20200228 Bun Cha DRINK: Young Henrys TURN: Con

 We were in-situ at the same spot in our local at 5pm. Now that I'm working at Westpac Building, I left at 4.45 to stroll across. Gee was I hanging out for that Young Henry's beer tonight and my packet of crisps!

Con came in first. Cheerful as ever sporting a new haircut. Stephen came in about 5.30 and we talked about all things philosophical (which includes the topic of the new Picard series).

If you're ever in need of advice, here's two sages to impart their wisdom. :-)

We strolled up Rundle Street absorbing the Fringe feel. We went up the old Palace Nova stairs which is now a marketing agency - KWP. They were having a function and were happy to invite us to stay for a drink! La Taberna was busy and all the white plastic tables and chairs on the street were full.

It was Con's turn to choose tonight so we strolled around to the Bun Cha. As usual, the place was nearly empty and we choose our usual 6 seater table. The waiter recognised Con and gave him a warm welcome.

Now here's a bit of a difference. At Jamie's the other week, Stephen paid $13 for a VERY small glass of wine. Here they topped it to the brim for a mere $7. Bargain!

You're probably saying, yes, but where's the proof? Right here. See how happy Stephen is? :-)

There were no surprises with the meals tonight. Stephen had his Singapore Noodles. I forgot to take photos at the time, hence the photo I did take is of an empty plate. Ooops! Usual average meal comments from Stephen - 7.5 score. He said that the meal lacked vegetables and had too much Bok Choy.

Con had Won Ton Chicken Soup with a small side of beansprouts and leaves. I must say it looked like it rivalled Dumplings R Us for presentation. Con's comments were that it tasted good and it was what I expected. Con was so impressed... wait for it.... he gave his meal a score of 8. Yes folks, that's a high roller....

 I had the vegetable laksa - a huge bowl filled to the brim with juice. Unfortunately, that what most of it was - juice. There were very few noodles in there which I slurped up straight away. A few uncooked mushrooms and capsicum with bits of fried tofu. The flavour was very mild - no kick of chilli. I much prefer the Dumplings R Us laksa. I could only give my score a 5 tonight.

One good thing to say about Bun Cha is that it has a certain comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. You always feel chilled when eating there. Extra points for the service. Even Richard would have liked it because the footy was playing in the background.

No coffee tonight. We parked in Wyatt Street so we made the hike back to the car. Con caught the bus on North Terrace.

20200221 Sparkke and Shibui DRINK: Hello Dark Stout... TURN: Jen

Choice of 2 tables

2 x skinny chips (courtesy of Jen and Me)
Kingfish smoked - I sent it back
Roti - very hot, triangle serving
Mushroom and Chestnut Dumplings - amazingly delicious flavour, pasta a bit hard
Pork dumplings - Stephen
Turnips - uncooked/raw

Scores:
Elizabeth - 2
Stephen - 2
Jen -
Geraldine -
Con - 3
Chad -
Richard - 8

2 x pale ales for me (no discount or happy prices!) As the waiter said, it's happy hour every hour. Mmm.

Stephen and I shared the peach cheesecake. A mixture of sloppy cream with crumbled honeycomb and ice-cream. I had a hot chocolate which I asked to be re-heated and got a second cup

20200214 Jamie's Kitchen and Pancake Kitchen DRINK: Lots... TURN: Richard

 It was Con, Stephen and me sitting in the booth in the Elephant putting the world right with our insights about politics and religion. Yes, the beers did help :-)

Chad isn't with us tonight - he is at a Fringe event. Richard was also at a show, but had booked at Jamie's Kitchen for 7.45.

We strolled down the mall, stopping halfway for a refreshment at the Richmond. Upstairs is a bit swish from the downtown office workers.

We arrived at Jamie's nearly 8pm. Richard was there sitting at a table near the entrance way. Richard had booked a circular table for 6 just in case Jen and Chad could make it.

Coming back to Jamie's, I remember all the reasons why I liked the venue the first time I came. It has a certain buzz about it. Great layout, feels like one big dining room yet intimate with the decor.

We had a look at the menu. This is the first point of recommendation for the restaurant. The writing was simply too small to read, especially the size 4 font at the bottom of the menu which explained what each of the symbols were.





Stephen asked for a house wine, but Jamie's doesn't do 'cheap' wine - the cheapest glass on the menu was $13. When the waitress brought the wine - albeit in a very large glass, the actual serving size was ridiculously small. The wine barely filled the bottom of the glass. The taste of the wine was awful too. Stephen said he had tasted better $7.99 bottles of wine.

Not a good experience drinks wise. The rest of us had table water which the waitress was all too happy to replace halfway through the meal.

Con indulged in the crab linguine - $28. He said that it had no flavour and was very bland. He said that he could probably make it at home better for less than $5.

Richard's meal consisted of a rocket and Parmesan salad with Tagliatelle Bolognese - $26 + $7. Richard thought that for what it was, it was way too pricy. He felt the pasta was a tad too hard and it wasn't hot enough. There could have been a little extra on the plate.

Stephen had, what I think, was the raw end of the deal. Not happy after his serving of wine, he was even more disappointed with the serving size of his meal. I think there were a total of 6 pasta parcels. Stephen had the Lamb Ravioli. Wait for it... $32 for his pasta! We had a serving of 'funky chips' which were again, so small that it contained less than 10 chips.

I had the Prawn linguine. What can I say? It looked good. It was a reasonable serving size. I felt the pasta was cooked perfectly and the prawns were fresh and delicate. The flavour was all there. My meal was $33 - way too expensive for what it was.

It would have been nice to have had complimentary bread - at the price we all paid, they could have done that without any problems.

Richard had a voucher so he got 15% off bill because he's a Fringe member.

Scores:
Me - 8 (minus 2 points for the cost) so now 6
Stephen - 5.5
Richard - 6
Con - 4

There was no Chad tonight and we very guiltily snuck over to PANCAKE KITCHEN!!! for dessert.

To mark the occasion, we flagged down a passerby and had this group shot especially for Chad :-)

Yummy pancakes - way too filling.

It is the opening of the Fringe and the other end of town was extremely busy, the tables in the streets and the end of Rundle Street closed off. Con, Stephen and I strolled back up to the car (parked near the old German club).

It's Con's turn next week, so I think it's another visit to the tried and tested Bun Cha.

20200207 The Henley Beach Hotel & Coco Cacao DRINK: Coopers Dark Ale TURN: Chad

It was a gobsmackingly beautiful evening to be catching the X30 bus to Henley Beach. 

Con thought so, arriving at the Henley Beach Hotel on the bus before me.

I thought so too. 

And so did a young lady, who became the unsuspecting heroine of my witty anecdote for the evening. 

She hopped on the X30 in town, clearly unsure of herself. She asked the driver questions in a loud and distinctive non-local accent. She needed further assistance to operate the ticket machine. She sat down opposite me and started consulting a large, fold-out brochure that looks distinctly (to me with my glasses off) like a map. So I asked her if she needed any help with directions. Her response was a 5-minute rant. She objected to my patronising assumption that she needed help. She objected to my smiling at her. What’s more, she objected to my smile. 

I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the evening. After a difficult week, it was just the sort of ridiculous encounter I needed to restore my sense of humour – and give me something amusing to share with the troops on arrival.

Chad, Elizabeth, Stephen and Con were already assembled when I arrived, in a sunny corner spot outside where they could enjoy the beachfront views. 

Mere words cannot express the significance of these tickets

The front bar has changed very little since my last visit 15+ years ago, and the happy hour drinks prices made a welcome change from town prices. 

 Back in the days of my frequent visits, the only other customers were old blokes, placing bets and keeping up their fluid intake, so it was a shock to see the place brimming with all sorts of people. 

I ordered my favourite local beer, a Coopers Dark Ale, which was honoured as the Drink of the Week.I was so proud that I drank three of them (not all at once).  

The dining room had a bit of an RSL Club atmosphere. Luckily Chad had booked a table, because it was packed full of people. One of the first things we noticed, with sinking hearts (and stomachs), was the very long queue of people waiting to order. 

We found our table and joined the line as quickly as possible (with Elizabeth minding the table). Fortunately there was a bread station alongside the queue, so it was possible for hangry queuers to grab an emergency bread roll to sustain themselves for the duration of the campaign.  

Most of us ordered the Seafood Duo or Seafood Trio. 

CAN YOU SPOT THE DIFFERENCE?

Elizabeth ordered pasta with prawns, which looked delicious (I would definitely order that I went there again). 

Unfortunately I did not do anything sensible like take notes of our specific ratings, but I think we were generally in the 6-7 range. We might have rated the food more highly if the atmosphere had been less bright and busy, and more conducive to digestion. 

After dinner, Con, Chad and I walked along the beachfront to meet Elizabeth and Richard at Coco Cacao, near Henley Square. It was a beautiful evening for walking, although I regretted the choice of slippery shoes.   

The cake and chocolate selection looked sumptuous. Chad ordered a curious drink called (from memory) a Dirty Chai. The magic 'dirty' ingredient is a shot of espresso coffee. 

CAN YOU TELL WHICH DRINK IS THE DIRTY CHAI? (There will be prizes!)

 

By this stage in the evening, I was well past my prime. I have a dim sort of recollection that Con ordered banana bread. I didn't order anything as my feet were sore and I was too lazy to get up (the seats were very comfortable). But there is another dessert unaccounted for so it's time for another game. This time:

CAN YOU GUESS WHO ORDERED THIS DELICIOUS CAKE?
 

We said farewell to Stephen and Elizabeth and walked back to Chad's car via Henley Square, which was busy with youngsters beginning their evening, just as we were ending ours. I'm guessing that everyone felt as contented as I did, after such a pleasant evening and bit of sea air. 

I can't wait to join in the next Friday night adventure. 

P.S. I reckon formatting this post took longer than the evening itself!