Sazzy's Degustation Diary: July 2010

Friday 23rd July 2010

I needed to eat something this morning before I could take my cold and flu tablets. I heated a pie in the microwave at work.

Alas! In my rush, I accidentally left the lid directly over the container instead of to one side to leave a gap for the heated up air to escape. When I removed my Tupperware container from the microwave, the lid had inverted into a concave shape and I had to pry it open with a fork. I think I've ruined the lid - it doesn't fit tightly over the base now =/

Then there's my pie. It was an imploded mess. I still ate it though.

Herbert Adams' Chicken & Leek Pie

TORAYA SUSHI
Shop 8, 29 Station Street, Subiaco
Vince and I went for lunch today. Feeling under the weather, I didn't really feel like much but Japanese food sounded like a safe choice.

We walked down the road to Toraya and both had the lunch special.

Vince had the Chicken Schnitzel set.

I ordered the Agedashi Tofu set - $12.5

Included in the set was miso soup,

Agedashi tofu,

salad,

and rice.

I barely made it home after work this evening. I think I took one too many cold and flu tablets. As soon as I got home, I had a shower and crawled into bed. I had planned to wake up to have some dinner but I was out cold until 11:30pm and even then I couldn't manage to sit up, let alone cook and eat.

Feeling miserable. This is like the fifth time I've been sick in the last few months.

Thursday 22nd July 2010

Lunch at Work
Spicy Chicken & Mixed Beans Wrap

I made these with a packet of Mexican spices straight from a packet, diced chicken thigh and a can of mixed beans. I heated the mixture up on a wrap in the microwave and then wrapped it up with some fresh cut lettuce and grated cheese. Yum!

Dinner
Scotch Steak with Buttered Baked Potatoes and Corn
with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Deliciously crisp on the outside, soft on the inside.

Pan juices, butter, mushrooms, a splash of water, a dollop of cooking cream.

Wednesday 21st July 2010

JUS BURGERS
1 Rokeby Road (cnr Roberts Road), Subiaco
I met up with Ramona and Marissa today for lunch. It's strange to not be working with them but at the same time it doesn't feel that much as changed. It was just as if we were catching up for lunch while I'm on an RDO or something.

The chips were really good!

I'd already eaten a whole bag of hot chips on the walk down to meet them, so I wasn't hungry enough to order a burger. Both Ramona and Marissa had one and they were both in love with them.

Tuesday 20th July 2010

Dinner
Instant Ramen with Yong Tau Foo

Monday 19th July 2010

Lunch at Work
Fennel & Grapefruit Salad

Dinner
Fusilli with Bacon, Mushroom & Broccolini in a light Creamy Sauce

Sunday 18th July 2010

I got the munchies today and really couldn't be bothered cooking anything since I was going out for dinner later tonight. So, I rummaged around in the fridge and freezer and found a frozen meal.

McCain's Fettuccine Carbonara

The spaghetti was good. The sauce was okay. The bits of mushroom were edible. The bacon bits were awful. They didn't taste like bacon nor did they taste anything resembling cheap ham.

DINNER AT LISA & TOM'S PLACE
Lisa and Tom invited us over to dinner tonight for a long overdue catch up. We were offered some yummy nibblies while Tom prepared our feast.

These little cookies were absolutely to die for!! They were made with spices - I couldn't quite put my finger (or rather, tastebuds!) on it, but I want the recipe!

We also had these Sweet Potato Patties. They were so moreish!

Dinner is served...

Look at our feast!

I was too engrossed in eating to remember the names of all the dishes =/

This is my first plate.
I made sure to get a bit of everything!

My Gosh - we were spoilt!!

The tomato dish and the curry were my two favourites.

Thanks for dinner, Lisa & Tom!

Saturday 17th July 2010

After the biggest night out I've had in yonks (yes I think I am getting old!), I slept in until noon and then dragged myself out of bed to answer my grumbling tummy.

Lunch
Spicy Bee Hoon Soup with Beef Balls

I had to go run some errands but on the way home I stopped at 99 Seafood and bought some nasi lemak! I only intended to buy one for $2.90, but the owner asked if I wanted the last two for a discounted price of $5 for the both of them. It didn't take me long to agree!

Nasi Lemak

I love mixing the chilli into the coconut rice.

LIDO RESTAURANT
416 William Street, Northbridge
I made a reservation for 7:30pm and we arrived promptly on time, only to be told that the people who were assigned to our table (first service) had arrived an hour late for their reservation and so our table was not available.

Not happy Jan.

The manager was extremely apologetic and asked if we wanted to take a seat (five of us at a square table meant for four) while we waited for him to clear a table for us. We sat down and waited probably just under half an hour for another table to pay their bill and vacate their table so we could move to it.

I have to say, we weren't impressed with the people who arrived an hour late. By rights, they should have been told to wait for another table to become available since we would be arriving for our reservation before they would finish dinner, or told that they had to be out before we arrived so that they could have the table ready for us. I think what really saved the night was the efficiency of the manager and the professional manner in which he dealt with the situation. He wasn't rude or patronising. Very friendly manner.

I'd already looked at the menus online and everyone was happy to go with one of the set banquet dinners.

$32 per person BANQUET

1. Pork and Prawn Rice Paper Rolls

2. Boneless Stuffed Chicken Wings

I love these chicken wings.
They had little pieces of taro in them and really delicious crispy skin.

3. Chicken Satay Sticks

4. Fried Fish Fillet with Spicy Ginger Fish Sauce

5. Stir Fried Beef with Snow Pea

6. Boneless Roast Duck with Chinese mushrooms & Japanese Tofu

7. Steamed Vegetables with Oyster Sauce

8. Fried Rice

9. Steamed Rice

Prawns with Chilli & Garlic.
We wanted a prawn dish so we ordered this extra.

10. Azzura Gelati Kisses Ice Cream

As always, the food at Lido was really good!!

We shared a bottle of wine that I picked up on our recent trip to Margaret River.

Afterwards, we walked down Beaufort Street and had coffee at Exomod Coffee House at 615 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley.

Friday 16th July 2010

One of things I am going to absolutely love about my new job is FRIDAY HAPPY HOUR!

That's right, by 4:30 the wine is poured, the snacks are out and we're drowning out the week by chilling out.

I brought some figs stuffed with Drambuie and mascarpone and apricots stuffed with Cointreau and mascarpone.

HANS CAFE
Shop 3, 29 Station Street, Subiaco
Not really our first choice of restaurant to go to but after getting knocked back from a few places for not having a reservation, we settled on here. I think most of us (being of Asian ethnicity) are weary of Hans Cafe restaurants because of the food quality. I have to admit though, the food was actually okay tonight. This is the first time I've eaten at the Subiaco location.

When ordering at a Chinese restaurant, there are a few simple rules that my friends and I follow and they rarely fail us.

Rule 1. Assuming everyone is equally hungry and not fussy about what they eat, we count how many people are present and order one or two less dishes.

For example, if there are eight people for dinner, we would order six or seven dishes.

Rule 2. Order a different meat in each dish and one vegetarian dish.

For example, one pork dish, one chicken dish, one beef dish, one seafood dish. Plus one tofu or vegetable stirfry.