The Missing Brontosaurus
“What number is it? Mr NQN asks and I had forgotten to write down the street number for La Piadina. I know that it’s somewhere in the hundreds. It’s not a glorious sunny day the Sunday that we visit La Piadina. The rain has settled in and we’re driving up and down Glenayr Avenue in Bondi Beach looking for what was described to us as “a little hole in the wall”. We drive up and down and up and down before I google it on my phone. Ahh 106. We drive past number 106 and there it is, it was there all the time but like Platform 9 3/4 at Kings cross station in Harry Potter we just didn’t see it. Subtly signposted and with a open glass and wooden frontage it’s a small restaurant and one that sells piadinas. “What are piadinas” you may ask? They’re flat, unleavened soft bread rounds that originally hail from Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy. Reportedly the poet Pascoli described it in one of his poems as “Simple, holy bread of the poor” and “Nothing speaks more of Romagna than this bread of ours… it is a symbol that speaks of devotion to our land”. M’s friend Hans described it to us as “a flat bread that has been folded over”. “Do you mean a calzone?” “No not quite” he says. We were intrigued by the concept and this is the only place doing piadinas here in Sydney.
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March 11, 2010 - 5:00 am
When I was a child the only pet that I was allowed until a certain age was a goldfish. Cats were too much like a fully grown organism for my parents to handle (and therefore for us to handle as children) and my parents have never been dog people although I desperately wanted a cat or a dog. So my first pet was a goldfish. We had a rectangular fish tank that sat on the wall unit and we’d buy the goldfish in a plastic bag and bring it home. I used to find the transporting of the fish in the plastic bag the most exciting part of fish ownership. It seemed the closest I’d ever get to taking a fish for a walk.
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March 10, 2010 - 5:00 am
Synchronised champagne pouring
“Honey, do you mind if I put an afternoon tea on the credit card? It’ll be $120. Ok thanks bye!” I ask Mr NQN by instant messenger.
Perhaps you may have heard of the Burj Al Arab Hotel which is Dubai’s 7 star (self rated) all suite hotel that is said to be a must do – if only you can get in that is. Visitors or inevitable gawkers aren’t permitted and can only gaze at it from afar, where it resembles a sail. It is the location of the famous tennis court where Roger Federer and Andre Agassi played tennis on the helipad. It sits in the middle of an artificial island and is accessible only by a 280 metre bridge. Otherwise the only way in is by a booking either as a guest of the hotel or as a restaurant visitor. This all seems rather easy until you realise three things:
1) You can’t just walk in. You need to book ahead of time and you are assigned an unique code which allows you entry.
2) Apparently even with the current economic troubles in Dubai, a luxurious dining experience is a highly sought after thing and they advise you to book a few weeks in advance.
3) The least costly “encounter” is their ever popular afternoon tea which at 395AED for the Sky Lounge is about $120AUD/$105USD*. The Lobby Lounge afternoon tea on the first floor is 375AED and is slightly easier to get a spot at as it has less spectacular views.
So with these three things in mind I thought I would chance it and try to get in (for research purposes of course) even though I was *shock horror* asking for a table just the day before. I was in the business centre of the Le Meridien hotel and they were on the phone to the Burj Al Arab. It was a tense time waiting. As they were taking my credit card details (which secures your booking and diners are charged 50% for a no show) my booking quickly disappeared before our eyes as it was snapped up by another diner whose credit card details were entered just a fraction quicker than mine were. The business centre woman and I looked at each other aghast at being pipped at the post by mere seconds!
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March 9, 2010 - 5:00 am
My friends and I are terribly busy people. So much so that when this dinner idea was first conceived it was around the time of the Global Financial Crisis last year. And whilst we love dinner parties, the fact was one friend was mid renovation, another mid toddler and we were mid moving so our GFC themed dinner ended up happening a little after what we had initially anticipated, almost a year later in fact, but we thought that the idea had merit and most importantly, the potential to have fun and be creative. After all when you dine out you can pay quite a pretty sum doing so, so we wanted to explore whether it was possible to eat a delicious three course meal for a mere $5 a person. And usually every time we entertain, it usually involves buying the best quality items and not really paying attention to cost as it’s all about spoiling your friends so we wondered whether putting together a dinner party this way would change the dynamics of a dinner party.
My main: Chicken & Pea Pithivier
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March 8, 2010 - 5:00 am
I remember the first time I tried a Chinese banquet. The first two courses came out and I was hungry so I ate my fill with both of these courses foolishly ignoring the fact that people were only trying one or two pieces of the dish. I filled up before long and then regretted my eagerness to consume when eight other courses came out in quick succession afterwards. Thus was my lesson learnt in Chinese banquets – brace yourself for an onslaught of dishes!
Tonight’s would be no exception. It was a Chinese New Year buffet organised by my uncle and his girlfriend. It was at the Souths Juniors Club in Maroubra-my uncle and father have long ago given up on competing for parking in Chinatown. As Chinese are very superstitious people, the number of 10 guests wasn’t lost on everyone and many agreed that 10 was a good number for 10 courses. We’d be dining from their Chinese New year pre-set banquet.
Prawns and Scallops
When everyone arrived, five dishes landed on the table almost instantly. One of my favourite dishes was the simple stir fried prawns and scallops with a light ginger sauce. The scallops and prawns are that wonderful soft consistency and I resist the urge to go for seconds as it’s not a huge plate and is quickly gone.
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March 7, 2010 - 5:00 am
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