food for thought

Lunch @ the golden tower cafe along Swanston.

Like any other weekend, we headed to the city. This time i suggested we try something new which wasnt mekong or beef tongue. So we tried some local cafe cum deli type foods which had a touch of italian taste. For some reason my mentality changed to trying out the recommended specials on the boards. We ordered the hamburger with the lot + pepsi + chips for 9.50 ausd. It was quite ok for a meal in the city to cost below the 10 bucks margin especially with a drink. Being fcuking hungry we waited and waited and it seemed the wait was endless. Every one who didnt order the special already had their meals served and was digging in. Not so long after that, the burger came. The burger was huge and outlandish. Meat all over the place with eggs and bacon and cheese which melted on the patty. Some tomatoes and lettuce. AWESOME. Jc, joleen, tots and i was smilling from ear to ear.

Now, how would you eat an outlandish overflowing burger? Here are the options i figured were possible by watching my team mates eat and through self experience.

1. Grab the burger with both your bare hands and attempt to hold it together
Pros: You get to experience the way a burger was meant to be with the fusion of all the juices and flavors as you chew through the layers. To see how well the meal was arranged to present the taste to the customer.
Cons: Messy hands, if you dont hold it with the right technique, everything will just fall apart lke and apartment in an earthquake.

-What i reckon is the right technique:
1. Make sure your burger is positioned properly with all the stuffs centered. If it isnt, arrange it.
2. Hold the burger with both hands.
3. Place your thumbs and your pinky firmly at the base of the burger; this is essential so that all the stuffings wont fallout. Be careful not to put too much pressure on it or your burger would just twist and shear then you would have halves or quarters.
4. Use both your pointers to keep your burger clammed but not with too much pressure as explained. Hold the rest of the bugger like how a pillow snugly allows your head to rest.
5. When you bite, try to bite an equal amount from the top and the lower level of the bread.
6. As your burger gets smaller, reposition your hands to a firm and stable grip keeping in mind points 2,3 and 4.
7. When you reach the last bite of the burger, you should have an even upper and lower layer of bread with the stuff still inside.

2. Cut the burger into smaller pieces while keeping the layers together
Pros: Well you get to taste it like explained previously but it isnt that messy. This is the best you can do if youre with company you are not comfortable with or in a classy place.
Cons: Depends on the cutlery provided, sharp knives would give the best result on how even the bottom and lower layer is cut.

3. Remove the burger layer by layer and consume it as you reach the layer.
Pros: Get to taste each layer to how it is prepared. To judge how much effort is done to make each seperate layer tastes. For this burger, you could chew and feel the texture of the crispy bacon. How well the bread of the hamburger was toasted and melted with butter. How the cheese complemented the patty of the burger. And when you reach the salad part, it would be like...having a salad. heck.
Cons: Unable to tastes how everything goes together. Finish the best layers too soon depending on the arrangement. for example, after eating the bacon an patty, it was just the sucky salad and the lower layer of the bread.

Soooo.. what i did was, option 1 and 2. I hate half the burger with my bare hands. after getting sick of how everything tasted as a whole, i took it apart layer by layer and had my way with it.

Does anyone have more creative options on how to prolong/perfecting a burger eating experience? Im all ears.

Dinner @ the A1 Cafe
What i had was an egg chiffon with spam, sausages and ham and OIL. mainly it was oil. Tasted awful, aik and i felt like puking after that. spam tasted like how it meant in junk mails. terrible and annoying. never going to touch it again. luncheon meat tastes far better.

and i had the "taro milkshake". not knowing what i was, i hailed a waitress to ask but she refered me to another. Thats ok. So not for long she came over, i pointed to the line in the menu and the conversation went like this.

me: Excuse me, what is a Taro milkshake?What is a taro?
waitress: Taro... is a taro
me: oooohh
waitress: you dont know what taro is?
me: err..nooooo (at this point i didnt know how to ask her to explain)
waitress: (pauses for a while) its something that grows underground
Jc: is it something like a potato
waitress: yeah it is. but it doesnt taste like a potato
me: hmm..oook ill have it (being adventurous)

when the drink arrived. it was purplish in colour and milky. It was a yam milkshake. So taro = yam.

Things i learned today and it tasted good. Except for the ham,spam and sausages.