Sunday 28 May 2006

At last - tomato chutney!

Little sister was up from Canberra for the weekend, so after a nasty night on the turps, we headed for a recovery breakfast in Balmain. The choice once again was "our place".


First thing to note - they now serve coffee in bowls ala French style. Personally, I think it is a big wank, but what the hell, if it sells more coffee, good luck to them. I would have given him the eye of death if he had dared to suggest that my latte be served up in a bowl rather than a glass (as pictured), but he took one look at my rather seedy visage and thought better of it. The girls both went bowls. It put them in the mood to go shopping afterwards - very chic and Parisian. Maybe the local boutique owners put them up to it?




This is my feed - a big breakfast poached. Note the small white container of chutney at the top. I spotted chutney as an fixture on another meal on the menu, and requested it as an extra on mine. I was half expecting a little tub of tabasco to arrive, but proper chutney in a proper little serving dish turned up. It was good. It helped jog my memory of Griffith - the stuff out there was called "Five cup chutney". I don't know what the five cups refers to. However, it does not taste like crap that you get at a supermarket.

One problem - not enough of it. This chutney rationing business has gone far enough. It's not like we are having to import chutney from the US in Liberty ships across an Atlantic swimming with U-boats. This is not 1942. The Blitz is not in operation. Last time I looked, buying foodstuffs did not require the presentation of ration tickets and the checkout. Then why the bloody scrimping on the chutney? If they are going to hit me over the head for about $14 for the meal, and then another $3 for coffee, the least they can do is cough up a smidgen more chutney. It's not like it is the difference between mammoth profit and stupendous losses.



This is what little sister had for breakfast - salmon, poached eggs, home made hash browns, spinach and lots of hollandaise. Note the smoothe texture of the hollandaise. Also note that the meal is not that big. It is not that long since my "big" breakfast, and I am getting hungry just looking at this photo. I might have to pop back for a second, late breakfast. She wolfed it down though, and praised the hash browns and things. Given the size of the meal, I bet she stops at McDonalds on the way back to Canberra for a top up.

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