It?s been a while since I posted last because we?ve been without the Internet, so prepare for a long one, folks. It?s been a scorcher out here in Adelaide these past few days. We?ve been in the high 30s and reached 40 yesterday (between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit), which just goes to show that too much of a good thing isn?t always so good. We pulled a stupid tourist move the other day and tried to jog in this weather and nearly passed out. It was so hot, I was forced to bare it all and run in my sports bra and let me tell you, I have not shown the belly since at least summer of 2000. That is how hot it was! But good news?we got an apartment! We moved in on Valentine?s Day, and are slowly but surely making it home. It?s a two bedroom apartment in the heart of the city; within a block of Rundle Mall and some of the best restaurants the city has to offer (would you expect any less from me?). It is also three blocks from school, and a short bus or bike ride from Adam?s new job. It is probably the newest and nicest apartment we have ever lived in! That?s right?no creaky floor boards, no 1950s double faucet sinks, and definitely no cat orgies happening on our back porch at 3 am. The apartment came furnished and has a nice large balcony that overlooks the stunning parking garage across the street, but hey, at least we have a balcony. We celebrated our move in and V-day with a meal full of comfort food: pancakes, eggs, and yes, good old American bacon!!!! After a disappointing week of dining on Australian bacon that really tastes like ham, we finally located some smoked streaky bacon as they call it here, and it was pretty darn tasty. Those who know me well know that bacon is not only part of a balanced meal for Leena, but I eat it so much, I tend to sweat bacon grease. With is great for cooking with, incidentally enough. Here are some more shots some of the park lands that surround the city.
This one is called Light Square, and it has a monument to the founder of Adelaide,
and this interesting sculpture entitled The Eternal Question.
It is amazing that despite the draught, the plant life remains as green as it can be. Food-wise, it has been an interesting week. We hit up the Central Market again to stock up our kitchen, and found a vendor that sells freshly ground spices for only $1. We also discovered some crazy produce I have only read about in books, including mangosteins, which looks like black tomatoes with lumpy green stems, and dragon fruit, which is so colorful it is hard to believe it came from nature. I had a decent pizza for lunch, more pizza bread than plain old pizza, topped with spinach and cheese and tomatoes that I bought from a bakery in Central Market.
It was so good; I couldn?t wait to eat it before getting home to photograph it. Also tried the greatest smoked sausage ever, Garlic and Red Wine Mettwurst. It was a little slice of smoked heaven dotted slightly with black pepper. So. Damn. Tasty. Period. I did hit the wall the other day though, culinarily speaking. I was craving some nice tuna sushi, and I thought hey, what better place to get sushi than Australia, a country surrounded by ocean? Surely they will have decent sushi! Um?.no. Apparently, they do not believe in serving tuna raw or rare. Now, I will admit, the first time I was served raw tuna sushi, it scared me. But I soon realized that truly good tuna could be a thing of beauty, fresh tasting and not a hint of fishiness in it. Plus, cooked tuna reminds me of canned tuna, which stinks and makes me puke in my mouth a little. And that is what they put in sushi here. At least the three sushi joints I have tried here, including the one in Chinatown. It?s cooked. It doesn?t matter if it is fresh tuna, it is cooked. And that creates a similar reaction in my mouth that canned tuna does. So we broke down and bought a Big Mac to replace the repulsive sushi, and just like American Maccas (Aussie slang for McDonalds), it made me sick. When will I ever learn? It is really interesting to note the differences and similarities between fast food in the States and other countries. There has been a big uproar about the safety of fast food here (as well as America), so McDonald?s has started a big campaign to push healthy food. For kid meals, they are now serving animal-shaped ravioli with tomato sauce.
They also have deli sandwiches and healthier chicken nuggets. On the flip side, Subway restaurants have started serving foot long egg and bacon sandwiches!
I thought we were doomed when Burger King (called Hungry Jack here) started serving their massive breakfast sub with tons of sausage, egg and cheese, but this foot long takes the cake. Inch for inch, it looks like a heart attack waiting to happen. But in case you were wondering, their meatball sub is every bit as good as the one in the states. I ate one purely for research purposes, of course. ~LTG
