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.

20190503 Betty's Burgers and Brunelli

There was quite a crowd at the Elephant tonight. Firstly it was just Stephen and I, then Jen showed up and bought Stephen a jug of Young Henrys. We waited until Con arrived and talked about Ian and Therese's housewarming party.

Kris showed up then Chad then finally Richard. Kris' lady friend came a little later.

I talked to Con about the Japanese, Chinese and Korean movies he had given me. The Four with Emotionless and wolf-man which I couldn't follow. Also, the film about vampires and zombies - couldn't get into it. However, there were two fantastic movies there. The first was Himalaya  - a film about a stubborn leader taking Yaks and the salt to the village in exchange for grain so they could eat throughout the winter. Great movie! The other one was a bike ride to Lhasa in Tibet. A moving story of a boy wanting to honour the memory of his brother takes on an epic bike journey.

We talked about John Wick and how Stephen and I won't be seeing the new movie. We watched John Wick 1 last night and it was just senseless violence - bloody killings and murders - bang, bang. No thank you.

It was Richard's turn to choose tonight and he wanted to go to San Giorgio but when we walked past it looked full. With a little encouragement from Chad and Stephen, Richard then choose Betty's Burgers.

Well, after the controversy of Sushi King last week, it was yet another divided opinion about what we thought of our burgers. Con gave his meal a 2 out of 10. I was close behind with a 4. Stephen gave his meal a 4 1/2 and Chad and Richard were more generous with a 7 out of 10 each. Chad had a peanut butter drink which he said was very tasty.

I thought my burger was pure slop. The bun itself nearly disintegrated into nothing, the bread just compressed down to a thin layer barely holding the burger together. My deep fried fish was greasy and the chips had black spots all over them. Afterwards, I felt heavy and gluggy from the junk food. To be honest, I would prefer Hungry Jacks to the expensive burger and chips that they serve at Betty's Burgers. But I have to be fair-minded in that Richard and Chad enjoyed their meals. They thought the food tasted reasonable. Richard doesn't carry any cash these days and owes us $22 for his meal.

The atmosphere at the Burger joint was not conducive of staying long. It had a 'hurry up and get out' feel to the place. The chairs were uncomfortable and were packed tightly together. We did however have a good service with one of the waitress offering to collect Con's food for him.

We didn't stay long after the meal and Richard choose to go to Brunelli for the $2 coffee.

Chad was very generous in that he paid for everyone's coffees. We managed to score a booth and as usual it was a bit squishy to sit with the table so close to the bench seat. Richard thought the coffee didn't taste quite right. Mine was a bit bitter but at least it was hot.

The televisions weren't working again at Brunelli, but not to fear, Chad and Richard had their phones watching the footy whilst Stephen and Con chatted about cars and Bathurst.

We gave Con a lift home. Richard was off to see a concert.