local hotels. I scored the Marriott DFW. It was about 0415 CDT when I got into my room. I called Bron, had a shower and fell asleep not knowing what was going to happen. At about 0820 CDT I woke with a panic. I walked to the door and noticed a page of paper. Without my glasses I thought it said catch the shuttle at 0950 CDT. I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face and woke myself up. I reread the letter and it said be ready for the shuttle @5pm. I couldn’t go back to sleep despite feeling tired.
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So what to do. I went to the reception desk and asked if there’s anything to do locally and they said it’s an industrial area and I’d need to catch a cab into Dallas to do anything. I’m sorry if I sound like a tight arse but I’m not going to waste money on long cab rides to walk around when I’m dog tired. I knew I could do some work and I was told there was free wifi in the hotel lobby. [This is where I am now]. We’d be given two meals and we could use our rooms.
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I can’t remember when we were given this block of chocolate. All I know is we weren’t provided with any toiletries or anything like a T-shirt to sleep in. When I’ve been on cancelled flights with Qantas before they’ve arranged this. At the hotel they gave us a toothbrush and toothpaste. I couldn’t access my checked-in bag for toiletries and fresh clothes (not that I had any) because they remained on the aircraft.
The chocolate was okay. I can’t remember eating it I’m so tired.
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So I went to the hotel restaurant for brunch (it was about 1030 CDT by the time I woke up enough to do anything.
There were all sorts of things on the menu. The first thing I saw was the Eggs Benedict. My server who could see how tired I was gave me a jug of coffee and said the Eggs Benedict are good. I asked if they served them with s soft runny yolk and he said yes. What I didn’t realise was it would come with a giant potato cake. [For friends from Victoria this is what I call a potato cake. What you call a potato cake is a potato scallop (Queenslander)]. The eggs were cooked nicely although the yolk was very very pale. I assume it wasn’t free range and not fresh. It tasted good though.
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Making a wish
I don’t know what the whole 11:11 is about but I see it enough times on Instagram to know that some people make a which when it’s 11:11 I wished for my same seat tonight and a safe journey.
Yes I have a lot of camera apps. Do I use all of them? No. I really like ProCamera.
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Free wifi in the hotel lobby
I took up the offer of free wifi in the lobby and here I am doing some work and blogging and reading blogs and trying not to think of my tiredness headache.
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Hotel in situ starbucks
I really don’t want to offend my North American friends. You need to visit Australia and try our coffee in a good coffee shop. Ask for a long black or a flat white or a latte or even a cappuccino. I’m pretty sure you’ll notice the difference.
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I’ll finish the journey blog in the next couple of days. I’m really hoping our flight leaves tonight. The plan is that QF7008 (the new designation for our flight) will depart at about 2200 CDT and I’ll get a new flight from Brisbane to Canberra on Sunday. I’ll get into Canberra just before lunch. In time to buy groceries and do lots of washing. Hopefully dinner with Bron and then hopefully sleep before work on Monday. Fingers crossed
After the last blog post last weekend I finished with an image of chicken schnitzel. Here it is cooked with some fried eggs. Yum comfort food.
Chicken high schnitzel with fried eggs
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On Sunday morning I had breakfast with Bron and we went to Black Pepper for Eggs Benedict.
I always ask for more Hollandaise sauce
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I went to work on Sunday to catch up on some work. Fortunately I had a snack there.
An extreme chocolate whoopie
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From my garden
I do nothing to the garden bed in my apartment. I do not even add water and look at what grows.
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Sunday night dinner of salmon salad
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Monday was a public holiday. I visited Bron and we had her homemade hot cross buns
These were really good. I had two and lots of butter.
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After another day at work on a public holiday I made chicken salad
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Tuesday night I felt a little blergh and just made chicken and potato gems (tater tots)
I felt better after eating this.
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Bron has been busy making macarons. Look at these babies. Salted caramel, rose water and vanilla.
A salted caramel maracon.
This is the best salted caramel macaron I’ve ever tasted. These were so good. I love the way the flavours change as I bit into them and then as my tongue made contact.
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My personal passport expires in about eight months. It is easier to renew it before it expires. I pick up my new one in a couple of weeks.
Most of the travel I do is for work and for that I use an official passport. My current personal passport expires in January 2014. Given a passport cannot be used for the last six months of its ‘life’ and because renewing a current passport is many orders of magnitude easier than renewing an expired passport, I thought it was time.
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Nothing beats a sausage roll for a quick lunch
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It was nice having a WIZZ FIZZ lollipop
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Thursday morning treat from Bron
Now this is the morning after the meal at Morks so I wasn’t that hungry but who can resist macarons.
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It was Jacqui’s birthday at work. We didn’t our usual Pay day Pie day, instead we had a burger. You may recall Jacqui from last week’s post.
This is an Urban Cheese. It is a cheeseburger from Urban Bean Espresso Bar. It has an Angus beef pattie, tasty cheese, bacon, fried egg and beetroot. The chips came with homemade mayonnaise.
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I just had a salad for dinner
Followed with macarons
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Mmm…Friday morning rituals. Mavi Breakfast wrap. This one was amazingly good.
The owner made this one and we reckon he put in more bacon and mushrooms.
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Hot chip Friday lunch of course
You’d think I would have had enough of these but no.
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Saturday morning breakfast
This was a mistake. We had breakfast at Gourmet Deli in Belconnen Westfield shopping centre. This place has great coffee and is a fantastic delicatessen. This breakfast was a little too ‘greasy’.
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For dinner on Saturday night I was at Bron’s place. Bron has been thinking of making Jamie Oliver’s Yorkshire puddings again. She’d made them a little over a year ago and we blogged about it.
Here are some very short video sequences of the puddings being poured and rising in the oven. I have uploaded them on Vine but don’t know how to embed Vine into this blog so I’ve embedded YouTube uploads.
It’s very hard to describe just how nice it is to have the tangy trout and horseradish along with the crisp fresh fluffy pudding
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Dinner is served
It looks great doesn’t it?
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Bite sized morsels of happiness
This is perfection between my fingers
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Oh yeah there was a pear and walnut salad
This added a lovely touch
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Dessert was Bron’s amazing sticky date pudding with butterscotch and custard
This is I think Bron’s signature dessert. No one makes it better. The butterscotch sauce is to die for. The custard is perfect. The ice cream was Madagascan Vanilla Bean.
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Sunday breakfast was simple and in two stages
Poached eggs are so yummy
Check it out. Hot homemade hot cross bun.
I hope you agree this looked so good. It tasted better.
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After a walk today I needed a snack.
Australian Havarti cheese on toast
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For dinner tonight I made some honey soy salmon and a salad.
I like the sweetness of mixing honey with soy on the hot fry pan and reducing it.
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For dessert Bron gave me some of her sticky date pudding.
It was a nice big piece with extra butterscotch sauce and custard. This was just so good.
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So ends this post.Thank you for reading this and going through my instagram experience. I’d also invite you to view my Facebook page and if you like it please click the LIKE button. Thanks.
I hope everyone has a great week at work. I know I’ve been finding my new role a challenge and it seems there is a lot of fatigue around not just in my workplace but from what I hear and read around the place. I hope everyone finds balance in their life. Take care. Live long and prosper.
On a good note, the Brisbane Broncos defeated the St George Illawarra Dragons this week and the Gold Coast Titans defeated the Canberra Raiders. It was unfortunate that the Melbourne Storm defeated the North Queensland Cowboys. I don’t feel that bad though because Melbourne are my number four team. For those who don’t know me well my top four teams in the National Rugby League are 1. Brisbane Broncos, 2. North Queensland Cowboys, 3. Gold Coast Titans, and 4. The Melbourne Storm. For Soccer it’s the Brisbane Roar. For the Australian Football League it’s the Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns. For cricket it’s the Queensland Bulls. For Rugby it’s the Queensland Reds. For State of Origin it is the Queensland XXXX Maroons. One day I’ll reveal the teams I detest.
Since returning from a weekend in Brisbane I have posted so many photos to @instagram. It really is an addiction. This week I went past 2300 photos and 68 000 tweets. Of course most of the images are of food. I had also hoped to make an effort this week to eat better. You know more leafy greens, more fibre and less fat and cholesterol. I don’t think I was very successful. My waist has started to thicken a little and my trousers are feeling a little tighter. I have been walking and exercising, I need to increase that and decrease the food intake.
This tasted so good I’ve asked Bron to make it again (and again and again).
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The next morning (Thursday) I made my iced coffee banana smoothie with left over beetroot.
Looks like a strawberry milkshake.
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Thursday morning was a beautiful blue sky morning in Canberra. I started a new hash tag #coldanddry Those who know me know I like #warmandmoist
Blue skies. One of the beautiful things and why I #likeCanberra
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Some light reading with a coffee
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On Thursday evening Bron and I went to dinner with a couple we’re friends with to The Chairman and Yip in Civic (P and LP are our special friends we often have dinner with at their place). We arrived at 1800 AEDT for the Early Bird Specials (because we’re old people). We chose the Early Bird Banquet. We’ve previously eaten there.
Look at this lovely stuffed mushroom.
It was amazing. In the background is some steamed wonton and fried calamari.
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For our entrée we had 1. calamari tossed with spicy salt and chilli, 2. steamed wontons dressed with hot chilli infused oil, and 3. grilled field mushrooms with cashew and herb pesto.
For our main course we shared 1. sesame crusted salmon with cinnamon infused soy, 2. portuguese spiced corn fed chicken, 3. beef and scallop ground pepper hot pot, and 4. pumpkin and cucumber with caramelised chilli and kaffir lime.
This salmon was a little over cooked but the taste was amazing.
All in all the experience was really good. The Chairman and Yip is well worth visiting for dinner, even the early bird dinner. The service is fast and the wait staff are friendly. It’s definitely worth the $38.50 per person for the flavours.
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We went to Koko Black for dessert. Koko Black is an institution in Canberra and one of the places to go for a chocolate hit after dinner or after a movie at the Dendy cinema.
I had a chocolate affogato. Delicious. I’ve been told because it has no coffee it’s not really an affogato. Who cares?
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Another shot of coffee on a Friday morning before breakfast.
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For Friday breakfast we have restarted our Mavi Breakfast wrap tradition, with a change.
We now share it so we don’t feel so full all day. Connor wasn’t cooking this morning so it was a little loose and had too much barbecue sauce. That said, the bacon, egg, cheese, mushrooms and hash brown all tasted good.
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For lunch we were meant to do @snagstand but didn’t get to because we were busy. I elected to have a pie with @jacquimkane
These was a cheesy bacon and chunky beef pie along with an extreme chocolate whoopie and a Bundaberg ginger beer (nectar of the gods).
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In the afternoon we had planned a little afternoon tea, really a birthday party for @jesskirkham88 who was 25 on Friday.
Flowers from Jess’s husband
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Preparation for the party begins
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More preparation
Note the sausage rolls are made by Jess’s mum. They were delicious.
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Mars bar cars
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Fairy bread. Jess is an expert at making fairy bread.
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Someone made a rookie mistake and cooked cheerios in the microwave oven.
So how did it compare. It compared very well. The service was friendly and attentive and timely. The staff appeared interested in the customers. They were also helpful. Two of our party asked about gluten-free options. On asking about a redistribution of crispy egg noodles, this was greeted with enthusiasm so everyone else received extra noodles and as a lovely touch we received a large extra plate of noodles and fried basil. Without asking we had more than enough rice which was a constant problem at Woden. The dish, i.e., #39 tasted better too. More spicy and more flavours. My only concern was the restaurant is quite small and therefore because of its popularity it’s very noisy. With my hearing deficit and tinnitus I had trouble hearing my friends. I had placed myself next to a wall mirror to improve my photography which meant my bad ear was ‘facing’ my friends. I know what you’re thinking Gary puts photography ahead of friends…
We will go back, probably multiple times. I would recommend Lemon Grass in Civic over Woden and independently as a Thai restaurant in Canberra.
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We all wanted #39
When dining at the Woden franchise we had come to love #39 the creamy red curry. We had even set up a WhatsApp group called #39. We were all basically keen on #39.
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Everyone except me had wine.
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Yum, creamy red curry with beef and lots and lots of egg noodles.
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Sadly it came to an end.
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For dessert we went to Koko Black. I didn’t mind two nights in a row.
What should I choose?
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I went with the vanilla ice cream spectacular.
The caramel sauce was smooth, warm and sweet and oh so good. We joked a bit about warm smooth purulent discharges.
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I also had another chocolate affogato
I felt pretty full after this.
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On Saturday morning I went for a walk
The sun rising over the Belconnen Arts centre
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Hello Mr Owl
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Coffee at Gormet Deli in Belconnen
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At lunch time I had a coffee with Bron. I love lunch with Bron at Ricardo’s Cafe.
Last year I blogged a couple of times about the food at Ramas in Pearce. I have enjoyed the food there and the company on the occasions we dined there helped make the evenings memorable. After blogging about Ramas a Canberra Twitter friend, viz., Jude @Sister_Ratched commented (via Twitter and on my blog) that she thought there were better places in Canberra and Sydney for Indian cuisine. She suggested she could introduce me to such places. I was very happy to be introduced to new dining experiences.
Jude is lovely, she avidly comments on my blog and given the amount of food I post on Twitter and Instagram, Jude has shared her thoughts. At times this has been a concern for the quantity and quality of food I would post. I believe in some ways, the recent changes in my diet have been influenced by Jude’s comments about cholesterol, the importance of fresh ethically harvested produce and the health benefits of salad Jude is a Registered Nurse and currently practises in gastroenterology. I respect her opinion.
On Friday night Jude organised a Canberra Tweetup. I regret not taking names and Twitter handles because I’ll offend some new friends if I don’t mention them. Suffice to say this is not the last #CBRTweetUp I will attend. It was a most enjoyable evening and it really is great to meet tweeps in real life and get to get to know them a little better. One of my favourite Canberra bloggers was also there. T1 from InTheTaratory fame. T1 has been prolific recently on Twitter as part of the #LikeCanberra campaign for the Centennial celebrations of the Australia’s capital city.
We all met at Ruchi Belconnen. Ruchi specialises in Southern Indian cuisine. Jude recommended I try a Thali. A Thali is a tasting plate made up of a selection of various dishes. The food is served in small bowls on a round tray. In the middle there was bread and plus a piece of flesh (fish in my case). I asked for the Ruchi Special Non‐Vegetarian Thali for $24.50. This consisted of Chapatti, channa curry, Kerala chicken, beef vindaloo, pickles, thayir pachadi, rasam, and boiled rice. When the food was being served I heard the waiter say “special non-vegetarian Thali” and I assumed it was mine. It turned out not to be what I asked for but it was a Mysore Maharajah Non-Vegetarian Thali which consisted of Meen porichadu, chapathi, boiled rice, sambar, Mysore chilli chicken, daal, lamb korma, rasam, thayir pachadi, pickles, and a coconut dessert. This dish was considerably hotter in terms of spices than what I was expecting. It was not at all unpleasant, on the contrary it was delightful. I really enjoyed this tasting plate of Southern Indian delights. The company was great and in the end it was not a late evening but it was certainly a very enjoyable one. The next #CBRTweetUp is being organised. I’m looking forward to it.
I would definitely recommend Ruchi Belconnen. I’ll be returning.
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Friday was made even better with a Mavi Breakfast wrap which meant I didn’t need lunch.
A beautiful tongue of bacon.
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This afternoon. I enjoyed a pastry treat from Ricardo’s Cafe at the Jamison Plaza.
This is the Peanut Butter. It contains a very subtle peanut paste flavoured mousse with a heart of caramel resting on a delicate chocolate crumb biscuit base. It was lovely.
I just posted some images on Instagram and my friend Laura asked on Twitter if I’d blog the recipe. If asked, I’ll blog anything
So I had a fillet of Atlantic salmon which I bought from Coles. It was about $30 per kilogram.
I made the salad out of salad leaves from a packet from Coles. This is a really convenient way to get various types of lettuce leaf plus Rocket. The leaves keep for about four days in an airtight container.
In the salad I had grated fresh beetroot as an alternative to sliced pickle beetroot, freshly grated parmesan cheese, crumbled Australian feta cheese, chunky diced cucumber, sliced celery, sliced spring onions, quartered cherry tomatoes, ground pepper, and chilli flakes.
My method of cooking the salmon is dead simple and always works. I heat up a fry pan with some vegetable oil until it gets to smoking hot. I then add the salmon and add a lid. I time this for five minutes. I leave the fry pan for five minutes and don’t touch it. When the time is up I turn off the heat and move the pan and leave the lid on for another one minute. After the minute the lid goes into the sink of hot soapy water and the salmon is put on a plate to rest. The fry pan then hits the hot soapy water.
The salad is basically leaves in a bowl with everything except the beetroot added. The colour of the beetroot will bleed into everything so I add it at the very end.
Tonight I flaked the salmon and added it to the salad.
Normally I might use a salad type dressing for the salad but tonight instead of putting the fry pan into the soapy water I heated it up again and added a little white wine then soy sauce and then honey. I stirred that quickly and let it reduce a little. I drizzled the honey soy over the salmon and the salad. It was sweet but not too sweet.
For dessert I took inspiration from Rachael and Laura again with their advice on menz chocolates from Adelaide.
I had some menz Chocolate Honeycomb which I crushed a little with a meat tenderiser and added with Connoisseur Classic Vanilla ice cream. It was so yummy.
