Best Burger Ever

Well, maybe not, but this is my most recent exclamation of, "This is the best '____' ever!". And it was only last night...
Reed and I purchased burger patties very similar to those shown on the right from Woolworth's - in the shape of Australia for Australia Day! Who could resist?? And plus, they were made of 100% Australian beef.
After being cooked (not grilled, sadly, as we don't own a grill...) with a little Lee & Perrins and salt and pepper, they were served on a Tasmanian Bakery toasted herbed Focaccia bun, with seed mustard, melted Ashgrove Mature Cheddar, grilled onions and mushrooms, and leafy greens.
Now that's a tasty burger.

Best Malaysian Food Ever (and quite possible the best meal I've ever eaten!)

Whoa, that's a pretty bold statement. But this was a seriously amazing meal. It was almost a year ago, at the Banana Leaf Malaysian restaurant in Vancouver, that I ate Scallops in Gulai sauce with Mango, and declared it then the greatest meal I have ever eaten. Since then, on many occasions, I have proclaimed it's greatness, and have sought out other Gulai sauces, but to no avail. Gulai sauce is described as "... [a] spicy turmeric coconut sauce made of tamarind, galangal, lemongrass & ginger". I describe it as the greatest thing ever. It was similar to a Thai coconut curry sauce, but with more complex flavor - I think the tamarind really added something. And the mango! Oh, the mango....If any of you are ever anywhere near Vancouver, Canada - go to the Banana Leaf! You will not be disappointed. Some day, I will return again...

First Cadbury Creme Egg of 2009: January 12th

This has to be a new record. On January 12th, 2009, I found Cadbury Creme Eggs at Woolworth's in Hobart, Tasmania. I mean, who knows how long they had been on the shelves?? Maybe a few days? So their actually appearance was in early January - incredible.
I have to admit something now, which will probably say a lot about the sophistication of my palate: I LOVE Cadbury Creme Eggs. They are incredible. I don't care how crazy-early they were on the shelves; I immediately bought four and ate two that night. Heaven. I am not a big supporter of the chocolate-filled or caramel-filled varieties, you're just messing with perfection as far as I'm concerned.
So to the Cadbury Creme Egg - you're a legend.

New Blog for 2009

Yes, this used to be my "Adventures in Tasmania" blog. But, seeing as I hadn't actually posted anything here since, say, July, I decided that the New Year required a new vision. Spurred by my partner Reed (who said, in no uncertain terms: 'Your blog should be about food. Almost every day you say "This is the best "____" I ever ate!"'), I have changed the focus of my blog to food.
Now, for a little background, I am a geologist. I am not even a very skilled cook. But, I really like to eat. Particularly chocolate. And Reed is correct; seldom does a week go by where I don't exclaim "This is the best (fill in food item here) I ever ate!". So, I will attempt to record the great food moments of my life here. My first few posts will be past food-events, to bring things up to speed. Don't expect the words such as "palate" or "essence of" or "mouth-feel" here. Expect more like "best-damn-chocolate ever"! Bon apetit!

Winter in Taz

So yes, it is winter here in Tasmania! It's just so bizarre to think that it may snow on the 4th of July! The short days are definitely requiring some adjusting - it gets pretty dark here by 4:30, so subsequently I'm hungry at 5pm and ready for bed by 7pm. So far I've been fighting that, but it's tough when it's cold and dark!
I'm a bit confused by winter here, aside from it being super dark and some of the leaves falling, many of the plants act like it's summer. Many of the trees are flowering here (like this crazy beautiful tree below; I have NO idea what it is!), the roses are in bloom, and on my way in to school today I saw a lemon tree whose branches were weighted down with ripe lemons. The parrots outside our building aren't fantastic indicators of winter either. If this is winter, what will summer be like? I have high hopes that it will be positively tropical, but I don't think that will be the case....

Hobart!

So this is Hobart! Well, part of it anyway. In the background is Mount Wellington, which is the impressive backdrop to the west of the city. I took this picture from the waterfront, it's really a bay, but the river flowing into it is called the Derwentwater River.
Hobart is gorgeous, a lot bigger than I expected, but very nice. The City is broken up into lots of little suburbs, which extend for over 15 km N-S along the river, it's impressive! The downtown area is really nice, it looks like there are some great little shops, markets, and wharfs with excellent seafood. I have lots of pictures to post, so more to come!

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I'm going to a land down under...

t minus 45 minutes and counting! Perhaps I shouldn't be spending this time online...
Anyway, I leave for the airport shortly, and after several very long flights, I will arrive in Hobart, Tasmania (hopefully!). Graduation was this past weekend, and it was fantastic - a terrific party at the house de Tina, lots of family members, lots of beer, lots of fun. I can only hope that Hobart will have people and times half as fantastic as those here in Eugene!