Too Much Missy

Three dinners out in seven days is a bit much. R enjoys not cooking though. Last Saturday night, at the behest of a friend who's partner was away, we returned to Saigon Rose in Chapel Street after not being there for several years. Boy is it popular. Tables were being turned over at a rapid rate, even though it is a proper restaurant. It wasn't especially cheap, the food a bit plain but the the noise! It was horrendous. It was a huge relief to walk out into the comparative quiet of Chapel Street Prahran! Someone, possibly yours truly, mucked up which Saturday night we were going for dinner and when I phoned her she was watching football at a friend's place in Coburg. So we had to have another meal out on the correct Saturday night, that is last night.

But during the week another friend had a $250 voucher for any restaurant at Crown and was happy to share it with us. He chose Conservatory which has buffet meals, focusing on seafood but it has other food as well. If we were paying, it would have cost $61 each plus drinks, rather a lot for a buffet. $11 for a glass of the cheapest wine was a bit steep. In spite of the voucher, the six of us still had to whack in $20 each. I had my fair share of oysters, although I gave the prawns and crab a miss as I find them too much bother to shell and too messy. The oysters were quite small and I guess as they sell so many, they buy ones that you would be unhappy to pay full price for. We were seated in the window looking down on the Yarra, not that there was much to see in the dark, but we watched the trains going back and forth between Flinders and Spencer Street Stations and the city backdrop was very nice. On the hour, the flame jets went off, although the strong wind spoilt them a bit. Mixed feelings about Conservatory. While it is quite good, I am not sure that it is $61 good.

Photo of the Crown fire show by Yewy.



But we did well last night at Gurkhas in Chapel Street. Very nice food, good service, good atmosphere and while it was busy, the busyness did not overwhelm us and the noise level was ok. Our ex NT Politician/Policeman friend had a guest here from Malaysia. While he is Muslim, he still likes beer and none of this buggery ramadan nonsense was going to deprive him of a Crownie. (yes yes, I know they can eat and drink after sunset, but they should never drink alcohol)

The night was marred by our dyke friend announcing that although she was staying friends with her girl friend, she was moving out into her own place. For ten minutes I was barely able speak. She was very positive about it, but her wet eyes belied her sudden enthusiasm for living alone. Their children, the inseparable dogs, will be separated.