20190628 Sicily and Steven ter Horst

We met at the Elephant and managed to score a booth again. We have made it an item to now book the booth in the future, just so we secure the spot. Con is still in Kuala Lumpur (take a look at his post prior to this one) so it was just Stephen, Chad, Richard and myself. That is until Jen said she was on her way.

Colin turned up to pick something up from Richard. The owner of the pub shouted at him for putting up posters across the road.

It was Chad's turn to choose tonight and as usual he wouldn't tell us where, until we arrived at the doorstep. It ended up being at Sicily - a place we've never been to before but have commented that we wouldn't mind going there.

What to say about Sicily? Well.. from the outset it seemed like a very intimate space inside. There were no tables outside because of the cold. Even though Chad had booked, we were directed to the bar to wait because our table wasn't ready. We were given the drinks menu to look at - very expensive!

Stephen grabbed a couple of menus and got upset because the menu wasn't in English. He asked the waiter behind the counter what the Italian words meant - you could see he was getting upset about it.

Jen was asked to put her beautiful red coat by the door out of the way from the walkway - it was a table for 4 but we squeezed in 5. All the tables felt closely packed together and it was quite noisy in there.

Sicily is known for its pizzas so the gang didn't disappoint in ordering the favourites - Richard had pork sausage meatballs on his pizza, Jen had cherry tomatoes, olives, anchovies and extra chilli, Chad had ham, olives, artichokes and mushroom. Stephen and I ordered the pasta bake - a basic tomato and cheese pasta served in a baking dish - it was $48 for the dish so it worked out at about $24 per meal - not bad.

Both Stephen and Jen had a glass of red wine.

Richard gave the highest score today with a 8 1/2 for his pizza. He commented that 'this is the best pizzas I've had in a long time'. Chad also gave the highest score of 8 1/2 out of 10 for his pizza. Even though there were only a few ingredients on the pizzas, it was quality food. Jen gave her meal a 7 1/2 out of 10. Slightly less because she had to order extra chilli - and boy was the chilli hot! She had to scrape off the rest after the initial tasting. Both Stephen and I gave our meal a 7 1/2 out of 10. The tomato sauce was deep and rich and the melted cheese on top was lovely - but at the end of the day it was still only a tomato and cheese pasta. It could have done with some veggies in there - mushrooms, broccoli and onion would have done the trick to take it up to a 9.

Sicily then, we can definitely say, was a success. Jen nearly forgot her coat on the way out, but other than that, it was a great experience.

Chad choose Steven ter Horst - a regular place for us now. We haven't been to Brunelli for ages - always choosing the chocolate places over it.

Jen had a chocolate and Richard had his banana and caramel tart - both looked lovely.

We left after a satisfying evening. (Richard gave Chad a lift).

20190628 Kuala Lumpur - Con

Con is in Kuala Lumpur! Escaping from the cold, winter in Adelaide.

This is a typical day while he's on holidays...

• Up early and prepare for breakfast.
• Breakfast commences with a plate of tropical fruit,
• Followed by either a malaysian curry and rice or attacking the buffet which ranges from Bryani rice all the way to baked beans
• Then there's the sweets to partake of washed down with a cup of coffee and orange juice.
• Lunch was at the food court at the Central market where he had the best curry laksa he's had in years.

Con is quoted as saying... "I don't know how long I can keep up the pace!"

20190621 Piatto and San Churro

It's getting colder! It was 3 degrees this morning in the hills. Stephen and I met at the Elephant at 5pm and managed to catch a booth, albeit near the door, so every time someone came in, a cold gusty blast came our way.


Richard surprised us by coming in before Chad but Chad was close behind. I must say that Chad poured himself the perfect pint (as pictured) which can sometimes be tricky from the jugs.

We talked a bit about the Games of Thrones franchise and what we thought of the ending. It was good to be able to know some of the names of the characters after watching the last 3 episodes. The general consensus was that people were happy with the ending.

Richard and Chad had been to see a cabaret show and were really happy with it. Richard was going to see a comedian tonight. It was his turn to choose where to eat.

Richard said he felt like pasta because of the cold weather and I choose correctly that he would want to go to Piatto. First guess :-) The last time we went there was when it was sunny as we were sitting outside.

We got a nice table inside the restaurant. It was slightly cold in the place even though the sliding door was closed. The waiter service was prompt and we ordered the following:

Stephen - Raviolli Con Pollo, Richard - Fetticuine bolagnaise, Chad - spaghetti meatballs, me - small vegetarian pizza. Richard ordered a serving of wedges/sour cream/chilli to share. He mentioned they were a bit dry.

Stephen and Richard's meal had a pile of leaves on top of their pasta and they would have preferred a side serving of salad rather than it piled on top. Other than that they both enjoyed their meals with Richard giving his a 9 out of 10, and Stephen a 7 1/2.

 Chad's meal looked amazing and he gave it an 8. I gave my meal a 9... it was one of the best pizzas I've had in a long time. It had mozzerella cheese not cheap cheese, and all the flavours were there. The dough was perfect. The only thing I didn't eat was my olives, which were gladly eaten up by the other 3.

The waiter was a bit overkeen to remove the dishes, as he took away Richard's sauce for the wedges whilst he was still eating them.

 A couple of things about the cafe. It didn't serve bread for the pasta, which is always a nice touch to add to the contentment of the meal. Also, it had a bit of a disco thump thump beat to the music - not pleasant to listen to.

 It was Richard's last day of work today! Well, I say last day, but who knows, maybe in the future.... ??

We went to San Churro for a welcome hot drink. Chad had 'The Monk' a strange name for thick hot chocolate and marshmallows. Richard had the Mocha and Stephen had dark hot chocolate and I had milk hot chocolate. No-one had desserts today, although Chad was kind enough to buy us all a chocolate.

Tonight's last photo location is an easy one. Chad, a great photo from across the road from the Exeter. Another lovely shot...

20190614 Zenhouse and Steven ter Horst

I left work at 4.30 and strolled across to the Elephant in my warm sheepskin coat and red woolly hat. I ordered a jug of beer and played Words with Friends and wrote poetry whilst I waited for Stephen. Stephen showed up around 5 with Con turning up about 5.20. Chad was not far behind him.

Richard was a late comer and was going to a concert so he decided to eat at the Elephant and forego his turn of choosing a restaurant. That meant that the honour of choosing a place was my privilege!

When Chad arrived he told us about the group of photographers that were taking pictures of the model on the sidewalk. It must have been a special interest group.

Richard ate Bangers and Mash at the Elephant and we moved from the booth to the table by the door especially so he could eat his meal.  He gave his meal a 7 out of 10.

I choose Zenhouse for tonight. We haven't been there this year and I thought it would be a bit different.

Chad ordered dumplings for entree and Shandong chicken for main. I also choose Shandong chicken for main. Con had the 'beef' rendang curry and rice and Stephen had the 'beef' burger.

Of course, none of the food was actually meat, but meat substitutes. This is one reason why I don't come here very often. It is designed for people who have just given up meat and still crave the 'meat' flavour and texture.  To me this isn't a real vegetarian restaurant embracing the vegetarian recipes. I always say the same thing when I come here and today is no different. I would give my meal only a 6 1/2 out of 10 because there were no vegetables or salad with my protein. The chips were nice but overall the meal was gluggy. I didn't feel good after eating at all.

Chad gave his meal a 7 out of 10 as did Con. They thought it was nice enough. Stephen ate some of my 'chicken' and thought it was an 8 out of 10 for flavour and gave his own beef burger an 8. He opted for the mayonnaise but would have liked a peri peri chilli sauce instead. He also didn't like the way that he couldn't replace the cucumber with another condiment, he would have had to pay extra for it.

We basically ate and run from the Zenhouse. As it was my turn to choose tonight, I choose Steven ter Horst for the obligatory hot chocolate. Stephen, Con and myself had hot chocolate in cups and Chad had a mug of hot chocolate. He also had a very creamy dessert which he REFUSED to share with us@! Despite our pleading and begging for a taste he didn't budge. He eventually allowed us to smell the dregs of his dessert which was very nice of him!

The hot chocolate is always lovely at Steven's. There is a lady who works there who doesn't have a hand. She is very adept at handling the crockery and serving the plates and cups. Good on Steven's for employing people with disabilities!

Con is going overseas to Kuala Lumpur next Friday and hence won't be with us. We'll miss him. I hope he has a lovely time away.


By the way Chad... where is the last picture taken from? It's a great photo but I can't picture where it is???