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???

20190607 Lemongrass and San Churro

 There was a big crowd tonight. Kris and his friends decided to drop by. It was meant to be Richard's turn to choose tonight, but we passed the honour to Kris. He choose Lemongrass which is a coincidence because we only went there 2 weeks ago.

I was flying in from Canberra after a Divisional Planning morning with the department. I caught a taxi straight to the Lemongrass. By the time I got there people were finishing up their meals. We were upstairs to accommodate for the large group.

Chad had green chicken curry and gave his meal an 8. This is the same as the last time. Richard had Kway Teow - I have never heard of this dish before but it must have been nice because Richard gave his meal an 8 1/2 out of 10. The last meal he gave an 8.  Stephen had the usual - Singapore noodles which he gave a 7 out of 10. This is the same as the last time when he had Laksa - he also gave that a 7. Con had beef penang curry served with jasmine rice. He didn't think too highly of this as he gave this a 6 out of 10. This is 1 point less than last time. Stephen and Chad had a glass of red wine each.

I didn't eat because I ate on the plane. The Qantas food was 2 curries and rice which was a 7 out of 10.

We spend another 15 minutes there and because Richard was keen to see his concert - Lior - we decided for a quick hot chocolate at San Churro.

Luckily, the restaurant accepted individual payments of the bill as it would have been a bit of a nightmare to pay for all the meals together.

San Churro was quiet and we found a table easily enough. Chad had his usual - the chilli hot chocolate. Richard and Stephen had dark hot chocolate and Con and myself had milk hot chocolate. It was delicious. Chad was generous enough to buy us all a chocolate - the darker wrappers were dark chocolate which we didn't know before.

Kris and his friends passed by San Churro and from the outside blew a kiss onto the window. The lipstick mark left an imprint!

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...