Useless Noodles
24/07/2012 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izmeinaLast month the Izzie got adventurous and decided to abandon the monthly meeting of the Vegie wannabees group in favour of a recently joined book club. They both had their meetings on the same day. One had the theme of Mexican vegetarian food and the other was discussing “The Hunger Games”
The meeting was scheduled for 7pm so decided to slink over there around 2.30pm. A bit late for lunch but that was not a problem as Rifos had their $12 pasta special until 4pm. Would just keep an eye out for the place while on the bus and then slink around the cafe strip before arriving at the pub in time for the book club.
But the map is never ever the territory. Had the beady Izzie eyes out on full alert but this pasta palace was nowhere to be seen. Silly Izzie should have gotten the exact address. While there was a very long strip of cafes and restaurants nearly all of them closed their kitchens by 3pm. Was well and truly ravenous by the time they opened again around 5.30pm. Chose an Indian restaurant. Last darkened the door of the place on Wednesday 12th September 2001. That was a day that was very easy to remember. Izzie always chooses the vegetarian thali as variety is the spice of life. But the waiters claimed that they only do those at lunch time. So made do with Biryani - the Indian version of fried rice. Decided to come back at lunch time some time in the future to do the Thali test. It is interesting to get the same dish in lots of different places and see the variations in both quality and price.
Today was the perfect day for a second visit. Had been to visit the vampires for blood tests and had to fast for ten hours or so. Had nothing to nibble since 10pm the previous night so by midday was feeling exceedingly ravenous.
Could have just hopped on the ferry to the very kosher Annalakshmi Indian restaurant but figured it would be interesting to go somewhere different. After the bus driver who was a right little red light magnet and feeling the magical mood of this gorgeous day rapidly evaporating just like last week, got to this so called Jewel in the Crown to discover that it was closed. Maybe these mob have Tuesday off unlike most restaurants that close on Mondays. Looked closely at the sign. They do not open for lunch at all not just Tuesday but every other day of the week too. That waiter was a lying little slimedog. Izzie was most peeved indeed.
Had been so looking forward to a fix of lentils, assorted curries and a big pile of basmati rice. Decided to make do with some wok in a box place in the nearby shopping centre. The lunch special had just finished on the last visit and they did the versatile ‘choose your pasta, choose your sauce’ mix and match thing. That meant it would be possible to have satay sauce without having to order chicken.
The sign loudly proclaimed “$5.95 lunch specials” which seemed most reasonable indeed. Turned out there were only four options and not a single one of them was kosher.
But this was no time to be doing a run around and getting ever more in a tizzie like last Thursday. So paid 8 silver sickles for vegie egg noodles with satay sauce. The serving was rather on the small side, not particularly piping hot and there did not seem to be a peanut in sight. It was OK but a bit of a rip off for what we got. Was probably some dodgy Monsanto mutant black bean soya sauce instead of proper peanuts
Still had the munchies so went to one of those cheap and cheerful Chinese places. This one proclaimed lunch specials from $7.50. Should have been ever so suspicious after the last one. Went in to find the place very crowded. There were no vegetarian meals listed under the 20 something lunch specials most of which were between $10-12. Maybe there was just one for $7.50.
Even the so called vegetables category on the main menu featured duck, crab or assorted sea foods. Had to ask what they had for vegetarians and all they could offer was vegies with noodles. It was piping hot and the portion was a decent size but once again it was rather bland. That boring old black sauce again. Izzie’s suspicion was definitely confirmed that unless you go to one of those strange Taiwanese places with the fake meat, Italian and Indian cuisine is much more vegie friendly
By that stage it was 2pm and time for a caffeine fix. Passed by a little place called “Food for me” which is a cafe specializing in gluten free foods. They still have all the normal stuff but gluten free versions of everything. They had quiches, rolls and wraps and assorted salads. It was sort of a yuppie upmarket version of the hippie wholefoods at the Juicy Beetroot.
Now if only the Izzie has the wisdom to go there first. Could have had real filling and nutritious food and it would have been cheaper and better quality too. Well at least we know for next time
Figured it would be fun to do more walking along the main strip in search of all the cute new art works. There’s a rather infamous rubbish bin disguised as a piece of cake with a big spoon and some very pretty street signs with weather vanes and sculptures of coffee junkies sitting around with a cuppa. Amongst the prettiest art works are mosaic coffee bean shaped seats. It really is quite a pretty place for pottering and sniffing about.
Came across the strangely named Bismallah BBQ. Poor buggers would be cooking their pork chops for the Aussie customers and having to wait till sunset to pig out themselves. It was most unlikely to be kosher so did not give it a second look. But the nearby Bintang cafe with all the tables outside in the afternoon sun was far more tempting. They were Indonesian. Their noodles were home made and cheaper than those Chinese places. They were also likely to be tastier. Did not try them but had the Teh tarik instead which is a sort of strong black tea stewed to bits with evaporated milk added to sweeten it up a bit. Wrote the name of the place in the little black book especially as they have that delicious yellow coconut rice on the menu.
There were quite a few Indonesian students in there. Infidels we guess. It was amusing to see the little list inside with the times of sunset and sunrise but all the dates were from 2011. Will most definitely be back. Come to the conclusion that Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine is far more interesting than mainstream Chinese. Well certainly for not so carnivorous creatures. Guessing that it must be the Indian influence. A bit of coconut, ginger or turmeric works wonders. Chili is not the only spice.
A little bit more pottering past some vacant blocks of land and a very spooky old house with boarded up windows and doors finally led to the serpent spotting the place that had proven so elusive on the last visit. It was way too late for the pasta special which unlike its sister store in Maylands is on offer not just Thursdays but Mondays to Wednesdays too.
Real pasta with creamy sauces, sundried tomatoes, olives, parmesan and all those delicious Italian delicacies. Proper stodgy and cheesy stuff that does not leave you feeling ravenous twenty minutes later
Izzie will be back on Monday for a fix. So so happy to have finally found lots of good places for vegie munchies in this interesting little strip.
Must venture soon to the other end with the Nepalese, Korean, Turkish and Japanese eateries. Still searching for a cuisine other than Indian or Italian that caters for the less than carnivorous creatures.
Got a whole week of decadent adventures before returning to that mad house next Tuesday. But that will be a story for another time and another place.
The meeting was scheduled for 7pm so decided to slink over there around 2.30pm. A bit late for lunch but that was not a problem as Rifos had their $12 pasta special until 4pm. Would just keep an eye out for the place while on the bus and then slink around the cafe strip before arriving at the pub in time for the book club.
But the map is never ever the territory. Had the beady Izzie eyes out on full alert but this pasta palace was nowhere to be seen. Silly Izzie should have gotten the exact address. While there was a very long strip of cafes and restaurants nearly all of them closed their kitchens by 3pm. Was well and truly ravenous by the time they opened again around 5.30pm. Chose an Indian restaurant. Last darkened the door of the place on Wednesday 12th September 2001. That was a day that was very easy to remember. Izzie always chooses the vegetarian thali as variety is the spice of life. But the waiters claimed that they only do those at lunch time. So made do with Biryani - the Indian version of fried rice. Decided to come back at lunch time some time in the future to do the Thali test. It is interesting to get the same dish in lots of different places and see the variations in both quality and price.
Today was the perfect day for a second visit. Had been to visit the vampires for blood tests and had to fast for ten hours or so. Had nothing to nibble since 10pm the previous night so by midday was feeling exceedingly ravenous.
Could have just hopped on the ferry to the very kosher Annalakshmi Indian restaurant but figured it would be interesting to go somewhere different. After the bus driver who was a right little red light magnet and feeling the magical mood of this gorgeous day rapidly evaporating just like last week, got to this so called Jewel in the Crown to discover that it was closed. Maybe these mob have Tuesday off unlike most restaurants that close on Mondays. Looked closely at the sign. They do not open for lunch at all not just Tuesday but every other day of the week too. That waiter was a lying little slimedog. Izzie was most peeved indeed.
Had been so looking forward to a fix of lentils, assorted curries and a big pile of basmati rice. Decided to make do with some wok in a box place in the nearby shopping centre. The lunch special had just finished on the last visit and they did the versatile ‘choose your pasta, choose your sauce’ mix and match thing. That meant it would be possible to have satay sauce without having to order chicken.
The sign loudly proclaimed “$5.95 lunch specials” which seemed most reasonable indeed. Turned out there were only four options and not a single one of them was kosher.
But this was no time to be doing a run around and getting ever more in a tizzie like last Thursday. So paid 8 silver sickles for vegie egg noodles with satay sauce. The serving was rather on the small side, not particularly piping hot and there did not seem to be a peanut in sight. It was OK but a bit of a rip off for what we got. Was probably some dodgy Monsanto mutant black bean soya sauce instead of proper peanuts
Still had the munchies so went to one of those cheap and cheerful Chinese places. This one proclaimed lunch specials from $7.50. Should have been ever so suspicious after the last one. Went in to find the place very crowded. There were no vegetarian meals listed under the 20 something lunch specials most of which were between $10-12. Maybe there was just one for $7.50.
Even the so called vegetables category on the main menu featured duck, crab or assorted sea foods. Had to ask what they had for vegetarians and all they could offer was vegies with noodles. It was piping hot and the portion was a decent size but once again it was rather bland. That boring old black sauce again. Izzie’s suspicion was definitely confirmed that unless you go to one of those strange Taiwanese places with the fake meat, Italian and Indian cuisine is much more vegie friendly
By that stage it was 2pm and time for a caffeine fix. Passed by a little place called “Food for me” which is a cafe specializing in gluten free foods. They still have all the normal stuff but gluten free versions of everything. They had quiches, rolls and wraps and assorted salads. It was sort of a yuppie upmarket version of the hippie wholefoods at the Juicy Beetroot.
Now if only the Izzie has the wisdom to go there first. Could have had real filling and nutritious food and it would have been cheaper and better quality too. Well at least we know for next time
Figured it would be fun to do more walking along the main strip in search of all the cute new art works. There’s a rather infamous rubbish bin disguised as a piece of cake with a big spoon and some very pretty street signs with weather vanes and sculptures of coffee junkies sitting around with a cuppa. Amongst the prettiest art works are mosaic coffee bean shaped seats. It really is quite a pretty place for pottering and sniffing about.
Came across the strangely named Bismallah BBQ. Poor buggers would be cooking their pork chops for the Aussie customers and having to wait till sunset to pig out themselves. It was most unlikely to be kosher so did not give it a second look. But the nearby Bintang cafe with all the tables outside in the afternoon sun was far more tempting. They were Indonesian. Their noodles were home made and cheaper than those Chinese places. They were also likely to be tastier. Did not try them but had the Teh tarik instead which is a sort of strong black tea stewed to bits with evaporated milk added to sweeten it up a bit. Wrote the name of the place in the little black book especially as they have that delicious yellow coconut rice on the menu.
There were quite a few Indonesian students in there. Infidels we guess. It was amusing to see the little list inside with the times of sunset and sunrise but all the dates were from 2011. Will most definitely be back. Come to the conclusion that Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine is far more interesting than mainstream Chinese. Well certainly for not so carnivorous creatures. Guessing that it must be the Indian influence. A bit of coconut, ginger or turmeric works wonders. Chili is not the only spice.
A little bit more pottering past some vacant blocks of land and a very spooky old house with boarded up windows and doors finally led to the serpent spotting the place that had proven so elusive on the last visit. It was way too late for the pasta special which unlike its sister store in Maylands is on offer not just Thursdays but Mondays to Wednesdays too.
Real pasta with creamy sauces, sundried tomatoes, olives, parmesan and all those delicious Italian delicacies. Proper stodgy and cheesy stuff that does not leave you feeling ravenous twenty minutes later
Izzie will be back on Monday for a fix. So so happy to have finally found lots of good places for vegie munchies in this interesting little strip.
Must venture soon to the other end with the Nepalese, Korean, Turkish and Japanese eateries. Still searching for a cuisine other than Indian or Italian that caters for the less than carnivorous creatures.
Got a whole week of decadent adventures before returning to that mad house next Tuesday. But that will be a story for another time and another place.
