Thursday, 26 March 2009
Shout out for Good service...
Just wanted to say that I had absolutely wonderful service from the boys at Vermeys butcher in Sandy Bay today. WEnt in and very vaguely asked for 2kg of chicken pieces with bone. Neal came out and asked me what I was cooking, how was it being cooked and how long for, and devised a plan that involved Chicken marylands, a cleaver and chopping, along with a discussion about how chicken is used differently in different dishes. I learnt something, bought the meat I needed, and ended up enjoying a lovely meal of sherry infused roast chicken this evening which looked almost EXACTLY like the picture in the magazine. So THANK YOU!
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Ebb, Taste and Kawasemi.
The eating out has been curbed a bit due to the demise of my main income source (DAMN time limits on scholarships! ;-) ). However I have been taken out a couple of times and decided I had better write about them, just so that everyone knows I am still alive.
Firstly thanks to everyone who posted on my previous review, it appears I am in the minority with my opinion about Orizuru. I'm willing to go back and give it another try, we may have just caught it on a bad day - but first impressions do last.
First up is Ebb in Swansea. This was a group of four of us for my birthday in early Feb. Its not the first time I had been to Ebb - stopping in twice in December on my way too and from a writing retreat. Both those times were wonderful - delicious smoky filling chowder on one visit, and an amazing oyster taste selection on the way home.
However this time was not as good as those too. I am not sure why - if it was the menu - or the day we went, or the fact I was depressed as it was my 31st birthday but it just did not seem as polished as it did previously.
I dont drink, but the boys did whinge a bit about the cost of a bottle of bubbles, they ended up ordering a white as it was a tad cheaper (but apparently not by much). I have no idea what the prices were, as I was being treated as it was my birthday. The other big gripe was on being asked would we like water, on replying to the affirmative it was assumed we wanted bottled, instead of tap. (well that wasnt my gripe because if I recall correctly Swansea is on a boil water alert still).
I ordered the Oysters to start, with sour cream and fish eggs - which were lovely, plump, fresh and juicy. I personally would have loved the oyster taster which I had last time, but for some reason it wasn't on the menu we were given. My main was the cured salmon stack with crispy wontons, nashi pear salad & wasabi aioli, which was nice, but the wasabi aoli totally overpowered any of the other flavours which had the potential to be there. The salad which did not have the wasabi aioli on it had a lovely crispy light texture to it, with the sweet pears really complimenting the salmon.
The others had Tempura battered Fish and chips,oven baked fish with crispy potatoes, lime & ginger salad & wasabi aioli and seafood marinara with scallops, salmon, trevalla , mussels & linguini pasta. *thanks to Rita whose posted menu jogged my memory*
Verdicts were mixed, with the oven baked fish and the tempura battered fish both being "good but nothing special" and the seafood marinara being voted best value and best tasting of the day. It had a good half dozen mussls in it, along with everything else you would expect in a marinara in massive quantities - leading to a filling and tasty meal. (We all got fed bits as the person who ordered it, despite being a competitive swimmer found the serving a little too big!). We skipped dessert and headed out into the wild yonder of Swansea, where Stephen bought a large hat, I bought Indian Ribbon and the other boys had a discussion about rings.
If this was my first impression of Ebb I am not sure if I would rave about it. But know what they are capable of made this visit a little disappointing. I honestly suspect it is dependent on who is around, as although we had the same staff who served me in December, Jamie was not on hand, and the lack of polish was obvious.
I was going to write a long diatrabe on Taste, however the moment has past. Suffice to say I still dont like it and until they sort out the whole seating/queueing/crowd control thing I will be avoiding it, despite the fact the food appeared better this year than last.
I have been to Pigeon Hole on average once a week, generally devouring either a panini or the granola - I love everything at the cafe, and now knowing Jays background a little better can appreciate what he is trying to achieve. I also heard of his plans for the future, which are brillant, and I hope that they turn out.
Kawasemi the week before last was lovely. Its still impossible to get a table on a Friday night unless you book, but I actually had thought ahead and booked on Wed for Friday night at 7. Had a lovely bento box with tempura, sushi, sashimi and all the other yummy things you expect. The tempura with lovely and crisp, the sushi fresh and the sashimi tasty. The other half had chicken misoyaki which was delicately flavoured and generously served with japanese potato salad and rice. This little resturant is phenomonal and I hope it continues for many years to come.
Am off to the Monty's seafood Degustation next weekend, the menu looks amazing and I am looking forward to it.
Firstly thanks to everyone who posted on my previous review, it appears I am in the minority with my opinion about Orizuru. I'm willing to go back and give it another try, we may have just caught it on a bad day - but first impressions do last.
First up is Ebb in Swansea. This was a group of four of us for my birthday in early Feb. Its not the first time I had been to Ebb - stopping in twice in December on my way too and from a writing retreat. Both those times were wonderful - delicious smoky filling chowder on one visit, and an amazing oyster taste selection on the way home.
However this time was not as good as those too. I am not sure why - if it was the menu - or the day we went, or the fact I was depressed as it was my 31st birthday but it just did not seem as polished as it did previously.
I dont drink, but the boys did whinge a bit about the cost of a bottle of bubbles, they ended up ordering a white as it was a tad cheaper (but apparently not by much). I have no idea what the prices were, as I was being treated as it was my birthday. The other big gripe was on being asked would we like water, on replying to the affirmative it was assumed we wanted bottled, instead of tap. (well that wasnt my gripe because if I recall correctly Swansea is on a boil water alert still).
I ordered the Oysters to start, with sour cream and fish eggs - which were lovely, plump, fresh and juicy. I personally would have loved the oyster taster which I had last time, but for some reason it wasn't on the menu we were given. My main was the cured salmon stack with crispy wontons, nashi pear salad & wasabi aioli, which was nice, but the wasabi aoli totally overpowered any of the other flavours which had the potential to be there. The salad which did not have the wasabi aioli on it had a lovely crispy light texture to it, with the sweet pears really complimenting the salmon.
The others had Tempura battered Fish and chips,oven baked fish with crispy potatoes, lime & ginger salad & wasabi aioli and seafood marinara with scallops, salmon, trevalla , mussels & linguini pasta. *thanks to Rita whose posted menu jogged my memory*
Verdicts were mixed, with the oven baked fish and the tempura battered fish both being "good but nothing special" and the seafood marinara being voted best value and best tasting of the day. It had a good half dozen mussls in it, along with everything else you would expect in a marinara in massive quantities - leading to a filling and tasty meal. (We all got fed bits as the person who ordered it, despite being a competitive swimmer found the serving a little too big!). We skipped dessert and headed out into the wild yonder of Swansea, where Stephen bought a large hat, I bought Indian Ribbon and the other boys had a discussion about rings.
If this was my first impression of Ebb I am not sure if I would rave about it. But know what they are capable of made this visit a little disappointing. I honestly suspect it is dependent on who is around, as although we had the same staff who served me in December, Jamie was not on hand, and the lack of polish was obvious.
I was going to write a long diatrabe on Taste, however the moment has past. Suffice to say I still dont like it and until they sort out the whole seating/queueing/crowd control thing I will be avoiding it, despite the fact the food appeared better this year than last.
I have been to Pigeon Hole on average once a week, generally devouring either a panini or the granola - I love everything at the cafe, and now knowing Jays background a little better can appreciate what he is trying to achieve. I also heard of his plans for the future, which are brillant, and I hope that they turn out.
Kawasemi the week before last was lovely. Its still impossible to get a table on a Friday night unless you book, but I actually had thought ahead and booked on Wed for Friday night at 7. Had a lovely bento box with tempura, sushi, sashimi and all the other yummy things you expect. The tempura with lovely and crisp, the sushi fresh and the sashimi tasty. The other half had chicken misoyaki which was delicately flavoured and generously served with japanese potato salad and rice. This little resturant is phenomonal and I hope it continues for many years to come.
Am off to the Monty's seafood Degustation next weekend, the menu looks amazing and I am looking forward to it.
Friday, 9 January 2009
Orizuru Sushi Bar
Being unable to procure a table at Kawasamei at short notice - booked out on a WEDNESDAY - the other half and I went in search of sit down Japanese.
Now you would think that Orizuru sharing space with Mures would have GOOD seafood at its disposal. Unfortunately not.
Booked a table for 7:15 - arrived and was shown table and handed hot towels - nice touch.
We examined the menu for what we felt like - I was craving sushi and/or shashimi, the other half wanted similar. So we decided on the dinner platter for 2, complimented with some yakini beef entree for him, and oysters for me.
The beef was tough - and difficult to eat with chopsticks, the pieces were too large to be a polite mouth size. The oysters, while fresh, did not have that lovely sea salt taste to them you would expect with truely fresh oysters.
As for the main course - oh dear, oh dear oh dear. A large platter was presented to us, including about 9 small pieces of sashmi, 2 oysters, 4 maki and about twenty smallish pieces of sushi (6 nigiri, 3 californian, 3 vegtarian (letteuce and mayo), 3 salmon, 3 tuna and 2 other pieces).
Firstly, the oysters were not that good - definately not fresh, as they were not plump and juicy.
The sashimi was dry and shrivelled looking. The tuna in the shashimi was a dark maroon colour as oppose to a lovely dark pink colour you would expect. The salmon was ok, but the white fish (not sure what it was) looked like it had either being frozen and defrosted, or dried and rehydrated. It was stringy and chewy. This applied to the nigiri as well. The prawns on that were wrinkled - obviously prepared earlier and left to sit out. The tamagoti (rolled egg) had no flavour or texture what so ever. The sushi itself had quite dry rice, and the nori around the rolls had no discerable seaweed flavour. We actually left some of it, as it was so unappetising.
The service was patchy at best. My second requested solo never arrived, and the other half had to go and ASK for another set of chopsticks when his first pair was taken away with the entree plate.
Total cost (including 1 beer, 1 solo and 1 green tea) - $82.50. DEFINATELY not worth it. 2.5/5 and thats being generous. I'm going back to Kawasemi and never darkening any other Japanese in Hobart again....
Now you would think that Orizuru sharing space with Mures would have GOOD seafood at its disposal. Unfortunately not.
Booked a table for 7:15 - arrived and was shown table and handed hot towels - nice touch.
We examined the menu for what we felt like - I was craving sushi and/or shashimi, the other half wanted similar. So we decided on the dinner platter for 2, complimented with some yakini beef entree for him, and oysters for me.
The beef was tough - and difficult to eat with chopsticks, the pieces were too large to be a polite mouth size. The oysters, while fresh, did not have that lovely sea salt taste to them you would expect with truely fresh oysters.
As for the main course - oh dear, oh dear oh dear. A large platter was presented to us, including about 9 small pieces of sashmi, 2 oysters, 4 maki and about twenty smallish pieces of sushi (6 nigiri, 3 californian, 3 vegtarian (letteuce and mayo), 3 salmon, 3 tuna and 2 other pieces).
Firstly, the oysters were not that good - definately not fresh, as they were not plump and juicy.
The sashimi was dry and shrivelled looking. The tuna in the shashimi was a dark maroon colour as oppose to a lovely dark pink colour you would expect. The salmon was ok, but the white fish (not sure what it was) looked like it had either being frozen and defrosted, or dried and rehydrated. It was stringy and chewy. This applied to the nigiri as well. The prawns on that were wrinkled - obviously prepared earlier and left to sit out. The tamagoti (rolled egg) had no flavour or texture what so ever. The sushi itself had quite dry rice, and the nori around the rolls had no discerable seaweed flavour. We actually left some of it, as it was so unappetising.
The service was patchy at best. My second requested solo never arrived, and the other half had to go and ASK for another set of chopsticks when his first pair was taken away with the entree plate.
Total cost (including 1 beer, 1 solo and 1 green tea) - $82.50. DEFINATELY not worth it. 2.5/5 and thats being generous. I'm going back to Kawasemi and never darkening any other Japanese in Hobart again....
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Mee Wah Take away and look for advice.
I was at Uni late the other night, trying desperately to get my desk resembling something useful, as opposed to a large pile of misc. I left around 6, mentally going through the fridge and the myriad of leftovers trying to decide what I wanted. Nothing took my fancy, so I went Chinese.
Now Mee Wah as a resturant is lovely - as a takeaway - EXPENSIVE. However the food comes from the same kitchen and tastes just as good.
I ordered a large fried rice and the Imperial Lamb which was $29. For me its the little things that make the difference - such as the fact they packaged the pancakes and the lamb for the Imperial serperately so that they didnt get soggy.
The Imperial Lamb was gorgeous - though I am not sure if it was worth $20. Four mandarin pancakes, and a large chinese container worth of spiced lamb with a thick sauce. The sauce had definate hints of oyster and soy in it, as well as garlic and something else which I could not quite put my finger on.
The fried rice was the standard rice with prawns, shallots and I THINK it was chicken in it. Very filling and yummy - I am still eating the left overs of this as the lamb filled me up. I drove from Sandy Bay to West Moonah and the meal was still hot when I got home.
Would I go back for just that as takeaway? Probably not unless I was working late at Uni and had to head back - however I suspect with a little judicious choice you could get quite good value out of the Mee Wah takeaway menu.
I'm off up the East coast next week for a writing retreat to break either my brain or my thesis. Am staying near St Marys - want some good recommendations for places for lunch as its going to be my main meal and break of the day.
Montys for dinner on Saturday - stay tuned!
Now Mee Wah as a resturant is lovely - as a takeaway - EXPENSIVE. However the food comes from the same kitchen and tastes just as good.
I ordered a large fried rice and the Imperial Lamb which was $29. For me its the little things that make the difference - such as the fact they packaged the pancakes and the lamb for the Imperial serperately so that they didnt get soggy.
The Imperial Lamb was gorgeous - though I am not sure if it was worth $20. Four mandarin pancakes, and a large chinese container worth of spiced lamb with a thick sauce. The sauce had definate hints of oyster and soy in it, as well as garlic and something else which I could not quite put my finger on.
The fried rice was the standard rice with prawns, shallots and I THINK it was chicken in it. Very filling and yummy - I am still eating the left overs of this as the lamb filled me up. I drove from Sandy Bay to West Moonah and the meal was still hot when I got home.
Would I go back for just that as takeaway? Probably not unless I was working late at Uni and had to head back - however I suspect with a little judicious choice you could get quite good value out of the Mee Wah takeaway menu.
I'm off up the East coast next week for a writing retreat to break either my brain or my thesis. Am staying near St Marys - want some good recommendations for places for lunch as its going to be my main meal and break of the day.
Montys for dinner on Saturday - stay tuned!
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Onba - Oh dear!
Just back from a coffee/tea finding mission to try to dissolve a large case of writers block - ended up at Onba with the other half. Lets just say - you started so well, what happened?
Its about 6 months since I last went to Onba - and I distinctly remember then that there was still a large tapas menu, with a few large meals and the whole tapas menu was always available.
Now, not so much.
Between the two of us we had a pot of green tea, 2 hot chocolates (1 cup, 1 mug), a serve of the cheese and mushroom enpandillas, a serve of the duck liver pate with something sherry Jelly on top with cornbread and Patas Bravas. The cost - $40.
Lets start with the drinks. The first hot chocolate was warm - not hot and apparently ok but not spectacular. The second was lots of froth not much drink, and still not HOT. My green tea came in one of those nifty glass teapots and was the classic grass green tea colour. Now I generally LIKE the green tea they serve at Onba - I buy it from the shop next door to make at home. Its idiot proof - 2 teaspoons or so of tea, add hot water to pot, let it sit for 5 minutes, pour and drink. This had the colour but absolutely NONE of the flavour I associate with the genmachi they normally serve. I shrugged and drank it, thinking I had not let it steep enough. Mind you I had to ask for honey, as opposed to the sugar sachets I was served with it. Am not upset by this, as honey with green tea is not something most ppl expect. However, the 2nd cup of tea still didn't have much flavour at all, so I investigated the strainer. I think they must have been scrapping the bottom of the container. The strainer was around 70% roasted rice and 30% tea, when normally the mixture is the opposite proportions. Once again, not necessarily their problem, except for maybe not refilling and mixing their storage containers. Also my cup was not clean - there was a smear of dirt on the outside of it, which I did not notice until after I finished.
Now onto the food. Onba used to do lovely servings of tapas and I could (and have) quite happily spent 2 or so hours on a couch upstairs with friends sharing food and working our way through the menu. This really isn't possible now. They now have distinct breakfast/lunch/dinner menus and what used to be 3-5 pages of always available tapas has now be whittled down to about 5 items along with cookies, sushi, pide and cake. The serving sizes are not predictable - our enpandillas were 2, but the pate and patas could have been meals into themselves.
Enpandillas - Last time I had these at Onba they were slight greasy but drained well and filled to the brim with a mixture of cheese and mushrooms in a lovely flaky pastry. This time I think I found one piece of mushroom in my serve and the cheese was also non existent. The pastry was greasy and oil and had no lightness or subtly of flavour which I used to associate with this serving. So strike one. I wanted to leave it at that, but the other half said I should try some of the other offerings to give a non biased view - which meant we then tried....
Duck Liver Pate with P? Sherry Jelly on top served with toasted cornbread - I love pate. Am a pate fiend and can eat it till the cows come home - this however was pate Jim, just not as we know it. The cornbread was nice - if a little hard on the crusts once toasted. The pate, nice texture and colour but absolutely NO taste except for what you got out of the Jelly on top. No slight bite, no explosion of gentle flavours over the tongue, hate to say it but the pate I bought at Augusta Road the other day which was mass produced had more flavour than this. This is the poor third cousin to Jean Pasquales pate which he occasionally sells.
This serving was huge - there would have been about 9 pieces of toast (3 slices cut into thirds I suspect), and a good 100g pot of pate in the middle. As a sharing dish it was large, for an individual it was way too big.
Patas Bravas - Fancy name for spiced potato wedges. Last time I had this the potatoes were cut into 8th or so, lightly sprinkled with spice, baked/roasted and then served with a lovely spicy tomato salsa dip. I did not try them this time but the other half reported that they were large quarters with a cheap tasting sprinkle that you couldn't taste until after you swallowed and the dip was watery and had no flavour of its own besides what the sprinkle on the potatoes gave it.
Neither of us finished the second plates. On paying I was asked how everything was - so mentioned my disappointment at the enpandillas, as well as the fact the tapas menu was now so limited outside of dinner hours.
I got told the reason was the they had to keep a chef on otherwise and it was too expensive to do. Also the two ppl there on a Sunday had to run the floor as well as serve and somehow this prevented a larger menu....I understand the fact that times are tight and to survive in the hospitality industry you have to cut costs etc - however if you market yourself as a tapas/supper club - its logical to say that you would expect a large range of Tapas to be available most of the time. Looking at the menu even during dinner the selection of tapas is quite small compared to what I remember it being previously - and there does not appear to be the whole moving with the seasons concept which I vaguely remember them talking about when they opened.
Overall I was very disappointed, and I don't think I will be back anytime soon - except maybe to try the paella on a Tuesday night.
2.5 out of 5.
Its about 6 months since I last went to Onba - and I distinctly remember then that there was still a large tapas menu, with a few large meals and the whole tapas menu was always available.
Now, not so much.
Between the two of us we had a pot of green tea, 2 hot chocolates (1 cup, 1 mug), a serve of the cheese and mushroom enpandillas, a serve of the duck liver pate with something sherry Jelly on top with cornbread and Patas Bravas. The cost - $40.
Lets start with the drinks. The first hot chocolate was warm - not hot and apparently ok but not spectacular. The second was lots of froth not much drink, and still not HOT. My green tea came in one of those nifty glass teapots and was the classic grass green tea colour. Now I generally LIKE the green tea they serve at Onba - I buy it from the shop next door to make at home. Its idiot proof - 2 teaspoons or so of tea, add hot water to pot, let it sit for 5 minutes, pour and drink. This had the colour but absolutely NONE of the flavour I associate with the genmachi they normally serve. I shrugged and drank it, thinking I had not let it steep enough. Mind you I had to ask for honey, as opposed to the sugar sachets I was served with it. Am not upset by this, as honey with green tea is not something most ppl expect. However, the 2nd cup of tea still didn't have much flavour at all, so I investigated the strainer. I think they must have been scrapping the bottom of the container. The strainer was around 70% roasted rice and 30% tea, when normally the mixture is the opposite proportions. Once again, not necessarily their problem, except for maybe not refilling and mixing their storage containers. Also my cup was not clean - there was a smear of dirt on the outside of it, which I did not notice until after I finished.
Now onto the food. Onba used to do lovely servings of tapas and I could (and have) quite happily spent 2 or so hours on a couch upstairs with friends sharing food and working our way through the menu. This really isn't possible now. They now have distinct breakfast/lunch/dinner menus and what used to be 3-5 pages of always available tapas has now be whittled down to about 5 items along with cookies, sushi, pide and cake. The serving sizes are not predictable - our enpandillas were 2, but the pate and patas could have been meals into themselves.
Enpandillas - Last time I had these at Onba they were slight greasy but drained well and filled to the brim with a mixture of cheese and mushrooms in a lovely flaky pastry. This time I think I found one piece of mushroom in my serve and the cheese was also non existent. The pastry was greasy and oil and had no lightness or subtly of flavour which I used to associate with this serving. So strike one. I wanted to leave it at that, but the other half said I should try some of the other offerings to give a non biased view - which meant we then tried....
Duck Liver Pate with P? Sherry Jelly on top served with toasted cornbread - I love pate. Am a pate fiend and can eat it till the cows come home - this however was pate Jim, just not as we know it. The cornbread was nice - if a little hard on the crusts once toasted. The pate, nice texture and colour but absolutely NO taste except for what you got out of the Jelly on top. No slight bite, no explosion of gentle flavours over the tongue, hate to say it but the pate I bought at Augusta Road the other day which was mass produced had more flavour than this. This is the poor third cousin to Jean Pasquales pate which he occasionally sells.
This serving was huge - there would have been about 9 pieces of toast (3 slices cut into thirds I suspect), and a good 100g pot of pate in the middle. As a sharing dish it was large, for an individual it was way too big.
Patas Bravas - Fancy name for spiced potato wedges. Last time I had this the potatoes were cut into 8th or so, lightly sprinkled with spice, baked/roasted and then served with a lovely spicy tomato salsa dip. I did not try them this time but the other half reported that they were large quarters with a cheap tasting sprinkle that you couldn't taste until after you swallowed and the dip was watery and had no flavour of its own besides what the sprinkle on the potatoes gave it.
Neither of us finished the second plates. On paying I was asked how everything was - so mentioned my disappointment at the enpandillas, as well as the fact the tapas menu was now so limited outside of dinner hours.
I got told the reason was the they had to keep a chef on otherwise and it was too expensive to do. Also the two ppl there on a Sunday had to run the floor as well as serve and somehow this prevented a larger menu....I understand the fact that times are tight and to survive in the hospitality industry you have to cut costs etc - however if you market yourself as a tapas/supper club - its logical to say that you would expect a large range of Tapas to be available most of the time. Looking at the menu even during dinner the selection of tapas is quite small compared to what I remember it being previously - and there does not appear to be the whole moving with the seasons concept which I vaguely remember them talking about when they opened.
Overall I was very disappointed, and I don't think I will be back anytime soon - except maybe to try the paella on a Tuesday night.
2.5 out of 5.
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Sorry to disappoint...
But there will be no review of Monty degustation which happened tonight. Mainly as I am STILL in Brisbane - hopefully coming home Monday. Everyone is now either sort of healthy or has a plan to GET healthy (gotta love oncology!) so I have finished sittng in doctors offices/hospitals/emergency rooms and can come home to real food and decent prices.
Have eaten out a few times but have come to the conclusion that hobart does suburban cafes SO much better than Brisbane.
Had what was supposed to be breakfast with a very dear friend last sunday at the local cafe. Its supposedly got quite a good rep - and I used to fence with the owner when he was younger - heck I still do now ocassionally. It was a sunday morning, about 10am. A large table of about 20 was getting served as we arrived. We plopped overselves down and waited, and waited some more. About 10 mintues later we got menus. Ordered fairly quickly. (poached eggs on toast with a side of hash browns for me, big breakfast for JJ) And started waiting for our food. More people come in and order. Its jumping. Its obvious they are slightly short staffed.
I see Tony (the owner) rush in looking slightly hung over and harried. And still we wait. 20 minutes later after 2 tables who I think arrived after us get thier meals, I got up to the counter. Tony sees me says hello and asks what he can do. I ask for my B'fast. They look it up, and go check. Its going to be a few more minutes apparently. So we keep waiting. Thankfully its been awhile since JJ and I sat down and talked, so we chatted away. Our food arrives. I look at my watch - by my reckoning its 3/4 hour since we ordered. We eat - my toast was pre buttered which made it soggy and the eggs were poached in slightly vinegared water, which made them taste odd. The hash browns were nice. JJ's big breaky was adequate but uninspiring apparently.
When we went to pay I was asked how I enjoyed my meal - I made the comment that it was ok, but 3/4 of an hour was a slightly exessive wait. The waitress overheard and claimed it was 25 minutes. I just raised an eyebrow, mentioned that if FELT alot longer, paid and left. The intention was good, the execution was lacking. Though apparently others rave about it, its not on my list of places to revisit in a hurry.
Have eaten out a few times but have come to the conclusion that hobart does suburban cafes SO much better than Brisbane.
Had what was supposed to be breakfast with a very dear friend last sunday at the local cafe. Its supposedly got quite a good rep - and I used to fence with the owner when he was younger - heck I still do now ocassionally. It was a sunday morning, about 10am. A large table of about 20 was getting served as we arrived. We plopped overselves down and waited, and waited some more. About 10 mintues later we got menus. Ordered fairly quickly. (poached eggs on toast with a side of hash browns for me, big breakfast for JJ) And started waiting for our food. More people come in and order. Its jumping. Its obvious they are slightly short staffed.
I see Tony (the owner) rush in looking slightly hung over and harried. And still we wait. 20 minutes later after 2 tables who I think arrived after us get thier meals, I got up to the counter. Tony sees me says hello and asks what he can do. I ask for my B'fast. They look it up, and go check. Its going to be a few more minutes apparently. So we keep waiting. Thankfully its been awhile since JJ and I sat down and talked, so we chatted away. Our food arrives. I look at my watch - by my reckoning its 3/4 hour since we ordered. We eat - my toast was pre buttered which made it soggy and the eggs were poached in slightly vinegared water, which made them taste odd. The hash browns were nice. JJ's big breaky was adequate but uninspiring apparently.
When we went to pay I was asked how I enjoyed my meal - I made the comment that it was ok, but 3/4 of an hour was a slightly exessive wait. The waitress overheard and claimed it was 25 minutes. I just raised an eyebrow, mentioned that if FELT alot longer, paid and left. The intention was good, the execution was lacking. Though apparently others rave about it, its not on my list of places to revisit in a hurry.
Friday, 10 October 2008
ARGH!
Due to family emergency I am now in Brisbane. Will be here till Thursday. Leave for East coast adventure (ie thesis writing) Friday next week. Hope to be trying Ebb sometime next weekend. This blog will be even more sporadic than normal due to said family emergency. I will however post reviews that are due soon.
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