Serviced Apartments

I've stayed at many different serviced apartments in my time of travelling so I think I'm in a good position to tell which ones are good or bad.  Hence, I'm not sure how this place can pass as a serviced apartment when my 'stove' looks like this:

It's a portable hotplate!  On top of that, there is no oven in this apartment. *groan*

At $157-$239 a night, I'm glad I'm not the one paying for my stay.  What a rip off.  I've stayed at another serviced apartment around the corner for $120 a night.  It was waaaay better and equipped with a full kitchen and laundry facilities.  Oh well, I guess staying here for the next two weeks will be marginally better than my previous two weeks in a Canberran hotel whereby I had no cooking or clothes washing facilities.  Breadtop and Sushi Train are also downstairs too!  :D

Things You Eat When You're Alone Part XV

What do you eat for dinner when you're living in a hotel for two weeks?  You do have restaurant options located 500 metres away but because it's been rainy, you're a bit lazy to leave your room.  Room service! 

I had already become sick of eating pre-packaged caesar salads with roast chickens, so I checked out the room service options.  Here's what I've eaten so far:

Club sandwich with chips ($15.50)  I tried to make it healthier by requesting wholemeal bread.

Chicken parmagiana with chips and garden salad ($15.50) 

I thought I'd try to get some omega three after the nutrient devoid parma dinner.  Beer battered flathead fish and chips with green salad and citrus aioli ($15). 

What can I say?  All the meals were edible and reasonably priced.  It was pretty much like having a pub meal but in my room.  I can't complain but I seriously could not eat like this for much longer than two weeks.  The bigger problem with staying in a hotel for two weeks is washing underwear!  Lucky for me, RP lives nearby and has offered the use of her washing machine :D 

Missed My Flight...

... so I'm sitting in the airline lounge enjoying some freebies.  I don't normally have lounge access but I had a complimentary pass which I was saving for a most suitable occasion and today was the day.  

The best thing about the lounge?  Free food and alcohol! 

This Hungarian goulash was so-so.  Although I guess I don't know what a good goulash tastes like.   

 Next dish - some antipasto options.  The bonus today was macaroni cheese.  It was surprisingly good! 

More antipasto and cheese.  A glass of shiraz to help all it go down.  

I finally boarded my flight and am now in Canberra.  My employer stupidly booked in a hotel rather than a serviced apartment, so it's going to be a bit of struggle with dinner over the next few nights.  

My home for the next two weeks.  The room is far too big and so much space is wasted.  

Bar Lourinhã

Spu worked late tonight but that doesn't mean he's not up for some late night munching!  What a good eating buddy.  Late night eating options are a little more limited at 11pm but we managed to strike another restaurant off the Hitlist - Bar Lourinhã .  

It was a balmy night - the best kind - and wandering the streets for some munchies just makes so much sense.  I totally understand why the Spanish eat so late!  Bar Lourinha has embraced that spirit and their kitchen (not just the bar) opens until 11pm Monday to Thursday and until 1am Friday and Saturday.  All for your eating and drinking pleasure.

The venue itself is a small to mid-sized which added to the overall feel of tapas bars found in Spain :D  Me already happy.  Eating can be done seated at the bar or at table.  It was still half full at 11pm, so we were seated at the bar.  Still comfortable and if anything, it's nice to watch the barman serve up drinks and easier to order your own drinks!

I brought my camera but because the bartender was right in front of us, I was a bit embarrassed to take photos, so here's the run down of what we ate:

• Pork trotter and morcilla croquetas ($5 each) 
• Jamon Serrano Montesano Gran Reserva ($20)
• Slow cooked pork butt and piri piri ($24)
• Roasted mushrooms and garlic cream ($15)
• House made free range chorizo, apple and cider ($20) 
• Blood orange crema and burnt orange caramel ($11)

It was a pretty porky dinner.  A bit of overkill but we didn't notice it when placing the order.  Each dish was a reasonable size (although $5 per croqueta, large as they were, was pushing it) and for an 11pm dinner, we probably ordered one plate too many.  But because we are Asian, we left nothing to waste!  

Each dish was tasty and I particularly enjoyed the croquetas and mushrooms.  The mix of apple and chorizo sounded interesting and it worked quite well.  I was fairly content with the size of the jamon serving too although I could always do with more.  I thought the dessert would be more like a creme brulee but it was more like a panacotta.  Tasty nonetheless!

At $50 a head, I though it was reasonably priced and more happily so, all of the dishes were tasty and on the repeat-eat list.  I should go back and sample more of the food and drinks though.  I think Bar Lourinhã could become one of my regular haunts! 

Huxtaburger... and Maedaya again!

Another day, another strike off the To Eat Hitlist.  Huxtaburger has been on my radar since Spuey and I walked past the shop when it had an 'Opening Soon' sign.  Located opposite Huxtable, this wasn't a coincidence.  Given my most favourable opinion of the mother restaurant, I was pretty keen on sampling whatever Huxtaburger was going to deliver.  The word 'burger' was a bonus.  

In the grand opening flurry, Huxtaburger underestimated the voracious appetite of the Hungry Hungry Hippo general public and in the early weeks of trade, found themselves selling out of their burgers faaaar too early in the day.  They're open 'til late' and that isn't really possible if all the burgers are gone by 6pm!  Too popular for their own good.  I'm happy to report that the supply is now meeting the demand.

Spu and I got to Huxtaburger at the reasonably early hour of 6.30pm to find all outdoor and indoor seating was taken.  It's a tiny place and only seats about 20 people all up.  Not to matter though.  Most diners are considerate and observe the unspoken rule of 'Finish your burger and vacate your seat'.  Two seats freed up while we were waiting.  Yay!

Huxtaburger sells essentially two things - hamburgers and chips.  There is a vegetarian salad but seriously, who the hell is coming for that?  It's merely an add-on for the vegetarians who have been dragged along by their carnivorous friends.  

For a child who watched a lot of 80s TV, the name of the burgers will instantly be recognised as characters from The Cosby Show which centred around Dr. Huxtable and his family.  Geddit?  Geddit?!?  Yeah, you do.

I settled on a Bills burger ($10).   Frigging yum. 

Spu had the Denise ($9), aka 'The Hot One'.  Yummo too. 

Bucket of large chips ($3).  Reminds me of childhood.  Chips are chips.  Yum.  Some complained the chips were dry, but our bucket was fine and just how I like them.  Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. 

The burgers aren't massive but they're a decent size and for thick, juicy wagyu beef patties, you can't really complain.  They're probably slightly smaller than Grill'd burgers and when you compare price, Huxtaburger is decent value.  

According to their Twitter feed (and I don't even use Twitter) the buns are from an Asian bakery.  That explains a lot.  The buns were light, fluffy and just melted in your mouth.  So much air and sugar, it was like fairy floss.  It was like there was no bun!  Kinda a good thing for as I don't like feeling full from bread consumption.  I suspect Snag Stand's fluffy brioche bun probably comes from a similar Asian bakery.  If anyone has ever had the mini burger from Breadtop ($2+?? me thinks), you'd be forgiven for mistaking them as miniature Huxtaburgers.

Right down to the glossy finish!  The meat patty is no wagyu Huxtaburger patty but still snack-able.  

Spu and I agreed with the majority.  These burgers were pretty darn good.  You could almost hear them say 'I just want to be an honest burger.  Nothing overly fancy, I just want to bring you burger goodness.'  After finishing our hanbaobaos, we were content but because I am a pig, I said, 'I think I can eat more.'  I considered ordering a second burger (?!) but then decided to make the most of being out and heading down to.... Maedaya!  Yes, I was only there a few days ago but Spuey really needed to have his shot in the Jap grill and I was honouring my promise of sampling more of the menu.  Also yakitori sticks are pretty light so we weren't going to be overly stuffed.

A note about Maedaya - it's a two level restaurant.  The ground floor offers the entire menu, whereas upstairs is designated as the BBQ grill level with a more limited selection.  I wasn't aware of that and was a little disappointed to see a shrunken version of Saturday night's menu.  It didn't matter too much because we were just after some tidbits anyway.

Your choice of calpico served with sake on the rocks.   

Table condiments include wasabi mayo, Jap BBQ sauce, some other mayo (chill?  I forgot) and sesame seeds.  A mortar and pestle is provided for your sesame seed crushing pleasure.   

Squid, scallop and chicken giblet skewers.  Soft shell crab.  Yum! 

Tuna sashimi salad.  Yum.  Gyoza.  As expected. 

See?  We didn't overdo it.  We just had dinner at two different places, that's all. 

Maedaya

After the tennis, I joined ##s (who just happened to be in town with a few of her friends) for some dinner at Maedaya Sake & Grill.  Each time Spu and I wanted to eat here, it was always a Sunday and they're not open on Sundays.  Sorry Spu - gotta eat one for the team.  

The name of restaurant includes the word 'grill' and yep, that's what you're mainly coming here for.  There is an extensive choice of yakitori skewers but for those who are not interested in the grill, then there are some other options. 

Salmon and lobster salad.  Pretty large serving.  Yums!  Grilled butter soy scallops with field mushrooms.  Yums!! 

Some of the skewers.  We had a mix plate so I can't remember what everything was.  The round ones were a bit bland though.  Not keen on ordering them again. 

Dessert.  Green teach mochi jelly dipped in honey.  

There were a few more dishes but I forgot to photograph them.  Anyway despite not liking everything we ordered, my appetite has been whet because the dishes which I did like, I liked them a lot :D  Must return and try other stuff soon!