Sluggish service

I try not to let the little things bother me. After all, I think I would be very bothered if I did given the occasional outbursts of perfectionism. Add to that the fact that the little things are usually irrelevant or at least unimportant in the mid to longer term, it's just much simpler to laugh off the little problems in life.

So I'm having a pretty good laugh after a recent meal out, but learning from mistakes at the same time. We're headed to Danny's Seafood Restaurant in La Perouse right by Botany Bay - somewhat of an institution in the area. It's by no means my first visit to Danny's but could sadly be my last.

As we sit on the balcony I spy a rather large slug on the plastic window shutters not too far from where I'm sitting. I'm not sure what normal etiquette is when it comes to slugs but I choose to ignore him and get on with ordering dinner. I check up on my slug friend throughout dinner, which is more than what I can say about the staff service this night. I guess the half price dinner menu should have set early alarm bells ringing.

Entrees of jumbo prawns and deep-fried oysters from
Danny's Seafood Restaurant, La Perouse

We elect to share a few entrees and it turns out to be a bit of a deep-fried episode. The jumbo prawns are actually two prawns battered together with a slightly odd centre filling including lentils, I think. It's served on a bed of yellow rice with chips on the side and a curry-ish chutney sauce. I like the concept but this combination doesn't really work.

Better are the deep-fried oysters which are surprisingly plump in a crunchy batter, sitting in shells that probably belonged to other oysters. I doubt they were fresh oysters but they were fairly good served with tartare sauce.

Rocket salad

We also had a very generously sized rocket salad with Spanish onion, avocado and parmesan shavings. It's dressed in balsamic, oil and a little too much salt but is an absolutely huge serve.

I'm still picking chips from the prawns dish when a staff member wordlessly takes the plate from the table, leaving the used share plates and first set of cutlery. Which is perplexing to say the least, but downright wrong when the mains arrive seconds later and the used plates are still ignored; the staff member virtually expected us to move them to make room for the mains. I look at my slug friend in disbelief.

Whole lemon sole with chips

The plates are eventually removed after the other mains arrive and we try desperately not to let little problems affect the rest of the meal. My main meal is the lemon sole - a whole grilled fish in butter with parsley and lemon. The fish is slightly overcooked but a generous dish with more crunchy golden chips.

Fried John Dory fillets with mashed potato

The fried John Dory dish of thin fillets curled in the cooking process is moist and smooth-textured. The mash is creamy but otherwise bland, garnished with the now ubiquitous parsley. Other mains of fried whiting fillets and fried snapper fillets are also cooked quite well, although the species of the latter main are rather questionable.

After a satisfactory meal I check on my slug friend who seems a little confused, heading this way then that way. Looking around though, it seems he has more of a clue than the waitstaff, of whom are strangely scarce at this stage. There's still several tables in the area but not a waitperson in sight. Fifteen minutes or so later, we're still seated with our plates, slug and no service.

It reaches a point of ludicrousness where we actually have to fetch someone to request our bill - for her to enquire as to whether we wanted to look at desserts. Ten minutes later we then head to the front desk to actually get our bill as it certainly didn't seem to be heading our way, and by this point we were keen to get a move on.

I bade farewell to the slug and wished him well, and left Danny's slightly incredulously, rather discontent, but happy to laugh it off so long as I don't have to go through that experience again.

Treat yourself to lunch

It's funny how a little thing like lunch can affect the dynamics of a day. There's those late lunches and even skipping of lunch for some poor souls. There's boring and mediocre ones which are maybe better skipped. You could look forward to it all morning and be all sleepy in the afternoon. There's those facing a computer screen or a friendly face or a sprawled in a park.

Granted sometimes lunch is just a neccessity and not a pleasurable, do-it-for-fun-and-enjoyment experience. But it's nice to be able to just add a little something to lunch that makes you smile and ever momentarily happy.

Sandwich from Australia Square food court

Doesn't the sandwich look appetising? Makes sense for this to be my back-up, I-don't-know-what-to-have-for-lunch lunch then. Golden crumbed chicken breast schnitzel on brown, no butter, with tomato and rocket. Easy, no-thinking kind of lunch and always satisfying.

But on this particular day I was up for a treat. Especially of the sweet variety. Especially of the cupcake variety. Fancy that - there's a cupcake store just nearby.

Deluxe lemon meringue and custard tumble cupcakes from
The Cupcake Bakery, the ivy, George St, Sydney

The Cupcake Bakery is located, suitably, in the behemoth of temptation that is the ivy - must remind self never to mix lunch and retail. They have fewer varieties than Cupcakes on Pitt, with cupcakes at a larger size and price ($3.50 each). They also have 'deluxe' cupcake productions at a more 'deluxe' price. I like the concept of the Custard Tumbler - a vanilla almond base filled with custard, topped with mini-profiteroles, drizzled with chocolate. It also makes for a pretty cupcake topping for those with limited frosting piping skills.

They're not nearly as pretty or glamourous as the Cupcakes on Pitt beauties but they have a few interesting flavour varieties. Red velvet is always intriguing and I like the sounds of the chilli chocolate cupcake, but it's a fruity flavour that unsurprisingly takes my fancy.

Lemon and poppyseed cupcake

As an after-lunch/mid-afternoon treat, the lemon and poppyseed cupcake valiantly tries to do its job. Topped with a cream cheese icing and candied lemon rind, it looks fresh and not too unhealthy. The cake itself is only lightly lemon flavoured, whereas I like a bigger citrus hit. The only citrus taste really just comes from the rind. I suppose cupcakes aren't really supposed to be eaten in separate components anyway. It's also quite a dense cake, which I didn't expect for a cupcake but the sweet cream cheese icing does a good job overall.

Treating oneself to lunch can take on different forms, especially in the latter days of the week and even more so on lovely blue-skied days.

Wine and pizza from Ryan's Bar, Australia Square

Outdoor seating in the sun, a chilled beverage, freshly cooked food - now that's lunch and we even manage to squeeze it into an hour. The weekend vibe hits early at Ryan's Bar, which abolutely heaves with schooner-clutching people at Friday lunchtime. They also do a pretty decent pay-at-the-bar food service where their fresh pizzas prove very popular.

The Ra Nui sauvignon blanc is another Marlborough drop from over the ditch; lighter and less fruity than some others, making it the perfect partner to the Italiano pizza. Proclaiming to be topped with "salami, prosciutto, caramelised onion, rocket and parmesan", I could almost call this 'A Few of my Favourite Things' pizza.

On a thin, very crunchy base we have a little tomato paste; loads of cheese; savoury, spicy salami; blobs of sweet onion that cuts through the saltiness of other ingredients; bacon; topped off with fresh rocket leaves and parmesan shavings. What's wrong with this picture?

Did they not think people might just be able to tell the difference between proscuitto and bacon? I was a bit disappointed because I was looking forward to some thinly sliced, salty cured goodness, but then I was most glad I didn't order the Proscuitto pizza. Prosciutto-lessness aside, it's a good pizza and with a nice glass of wine and sunshine, lunch is a treat.

European memories - Part II

We continue with the European trip down memory lane. It's not Bavaria without a trip to a beer hall or three. And it's not a trip to a beer hall without a stein or four. I guess it's just not Germany without a hangover or two.

Stein of Helles beer at the Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany

This was at the first beer hall in Munich we visited. Shopping at the souvenir stall after a couple of steins was a bit of a spree; heading back to the hotel on our own at the end of the night was... I don't remember. But I do remember struggling with the door key to our room when we did make it back.

Pork knuckle at the Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany

And it's surely a prerequisite to have a bit of pig with your beer. Or in this case, quite a lot. The pork knuckle posed an imposing figure next to what we initially thought were potatoes. The spongiest potatoes ever turned out to be dumplings which ended up being mostly ignored in favour of the golden, crisp-skinned hunk of pork knuckle. The skin was indeed crackily crunchy but the knuckle itself was very meaty, so much so that I think I only got to about two-thirds of it.

Hofbrauhaus Munchen plate

Love custom crockery - especially handy if you find that you've forgetten where you are after that third litre of beer. "What? I'm not at The Rocks...? Munich?!?"

Dinner in one night in Vienna, Austria

I think this was after a few consecutive big nights out, and of course, a big day out sightseeing. The Kit Kat was something I'd taken along from home; the biscuit crackers were accumulated from tour breakfasts; and the cheese and beer came from a supermarket in Vienna we stumbled upon during the course of the day. I remember the can of Stiegl cost 75 euro cents, which I was pretty happy about.

Chilling sparkling without ice or a fridge, Budapest, Hungary

And this was my method of chilling bought-home drinks at the hotels. It worked especially well in our hotel room in Vienna as they seemed to have really cold cold water - and perhaps the can is easier to chill than a mini bottle of sparkling wine, also purchased from a supermarket. Ah, cheap pleasures of grocery shopping.

Next stop: Amsterdam and more