Donut-ing with Smee

Smee had to buy some souvenirs from Queen Victoria Market today and I played my part as escort.  We already had lunch at Hutong (Smee was very happy with the chilli wontons and xiao long bao) so we didn't bother eating anymore.

Well that was the intention until I saw the American Doughnut Kitchen van.  I like doughnuts/donuts.  Fried dough whether it be in the form of yau cha kway, langos, donuts or churros is always a winner with me.  Despite all the good things I've heard about these donuts, I don't think I've ever eaten one.

So despite it being a harsh 30-something degrees and not really hot donut weather, I told Smee I was going to join the queue and buy a pack of 6.  I think it was 6 for $5.50 or $1 each.  He asked 'What for?  Are you really going to eat them all?'.  I replied 'Yes!'

The queue was an impressive four metres and continued to grow while I waited for my fried pillows of dough.  The best part of the queue was the elderly Asian grandpa in front me.  He ordered a bag of 6 and I thought it was cute that he was either going to eat them all by himself or share them with his grandkids.

The donuts were warm.  The jam freshly pumped into them.  Sugar-coated balls of happiness.  

My verdict?  These are good donuts indeed.  So light and fluffy with a nice crispy shell.  My personal preference is that they could have been just a touch more generous with the jam.  I would guess that the van purposely don't overdo the jam because that might just make it too sweet.  Some say the donuts are overrated but those opinions are the exception.  I'll definitely eat these babies again!  Nums nums!  Oh, and Smee ended up eating half of them.

Bowling with Smee

It's me and Smee hanging out time and today we decided to go bowling at Chaddy.  I'm going to classify this as exercise because this is the biggest workout I've had in a long time.

Game 1.  I won!!  A fairly respectable score may I add.  

Game 2.  I won again!  I didn't mean to win but I couldn't help that I finished with a strike and a spare.   

Sorry Smee, I won both games.  Smee is surprisingly ok about it. 

Pho-ing with Smee

Smee has a few tasks to complete while back in Oz.  Eating pho is pretty high up on that list.  I already had my lunch for the day so I merely functioned as an escort.

Look at his face.  So happy.

Smee's favourite place is Pho Dzung or as he affectionately calls it 'Chicken and Cow Pho' due to the  laughing cow and chicken in their logo.  My last experience of eating here was tainted by the fact they chlorine bleached their chopsticks.  How did I know?  After dipping my chopsticks into the broth to collect some noodles and bringing it to my mouth, there was the unmistakable smell.  Needless to say, I lost my appetite and have avoided the place since.  Well, they seemed to have redeemed themselves as I can report that their chopsticks no longer smell of bleach.  They've solved the need to 'bleach' their chopsticks by replacing the typical restaurant yellowy chopsticks with black ones.  Asian smartness!

Being Appreciated

I like my job.  It is definitely not the passion of my life but for what it is, I get a decent income, I never take my work home with me and relatively speaking, it's kinda stress-free.  However my work is heavy on people interaction and if you have a poor bedside manner.. well, you really shouldn't do this job.  That being said, members of the public can be very, very annoying at times and often my tolerance is taken to the limit when I get a bunch of mentally and emotionally draining ones.

Today was my last day of working three weeks at this particular place and upon leaving was given a bunch of flowers.  :D  It sure is nice to be appreciated and the ego boost doesn't hurt either!

They were pretty adamant they didn't want their full-timer to return from holiday.  He sounds pretty shite.

Hardware Societe

Hardware Societe was yet another recommendation from the very useful Urbanspoon.  Nestled in the non-spruiker section of Hardware Lane (technically Hardware Street) next to Pugg Mahones, this is a cafe easily missed.  The cuisine on offer is a mix of cafe, French and Spanish yet somehow when surveying our plates, it just all looked 'Australian' to me.  A vague cuisine of no distinct definition - a mish-mash of many cultures - yet it all still works.

Some reviews pointed me towards the baked eggs with chorizo.  Mmm mmm mmm.. I love eggs!  I love chorizo too!  Yes, I had settled on what I was going to order.  Stupid me didn't read the blog review properly and it was only when me, Spu and Ma got there that I was informed that the eggs are for breakfast only.  Boo.

Spuey not so sure about being photographed for the blog. 

I'm a bit cautious about ordering coffee in public places.  Not because I dislike coffee but because of my lactose intolerance.  Soy milk it is!  I had a mocha, Spuey had a hot chocolate and Ma ordered a latte.  Nice, nice.

Ma's a bit funny when eating food not of South East Asian origin (Strange foods!  Don't know what to order!) so Spuey decided that she would like to have the grilled scallops.

I had the confit duck with quinoa, goats cheese and beetroot.  Spu had the pork belly with cous cous.  Ma's grilled scallops with potato rosti, jamon and watercress. 

For the typically cafe price of ~$16 a main, this was quite decent.  Ma even chirped 'This is cheap!'  It's a slow shift but I am now getting used to prices in Australia and yes, for the size of our dishes this was indeed a pretty good deal.  Ma was particularly fascinated by the jamon, urging Spu and I to taste it.  (Hehe Ma so cute!)  We both declined as neither of us are strangers to jamon.  In fact, I consider myself a Jamon Lover.  None of us have a bad word to say about our dishes.  We all thoroughly enjoyed them.  I usually am not a big fan of goats cheese but this was quite mild and was a nice touch to my duck.

Despite being full, I decided to treat myself to some takeaway macarons.  I really did consume an excessive amount in in Paris but I thought, 'Hey, why not?  Let's see how these stack up.'

Several flavours were on offer and I chose the rose & vanilla, raspberry and lemon. 

They definitely were not the prettiest which I've seen - bumpy shells, tsk tsk!  But oh well, we all can't be Pierre Herme.

The shells were just a bit too crumbly and the meringue no way near as dense as the Parisian versions but I have to say, these are probably the best ones (most moist) I've had in Australia so far.

So yes, Hardware Societe gets my thumbs up.  I'm going to go back for the breakfast menu one day.  I should also mention that the service was very genuine and friendly.  The team all were cheerful and ensured that our water glasses remained full.  A word of warning though - bring cash.  I was surprised to be informed that no card payments were accepted!

Things You Eat When You're Alone Part IX

Ok, this post is a not depressing like the other ones in the series.  Trust me, I don't always eat crap.  I just like posting when I do eat crap.  I did not feel like cooking-for-one this being a Friday night so I asked Smee for takeaway suggestions and he told me to treat myself to Sushi Train.

Sushi train is the perfect lonely-person food as the equalising seating arrangement makes it ok to intrude on your neighbour's personal space.  I thought about sitting at the bar but given that Sushi Train is only downstairs from me (yay!), I had take-out so I could dine in front of the TV.

I'm anti eating out of a box, so I took all my sushi out and made myself a nice platter.

Lemme name all the fishies starting at 12 o'clock.  Salmon and tuna sashimi, mackerel nigiri, squid nigiri, octopus nigiri, grilled salmon rolls, kingfish nigiri, sea urchin ships and in the middle of it all, surf clam nigiri.  Num nums.  

In this instance, I made an exception for eating out of a takeaway container.

All the sauce sat near the bottom! Takoyaki balls.  One of my many weaknesses.  

I also had miso soup on the side and a Japanese caramel custard for dessert.  I am very full.  And very happy! :D