The Year of Eating Dangerously

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Page 8 | Page 9 | Page 10 | Page 11 | Page 12 | Page 13 | Page 14 | Page 15 | Page 16 | Page 17 | Page 18 | Page 19 | Page 20 | Page 21 | Page 22 | Page 23 | Page 24 | Page 25 | Page 26 | Page 27 | Page 28 | Page 29 | Page 30 | Page 31 | Page 32 | Page 33 | Page 34 | Page 35 | Page 36 | Page 37 | Page 38 | Page 39 | Page 40 | Page 41 | Page 42 | Page 43 | Page 44 | Page 45 | Page 46 | Page 47 | Page 48 | Page 49 | Page 50 | Page 51 | Page 52 | Page 53 | Page 54 | Page 55 | Page 56 | Page 57 | Page 58 | Page 59 | Page 60 | Page 61 | Page 62 | Page 63 | Page 64 | Page 65 | Page 66 | Page 67 | Page 68

Feb 11th, Dinner. Oysters, served at Oyster in Melbourne (35 Little Bourke). We had a dozen of two different kinds, from east and west of Melbourne.

Feb 11th, dinner. A piece of bread in Melbourne

Feb 11th, dinner. Bouillabaisse. A good rendition, complete with croutons and aioli. The broth was good for a sore throat, and the clams, crab, scallops, and shrimp all kept their own flavors without becoming bland.

Feb 12, Breakfast. Cup of coffee. Blood in East Timor. Marriott, Melbourne.

Feb 12th, dinner. Bird Cow Fish in Sydney with Heather and Bernard. We started with some salted nuts. www.birdcowfish.com.au, 500 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW.

Feb 12, dinner. An appetizer of cured meats (not Italian, I think, but probably mostly Spanish, because there was chorizo, some cured pork loin, and thin-sliced sausage), very good bufalo mozzarella, some finocchio bulb, and bread sticks.

Feb 12, dinner. My main course, kingfish with a mayonnaise sauce. This was very, very good fish. The little pucks it's sitting on are some sort of fried vegetable, which tasted mostly of eggplant. They were not so hot (not that I didn't eat them anyway!)

Feb 12, coffee. An espresso macchiato at Bird Cow Fish.

Feb 13th, breakfast. A cup of bad coffee in Sydney. Radisson, downtown.

Feb 13, Snack. I was avoiding the snacks, but this scone with cream and jam was hard to resist.

Feb 13, lunch. I missed the starter, so contented myself with some olives and bread.

Feb 13, lunch. The main course was a beef filet, seared, then split. Very disappointing all the way around. The mushroom it's sitting on is way too vinegary; the potato side is almost inedible, and the beef is largely ruined.

Feb 13, lunch dessert. A little candy. Tasty.

Feb 13, afternoon snack. Very tasty brownies.

Feb 13, happy hour. I had some nuts with a beer.

Feb 13, dinner. No real dinner for me, but in the Virgin Blue club they had hummus and babaganoush, which I nibbled on and which was plenty after those brownies.

Feb 14, breakfast. Cup of coffee. Brisbane Marriott.

Feb 14, snack. A brownie. But the folks there insisted that if I was going to take a picture, I needed to pretty it up. So I added the strawberry and the chocolate curl. And then ate them.

Feb 14, lunch. Starter was a very tasty shrimp salad, molded, with slices of ripe mango on top, and two large shrimp over. And some watercress or something.

Feb 14, lunch. A piece of bread.

Feb 14, lunch. Main course was a bit of salmon. Not bad; not outstanding either. The tomatoes (roasted or cooked on the vine) were interesting to look at but tasted about as bad as all cooked tomatoes usually do.

Feb 14, snack. An apple rhubarb tartlet, with whipped cream. Very good. Brisbane.

Feb 14, dinner. A beer, specifically a Stella.

Feb 15, lunch. Major mistake. This fish and chips looked great, but it was greasy and tasteless. I shouldn't have eaten it, but I was regretting it all day. Boardwalk Cafe, Brisbane.

Feb 15, snack. At the old Powerhouse in Brisbane, they have turned the place into a performing arts and exhibition center. There are a couple of cafes (one nice restaurant is called Watt, how clever). I wasn't up for a full meal, so I had a beer and some almonds, cheese, and bread sticks.

Feb 15, late snack. At the airport, you can't check too far in advance so I went to a stand and had a warm chocolate muffin and a cappuccino. The muffin was not as good as I had hoped. Australia doesn't seem to have the consistently high standard of breads and pastries that Europe does.

Feb 15, dinner. In the New Zealand club at Brisbane airport, a glass of local sparkling wine and a meat-and-sun-dried tomato sandwich with some sort of green mayo.

Feb 15, dessert. Some nice brie, cheddar, and a blue cheese, plus a few apricots and almonds. The cheese was excellent, although New Zealand is known for its dairy products (but I was in Brisbane, in a New Zealand Air lounge)

Feb 16, breakfast. Singapore Airport Singapore Airlines club. A cappuccino, an indifferent croissant, butter, and jams.

Feb 16, breakfast. Some fruit. Oranges (delicious) and pineapple (not quite ripe)

Feb 11th, Dinner. Oysters, served at Oyster in Melbourne (35 Little Bourke). We had a dozen of two different kinds, from east and west of Melbourne.	Feb 11th, dinner. A piece of bread in Melbourne	Feb 11th, dinner. Bouillabaisse. A good rendition, complete with croutons and aioli. The broth was good for a sore throat, and the clams, crab, scallops, and shrimp all kept their own flavors without becoming bland.
Feb 12, Breakfast. Cup of coffee. Blood in East Timor. Marriott, Melbourne.	Feb 12th, dinner. Bird Cow Fish in Sydney with Heather and Bernard. We started with some salted nuts. www.birdcowfish.com.au, 500 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW.	Feb 12, dinner. An appetizer of cured meats (not Italian, I think, but probably mostly Spanish, because there was chorizo, some cured pork loin, and thin-sliced sausage), very good bufalo mozzarella, some finocchio bulb, and bread sticks.
Feb 12, dinner. My main course, kingfish with a mayonnaise sauce. This was very, very good fish. The little pucks it's sitting on are some sort of fried vegetable, which tasted mostly of eggplant. They were not so hot (not that I didn't eat them anyway!)	Feb 12, coffee. An espresso macchiato at Bird Cow Fish.	Feb 13th, breakfast. A cup of bad coffee in Sydney. Radisson, downtown.
Feb 13, Snack. I was avoiding the snacks, but this scone with cream and jam was hard to resist.	Feb 13, lunch. I missed the starter, so contented myself with some olives and bread.	Feb 13, lunch. The main course was a beef filet, seared, then split. Very disappointing all the way around. The mushroom it's sitting on is way too vinegary; the potato side is almost inedible, and the beef is largely ruined.
Feb 13, lunch dessert. A little candy. Tasty.	Feb 13, afternoon snack. Very tasty brownies.	Feb 13, happy hour. I had some nuts with a beer.
Feb 13, dinner. No real dinner for me, but in the Virgin Blue club they had hummus and babaganoush, which I nibbled on and which was plenty after those brownies.	Feb 14, breakfast. Cup of coffee. Brisbane Marriott.	Feb 14, snack. A brownie. But the folks there insisted that if I was going to take a picture, I needed to pretty it up. So I added the strawberry and the chocolate curl. And then ate them.
Feb 14, lunch. Starter was a very tasty shrimp salad, molded, with slices of ripe mango on top, and two large shrimp over. And some watercress or something.	Feb 14, lunch. A piece of bread.	Feb 14, lunch. Main course was a bit of salmon. Not bad; not outstanding either. The tomatoes (roasted or cooked on the vine) were interesting to look at but tasted about as bad as all cooked tomatoes usually do.
Feb 14, snack. An apple rhubarb tartlet, with whipped cream. Very good. Brisbane.	Feb 14, dinner. A beer, specifically a Stella.	Feb 15, lunch. Major mistake. This fish and chips looked great, but it was greasy and tasteless. I shouldn't have eaten it, but I was regretting it all day. Boardwalk Cafe, Brisbane.
Feb 15, snack. At the old Powerhouse in Brisbane, they have turned the place into a performing arts and exhibition center. There are a couple of cafes (one nice restaurant is called Watt, how clever). I wasn't up for a full meal, so I had a beer and some almonds, cheese, and bread sticks.	Feb 15, late snack. At the airport, you can't check too far in advance so I went to a stand and had a warm chocolate muffin and a cappuccino. The muffin was not as good as I had hoped. Australia doesn't seem to have the consistently high standard of breads and pastries that Europe does.	Feb 15, dinner. In the New Zealand club at Brisbane airport, a glass of local sparkling wine and a meat-and-sun-dried tomato sandwich with some sort of green mayo.
Feb 15, dessert. Some nice brie, cheddar, and a blue cheese, plus a few apricots and almonds. The cheese was excellent, although New Zealand is known for its dairy products (but I was in Brisbane, in a New Zealand Air lounge)	Feb 16, breakfast. Singapore Airport Singapore Airlines club. A cappuccino, an indifferent croissant, butter, and jams.	Feb 16, breakfast. Some fruit. Oranges (delicious) and pineapple (not quite ripe)