20190531 The Elephant and Steven ter Horst

 It was a quiet night for the Friday Night Crowd tonight. Chad was with his nephew for his 50th footy game and Richard was in Sydney. Stephen, Con and I met at the Elephant which was very busy.

I talked to Con about the 3 movies he had given us. 14 Blades, Shadow and a Fantasy After-Life Japanese movie. I enjoyed the first two movies but couldn't get my head around the third one. Even so, I have asked Con for more movies.

It was hard to hear in the Elephant tonight. There were alot of noisy people chattering away. Con had a cold and had a husky voice which made it harder to hear.

Stephen talked about his operation this week at the RAH - all the gory details. Thankfully, he's not in so much pain today and is feeling himself. He talked about his interview at an agency yesterday for a Data Expert. He doesn't think he's going to be put forward for the role.

It was Stephen's choice where to eat tonight. He wanted to go to the Belgium Beer Cafe but knew that Chad liked it so decided to leave it for another day. We talked about a few alternatives, but ended up thinking that the Elephant was probably the best bet. It was cold outside and we didn't want to be traipsing around the streets in the cold.

Con had fish and chips with coleslaw. I had grilled fish and chips with mushy peas and mushroom gravy and Stephen had Chicken Schnitzel with pepper sauce and extra veggies. There was a mix up with the gravies and only the mushroom gravy got delivered (which Stephen accidently used). He ended up talking to the staff and getting 2 fresh gravies for us. All good in the end. Con gave his meal a 6 - he didn't eat much of the coleslaw. Stephen and I gave our meals a 7 out of 10. It could have been a lot worse I guess. Standard pub fare.

Stephen choose to go to Steven ter Horst for that delicious hot chocolate. Con and I had a cup of hot chocolate and Stephen had the mug. It was a much quieter environment and I could finally hear what Con was saying.

We had it all wrapped up by 7.30 and were giving Con a lift home. A quick night out tonight. Stephen and I will be preparing early for tomorrow's blitz of Game of Thrones!!

20190524 Lemongrass and Steven ter Horst

We all met in the Elephant at about 5.30 except for Richard who joined us later. We were sitting at one of the tables close to the bar in the front of the pub. Stephen, Chad and Con had their jugs of beer. I had a pint of beer followed by an orange juice and water which was enough for me.

Chad still his name listed on the Elly's Food Challenge Board - even though his name was upside down! At 14 minutes he came in 3rd.

Chad also toasted a drink to Bob Hawke who passed away this week. We all saluted him and Chad downed his beer in one go in honour of the great man!

Con gave me three more movies on a USB. Can't wait to view them. Although I am warned that they're more violent than the previous movies I was given - we'll see what they're like.

It was Chad's turn to choose where to eat tonight and he milked it for all it was worth. He refused to tell us until we were at the door of the establishment. We had a game of Connect 4 between us all. I won my game. Stephen lost. Chad won and I think Richard won a game too. Gosh, it's been 40 years since I've played Connect 4!

Richard was fielding telephone calls because his mother has checked herself into St Andrews Hospital for pain management. Our sympathies are with her.

We ended up at the door of Lemongrass! It's been a while since we've been there. I looked at the menu and debated whether to have noodles or curry. Most of the curries had eggplant in them, so I decided for the Laksa. Stephen also had Laksa (with chicken). Richard had peanut sauce vegetables and chicken with coconut rice, Con had the green chicken curry and Chad had duck.

Richard and Chad gave their meals 8 out of 10, Con, Stephen and I a 7. In hindsight (it's now the next day)... I would give mine a 6. The flavours were amazing in the Laksa - it was spicy and flavoursome with a kick of chilli. However, the noodles were slightly overcooked and there were no vegetables in my soup. There was plenty of silken tofu, but no veggies. I don't know how many times Asian places get it wrong by not adding enough veggies. Stephen had the same complaint with his food. Richard actually ordered the $3 extra veggies on his dish and it just looked like an ordinary serving. Chad had a glass of white wine with his meal.

We talked about the Book of Mormon play and Richard was hesitant to buy tickets as they were a whopping $170 a ticket. He's thinking to leave it to Last Tix to buy. I'm happy to buy now to secure a seat. So is Chad. We'll see what we decide.

It was Chad's turn to also choose a dessert place and he choose Steven ter Horst. Richard hadn't been there before. Stephen had a mug of hot chocolate. Myself and Con had hot chocolate in a cup. Chad had the Aztec Chilli hot chocolate and Richard had the praline hot chocolate - served with a Black Forest cake. It looked delicious with a rich creamy cheesecake type topping.

We talked a bit about the election. The media's influence on supporting the Liberal Party. Chad's helping at the BBQ at his school went well and Stephen talked about handing out the Green's leaflets. Richard pulled out 2 Kahlua bottles which work had given to him. Not a bad Friday afternoon gift from work!

The most important piece of news this evening was that Con had gone to see John Wick in the week at Norwood and sat in the luxurious reclining seats. He said he loved the movie - a good old romp of murder, shooting and pillage!

Until next time...

20190517 Dumplings R Us and Steven ter Horst

 Another Friday come around again and we find ourselves gathered at the Elephant once more. I managed to score a booth at 5pm and Stephen came in followed by Con at around 5.30pm. Chad came a little later.

Con and Stephen were talking about the Melbourne trip and Con was explaining the reason why he doesn't want to go there in July - it's too bloody cold! Stephen has re-thought having to sit outside in the freezing cold watching a footy match - he was under the impression that there would be an indoor, warm place to watch the footy game - no. Stephen and I probably won't go to Melbourne now in July.

We texted Richard, who is in Melbourne and asked him if he has booked tickets to see the Book of Mormon play. He hasn't booked anything yet. Chad also wants to go and see this so we'll make an event out of it.

Stephen showed Chad our Agenda for the Final Season of Game of Thrones day/night that we're having with Andris. (Plus the 6 course meal).

Talking of meals, it was Con's turn to choose and he choose what he always chooses - Asian. We ended up going to Dumplings R Us. Chad was a bit unsure to begin with but was happy to come along. We found a table easy enough and I picked up a bottle of water to have as we passed by the counter. Stephen ordered Chicken Laksa with dumplings, Chad had the same with pork, I had the same but vegetarian. Con had wonton soup.

It was a unanimous vote tonight! We all agreed that our meals were delicious and gave an 8 out of 10. It had the right layers of flavours, the noodles were perfect, the dumplings were delicious and the serving size was perfect. The only reason why I didn't give a 9 was because it didn't have many vegetables in it - just one big boy choy which I couldn't fit into my mouth in one piece and I didn't have a fork/spoon to cut it smaller. Technically, Chad gave his meal a 7.89989 out of 10 but I've rounded it up for the sake of convenience.

A few things to say about the decor of Dumplings R Us. It had a monkey theme. It had a couple of moneys in glasses and it had a huge Monkey cloud! Yes, that's what the first picture is - a cloud.

It's a bit rough and ready the atmosphere in the restaurant, but it's sufficient for its purpose - a cheap and cheerful, hearty meal location.

Con's choice for dessert/coffee and with the help of Stephen, he choose Stephen Ter Horst. We sat at the Bar on stools and Con, Stephen and I ordered the hot chocolate. It's a much nicer environment than San Churro. It's quieter and easier to find a table. Chad had the Aztec Chilli Hot Chocolate with a banana and caramel tart.  He said it was delicious.

The decor in the chocolate cafe was the same as last time we visited - the Paws for Pose exhibition. There are some lovely photos of dogs and horses. We didn't stay long... we are keen to get home and have a good night's sleep because we have to get up early tomorrow - the big day... the national election!! I hope Labour gets in this time. (Stephen is handing out leaflets at a polling booth - Greens Party of course).

20190510 Eros Kafe and San Churro

It was a little later than we usually meet when people gathered at the Elephant. I was there at 5 and Stephen came around 5.30. He had been carrying wood up to the wood shed and hadn't realised the time. Jen and Con came around 5.45 followed by Chad then Richard.

We managed to score a table by the front door - large enough for us all to sit comfortably. We all did our round of beers in jugs whilst Jen stuck with the Guinness.

I was excited tonight because it was my turn to choose. I had already booked a table for 5 at the Eros Kafe and it was no trouble at all to change that booking to 6 people once Jen let us know she was coming too.

With the elections just around the corner it was no surprise that the conversation turned to the politics and political leaders of the day. Jen is a good old fashioned left supporter and together with Con and Stephen all agreed on what needs to be done to get this country back on its feet :-)

We went to the Eros Kafe at 7.30 and were escorted to a good positioned table. It always gives me a bit of a warning sign when tables are covered in paper (which these were) but I allied my fears as I looked at the menu. I had already decided in the week what I was getting - the Vegetable Moussaka!


The second point of interest was that the menu had changed from what was advertised online. We were told that the prices online reflected the much bigger plates that used to be served. The restaurant found that people weren't eating their meals, so they reduced the portion size as well as the price. Online the mousakka was $31. In the cafe the menu said $19.

Jen ordered two entrees - a cheese dish and a zucchini dish. The cheese dish looked very oily and was served with bread. Richard, Con, Stephen had the Moussaka and I had the vegetable Moussaka. As usual, Chad is a little different and ordered, what was the most impressive looking dish - a calamari/seafood fried dish. Stephen and I shared a serving of baked potatoes (of which he ate most of them) and Richard had a side serving too. Chad also had ooze, a shot of liquorice smelling liquor.

We all ate in relative silence.

Here's a couple of problems... Richard asked if he could have a beetroot salad instead of the Greek salad. He was told no. He was also disappointed with the size of the serving of Moussaka. The plates were small (not even full sized) and the salad was minuscule. I think it always says something about a place if you have to order side serves to feel full after the main meal. Richard gave his a 5, Jen gave a 6, Con gave an 8 and Chad gave a 9. Stephen was a little unhappy with his serving also and gave it a 6 1/2. I would give my meal a 5 - similar to Richard. My complaint was that the salad was so small and it only contained cucumber and tomato and one olive. Also, the flavour in the moussaka wasn't there - there was no rich tomato flavour - it just tasted like boiled lentils. Jen wasn't too impressed with her meal either. It was expensive for what she got.

Jen commented on how the wines at Eros were lovely. Stephen argued with the waiter wanting a $7 glass of wine (the prices were closer to $11 on the menu). He ended up not having any.

A positive to say about the restaurant was that the service was good. I had to wait about 3-5 minutes for my meal, but other than that all was good.

Since it was my turn to choose tonight, I also choose to go to San Churro for a hot chocolate. It was certainly cold enough outside for a warm drink! We walked up to the cafe, whilst Jen got money out of the ATM.

It was packed in the cafe, and it took us 5 minutes to grab a table. It was only designed for 4 people, but we squeezed in an extra couple of chairs.

Stephen and I had milk and dark hot chocolates - always a winner! Jen and Chad had the chilli hot chocolate. The chilli was on the teaspoon and they had to mix it in themselves. They said that it tasted lovely.

Con and Richard had 2 ENORMOUS chocolate cakes. They were at least a foot high! They ate nearly all of it which was a testament to their perseverance.

Chad was again the ever thoughtful person and bought us all a chocolate. It melted on the tongue!

We talked briefly about our Melbourne trip in July. Con isn't keen on going, but Chad, Stephen and I are keen to do the road trip there on the Friday.

Richard has his itinerary planned for the weekend - footy on the Saturday, a play on the Sunday and a concert on the Friday. We need to organise accommodation and tickets which is something we'll try to do this week.