Don't love Christmas? Join the club! My best mate and I decided to avoid the blasted business this year and jetted off this morning like a couple of naughty girls sneaking off for a fag behind the bike shed. Currently I'm in the international departure lounge chomping on bad sushi, which I don't mind at all cos ... We're going to Vietnam! She's been before, but the closest I've been to Vietnam is learning how to make rice paper rolls. But I don't do that particularly well, so I'm excited to taste the real delight. Have a merry Christmas all. Thanks for the lively debate in 2006, looking forward to boring you senseless in 2007!
GW xx
p.s. The REAL hot gossip is ...
Santa WON'T be coming to:
- Francisco's - for being miserly with the seafood on their banquet
- Chris Jackman - for making me wait so damn long for Ruby Chard (Pleeeeeeassse Chris, I'm dying here!)
- Island Cafe and Criterion Cafe - For taking their reputations for granted and providing crap customer service
- Georgie Weston - For being a grumpy old bitch (but I'll be in Vietnam without a chimney, so bah humbug!)
Santa WILL be coming to:
- Marque IV - For maintaining high standards in the kitchen (if not the bedroom) all year
- Chris Jackman - For every fab minute of Choux Shop
- Three Windows in Oatlands - For making THE best coffee on the Midlands
21 comments:
Happy birthday for tomorrow HRB.
Aren't trends so cool? Bali is out of vogue, so every sheep now does the obligatory trip to Vietnam. Why?
Hope you had a great trip, and are back blogging soon :)
Have you ever actually worked in a restaurant or been in the industry?People like you give me and my collegues the shits because you have no respect, courtesy or any idea of what it is like to put up with the general public day in day out!!! Ever tried to go to the Doctor without a reservation?NO,then why show up late then DEMAND the best table!!?? So i ask, where exactly do you get off bagging restaurants, when all you do is give them a hard time when you are not treated like a bloody princess!!!!! Please get a life "bitch"
i was reading HRB review of lansdowne and couldn't help noticing that she, as an experienced and knowledgable foodie thought robusta beans were superior to arabica......you gotta do your homework before you voice your opinion. arabica are superior to robusta for a few reasons,but mainly it's an economic thing as opposed to quality and flavour.
what annoys me the most is people will read what you write and take it at face value as true. blogging is great,but if you want to be opinionated, make sure you know what you are talking about so others who read the information do too!
Anonymous vomited forth:People like you give me and my collegues [sic, literally] the shits because you have no respect, courtesy or any idea of what it is like to put up with the general public day in day out!!!
You're right anon, all those bloody customers should just hand over their wallets and gratefully accept whatever swill you intend to serve them (no doubt, just as soon as you find your can opener).
Anon, I think you miss the point that Miss Weston is giving the point of veiw from the outside looking in. Yes, agreed at times she is mis-informed but her honesty and admissions of not having worked in the industry make for a transparent and readable blog. I have worked in restaurants she has dined in and she is a good, valued customer.
I too dislike late tables and walk ins on busy nights but it is the nature of our industry and the world isn't perfect and without it we would go bust.
On the "Great Coffee Bean Debate",
as a tained barista I would like to suggest that most coffee beans commercialy available have both Arabica and Robusta in them unless specified. Arabica usually for smooth flavour and subtlety and Robusta for strength and character. Niether if necessarily superior straight Robusta is a bit coarse.
When will the HRB return?
And what is the reason for her sojourn?
Is it for lack of the fodder, for the average blog plodder, in which to place the right face? GG
HRV, you said it right, "unless specified". people who know what good coffee is, ask for 100% arabica.
the reason being is that robusta is only a relatively new species discovered in the belgian congo in the 1800's. robusta is a lowlands, rugged (hence the name), humidity loving bean which is cheaper to grow and cultivate. the trees usually yield berries in 2-3 years and require less pre-processing. what is the real clincher is that the robusta contains 1/2 the chromosonal make up of the arabica and therefore less flavour compounds and molecules are present.
it is scientifically impossible for robusta to be the same! arabica is without doubt a superior bean and in good coffee is never blended, whereas robusta needs to be blended. there is a high quality robusta from colombia,but it accounts for 5 - 15% of robusta blends.
you should try reading a book called" the devils cup" it's informative and factual.
also i must say that in australia there are but a few
true barista's, and i can assure you there aren't many in tassie. if you'd like to see what real coffee is, visit sydney and head for campos coffee in newtown. once you've had one of their coffees you'll see just how far behind everyone really is and you won't feel like much of a barista anymore.
Sorry to dissapoint but I have trained as a barista in Sydney under a proper intitution!
I am well aware of the 'scientific' differences aswell as the multitude of different growing conditions, etc, etc.
For what it is worth I earn my income in kitchens, but in a previous life, I worked on the floor and then behind the machine.
I was just making a bloody observation, so sorry for upsetting the self righteous arabica afficionados amoungst you.
I'd rather have a cup of tea.
Sir Grumpy.
HRV, i worked in mexico on a plantation outside xico.
vera cruz. what institution did learn at in syd? TAFE, gloria jeans? you made an observation of mediocrity.
quality is what matters.
My apologies for not being a coffee extremist. Geez, when did blogging become a contact sport?
I'd still rather have a cup of Assam or Ceylon.
You coffe types seem a tad hysterical, could it be the Robusta in you?
Sir Grumpy.
Where does Milo fit into the equation?
Milo???
HRV, unlike me, you are obviously not a properly trained Hotchocolista. If you had attended the right school, you would understand that Milo is grown on the low shelves of the supermarket isle, while hot chocolate prefers the more rarefied atmosphere of the high shelves. Therefore it is obvious that hot chocolate is better than Milo - even if it may not taste that way to your painfully uneducated pallet.
The ignorance displayed here astounds me...
Where does Ovaltine fit into the picture Stephen? Please, I'm in desperate need of education!!!!!!!
hrv, as any true Hotchocolista would know, Ovaltine is actually made from a bean collected from the jungle floor by trained wombats. On the otherhand, Milo is an infusion of bark from the Horlicks tree, found in the upper reaches of the Derwent.
I speak with unassailable authority because I participated in both the dawn wombat snuffle and the midnight bark sucking ceremony. These experiences have left me with an unassailable knowledge of the right-way-to-do-things.
Stephen, Grad Dip Hchoc (Hons).
Thank you great sage of the cocoa bean. I am now enlightend!
Stephen we are but dust under your feet!
The dawn wombat snuffle will soon be on Graeme Phillips next cashed up-&-bored mainlander foodie safari, but you, my friend, have put it on the map!
You are a Jedi of the Hotchocalista!
Hail, Obi-Wan-Stephanobi!
John,
Congrats mate,
First bit of truth i've read on this site. HAHAHAHA.
cameron.
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