September 5, 2008

things i've noticed

Posted by dogpossum on September 5, 2008 4:37 PM in the category fewd

about eating out in Sydney:

- They are all about banana bread. I like it.

- On the whole, service in cafes is very ordinary - Melbourne does beat them out by a long yard on this. The number of times I've had to ask for water, for cutlery... and - this is the worst - there's often no table service. That last one kind of blows my brain. I'm kind of wondering if it's because Sydneysiders are generally friendlier and more laid back than Melbournians? I think it's the warmer climate challenging a rigorous approach to service.*

- They have freakin' AWESOME Thai food here.

- There are weird laws about licensing, so most places are BYO. I don't drink, but it feels a little... less cosmpolitan... less grown up than Melbourne? This reminds me of Qld. I'm not sure it's a good thing to be reminded of Bjelke-Peterson Qld.

- Pineapples, out of season, are always under $5. Civilization, at last.

- They don't have a proper, community pub culture. Most pubs are full of pokies, shitful cheap furniture and crappy beer. Also, they advertise '$5 pastas!!!' No thanks. I think I need to find a pub run by a nice middle aged gay man, where the food is good, the bar staff are friendly, and there are no pokies. Where will we meet our friends for a quick 'arf on Sunday afternoon?

- The seafood is sweet.

- There are a few too many places serving hot drinks in cups without handles. I can handle that in a French cafe, but it's just bullshit when we're talking cups of tea. This made me irrationally angry at 7am this morning as I waited for my train.

- There are far too few places selling decent gelati. This does not please me - perhaps emigrating was a mistake? Same goes for pide - people just buy 2, 3, 4 day old pide like it's ok. Maybe they just don't understand? Perhaps I am just not checking out the right suburbs?

- They have tiny steamed buns that are then pan-fried. This is apparently a Shanghai thing. I like them, which is strange, as I don't much care for steamed buns generally. I think it's because they're smaller.

Generally, I approve of fewd in Sydney. But I think they need to think more about their indoors recreation. Less with the giant flat screen tellies, more with the badass service. I don't mind if it's surly, so long as it's quick and efficient.

[*Edit: I make this startling generalisation based on a sample size of about 20.]

Posted by dogpossum on September 5, 2008 4:37 PM in the category fewd