20201231 How to Eat Baby Yoda - Mandalorian NEW YEAR'S EVE

 It's the end of another year and hasn't it been a year what with COVID striking and the lockdowns which have preceded.

We've had a fun year for the Friday Night group. Lots of new venues on our list to try.

Here's our line up for the New Year's eve event at Stephen and Elizabeth's house...

TIME	MENU	Mandalorian Episodes
01.00 PM	Antipasto and Pita Bread with meats, cheese, olives, artichokes, nuts
01.50 PM		S2, Ep1 Chapter 9: The Marshal (52 minutes) The Mandalorian is drawn to the Outer Rim in search of others of his kind.
02:42 PM	Prawn, tofu and veg steamed dumplings with dipping sauces
03:22 PM		S2, Ep2 Chapter 10: The Passenger (40 minutes) The Mandalorian must ferry a passenger with precious cargo on a risky journey.
04:02 PM	Cream of vegetable soup with crusty herb & Parmesan bread
04:42 PM		S2, Ep3 Chapter 11: The Heiress (35 minutes) The Mandalorian braves high seas and meets unexpected allies.
05:17 PM	Spicy Smoked BBQ Chicken Wings	Richard took a nap
05:57 PM		S2, Ep4 Chapter 12: The Siege (37 minutes) The Mandalorian re-joins old allies for a new mission.
06:34 PM	Micro Burgers (gerkin, spinach, cheese) with Hot Chips - cancelled due to bloating :-)
07:14 PM		S2, Ep5 Chapter 13: The Jedi (45 minutes) The Mandalorian travels to a world ruled by a ruthless magistrate who has made a powerful enemy.
07:59 PM	San Choy Bow with lettuce leaves
08:39 PM		S2, Ep6 Chapter 14: The Tragedy (32 minutes) The Mandalorian and Child travel to an ancient site.
09:11 PM	Sticky Date Pudding and Ice Cream
09:51 PM		S2, Ep7 Chapter 15: 11 Dec. 2020 (40 minutes) To move against the Empire, the Mandalorian needs the help of an old enemy.
10:31 PM	Chocolate and Hot Chocolate
11:11 PM		S2, Ep8 Chapter 16: 18 Dec. 2020 (40 minutes) The Mandalorian and his allies attempt a daring rescue.
11:51 PM	Sparklers and Bubbly

 

I won the Table Flipping Award! Yes! What an achievement. I aim to win it again next year :-)

20201224 The Norwood Hotel and 24 Hour Bakery TURN: Con

It's a Thursday and its Christmas Eve. Con led the way tonight by suggesting the Norwood Hotel. Most of the places on the Parade were closed so we were limited in choice about where to eat. Stephen and I got to the pub at about 5.30pm and asked if Con had booked a table. He hadn't, so we sat near the toilets on a table which had a Reserved sign on it. The place was empty. Con and Chad came in followed closely by Albert then Richard. I was stuck in the back chair - no way out except to ask Chad to move. No small feat!

Chad had brought Christmas antlers and hats for us to wear so we joined in the fun and wore them all. Chad took some wonderful photos of us all wearing them which I hope he uploads to here. Gee, another year older for all of us :-)

The kitchen was closing at 8pm so we decided to order at 7pm. Stephen had already sunk 3 imperial pint beers by this time and was very mellow.

We had 5 packets of crisps - 2 x 2 bought by Albert and 1 x bought by Stephen before anyone had shown up. There were plenty of crisps to go around!!

Chad ordered garlic bread and 4 big pieces came out. He graciously shared them with the group.

It was basic standard pub fare on the menu - nothing fancy and the prices reflected that. Whereas I paid $40 for a fish and chips at the Maylands, here it cost $27 - a big difference.

So what did we all have?

Me - I had grilled fish and chips with mushroom sauce. The salad was pretty ordinary so I left most of it. The rest was nice. I gave a score of 7. I've tasted better.

Richard had the scotch fillet steak - medium. He said it was ok. 6

Albert had the porterhouse steak - medium rare. He ate most of it. 7

Con had the beef grazier's pie with mash and peas. A 5 from Con.

Chad had the chicken schnitzel - pretty thick for what it was. He also gave a 5.5 for his meal.

Stephen had the Coq Au Vin Chicken - a thigh of chicken still on the bone, swimming in beef sauce with a few potatoes and onions. He ordered a side of vegetables which didn't come straight away. When they did come he took them back immediately because they weren't cooked. He specifically asked for them to be well done when ordering his meal and was annoyed that they were raw. He waited 10 minutes then took his meal back because by this stage it was cold. He asked for a refund which the manager gave him after 5 minutes.

Stephen would have given his meal a 4 for the flavour of the meal, but ended up giving a zero for the vegetables.

We decided to leave pretty much straight away and wandered over to the 24 hour bakery.

Well... what a feast was had by all!!

Doughnuts all around with Albert buying 2 desserts!! A strawberry cheesecake and a huge chocolate doughnut that he couldn't eventually eat. He ended up buying more goods for his lunch the next day and ended up with a big bag of takeaway. Con had a foot long subway looking doughnut which I bet $10 he couldn't eat in one go. I was proved wrong. :-)

Stephen had a chicken tandoori pie which he liked and a chicken sausage roll which he didn't. He complained that the tomato sauce was watery.

We talked about next week's New Year's Eve party ' How to Eat Baby Yoda' and what everyone needs to bring. Richard was looking up the type of Cadbury's chocolate that Patrick should buy.

We walked out to a cool but pleasant night. The streets were all empty as all the good children were tucked in bed waiting for Santa.

Merry Christmas everyone from the Team of Thrones!!  I think the name 'Team of Thrones' is getting a bit old now and may need a refresh - maybe a new name for 2021???

20201218 The Grace Emily, KPub and Caffe Buongiorno TURN: Chad

It was definitely a wonderful night tonight. Besides there being 11 people in attendance, it was a perfect evening. Not too warm or cold.

Stephen and I arrived at the Grace Emily Hotel to see Con sitting outside. Chad followed not long after then Patrick. We had a mixture of chairs and stools. We were lucky in getting as many seats as we did, but it was pretty quiet at the pub.

Chris, Richard and Albert rocked up. 

Chad showed me the Bert Newton shrine. It was timely because apparently Bert is in hospital at the moment. The Emily has a great Aussie feel to it. People were playing darts when I went to the bathroom.

The last to turn up was Ian, Theresa and Rory. Rory is looking bigger - not a baby anymore. We was wearing a Christmas shirt and hat. There weren't enough seats outside so they went to sit inside where the stage was located. Con joined them to finish his final beer.

Albert and Stephen was sitting next to each other and even though they were talking about politics for a short time, they moved onto other topics and were having a civil conversation.

Even though we parked right outside the pub, we walked about 10 minutes to the K-Pub restaurant. It seemed a longer walk :-)

Con sat at the end of the table next to Chad to turn a table of 10 into 11. We asked about a separate bill and we were told to go up and pay beforehand. I like a restaurant that does that.

Well, no sooner had I sat down, our food started coming out. It must have been less than 2 minutes. This is the fastest turnaround of food I have ever had in a restaurant. Top scores for the service!! It was such a big table that I couldn't see what everyone ate, so I'll just stick to who had what up at my end of the table.

Theresa paid for Rory's meal as soon as we sat down, so his meal came out first. It was a beef noodle soup. Way too hot for Rory. It was also a huge bowl. Rory gave his meal a big two thumbs up.

Stephen and I shared vegetarian. We had vegan chicken (sweet chilli), mock beef and vegetable stir fry and stir fried rice with dumplings to start. It all came out in less than 5 minutes and we had it all eaten in less than 10 minutes. It was delicious!!! I gave my meal a 9 and Stephen gave his meal an 8. The meals for both of us including a glass of red wine came to $62.

Con and Chad had the same dish. A shared meat dumplings to start (which they had to ask for later as it never came out) and the spicy squid in tomato sauce. 8's for both of them.

Theresa had vegan chicken and a bowl of veggies. She liked her meal and ate all of it.

Patrick had stir fried rice and ramen. He gave his meal a 7.

Albert gave his meal a 7 too.

A success all round!!

Ian, Theresa and Rory left shortly after their meal and the rest of us decided to go for coffee at Cafe Troppo which was by Whitmore Square. Stephen went back to get the car and I walked the 10 minutes to the cafe (Con and Chad were walking ahead). Patrick behind them. Richard took the car and Albert also decided to walk.

When we got to the Cafe they had already cleaned the coffee machine which was now closed for the night, so we decided to go to Buorngornio in Norwood. Richard went to his concert and the 5 of us went to Norwood.

Albert had berry cheesecake.

Con had banana bread.

Stephen had the apple bavarian cheesecake.

Chad didn't have anything.

Albert called an Uber which came within 5 minutes. I gave Chad a lift back to the city to catch the bus.