Tiger of a Tuesday

Published at October 14, 2009 in Coffee, food, State of the raph and Thailand. 0 Comments

I starter writing this last night, but started nodding off from sheer exhaustion.

first nights sleep was interrupted by a  mild case of reflux. This minor reflux was somewht affected by the green curry i had had earlier, to basically mean RED HOT reflux. Had a peppermint and some water and was ok.

The next morning, up at 5.45 (hey its sounding like a work day) shower and get dressed and rachy and I head down for the hotels buffet breakfast. Turns out the breakfast was incredibly good. Rather glad of that, as the long days tour was ahead and a big boy like me, needs to keep fueled.

So at 6.45am we board the tour bus for our River Kwai, Death Railway Museum and Tiger Temple tour.   First stop was a museum dedicated to those that had build the railway from Thailand to Burma, including the rail bridge over the river Kwae, I had been aware of the fact the Japanese had used POW’s and labourers to build the railway, but the sheer enormity of the task had never been clear to me. Thousands died during the construction. The mind boggles at the Japanese idea – hey we are fighting a war on multiple fronts, but we need a way to get to burma that isnt by sea… LETS BUILD A RAILWAY. The fact that they got the 300km railway built and were using it while at war, is incredible. The cost in human life cannot have been worth it.

On the way through, we stopped at a thai service station, my need for caffeine overtook my good coffee sense and I purchased nescafe in a can. To my slight chagrin, I liked it. Much better than a big m ice coffee, not as nice as  a decent latte, and way too sweet, but eminently drinkable.

We then went to the bridge over the river Kwae. Full of tourists, as expected, and the locals there very insistent on selling you their touristy books. We were approached at least 10 times by the same woman. It leads me to suspect that the tactic is to keep coming back until you buy the books just to stop them coming. I did however purchase a straw hat (pictures will be put up on facebook later). We then boarded a train to travel that line. It is mildly disconcerting to be given a certificate to say you have been traveling on the Death Railway. The train lurched and rattled quite a bit, and we were glad we had spent a little extra for the “VIP” seating. These had cushions on them to shield us from the bumps. We also made acquaintance with another melbourne couple who were on the tour with us, so had nice conversation for the 1.5hr journey. Some of the views were spectacular, but it was a little like being on Thai Puffing Billy. After the train ride, we adjourned to a nearby restaurant for a nice Thai buffet lunch. After this, another 30 minutes on the bus and we arrived at the tiger temple. We were told that for an extra 1000Baht donation, we could have special photo with a tigers head on one of our laps. Initially I was not going to do this, but upon finding out that all donations go towards building a better habitat for the Tigers, I changed my mind. I will admit that the idea of getting so close to these huge beasts is one I really like. So we got taken through to the first tiger, as I sat down for the photo op, the tiger appeared to get a little aggressive and we were hurriedly moved to another tiger. These animals are absolutely magnificent, and I can now also report, they are much heavier than they look. For the 1000Baht donation we got the “special photo” with a Tiger head in my lap, and also a walk around patting each tiger individually and a photo op. The tigers are kept with very large metal collars, and I question whether it is cruel to hobble them so, however, all the tigers in the temple are bought in by the people for the monks to care for, and would likely suffer a much crueler fate if they had not been so, and the monks take duty of care seriously and the tigers are well exercised, so I do take some small comfort in this.

I also had the obligatory photo op of standing friendly with a genuine monk. One that Rachel politely declined, because as a girl, she would have to stand about a foot away, as monks are not allowed to touch females.

After that, the tour ended and the bus took us back to Bangkok. From a pre-7am start, we made it back to the hotel at around 7pm. After freshening up at the hotel, we headed back out to MBK for some more shopping and dinner. We ended up having dinner at an incredibly good  Japanese restaurant on the 7th floor. I cannot remember the name, but the food was very very good, the service was excellent.

Also, I had my first beer in over a decade. It was a Singha beer, yes there is photographic evidence, and yes, i liked it.

This morning we once again enjoyed a buffet breakfast, and are now ensconced in our room, planning for the days activities.

Tonight we will write some postcards, and I will once again fill in the boring details of the day.

Wow! Stuff! (things have been happening.)

Published at October 12, 2009 in Coffee, food, State of the raph and Thailand. 0 Comments

So, ok, I suck at updating here with any regularity. The main problem with having a vanity site, is, well, I am just not that vain. I get passionate about something, rant, rave, move on. The passion may stay, but the urge to shout it to the world tends to die down a bit.

That said, I don’t really have any new passions to rant and rave about, however I have a lot of things going on, so I guess I should share with the world.

I guess, the first big item on the agenda is that I have left my old place of employ. After four years at Adairs, it is time to move on. An opportunity arose, with an up and coming fashion retailer, that is more in sync with the direction I want to be moving. So leaving the comfort of the old, to the new future that awaits. I cannot really talk much about it, as I have not started yet, and as those that know me already are aware, I am not much given to reflections of my work life. I am a big proponent of the idea that discussion of work, should remain at work. That still holds, even when you take work home with you.

So, yes, I have already left Adairs, so why have I not started my new position yet?

Well, I am glad you asked.

This morning, 6am Thai time, the lovely Rachel and myself landed at Bangkok Airport to start 10 glorious days of Thai goodness. This is both of our first time in Thailand, and we are really taking to it.

Highlights of day 1 include (in no particular order)

  •  Seeing a Ronald MacDonald statue giving the wai
  •  The 2009 Miss Poland conference appears to be being held at our hotel, she is rather pretty, and VERY tall (we saw her get out of the lift as we were entering)
  • Wandering laps on all seven floors of MBK – this took over five hours.
  • Catching a cab to a different area just to try out a restaurant.
  • Finding out via empirical evidence that decent coffee in Thailand is hard to come by.
  • Watching tuktuk drivers get mad at the fact we don’t want them.
  • Fending out little thai ladies can really push me about.
  • Haggling to save what you then realise works out to be $1 on a $50 transaction, watch other people haggle longer, louder and harder, to save less on a significantly larger transaction

Tomorrow we are off to the tigher temple and river kwai tour. Early morning, and I am tired now, so will get back to this tomorrow

night.

More updaes then

Everyones a food critic

Published at July 2, 2009 in food, Life and Television. 0 Comments

I have always loved food. Its kind of obvious when you see me, the belly is large because the food goes in. Unlike a lot of larger people, my girth isnt caused by junk food, or alcohol, just volumes of food. I have never really been a fan of junk food, aside from the rare binge on KFC or maccas in my younger days, most of the food I eat, I have either cooked for myself, or comes from relatively decent restaurants. Consequently, my palate can be quite demanding. So, it follows, I have always had my inner food critic, which monitors what I am eating, in order to decide whether a destination is worth coming back to.

Over the past few years though, there has been a massive run of foodie tv shows. Awesome shows such as  Top Chef  andHell’s Kitchen and (admittedly one i havent watched) Australia’s Master Chef where we see chefs competing and being judged  for their efforts by a panel of food critics and distinguished chefs. Also in food tv, there has been an increase in general food shows that discuss the joy of either food preparation ie: Heston Blumenthal’s In Search of Perfection or Gordon Ramsays Cookalong or just purely the joy of good food (one of my current faves) Man V Food (I may do an entry purely on this show later if anyone is interested.)

The result of all these great shows is for me twofold.

One, it gives me great ideas to try in my own kitchen. I have always loved cooking, now that I have my big shiny house with its excellent sized kitchen it is even more of a joy. I also especially love being able to present food that looks and tastes fantastic. Getting new ideas for food combinations and also new techniques that I can manage at home is something I  always appreciate, and these shows deliver that in buckets.

The other result, is something I only really came to understand last night, when out with friends, getting particularly bad service and for the most part average or below food. I have always had that “inner critic” which has let me say this is good, or this is bad, but now, I can go beyond that. I can not only express my distaste, I can be more specific. I can state that this meat is overdone, or that there is too much seasoning. With the added experimentation I have been trying from various shows, I can even identify some of the herbs and spices that may be too intense or lacking. My culinary understanding has been increased and along with it, my vocabulary. No longer is it just – I do not like this, or – This is fantastic! – Nowadays when I judge a meal, I can not only give my general feeling, but also the reasoning behind it.

So who says television is not educational.

Tassie Tassie Tassie

Published at December 7, 2008 in Coffee, Life and vacation!. 0 Comments

Well that was a nice weekend away.

A while back, Tiger airlines was offering a discount on their normal (already cheap) flights around Australia, and Rachel and I decided to do a weekend away in Tasmania as neither of us had been there before. So, flights were booked. Total price for the flights between the two of us, return, was $91. So a lot closer to the trip, a random motel was chosen, near Port Arthur, which we wanted to see, for a single night, car rental booked. (ok so when you factor in motel and car rental, a cheap trip is not so cheap anymore, but hey who thinks these things through properly?) and off we went.

I must start at the outset and say Tasmania is breathtakingly beautiful. We drove the 80km from the airport to Port Arthur and were stunned at the landscape. Also, we drove from the airport to Port Arthur and did not see anything that remotely resembled city or even suburban life as we are used to.

We got to Port Arthur with no problems, checked into our motel in Nubeena (10k out of Port Arthur), drove towards the historic site there, stopping at the Eucalypt Cafe for a meal and coffee.

An interlude here dear reader, as you may know, I am a little bit of a coffee snob and am not big on drinking coffee outside of my home, but this little cafe, in the middle of nowhere, had a menu that told me they certainly know their coffee. In fact I am not sure if I have ever seen a cafe with ristrettos and dopios on their menu ever before. So, if you are a coffee snob, and want a decent coffee in tassie, try the Eucalypt cafe in Port Arthur

Back to our main tale, we got to the Port Arthur historic site, and it started to heavily rain. We wandered into the information center, only to see that the pricing was a little steep to be wandering around a few ruins, especially in the rain. I mean yes, we could see it from the lookout and it did look pretty, but $28 each, to wander around some ruined houses, not an overly great proposition to us, especially in the rain.

Rachel particularly wanted to see the memorial site from when Martin Bryant shot a large number of people, becoming Australias biggest ever murderer. (some people refer to him as our biggest serial killer, but serial killers kill over multiple time periods, he just went on one big rampage. Does that make him a parallel killer?). So she asked at the information booth there, only to be told in hushed tones that they dont really talk about it, and handed a pamphlet with less info than might be garnered on the back of a cereal box. She also received unclear directions to the memorial, which we were then unable to find.

So in the rain, we drove to a lookout point not far from the historic site, where we once again took in the magnificent view, and then back to the motel for a quick nap.

It was still raining when we finished napping, so the decision was made to head into Hobart to check out the restaurants. 90Km later after a drive through rain soaked beautiful countryside, we made it to the CBD. It really had that country feel to it, and at 6.45pm on a saturday, was deader than a doornail that had twice been shot dead. We could not even find a place for a decent meal. So, several phonecalls later, to friends and family, we established that North Hobart may be better, and managed to find our way there.

Elizabeth St, in North Hobart seemed a little like a toned down version of Fitzroys Brunswick st. A massive variety of restaurants, lots of people walking up and down. We chose a lovely indian place whose name currently escapes me and had a very nice meal. In fact, I would rank their naan breads up there with the best i have ever had.

After dinner, we had the lovely drive back to our motel, 90kms away. In the dark, with no street lighting to speak of, along windy country roads, some unsealed, in a rent-a-car that i was not too familiar with. We were also tailgated for about 70km of that drive. FUN!.

 Oh i forgot to mention, anything further out than 30ks from Hobart, and we had no mobile phone reception, no voda wifi internet reception. For a couple who are as connected as us, this was mildly freaky.

Motel was comfortable enough for us, and sleep was had.

Next morning, back to Eucalypt for coffee and breakfast, and then back to the airport for our home flight.

A couple of notes on the flights and tasmania airport.

1. A food court is not 2 cafes serving exactly the same fare as eachother at exactly the same price. Please take note of this Hobart Airport

2. Tiger Airways has more room in their seats than Jetstar

3. Tiger Airways planes shudder a lot more than any other airoplane i have been on.

4. They also land in a more scary fashion.

5. Dont offer us the roomier seats only to take them away when we sit down. If you deem us unsuitable, thats fine, but nothing changed from when you offered them to us until we sat down.

All in all, the trip was much fun, and a much needed getaway. Will definitely go back and hopefully spend much longer there, soaking in the scenery and relaxed atomsphere.

Going to the dogs

Published at December 2, 2008 in dogs, Life and pets. 0 Comments

Last night, Rachel and I went and had a look at a couple of dogs that need rehoming. A japanese spitz, and a norwegian elkhound. Rachel has had her heart set on a japanese spitz for quite some time and I tend to prefer the idea of rehoming a dog that needs it, rather than getting a puppy.

These dogs were quite spectacular. Though we were really only interested in one dog, we agreed to take both and will pick them up on Sunday. I personally am very enamoured with the elkhound. Such a beautiful looking dog, but I am unsure of our ability to cope with two dogs. As such, we are offering the elkhound to Rachels uncle and aunt, and also my dad. Of course, if neither of them take it, we will provide it a loving home. Part of me is hoping that it just stays with us, the other part, that bit that is practical and pragmatic, is less hopeful.

The japanese spitz is also an absolute darling, and it connected with Rachel from the moment we got there to look. This dog knew it was going to get a new mummy, and seemed to bond instantly. I suspect that the house of Rachel and Raph will blossom with this new addition.

We would have loved to take them home last night, but we are off to Tassie for a couple of days on the weekend, so will pick the dogs up on the way home. Not sure how beej will react to them, but hopefully he will learn reasonably quickly.

More on the nation of procrastri

Published at December 2, 2008 in Education, Life and State of the raph. 0 Comments

So, its getting close to the end of this masters. In theory, complete this last assignment, then do two industry based exams, and I have completed my course requirements. Of cours, during the course of the masters, I think I have attained a PhD in procrastination, and a Grad certificate in self frustration.

I should have had this assignment already. Its due in two days, and I have my day job to keep me busy in that time. Of course, being me, instead of finishing the assignment, I played a bit of spore over the weekend, and did some cooking, and sleeping.

Ok, i did do about 9 hours of reading, planning and preparing, but that leaves another 8-10 hours that need to be done in actually completing the bloody thing. Also, as this is the final assignment for this subject, it is an exam equivalent, and therefore is a MUST PASS assignment for the subject.

Still, I am learning, and despite my self sabotage habits, I am also progressing. I cannot ask for an extension on this one either, because on Saturday, myself and Rachel are off to Tasmania for a weekend away.

So hopefully, I can get it done over the next few evenings, well not hopefully, I WILL get it done… May involve some bleary eyes at work.

The next thing to consider is whether or not to put myself through more educational anguish, and pursue an MBA. I will get significant credit for coursework already completed in the Masters, but I need to consider my general sanity.

 Of course, having got a new desk to work on may help. I think I need to place a “study computer” on it, just so i can have a dedicated study desk. Could be interesting.

Ah well, will update when the assignment is in. I may even write up a brief commentary on the Rondell Data Corporation, as by the end of it, I may have some good ideas to impart. For such a well used example of organisational strategy and change, the Rondell Data Corp seems to be conspicuously absent from the web.

Everybody needs good neighbours.

Published at December 1, 2008 in Cranbourne and The House. 2 Comments

Our neighbours fixed their front yard!!!!

 It was one of the niggling annoyances at the house of Raph and Rachel, that our neighbours who have been living in their house since about six months before we moved in, had never done anything at all with their yard. Im talking five foot high weeds, an unusable garage due to lack of driveway up to lip of the garage, and no leveling out of the soil.

 Their front yard really was an eyesore, to the point where complaints may have been lodged with the council.

Well last week, they finally got the weeds all removed, a driveway installed, and the ground levelled. They even seemed to have a house warming party on Saturday night. Course I didnt really appreciate the very bad music coming at massive volume at 1am, and even less, the car parked RIGHT ACROSS MY DRIVEWAY, but at least their yard is looking ok.

I suspect the old residents moved, and there are new residents. i could be wrong, but theres no longer 10 sets of shoes outside the front door. Maybe we should introduce ourselves, but i dont know yet. The neighbour on the other side is a delightful fellow, but this houses owner has been recalcitrant in every aspect of neighbourliness. I wont forget how weaselly he was in attempting to not contribute fencing costs.

More on the house soon.

Its a tv show, give it a break

Published at November 23, 2008 in Television. 0 Comments

So, I am going to briefly touch on a couple of TV shows, which  have upset a few people because they dare to not follow the original tales.

Firstly there is Merlin, a new BBC light drama. It certainly does not take itself very seriously. But its biggest sin, in the eyes of those who accept Arthurian canon as gospel, is that it rearranges aspects of the ancient story, where Merlin starts as Arthurs servant and they grow to be friends, as opposed to Merlin being the ageold wise wizard who takes Arthur under his wing. Guinevere looks like an islander and is the handmaiden to Morgana. Morgana seems to be Uthers ward. Uther is played by Anthony Head who is absolutely perfect for the  role.

Overall, there is not a lot of substance to this show, but it is unpretentious, light hearted and to me at least is thoroughly enjoyable.

The second show that I am going to talk about, is Legend of the Seeker.  I am still uncertain of this show. It certainly shows a lot of promise, but only a couple of episodes in, and it could go either way. You can tell that it is filmed in New Zealand, with there being a large number of Maoris  as extras. This show is an attempt to bring Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series to the silver screen. Again, those who expect it to follow exactly the book to the letter are going to be disappointed. From the first episode, you can tell they take that and throw it away. That aside though, it does still seem to be entertaining fantasy television and there is scant enough of that about for me to be able to appreciate it. In my opinion it is being done fairly well, and it will remain to be seen if the script writers can do a decent job, and also whether the public is ready for it.

If you havent read the Terry Goodkind series, definitely give it a go, and if you have, give it a go as well, but remember that its not going to follow exactly the way you want.

More Coffee

Published at November 23, 2008 in Coffee. 0 Comments

Ok, before i start posting further on the ways of the world, and whats been going on in general, here in the land of raph, my coffee obsession has slowly been settling down. I have gotten significantly better at roasting my own beans, to the point where i can even successfully roast a indian monsoon malabar type bean. My coretto roaster is setup quite nicely, after i bought a tripod on which to balance my heat gun. Its an almost entirely hands free operation now. Three batches yields approximately 1Kg of roasted coffee. I have also started roasting for my brother, so I have a second voice to tell me if I am doing it write or doing it wrong.

I have also started using one way valve bags for my roasted coffee. This prevents oxygen coming in but lets the CO2 out. Initially I was not convinced it would make much of a difference but it really has. Especially with beans left for more than three or four days to rest after roasting, the flavour is noticeably better.

As far as coffee gear is concerned, I did end up upgrading. In the end, through ebay i got a Compak K6 grinder and through the buy and sell pages on Coffee Snobs, I got a very well cared for Nuova Simonelli Oscar. Dont get me wrong, the Gaggia Classic was a lovely machine but I was ready for the next level, especially given the fact that I often like to make coffees for friends and the unfortunate reality with the classic is that it just does not have enough oomf to steam milk for more than two coffees at a stretch.

oscar and compak together!

Having been using the Oscar for about three months now, I have become fairly proficient in using it. The large one litre boiler and the fact that it is a heat exchange coffee machine means that I never run out of steam power and can make many coffees, always enough for guests, without any annoying pauses. People seem to have two gripes about the Oscar, one that it has no hot water spout, and two, that it has no vacuum breaker, so when turning it on, it requires that you open the steam wand up to allow air out. Now, when i want boiling water, i use the kettle, so not having a hot water spout is no issue for me, and while I have considered adding a vacuum breaker to it, I have decided that it is such an insignificant issue in the use of the machine that it is not worth it.

Probably my only gripe with the Oscar is that it seems to have been designed by a southpaw who didnt have the strength of conviction to go all the way. The steam wand is on the left side, but the portafilter also swings in as per standard, left to right, so you cannot place it on the group head, nor remove it without bumping into the steam wand. This little idiosyncracy is easily forgiven though. The steam power coming out of that wand is formidable, so much so, that the first time i used it, I nearly blew all the milk out of my milk jug.

As for the Compak K-6, i got it for an excellent price off ebay, and the maxim that the best upgrade you can get for your coffee machine is a better grinder, is totally true. The K-6 grinds consistently,quietly and quickly. Whilst the EM0480 was excellent, this is better. It is really hard to quantify how much it improves things, but suffice to say if you made five espressos with the k-6 and five with the EM0480you would notice the difference.

All told, money well spent.

As for the old gear, having spent hours modding and cleaning up the gaggia, I am loathe to sell it, so it is currently sitting in my spare room. I will probably force myself to part with it some time shortly. I need the money, however in the meantime, it is out to pasture. Oh to be able to put it out to stud, so it could just enjoy its retirement years :)

The EM0480 is also there, but mainly because i suspect I will use it as a travel grinder next time I go away for any length of time. We shall see.

Till next…

Here is a pic of my setup.

COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE

Published at August 14, 2008 in Coffee. 0 Comments

Hi!

 I know its been a while but i have been busy.

The story so far 

Boy have I gotten passionate about coffee lately. With no small help from the guys down at CoffeeSnobs I have gone from making an ok coffee at home, to making a pretty damn fine one (if i say so myself, and i do, often). Sure theres room for improvement, but isnt there always. I have gone wild for everything coffee.

As per earlier post, I was saving money by drinking coffee i make myself as opposed to buying it every morning. Ive gone one step further and roast it at home as well. Initially i started out with an air popper. Fairly easy and cheap. The main problem was volume. Actually two different types of volume. When roasting coffee, you listen out for what is known as the first crack and second crack. These audible clues will tell you that your coffee is nearing the stages you want it to be in for however you like your coffee. In a air popper, i was limited to roasting approximately 100 grams at a time, and because of the noise of the popper, i could nor properly hear second crack. Solution, make a corretto roaster. A corretto, named after the coffee snobs user who came up with the idea, is essentially made up of two parts. The first being a heat gun – obviously used to apply heat, and a bread maker – the basket of which can handle high temperatures and also agitate the beans while doing so. The advantages of this are again volume and volume. The bread machine is less noisy than the popper, and also allows me to roast between 300 and 400 grams of coffee at once. Another advantage is that the roasting times take a little bit longer. This allows for richer flavour as the caramelisation process is more drawn out.

I still need to add a thermometer to the mix so i can get better consistency out of my roasting but as it is, its pretty damn fine. I have had much success with many varieties of bean. I tell you, green coffee beans do not much look like the final product, and i would not recommend trying one raw :D

So aside from roasting coffee, I have also obtained some ibriks (also known as cezve) to start experimenting making turkish coffee at home for that real zing. (no i will not also install a hookah though it is tempting).

Finally, in a bit of a risky call, i have taken the ebay plunge again and bought a commercial level grinder (should be here next week). Thought he EM0480 is pretty good, i need something a little better. As they say, the best upgrade you can do for your coffee machine, is upgrade your grinder. With a little luck, I shall see an improvement in what I am drinking.

I have also gotten significantly better at milk frothing. I am certainly no latte artist (yet) but my microfoam (its all about the microfoam) is getting pretty good.

Where too from here? is the next question, and the answer lies in the next level of machine. Its probably out of my budget range right now, but i will soon be arranging to meet up with Chris from Talk Coffee to have a look at the pointier end of coffee machines. The gaggia classic is a fantastic machine at its price point. But when making more than 2 coffees, especially if doing milk based drinks, it struggles. So I am considering a better machine, one that has heat exchange and a larger boiler so that volume of steam is never an issue. Also, the higher end machines have better thermal stability, which in theory will enable me to do an even better shot.

The conclusion 

Am I obsessed? Sure. I would agree that yes, I am. But hey, coffee is the second most traded commodity on the planet after oil. So i doubt I am alone. Being more snobbish about my coffee has changed my drinking habits. Its not only to save money that I drink most of my coffee at home, I cannot stand the taste of some of the cafes produce. They burn their coffee, have the coffee ground too early before pulling the shot, scald the milk, use old beans and any other number of things. My taste buds have become ridiculously discerning on the subject. Also, though i used to be a strictly milk with coffee all the time kind of guy, my improved espresso shots see me drinking more and more short blacks or ristrettos. Its a beautiful thing. I love my coffee, and with a little effort, my coffee seems to be loving me.

(more coffee posts to come – i am sure)