20200814 Bun Cha and Steven Ter Horst TURN: Con

 Stephen and I got into the city by 5.30 and we immediately met Con and Albert. We sat in our favourite little nook at the back of the Cranker Hotel by the fire. Although the fire wasn't on tonight. The sofas have lost their elasticity in the seats and you just sink right down into them.

Stephen was determined to have 6 pints before heading to the restaurant and did a good job of reaching that target. We had a couple of packets of crisps - one that Stephen bought and one that Albert bought - small packets with only enough for a taste.

It was about 7.15 that we strolled across to Bun Cha. We thought initially that it wasn't open, but sure enough the lights were on and the door was open. The owner was patiently waiting for us as we were the only people there.

Con - Pork Balls and vermicilli - 9

Stephen - Chicken laksa - 8

Elizabeth - Seafood laksa - 7

Chad - Combination laksa - 8

Albert - Combination laksa - 8

Richard - Pork balls and beef fried rice - 7

Richard utilised the XO sauce and Con had a bit too.

We were happy to support the local business. We always feel sorry for this restaurant not having too many patrons.

We went to Steven Ter Horst for Hot Chocolates. We scored a table easily and had a chat about different things. Richard had an app on his phone that showed his face in video of Queen. He had one for Chad for the Hulk. I couldn't see the rememblance myself.

20200807 Himalayan Kitchen & Buorngiorno TURN: Stephen

Today was Stephen's turn and we met at the Lord Melbourne pub. It's a sparse interior with only tables and chairs - nothing fancy at all. When we walked into the pub we noticed a homeless person sitting on the outside bench.

Stephen ordered a session ale and got a free schooner voucher which he cashed in at the next round. I noticed that the homeless man had collapsed onto the floor outside and went outside to see if he was alright. The waitress from the hotel called an ambulance. A little little police came to help him, but he didn't want their help and walked off after a while. Seeing someone on the floor shook me a little and disturbed me. Some people have it a lot tougher than I do.

Con came in shortly after 6 and Albert came in not longer after. It's just the 4 of us tonight.

We walked to 3 doors up to the Himalayan Kitchen. They had removed some of the tables in the cafe, so it also looked sparse. There was a big table at the back having a birthday party.

Elizabeth - fish curry - 8

Con - chicken curry - 6

Stephen - festival curry - 7.5

Albert - oven chicken - 6.5

They served a large bowl of rice for the 4 of us which was very skimpy. I only had a tiny bit of rice.

Stephen and Albert shared a bottle of wine.

Towards the end of our meal we heard the trumpet blowing and bells clanging as the birthday table celebrated. We didn't hang around and we decided to go to Buorngiorno for coffees.

Albert gave Con a lift and we met at the cafe in Norwood. Nothing fancy, just coffees all round. Albert had brought in a Roomba to lend to Stephen. I didn't want it, but Stephen ended up taking it.

20200731 The Stirling Hotel TURN: Elizabeth

A stone's throw from home, today it was my turn to choose and I choose the Stirling Hotel. We haven't visited in ages and now seemed a good time.

Stephen and I arrived at 6pm and found a bench spot near the pizza eatery. It was a nice enough nook for us to have a couple of drinks. Albert and Richard joined us straight away with Chad and Con coming in a little later.

Albert bought Chips and then crisps for us all which were eaten in record time.

I enquiried about our table at 7.25 but it wasn't ready so we sat and waited for 5 minutes. The table was a booth at the side of the hotel. Nice enough.

We had to wait about 50 minutes for our food and we were getting a bit testy after such a long wait.

Richard had the salt and pepper squid - 8 (really liked the salad - best he's had with this type of meal)

Con had the burger - 0 (not hot enough, awful)

Albert had the Parmi with spring rolls (which he gave to Chad/Richard) - 6

Stephen had the lamb shank pie with mash and broccolini - 5

Chad also had the lamb shank pie - 6

I had the 2 course meal for $49 which included a glass of wine for Stephen

Octopus entree - 3 there was hardly any octopus there in a hommus style sauce

Barramundi, green beans (uncooked) and kipfler potatoes - 3 it came with a mustard style sauce which was too rich and greasy. I was still hungry after the meals. I felt sick too.

20200724 Buongiorno TURN: Richard

Con was already at the Norwood pub when Stephen and I arrived. We were sitting near the toilets tucked away in a room to the left side of the bar. Stephen ordered a packet of crisps and 2 beers for us.

Chad was meant to meet friends at the Wheaty tonight (which I think he did do), but also ended up coming to the pub with us too which was great.

Richard had booked for 7.15 at Buorngiorno so I strolled up there at 7.10 to meet with him. Patrick was there as well. Richard was standing outside because they hadn't actually booked him a table. A couple of minutes later the waiter came out and said we had a table. We had to wait for a couple of minutes for the extra chairs but it all turned out good in the end.

It was a pizza/pasta night at Italian again. Except for Stephen who ordered Veal in Mushroom sauce. I had the garlic prawn risotto.

Scores for the evening:

Albert - pizza - 7

Chad - pizza - 7

Con - pizza - 5

Richard - pasta - 8

Patrick - pasta (he left the olives) - 6

Stephen - veal - 8.5

Me - Risotto - 7.5

Richard and Patrick had a bowl of wedges to share which I snuck a few.

We stayed for coffees too. Patrick had ice-cream. Albert had the Italian hot choclate - thick custard like - with a chocolate eclair.

20200717 Campania Club TURN: Chad

It's been a quiet week again. Lots of lazing around on the sofa and lots of coffees at various coffee shops. It's school holidays for Chad. At 5.10pm we left home to drive to Chad's place. We brought a packet of crisps and 3 beers. We arrived at Chad's place at 5.55pm.

Chad had Star Trek Voyager playing on the television. We all had a beer and some crisps then drove in the one car to the Campania Club in Modbury North.

The room is large but not too packed. We had a lovely round table with plenty of space. Con gave Chad a call and Stephen and Chad went to pick him up from Chad's place as he had lost his way. Whilst they were gone, Richard and Albert came in.

Stephen and Chad had a couple of jugs between them. Con had the red wine.

All the guys had the Campania Special (Stephen had extra pineapple, and Richard had extra anchovies).

I had the Vegetarian with extra pineapple.

All the pizzas got eaten with 8's all round, except me who I gave a 7 and Con who gave a 6. Stephen gave 7.5.

The Campania club had a huge television screen at the back of the room with tv screens to the side. They were playing footy and soccer. Richard liked his prime position. Richard had been babysitting his nephew and had photos to share. He also took a photo of the group with surround 3D and shared it with us.

One downside to the place was that they didn't have any serviettes readily available. However, they had plenty of table water.

We had a coffee at the club - nice enough.