Sydney-ing with Smee

Smee and I made an one-night-only trip to Sydney.  The objective?  To stuff our faces.  Catching up with friends? Incidental!  Hehehehe.  We returned to our old ramen haunt, Menya.

The tonkotsu broth was still excellent (mmm porky) but given our recent experience in New York, overall the dish just didn't seem to be as good as what we remembered.  It was still better than any ramen I've had elsewhere in Australia and the UK but there seemed to be less ingredients or something...or maybe NYC just raised the bar too high.  Also, it is now my requirement to have a soya egg with a soft yolk.  Hard yolks are unacceptable!

Of course we hit the fish market too.  I actually ate there twice having met up with friends for lunch yesterday.  Smee was a bit upset I was seafood-cheating on him but I reassured him that I was more than capable of eating seafood two days in a row.

We had our usual sashimi.  Today's selections was kingfish, salmon and ocean trout.  I have no idea what is the difference between ocean trout and salmon.  Both have orange flesh, similar texture and taste.  In fact, if I was falsely served ocean trout instead of salmon, I would be none the wiser.  Smee picked out some green lip abalone snacks too.

A visit to the fish market always involves pipis.  A kilogram is the absolute minimum.  Don't worry, most of the weight comes from the shell.  Here's me expressing my annoyance at the rude patrons next to us.  

Why were they rude?  Inbetween dishes, I was set the task of minding the table while Smee ordered and collected our food.  We had a bunch of serviettes on our table - OUR SERVIETTES.  When some Mainlanders sat down at the empty table behind me, they noticed that the table required a wipe-down.  However, instead of asking me for a serviette, the rude Mainlander woman came over to my table and TOOK MY serviette!  No looking at me, no request for the serviette, nothing, just absolutely nothing.  It's not as though the serviettes were sitting in a pho-style restaurant dispenser implying they were available for public use.  (They were in a pile in front of me!)  Of course I said in sarcastic English, 'Yeah, just go ahead, it's fine, just take the serviette.'  She momentarily paused, gave me a millisecond glance and took the serviette as she pleased.

I mean, wtf?  Let's be honest, of all fish market patrons, you'd be forgiven for assuming that I could communicate in Mandarin so there is absolutely NO excuse for not asking for the serviette.  If you correctly assumed that my Mandarin was crap, then the least you should have done was point and smiled.  I'd be more than happy to spare a few.  But to come over and just take them?  That is just plain RUDE!  *so angry!!*

Smee made me a little happier when he arrived with some crab noodles.

Fanks for the crab noodles Smee. 

Fanks for also cracking open the large crab claw for me Smee.  I was pretty happy thereafter.  

Smee did a bit of eavesdropping and relayed to me that the mainlanders wished that the fish market served fried turtle.  Hmmm.  Anyway, Sydney done and dusted!  I'll be back soon enough.