waiters - the good, the bad, and the outright psychotic

I have been feeling a certain level of paranoia lately. I think that waiters are out to get me. Or at least, treat me badly. There were the few occasional experiences that left me annoyed, but for the most part oblivious. nobu, for example, where i had to ask 3 waiters (and wait 15 minutes) for a glass of water. but for the most part, i was oblivious.

Until this month, that is. It just seems like the world is against me. I have had some shining lights, but overall service has been dismal. Is it just me? i tip, i am friendly, i don't think i ask too much as a customer, and yet, i get shafted. and shafted. and shafted yet again.

i've had english backpackers serving me, taking my order, and then not passing the order on to anyone else. when i ask what is happening with the meal, they deny talking to me, or taking my order, telling me i was mistaken. then for the rest of the meal, it is an uphill battle. i have to ask them to clear my empty coffee cup. i have to get my own cutlery. napkins? forget it! i can look at the person and ask for something and they would walk past, as if somehow, i had wronged them. i would have gotten up and left, except that the owner is a very nice guy, and i felt sorry for him. he gave me a free coffee for the confusion, but then when i went to pay the bill, there was no free coffee (it was the english girl taking the money). even after he told her it was free, she asked him why it should be free.

that is just one incident. i'm going to intersperse bad with good, because although there are a LOT of bad experiences lately, i'll stick to a couple, as although venting is good, there is only a certain limit anyone can endure.

At movida, i had a very good waitress called natasha. to start with, there was a line of people in front of us blocking the door, that claimed that they had reservations. i waited for a few minutes, then decided to check, to find out that no, they did NOT have reservations and that our table was waiting for us. she was very nice. always filling our water, making good recommendations, warning us not to order too much, being helpful about the meals and which ones worked with others. she had good feel. and that's what is important in my mind. overall, it was a very pleasant experience, which is good. it was for my girlfriend's birthday.

we went to gills diner after hearing so many good things about it. it was not particularly busy (a good thing, as we had a fashion show to attend to). we ordered wine, looked at a menu, and after deciding what we wanted, we waited to be served. and waited. and waited. 20 minutes of us sitting there, having long ago finished our wine. i tried to get eye contact, but it seemed no one wanted to look. finally, i raised my hand. a waiter came over, and asked me why i was in such a hurry? i explained that no, i was not in a hurry, but i didn't want to wait any longer. my tone was apologetic, feeling bad for the dirty gesture of raising my hand (i never know the correct etiquette). his not so apologetic, as he apologised, saying "well, i am sorry that we are not fast enough for you and don't meet your lofty expectations" dd i do something to wrong him? probably, by the way he acted. i asked him to explain the terrine to us (my girlfriend did not know what it was, i only knew enough to understand it, but not explain it). first time, he tells us that it's got pork and chicken in it. that's it. i ask again, this time to explain what a terrine IS. "OH, he says, i didn't know you had no idea" was the terse reply. finally he explains it, but no better than i could have, which disappoints me. we order the meals, and from then on try to find a different waiter. we find a very nice, laidback woman who is immensely helpful. at the end, the girl had left, and i again raised my hand after giving up trying to get people's attention. same guy. "why are you raising your hand at me? are you in a hurry?". 'nough said.

last experience: red spice road. my girlfriend's birthday party. we had an amazing waiter, possible the best i have ever had serve us. the service is amazing, flawless. never saw him unless you wanted to speak to him, and he was extremely polite. my wine glass was always full; the only indication was movement out of the corner of my eye that someone was there. i complimented him, as i was extremely impressed, and he was grateful someone noticed. i will be back there again.

so overall what is it? do i expect too much, or am i too rude? i go for eye contact, and if that does not work after 3 tries, i WILL raise my hand. i know that this is oafish, but if i have to wait 15 minutes to get the attention of a waiter i feel disappointed, and worse still, feel that i am being ignored. maybe i am rude, ignorant, and not deserving of their attention. but i just don't get it. what are everyone else's experiences of this? please, admonish me for doing things wrong, i really want to know how to act correctly when it comes to getting waiters attention. because it just doesn't seem right anymore.

Aix Creperie

Aix Creperie

24 Centre Place
(03) 9662 2667.

This is one one my secret finds. It's on centre place, which in my mind is a continuation of degreaves street, but i personally think this part is better. so if i ever say degreaves street, i actually mean this little part. there is a soup nazi, bars upstairs, and crepes. life is good.


The Significant other ordered this - a soy mocha latte. it looked quite nice, but i can't get used to the taste of soy, so i guess her drink is safe for now. just the same way that friends order gin and tonics when they know i am drunk enough to be a drinksthief, as i don't like the taste. i lovingly call this my "drunkasaurus" stage, which, like the dinosaurs is gradually becoming extinct. However, soy milk is amazing. it's one of those things that transports me back to a different place and time. whenever i have warm soy milk, i always think of the little hole in the wall in shanghai where i would get my daily fix of fresh soy milk and onion pancake. australian soy milk tastes nothing like it though.

peking duck crepe. yes, this is not traditional. and not normally my sort of crepe, but it was very good. the duck meat was tender, juicy, and not too fatty. the skin was not crispy though, which is a shame, but otherwise very good.

YUM! now THIS is my sort of thing. banana, ricotta, and honey. the honey is orange blossum, so is sweet and fragrant and not too heavy.

both of these crepes are $7 (ish) and are quite nice. however, there was a bad side to it, but i'll discuss it in my next post. it just seems that i am having terrible luck with my waiters/waitresses/waitpeoples.


oh, and the owner is a really cool, laidback guy. overall, i like this cafe, and will continue to come here for as long as they have good crepes. oh, and my personal favorite: white chocolate, coconuat and fresh raspberries. (drool).

my life as such

currently, i haven't been eating out as much - i'm currently focusing on being good and trying to put on a couple kilo's of muscle, and as such extravagant food is replaced by bland, boring food and shakes.

i've been taking a whey protein matrix which is comprised of WPI and WPC, and also has BCAA's , and mixing it with cellmass for some creatine as well. it's a lean mix with not a lot of carbs, but it's helping me for now and is kinda tasty too. i finally worked out why i never get a hankering for chocolate - it's because my powders are always chocolate flavour (with the exception of choc mint, which was possibly the best flavour i have had, but not the best protein). overall i am slowly rebuilding muscle as i take the gym a bit more seriously, however i am at the point where i need to consider a personal trainer to push me a bit more. if you don't understand the acronyms, don't worry - they are not that important and only reference points. i'm trying a few other things as well, but generally they sound scary, and so i won't be discussing them in this forum!

i'm trying to juggle this new-found enthusiasm for the gym with squash as well, which is ok, but taking up a heap of my energy during the week. i had to get my racket restrung due to too many bad plays, and got another grip put onto it as well.

i'm still frequenting "the rasoi", the indian restaurant i reviewed a couple of weeks ago, if only because it is so cheap. i've avoided indian for for 95% of my life; i am simply making up for the deficiency!

i've updated my blog roll as well, so have a look - this will be updated with a few more that i frequent as time goes on, simply because i have a lot of blogs i look at, and i don't have the time to add them all at the same time.

i guess that's it. i'll be at the melbourne show on sunday, so if anybody has suggestions for show bags, let me know. likewise if you are too lazy to go/pay the $27, i can grab them for you if it's convenient for everyone involved.

and yes, i know it's boring to read this sort of post, but i figured i'd give you all a bit more info about myself.

Dumplings Plus, Melbourne

Dumplings Plus, 269 Swanston Street Melbourne
9663 8181

*formerly Ye Shanghai Restaurant.

Last sunday my girlfriend had a hankering (i love this word, so please bear with me) for noodles for breakfast, so we went to this restaurant. it's next to the macdonalds on swanston street, and we're picking through the menu slowly. it's gone through a heap of name changes, but really, all you need to know is that they make the dumplings and the noodles on site, and you even get to watch them making them all!

it worked out really well, because i had been trying to find good dan dan mian for a long time now, and it turns out that this restaurant has great dan dan mian. spicy, garlicky, porky, with a generous amount of coriander, i was in heaven. confession time: i am white (and i mean as white as white can be), so spicy food is not my specialty. this dish had me sweating, and making my lips burn, but it was so worth it, i couldn't stop until it was all gone. my girlfriend is malaysian, so she mostly made fun of me!

i'll let the pictures tell the story and then i'll go further on.

xiao long bao, $7.50 for 6.

People making dumplings

fried hand made noodles with pork $9.50.

Szechuan Style Noodles with Minced Pork & Peanut $8.80
(dan dan mian)

another pic of dan dan mian

the girlfriend on drinks duty

the noodles here are very nice, with a great texture and feel to them, no doubt due to being so fresh on site. the xiao long bao are ok, but nothing special. i think that the spicy fish version are better, but that is just me.

just look at the chilli soup of the dan dan mian though! mmm, i love it, just thinking about it now.

the only gripe i have is that they spell sichuan as szechuan. overall, it's cheap and cheerful, and very filling. just right for those lazy days when you don't know what you want!

The Rasoi, richmond

The Rasoi
281 Bridge Road Richmond (corner bridge road and church street)
94280008.

Ok, i have to admit, indian is one of my falling graces. up until 3 months ago, i refused to eat it. the flavours, the spices, the chilli, the smells, none of it appealed to me. to me, it was an aberration on an otherwise perfect plane of asian food.

then my eyes were opened.

it was malaysia that did it, that drew me in. those damned roti chanai for breakfast, at 30 cents a hit. it was like food crack. i was addicted. for two weeks straight, rain, hail, shine, hungover like a dog (and yes, there were many of those days), i still had to get my fix. it took a train ride, a 15 minute walk, and some careful walking (avoiding trucks, bikes, and wild dogs) just to get to my favorite crack den, but oh man, was it worth it! the mango lassi (still a little bit tart), the dahl, the roti. oh my god - the roti. i was in heaven.

so when i came back, i started to look around, to get my fix. i was like a man possessed. and now i've found it.


garlic naan ($2). notice the chunks of garlic liberally all over the bread. ultimate turn off, yes. ultimate flavour, definitely.


palak paneer ($8). cottage cheese simmered in spinach puree. my food testing friend loves this dish, but i have to admit, it was pretty damn good.


lamb bhuna (8) my favorite of the night. lamb cooked with onion, chopped mint and coriander. this was amazing. i love mint and coriander, so this did everything i wanted. there were a few small bone bits, but otherwise great.

Goat karahi ($9). goat cooked with tomato, onion and capsicum. so gamey.

saffron rice ($3). saffron rice. go figure.


this food was perfect, and so cheap - for two people, it was under $20 (with corkage). we ate more too, but by then my hands were shaking with delight, and i didn't want to dirty the new toy (camera).

all the meats were tender, and the service was good - the waiter is the owner, and even brought us water without us having to ask for it (although to his credit, we'd already opened the screwtop wine and started drinking before he came to serve us. no, he wasn't slow - we'd only sat down for 10 seconds before reaching for the bottle).

the tables are all designed for 4 people, and are just big enough (actually maybe a little bit small, but manageable). dark wooden tables, dark wooden seats, oh, and of course, the big widescreen tv playing indian music and bollywood films.

not much else i can say. i'll be back.



and once more:

Tobie Puttock's Osso Buco

I know, I know, I've been slack. Unfortunately when my life gets hectic, certain things tend to suffer. this is also why i am incapable of keeping pets, or growing plants. my cactus is even spiting me. After going all wrinkly due to a lack of water, i put it out one day when it rained. obviously, it started to flower!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: osso buco (osso bucco? it's spelt "bucco" in the book, but i am unsure of the spelling myself, and since i have no idea, i won't even bother commenting).

I went away to the dandenongs on the weekend, to a nice little cottage in kallista. i thought it might be nice to bring some food, something simple for one night, to share over a bottle of red.

as my girlfriend isn't a fan of cooking and leaves me to it, i thought that i would take advantage of that and make something simple. After trawling around, i came onto this post: sarah cooks: osso bucco

I had already bought the tobie puttock book (myer had a 40% off sale) so i thought that i'd give it a go. i'd add the recipe here, but i am not sure if i am able to? i don't understand copyright laws, and i can't be stuffed working it out. after all, it's osso buco - there are 20 million recipes available. basically, you brown the meat (your choice of veal or beef shins, and probably shanks too), and after removing the meat (in the same pot) add some diced vegies, wine, stock, and throw some carbs onto the plate.

i won't bore you with all the steps, but here's some things i found:

• i like garlic. lots of garlic. so mine ended up loaded with herbs and garlic (initially, the recipe didn't have enough garlic in it. i added a few whole cloves too, as i like the flavour and the sweetness of them.
• same with wine - i added a bit more to it because i liked it (and i felt guilty drinking a whole bottle on my own. ok, no i didn't, but i wanted to act like i did).
• there was a bit of a debate about the stock not reducing on sarah's blog, and so i left it cooking for a while longer (i think 5 hours as compared to 3.5 hours). as a result, after chilling it in the fridge, all the juices turned to a jelly! it wasn't a problem as after reheating it was fine, but kinda funny, and a little bit gross.
  
• For the carbs, i made a polenta mash. i love polenta, but it's so heavy. i ended up making mashed potato with heaps of garlic butter, and then folding it into the polenta, then adding some milk. also, i added chilli powder and a little chicken stock to add to the flavour. it turned out very nice, either reheated, or pan fried, it was like a croquette, and best of all, it soaked up all the yummy juices!

That's all there is to it. if anybody wants to know more, either email me or add a comment and i'll be glad to get back to you!