Archive for September, 2007

mmmmm food

Published at September 25, 2007 in food. 1 Comment

Tonight we decided to dine out somewhere different, so we headed down to Acland St to check it out. A good friend of mine who I have known since my high school days is head chef at a restaurant called La Roche over there. To be honest, I wasnt sure what to expect. The truth of the matter is that I have been putting off going there for a long time, as I didnt want to have to tell a good mate that his food wasnt good. But tonight I decided what the hell. Its about time we go.

So, after a quick phone call to see if my mate was working tonight and to get a reminder of which actual restaurant it was, off we went, the menu is a mix of burgers, pasta, pies and pizza, with a few salads and other bits and bobs. Rachy and I shared a garlic pizza for starters, and it was quite nice. Then I had the shepherds pie and Rachy had the chicken burger. The mains arrived just moments after the entree was finished, and were absolutely excellent. Price wise, the food was also good value, mains being between $10 and $19 with most dishes around the $13 mark. In total, 2 soft drinks, a beer (complimentary with Rachy’s burger on tuesdays) a small garlic pizza and 2 mains cost $35.  The place was pumping, lots of people in there, always a good sign, and the atmosphere very friendly.

I am very glad that I can heartily and honestly recommend La Roche. My one regret is that my mate was way to busy managing the kitchen to be able to come out and chat.

1st statement and already wrong

Published at September 21, 2007 in The House. 2 Comments

Well first stage of getting the house built is done. That is, I settled the land last week, so now the builders can order materials in order to get the building started. All went well with settling the land. My conveyancer did excellent work, dotted i’s crossed t’s and it went off without a hitch. She provided me with very specific figures as to what was being payed where, and combined with the fees the bank is charging me, as per their forms, I was very very sure that I knew exactly how much was going to be on my statement.

Imaging my surprise when I received my statement in the mail yesterday when it was $3500 over what I was expecting. So out came the paperwork, went through all the numbers again. All the fees matched on the statement. The only item on it that was out, and by the $3500, was the drawdown for the property settlement. So I decided to ring the bank, and query it, as the statement had a helpline number on it, it was only 7pm and apparently the lines hours were till 9pm.

Ring the helpline only to be told that because its a progress payment loan, they cant help me and I have to call another number, provided, today. So 9am today, I call, get a recorded message to leave my details and someone will call me back. Three hours later, no call back, so I ring them again, talk to a human, who advises me that he cannot help me, but will transfer me to a different dept who hopefully can. Gives me another phone number, in case I get disconnected, and transfers me. 5 minutes on hold, another human, tells me again that she cannot help me, but will transfer me to a different dept (new phone number again just in case…) who probably can. 5 more minutes on hold. Then I get put through, this person can help me, but sounds highly dubious that the bank may have made a mistake, I must have made a mistake with my figures, and its only an issue of fees. I assure her that I have checked, and the fees match up and only the settlement amount differs. Yes, I am sure of the amount, i checked with my solicitor, no settlement didnt run late, and even if it did, its not a refinance, so it wouldnt matter. Ok I will hold… 20 minutes pass. Oh you found out that I was right and you have charged me an extra $3500 but you cant work out why, and the person you need to speak to about it isnt around so you cant sort it out yet. Ah you will call me back, thank you. No call back today, but i have all the names and numbers, and an indignant sense of righteousness.

Lesson here kids, always check the numbers, dont be afraid to call, and if you are right, stick your ground. Part of me wonders whether this is just a test to set the tone for the mortgage. If i didnt say anything, all throughout, small extra charges, and the bank profits well. Arc up now, and hopefully they will treat my business with a little respect.

Swedish Band

Published at September 6, 2007 in food, State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

And I dont mean ABBA!

So, after a fair amount of investigation, some visits to regular doctors, discussion with friends and family and a information session held by the bariatric team at the hospital, I think that I am going to have the swedish lap band surgery. Its a big decision, one that will change my life significantly. Hopefully for the better, possibly for the worse.

What is for certain is that if I get it I will lose weight. If I dont lose a significant amount of weight soon, I am likely to encounter a great many health issues. That is on top of the general issues I already have which I do not particularly want to go into. Such things like type 2 diabetes, cardiac issues etc are just looming on the horizon for me if I do nothing. The threat of these things scares the bejesus out of me.

So while elective surgery is something that I believe should never be undertaken lightly, I have booked an appointment with the surgeon for 2 weeks time. He will then send me to be evaluated by a psychiatrist and a dietician. After  that, it will be back to the surgeon who if all goes well, will then book me in for surgery. The whole process apparently will take around 6 weeks from first visit through to surgery.

I do need to check how much my insurance will cover for the surgery, as well as work out how i can afford to pay for the gap in between. Several options there, which I may go into in another post.

After it is all done, I will be physically unable to binge eat anymore. Seeing as I dont drink alcohol, and do not have a huge sweet tooth, this will effectively mean that I will lose weight rather fast. Of concern to me is that I binge eat for a reason, good or bad, I am unsure, I think it is to curb depression or maybe to deal with day to day drudgery much like an alcoholic turns to drink. What I will do upon losing my ability to do this worries me, but I cannot see it being as bad as doing what I am doing. I am slowly eating myself to death right now.

 Some have argued that it is purely an issue of discipline, and that I should be able to manage to sort it out by myself. Maybe they are right. In my own defence though, I have in my life managed to beat addiction to cigarettes, regular binge drinking and a few other items that I wont mention here. I have also managed to lose up to 50 kilo before putting it all back on again with a bit more on top over a 2 year period. I stand before you, someone who does not drink, smoke or do drugs, but I eat. I have found that I lack the ability to defeat this demon by myself, so before you judge me for “taking the easy way out” ask yourself if you would judge someone with a broken ankle for using a crutch.

It Felt like a nice anniversary

Published at September 1, 2007 in food. 0 Comments

So tonight was the 1 year anniversary of myself and the ever beautiful Rachel dating so in order to celebrate, a nice restaurant was chosen and off to dinner we went. The restaurant, Felt at the Lindrum Hotel,  is one I have been to on one occasion before, and had excellent memories of. Certainly not a cheap place to eat but tonights occasion was not one to be celebrated cheaply.

Felt is a cosy little restaurant. The maximum number of diners it caters for is 35. The view from the window shows batman avenue and the large ferris wheel along the yarra, which at night makes a for a beautiful cityscape. The service is impeccable and the ambiance conducive to a great night out. The lighting is not too bright, the music playing softly is modern, the sort of stuff likely to be heard on JJJ radio, though I would guess it has been hand picked to ensure nothing too offensive plays. The decor is simple and stylish, leaving me wondering what the actual hotel is like to stay at.

On to the food, which I guess is the important stuff. We decided that since we were really out for a grand time, that 3 courses were called for. The menu is not huge, but has enough choices to meet everyones tastes. Of course Rachel being the small eater that she is, ensured I got a taste of everything she ordered. That being the case, she still managed to eat a fair bit, which is a testament to how good everything there is.

For entree, I had the salmon and Rachel had  the duck. The salmon was very very nice, but I must say that the duck (a confit onion and duck pudding) was my pic of the dish of the night. Presentation of every dish at Felt was very impressive, and the serving sizes while not large, certainly werent tiny either.

For mains, I had the lamb cutlets and Rachel had the chicken. Both, again immaculately presented and the flavour and texture of both was extraordinary. We also got some side dishes to share, which were creamy mashed potatoes and green beans. These were served in seperate dishes so that it was very easy to share them. You know that mashed potatoes are good when Rachel, who normally spurns mashed potatoes, was eating her share of them.

Of course we had to save room for dessert, which i had the Vanilla bean brulee and Rachel had the dark chocolate fondant. To Rachels taste, the fondant was a little too rich, but to mine, it was chocolate perfection. Of course, I think I won out on this one though, as the brulee was magnifique.

The total bill for the evenings meal was approximately $160 which as I mentioned earlier, is not on the cheap side, but for the service and quality of food, a price well earned. I wouldn’t eat there every day, or even every month, but I wish I could.