The Queens Head - Review.

As the crow flies with a stones throw you could describe the vicinity of The Queens Head Hotel from the picturesque Adelaide Oval. It has long been an ideal venue for a decent beer during a summer full of cricket and general frivolity. With forty minutes for a lunch break on a casual Monday I once again venture to the low profile of the very austere venue. I spy some changes with my return to the renovated venue perhaps four years ago, this time someone has made some poor choices. One thing I don't like is a fake facade, this is sadly the first thing that you see on entering the front bar. Fake timber flooring laid the incorrect way in relation to the building tells me someone did not consider the consequences of that decision. I move through to the saloon bar where there used to be a superb bar/bench setup length ways in the tight room, it created a wonderful richness to the room which is now replaced with smaller rectangular tables at bar height which effectively changes the saloon to an ideal speed dating venue! With few minutes to play with I choose a quick fresher dish to lunch on combined with a plastic receptacle of sparkling ale. I went for the floured squid with dill and tomato on rocket doused with a mayo of supermarket quality, I admit I expected more from the dish. The mayo was lifeless, squid was cooked in oil not hot enough to do the job properly and the decision to serve the whole mess in a bowl more suited to a hand full of Ferrero-Rocher it made me feel as though the management did not care about what I thought of this dish. They only care that the floors are easy to mop at the end of the day and that they never run out of glassware. Go back in time or wait another three years before someone cottons on and gets this place back to basics. It is a fake facade of a gastro pub in dire need of a reality check.


Giles

Rose Thai - Restaurant review.

It is common knowledge in the inner northern burbs that Rose Thai is a cheap and cheerful venue. It does have a lot going for it once you make it through the front door, if you didn't make it through the front door you would sight the ramshackle appearance or the rank smell in the car park or the dirty street frontage on Churchill rd. All of these things are exactly what I would associate with a Thai food outlet, there are some very dirty, stinky venues in the streets of Thailand. It all adds to the authenticity of the food - perhaps the few types of cooking where impression of uncleanliness adds to the vibe. The food has it's moments of brilliance but remains relatively basic. Try not to stray to far from the classics Thai dishes as they are named thus for a reason. The chefs specials are fun and quirky in a 1988 sort of way - flaming parcels of fish curry! With pink walls and blue table settings and crown mints it is all a nostalgic mix of old aussie china take out with a new aussie clientele attitude. A few chilled imported rice lagers and things look good, the bill arrives only when they want you to leave and that looks good more often than not. Take away or definitely book as they are busy at the strangest times - like when you can't be stuffed cooking your own grub. It's cheap, cheerful and not trying to change into anything, but may even be creating that port hole into the past that Adelaide is well known for.


Giles

Lucky Asian Grocery, Kilburn - Review.

Being lucky is a completely random occurrence, you can tell when your luck is running cos all those things you are wishing and hoping for just sort of happen. I was wishing and hoping for all of the ingredients for my home made pho to be in the one convenient location, preferably close to home. My efforts up the road were in vain, limp herbs and no bean sprouts. So off I go to get lucky! Fresh Asian herbs, strange cuts of meat and more Asian products than an electrical store. It is a haven for the forgotten products like green papaya for Thai salads and specialty jars of rare and endangered animals. So I got lucky! Oh yeah the home made pho was not bad, so get lucky for all that is good and quirky. Great produce and mind bogglingly cheap!!



Giles

Minestrone Soup, Recipe ~ Video.

Review - Pho @ Charlies Shack.

With a hot tip comment left on The Scullery blog I thought it would be
worth a look in at Charlies Shack on Grote st. On a Tuesday evening
the need for cheap and cheerful Is paramount. Thankfully there is no
fuss at the shack, so the prices are rock bottom and the service is
bare bones. But those bare bones are extremely efficient, cooking,
delivering, taking orders and anything else you care to think of. The
rare beef pho is the go to dish at Charlies, large or small it is a
bowl full of goodness. No wonder pho is the national dish of Vietnam,
it is tasty, filling and has absolutely nothing fake involved. The
quality of the broth, meat and veg is reassuring with the throw
together feel of the place their output is top knotch. Hey it is a
shack! So for the cheapest fastest healthiest meal you could have -
Get to Charlies Shack.