You're in Clare Country!

The Balmain Bug - a review

      A few nights ago, Ravi & I went on a date.  We dined at the Balmain Bug.  It looks like a converted terrace house from the outside, but inside it's intimate and rustic, with candlelight & soft music, french chatter amongst the serving staff, framed etches hanging on the rock walls.  The service was impeccable (we had a waiter & a waitress attend to our table, often asking if we were comfortable, if the food was to our satisfaction, etc.) and the food was delicious.  For entree, I had a potato & mushroom ragout with roasted corn and capsicum, and Ravi had a prawn and scallop ravioli.  For mains, I had a barramundi fillet steeped in a sweet cheese, lemon and pea sauce, and Ravi had chicken wrapped in bacon with sweet potato mash & broccolini in a sweet wine sauce.  For dessert we had a light raspberry souffle.

The place obviously caters for couples.  Ravi boasted that he could tell by their body language which couples were on their first date & which couples had been together for a while.  Evidently the table on our left housed a couple on their first date because they weren't in-sync yet, awkwardly deciding which chair they should sit in (with both of them observing what chair the other wanted to sit in before making a move for the other chair, it was a little painful to watch), making small-talk (to fill the silent void) as they surveyed the menu.  The table behind me supported a couple who were obviously long-term partners - they chose their seat without consulting the other or looking to see which seat the other preferred to take, surveying the menu in silence without having to make small-talk.  Very interesting.

Has Tina been here?

Here are some of the dishes we sampled in Canberra.  Smells like Tina Spirit (Nirvana fans, anyone?).  Enjoy!

L: Steak & kidney pie, potato & garlic mash, & tomato salsa.  R: Ploughman's lunch (ham, caramelised onions, pickles, cheese, salad & damper).

L: Chicken strips & chips.  R: Chicken biryani.                                             

L: Sindhi (lamb) biryani.  R: Butter chicken.                                                                   

L: Indian entrees.  R: Lamb vindaloo.                                                         

L: Bacon 'n eggs breakfast at Pancakes.  R: Farmer's breakfast (2-stack of buttermilk pancakes in maple syrup, scrambled eggs & hash brown).                                                             

L: Bacon & cheese quiche with salad.  R: Bacon & egg roll with salad.

L: Big breakfast (bacons, eggs, tomato & toast).  R: Slummin' it with Red Rooster burgers, chips, potato & gravy, & coleslaw.

L: Tian of crab, tomato, potato, onion, drizzled with spicy aoili.  R: Steak sandwich with caramelised onions, chips & salad.

Salt & pepper squid on a bed of salad with a sweet lemon dressing.

Ichi Ban Teppanyaki - a review

                                                                                A few weeks ago Ravi, Captain Booger Features & I took my parents out to lunch as a thank you for looking after the captain a lot during the holidays.  My mum suggested Ichi Ban Teppanyaki BBQ in town since she had such a great time there for a work function.  The food was delicious (all 6 courses) but the entertainment did it for me - the chef cooked all the food in front of us & then threw it at us!  We had to catch it in our bowls or else!  Highlights were:

• Captain Booger Features raising his arms in triumph as he catches a piece of scrambled egg in his mouth
• My parents laughing
• Rather than throwing a BOWL of fried rice at Ravi (like the rest of us), the chef threw the FRIED RICE!  Ravi was showered in rice kernels & diced vegies before a team of waitresses quickly surrounded him and swept up his mess
• My inability to catch an egg in my bowl (twice)!

Restaurant Atelier - a review

         Last Friday Ravi & I caught up with Lilanee, Irene, Brian & Whinonha over dinner & drinks at Restaurant Atelier in Glebe, Lilanee's suggestion since it recently earned a hat.  Ravi & I had eaten there a few years ago (we still grimace at the memory - the food was crap) but it must have been taken over by new management because the french-style cuisine was superb second-time around!  Attention to detail & aesthetics were amazing (see photos of some of the dishes we ordered).  Being on the tail-end of a bad cold, I could just make out the delectable tastes.  My main, in particular, the pigeon breasts on a bed of caramelised onions, cabbage & mushrooms, was superb.  The food & ambience provided the best backdrop for sparkling conversations - we touched on the ALP leadership challenge (all of us unanimously wanting Rudd to oust Beazley), whether we would sign pre-nuptial agreements, movies we want to see, work, what we had been up to in the last couple of weeks/months (it had been that long in-between drinks), Irene & Brian's wedding & honeymoon plans, Lilanee's hands, and what our plans were for the silly season.  I love grown-up dinners like this!

The Cafe Lounge - review

                                                                                   Last night Ravi & I went to Rowan's 30th birthday dinner at the Cafe Lounge at Surry Hills.  It was great catching up with my ex-Sharman buddies!  Michelle is just about to embark on a month-long adventure on a Fijian island to complete a component in her degree - studying the culture of a remote tribe living in a village without electricity.  Jon was also back from Amsterdam (albeit briefly).  While he proudly showed digital pix of him & his mates in nothing but red aprons taking part in a gay parade in Amsterdam (the second largest gay parade in the world), he also gave us an update on his life at the mo' - looking for a new place in Sydney, first time having been seen eating dinner on a Saturday night (usually liquid all the way), etc.  The food was pretty good - I had salt & pepper squid on a bed of fresh salad with dressing....not too heavy, not to light, just right (& sweet).  Ravi had a salmon linguini that was also light & tasty.  It's always a great night out with my fellow 'pirates'!

The African Feeling - review

    Last Friday night, Ravi & I went to the African Feeling cafe in Newtown for a UPS-SCS reunion.  It was great seeing Keith & Leanne (pictured), John, Phil, Derek & Louise again, reminiscing over old times - how the MD was removed from his post due to his inability to account for $1.2 million, how Kamil entertained us all with his far-fetched bedroom exploits, etc.  The decor inside the cafe was very African - art on the walls, poster of Nelson Mandela, rhythmic drum music , even the heat of the place.  The food was delicious - the lamb, beef & chicken were unbelievably tender & the spinach paste dish was surprisingly divine!  I thoroughly recommend going there for big group shindigs (if you don't mind the slightly squashy surrounds).

Yumcha with The Parents

    Last Sunday, Ravi Captain Booger Features & I had yumcha with our respective parents to celebrate the captain's birthday.  It was great having everyone together.  And we never get sick of yumcha!  More photos are in the album "Yumcha with Parents - 24Sep06."

Philanthropy: how the other half lives

Last Thursday, Ravi, Captain Booger Features & I had dinner with Mark & Sam at Osteria Dei Poeti (Italian restaurant).  While we dined on delicious entrees but pedestrian mains, Ravi & I picked Mark & Sam's brains on how not-for-profit organisations operate.  Mark works for a company that purchases & distributes food to people in the community who are unable to shop for themselves - people with disabilities and/or are mentally incapacitated.  There are moments in the conversation when my capitalist sensibilities scream out ("I couldn't believe I had to change the tv channel manually!  The bloody hotel we were staying had didn't have a tv remote!"  Later realising that Mark spent quite some time in the jungles of Guatemala helping the poor who were likely to not possess a tv or a house!).  It was refreshing talking to Mark & Sam - allowing me to see beyond the ned of my nose to the tip of the other person's nose.

I started to think about what philanthropic initiatives I'm involved in.  While I'm nowhere near my heyday of feeding the homeless at Central & The Wall nearly 10 years ago (I was still at uni & harbouring idealistic dreams of becoming the world's first despot that actually looks out for the little people).  Currently the only philanthropic gestures I can muster at the moment is funding a cancer patient in trialling a new drug in the market & the occasional donation to the House With No Steps.  Who can forget Ravi's bewilderment at why I would donate to the House of No Steps & not to another, sexier charity.  The following weekend, Ravi fell ice skating & sprained a ligament in his ankle, forcing him to hobble around like an old man for a couple of weeks.  He admitted experiencing an epiphany & a newfound appreciation for what the House With No Steps does as he trudged up & down our 2 flights of stairs at home during the duration of his recovery.

Picture originally uploaded by innomind.

RQ - a restaurant review

Last Saturday night Ravi & I caught up with Lily & Max over dinner at RQ in Surry Hills.  RQ is a classy Vietnamese restaurant, taking its name from the region of Southeast Asia known as the 'rice quarter.'  The food was divine!  We dined on duck, pork, & lamb dishes, all super sweet in taste (and you know how I love my sugar!).  The dishes were also served elegantly, with much care given to presentation.  It was great catching up with Lily & Max, particularly since it's so difficult catching them inbetween overseas trips!  Stories were being traded between us, thick & fast!  The funniest tales involving life's enigmas such as - is soup really made by simmering it on an electric stove for 3 days straight (regardless of whether anyone is in the house to check it)?  How long does one tolerate selfish friends?  As long as it takes or does one follow the '2 strikes then you're out' rule?

Picture originally uploaded by the RQ website.

Dear Diary: Date with Ravi

                                                                              So last night I went on a date with Ravi.  It had been a while since I'd gone on a date so I fussed over what I was going to wear, finally deciding on my gold-coloured velvet dress, leather jacket & cream boots.  My housemate (funnily enough, also called Ravi) seemed a little suspicious at the amount of effort I was putting in but I just put it down to him being jealous (after all, it had also been a while since Housemate Ravi had gone on a date too).  After I dropped Captain Booger Features off at my parents place, Date Ravi picked me up at home.  It's funny how we all want to make a favourable & lasting impression on the other person, hoping the right impression is conveyed.  Just to make sure there was no ambiguity in the impression Date Ravi wanted to convey, he wore a light blue t-shirt with the word 'Legend' stitched across the chest!  Very subtle!

Since Date Ravi was labouring under a sporting injury (sore foot from ice-skating 2 weekends ago!) I drove.  We went to Bondi Junction & ate sushi train at Gari.  The food was delicious!  I especially liked the little hot fish balls spiced with ginger.  The presentation of the dishes was impeccable - everything looked so delectable!  My sweet plum wine was also divine.  Dinner went smoothly as we told our stories to each other, each more charming then the last - except for a slight hiccup - Date Ravi unexpectedly started talking about my inability to listen at times.  Hot tip for the fellas: not such a good idea to harp on about a girl's flaws on your date.  Date Ravi wisely realised his mistake & changed the subject quickly. 

After dinner, we walked upstairs to the cinemas & watched "You, Me & Dupree."  Funny movie!  So many moments when we clutched our sides & laughed hysterically.  Kate Hudson & Matt Dillon played their parts with aplomb but it is Owen Wilson's movie!  It's more than just a movie about having a buddy who is liable to sleep naked on your couch, change your answering machine message, clog up your toilet, corrupt a Morman, & do strange things with butter.  It's about celebrating [insert your name here]-ness. 

After the movie, we stopped by Passionflower & treated ourselves to scoops of durian, cookies & cream, & lychee ice cream, before heading back to my place.  Date Ravi was a perfect gentleman, walking me to my door & kissing me goodnight.  When I got in, Housemate Ravi was on the couch, pretending to be asleep.  I know he was pretending because when he really is asleep he shakes the foundations of the house with his snoring.  He feigned waking up & nonchalantly asked how my date went (complete with fake yawn & stretched arms).  In an equally nonchalant manner (successfully hiding a big grin) I replied, "I can see a second date on our horizon."

Pictures detailing "15 Dating Tips" (found in the pages of a book in an abandoned apartment) originally uploaded by JasonLee.