Eating out alone...the good, the bad and the ugly

I was in Sydney working last week so thought I would make the most of the opportunity to try some great food. Sometimes I feel a bit deprived of the multi cultural cuisine of Sydney living out here. Sunday night I stayed with Zoe and we went to a Mexican place in Newtown, it was OK, but a bit odd. We both were keen to try the Tamales but they didn't have any! We had a dip that tasted good but was pretty greasy and a toasted sandwich sort of affair that had very good ham in it. We shared a Chicken Mole that was quite good but a bit heavy handed on the sauce I thought. We asked for a desert menu and were told that there was none..Funny place.
Monday I headed out to Parramatta where I was working. Monday night was an excellent hot soup at Pho Pasteur, Vietnamese obviously, great flavour, good price and you feel perfectly comfortable there on your own.
Tuesday I headed to a Saute Thai after much looking around and indecision. It was not a good choice. They sat me next to the toilets and were not keen to move me! The entree of duck on baby cos lettuce, a bit like San Chow Bow was OK and a really nice idea that I will copy for summer party food, but it lacked a bit of punch. My main was a Salmon salad, I expected a small amount of salmon flaked over the salad of green papaw . What I got was a very small amount of salad and a large amount of barely edible overcooked salmon that I suspect had been chucked into the deep fryer. What a waste. The service was terrible all night as well.
On my way there i had walked past this place, http://www.courtneysbrasserie.com.au, it promised seasonal food and looked really nice. I decided to give it a try on Wednesday night. Sort of a solo celebration after my last day of training.
They welcomed me in, gave me a nice table in the courtyard, great service, friendly but not overly so. The food was delicious, a house made duck sausage and lovely Pork Belly with seasonal veg and delicious cubes of caramelised apple.
A great dining out experience at a restaurant with a great philosophy, unfortunately I live more than 200 klms away so wont be able to sell them one of pigs in the future.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I ma pleased you find at least one nice place to eat wel.On the other hand admit you were missing your farm:)
September 19, 2011 at 2:06 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An abundance of eggs

Image
Silkie eggs Duck eggs Turkey eggs Hen eggs With five silkie hens, seven regular hens of mixed breed, four ducks of indeterminate sex and ten turkey hens we generally have an abundance of eggs. Despite the fact that several of the turkeys and hens are not laying, as they are broody the, there seem to be more than ever. Certainly more than two people can eat. Peter generally takes them to work and either sells them or gives them away. The turkey ones have not been that popular though. Today he said someone asked him for more turkey eggs as they had made an omelet with them and it was the best they have ever made. I find they rise up really well in omelets and Frittatas. I plan a big cooking evening sometime this week to turn the eggs into little herb quiches to put in the freezer for over the holidays when we will have a house full.
Read more

On my mind

Image
Puppy proofing my garden so the adorable Elle does not do too much damage! This is the result of my leaving a pot plant at ground level on the back porch. She is having a rest after her gardening!
Read more

A Bumper Citrus Harvest

Image
We have six old citrus trees here, two mandarins, two oranges, two lemons. They have fruited quite well most years since we have been here but this year they have the most extraordinary crop. They are loaded. We probably should have thinned them out but left it a bit too late. We have been eating the mandarins for a few weeks now, they are a bit tart but nice nevertheless. they are getting sweeter every day. We will have to give lots away and find some good mandarin recipes. I might have a go at preserving some segments as well. The oranges are not quite as prolific but will still keep us going for many months. The great thing about the winter fruit is that you can leave it on the tree and just pick it as you need it. We have planted some new citrus trees as well. they are very slow to grow but the ruby grapefruit tree has a decent crop this year. I really like grapefruit for breakfast. I will have to look after the other small citrus a bit more this winter and hopefully th...
Read more