The eatery and the drinkery

There's a thing called 'steak cut chips' I think it means thickly cut chips, as opposed to skinny fries or french fries.

I guess people don't want to call their food 'fat'. As in Fat Chips. I guess people don't want to be put off because they might think that eating them makes you fat or they are full of fat. Actually, thinly cut chips probably have more fat content as there are more of them....and are more saturated with fat as a result of less surface area.

Now air fryers are all the rage, I notice quite a number of cookbooks dedicated to this cuisine now being sold. Apparently air frying is much healthier than deep frying. So maybe if you worried about your weight but still love fried food it might be the way to go.
 
Lanolin said:
There's a thing called 'steak cut chips' I think it means thickly cut chips, as opposed to skinny fries or french fries.

I guess people don't want to call their food 'fat'. As in Fat Chips. I guess people don't want to be put off because they might think that eating them makes you fat or they are full of fat. Actually, thinly cut chips probably have more fat content as there are more of them....and are more saturated with fat as a result of less surface area.

Now air fryers are all the rage, I notice quite a number of cookbooks dedicated to this cuisine now being sold. Apparently air frying is much healthier than deep frying. So maybe if you worried about your weight but still love fried food it might be the way to go.
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Hello Lanolin;

Actually, fat is considered the best portion as written in the Old Testament, reference Genesis 4:4.

So when I think of steak cut chips these are considered the best portion of french fries. As compared to skinny or shribbly fries, steak cut chips are actually cooked better, thus, the best fat of the portion.

If we look at it this way, the fat of the portion can be healthy when cooked with the best measures.
 
Now lockdowns have eased I have been eating out a bit, went to a Vietnamese restaurant on Tuesday and had lemongrass chicken with egg noodle soup very nice. The restaurant was full and the service was pretty fast. I think the only thing could be improved would be to serve free tea instead of cold water.
But I suppose it was in a more European area or owned by Europeans, so they have to cater to them.

I just can't get used to drinking cold water with a hot meal - can anyone explain why europeans do this? Or they just don't like tea?
 
Lanolin said:
Now lockdowns have eased I have been eating out a bit, went to a Vietnamese restaurant on Tuesday and had lemongrass chicken with egg noodle soup very nice. The restaurant was full and the service was pretty fast. I think the only thing could be improved would be to serve free tea instead of cold water.
But I suppose it was in a more European area or owned by Europeans, so they have to cater to them.

I just can't get used to drinking cold water with a hot meal - can anyone explain why europeans do this? Or they just don't like tea?
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Well, as a nation of tea drinkers, we are used to tea drinking with sweet foods like cakes and biscuits. But we don’t usually drink it with meals. It is usually cold liquids we use for savoury meals. But my dad used have a pint pot of tea when he ate his evening meals.... so I think it’s each to their own.
 
hmm ok I don't get why restaurants serve cold water with hot meals, although it's optional, but on drinks menus then they will offer wine which is chilled, and soft drinks too. And put ice in everything. Even if you are drinking hot soup?!
 
I mean I like ice cream but not all the time just on a hot day and usually by itself.
I'll have a cold drink if its hot out as well but I would think there would be enough liquids in the meal itself... with gravy and sauces etc.
 
I grew up with cold water, it was only when I met my wife that I started to drink hot water. In the US it is common to serve cold water with a meal, beer and wine to be chilled. I definitely prefer my beer and wine chilled, but I have learned to drink them at room temperature.
 
Lanolin said:
I mean I like ice cream but not all the time just on a hot day and usually by itself.
I'll have a cold drink if its hot out as well but I would think there would be enough liquids in the meal itself... with gravy and sauces etc.
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you know. I agree. there is much liquid in a meal. I can't drink whilst eating an evening meal. the only time I am thirsty is if I put in too much salt. I cook with soy sauce and if I don't get the blend right, im too thirsty afterwards.

I think its actually rubbish about drinking lots of water anyway, I believe we should only really drink when thirsty.
 
On a serious note for drinkeries who have to watch their sugar intake, I had to stop drinking what is called vitamin water. The kind I was drinking had 0 sugars but the Sucroses, glucoses, fructoses, dextroses, all those troses still have some form of sugar. As a result my recent personal lab result indicated my sugar or A1C was spiked.

I immediately switched over to Crystal Geyser for my personal beverage enjoyment, which has literally no sweetners whatsoever.

As far as water, I learned that drinking 8 or fewer or more glasses of water is an individual to individual decision because we reasonably know our bodies better than others.

Or, drink a large glass of water or bottled water first thing in the morning. That alone will flush and cleanse your whole body system. pH, alkaline and electrolytes in your water helps alot.
 
I just drink boiled water from the tap, and if I need water just fill a bottle or thermos up, and that is free.

I really don't understand buying bottled water thing or 'vitamin water' which is pretty much flavoured water with colouring and sweetener.

I haven't been out lately, though I did buy takeway peri-peri chicken as a treat. I found the restaurant was doing 4 wings instead of 5 now they changed their menus and cut down on portions instead of putting prices up lol.
 
Lanolin said:
I just drink boiled water from the tap, and if I need water just fill a bottle or thermos up, and that is free.

I really don't understand buying bottled water thing or 'vitamin water' which is pretty much flavoured water with colouring and sweetener.

I haven't been out lately, though I did buy takeway peri-peri chicken as a treat. I found the restaurant was doing 4 wings instead of 5 now they changed their menus and cut down on portions instead of putting prices up lol.
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what is your specialty food in NZ Lan?

we have welsh cakes, they are quite tasty. a bit like scones if you have them.
 
Lanolin said:
I was thinking of this as I went out with one of my friends for lunch yesterday what our food habits say about us. And also what we expect in restaurants and cafes.
Sorry for those who may still be in lockdown and actually can't get out and about to places! So think back to when you did go out for lunch or dinner.
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I was never particularly concerned with the big bad bug, so my wife and I have been doing dinners out, and I eat lunch out every day (since I never stopped working full time. There's a number of restaurants in the area, and being a creature of habit, I tend to go to the same places, and order the same things. Now that restrictions have been lifted in Texas, the crowds are bigger than last year, but the food is he same (albeit more expen$ive) that a couple of years ago. There are several good oriental buffets in the area, and while they require masks and gloves when you're loading up, it's only a minor inconvenience. Most of them have sushi nagiri, which I generally start with, and then all the shrimp, salmon, clams, and whitefish I can stuff in.
 
I like to order the same things mostly as I have my favourites but I will try something new every now and again.

I would say the NZ speciality is the meat pie.

Other NZ foods - whitebait fritters, bluff oysters, anzac biscuits, ginger slice, pavlova (although Australia also claims this) fish and chips, roast lamb dinner. Crayfish (or rock lobster). Kiwifruit, and at the moment - feijoas. Everyone has a tree in their backyard or has neighbours that have trees. Don't need to buy any.

Last night had fish and chips and they gave us more scallops than we ordered and a huge portion of fish so I've got some for lunch today. So maybe it depends on the business!

Because of covid those that had big orchards and large scale vege farms couldn't get enough workers to pick the produce. They wanted migrants to come in and pick. I don't understand not using local labour but it seems its uneconomic. Maybe migrant labour is cheaper. Or local people just don't want to pick produce because basically you can't live off it, as its seasonal and you'd be staying in a tent while you pick. The other thing is whole families would work together picking produce but you cant do that if you can't get to the fields. (and don't have transport). Which is silly.

Thats why independent family run market gardens worked in the old days before supermarkets basically crushed them.
 
Can anyone relate to this;

I may have shared this before in the past but will share it again. One Tuesday afternoon when we were newlyweds our cupboard and fridge were empty.

We had a few bucks in our pocket so we said a prayer and thanked the Lord. We walked to the supermarket to save gas. When we got there we bought a small can of tuna, a loaf of bread and a frozen can of lemonade.

We walked back to our apartment and made tuna sandwiches and cold lemonade for dinner. That was the best tasting dinner we ever had!

The leftovers lasted the next 2 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner til Friday payday.

🥪 😎 🥰 🥤
 
bobinfaith said:
Can anyone relate to this;

I may have shared this before in the past but will share it again. One Tuesday afternoon when we were newlyweds our cupboard and fridge were empty.

We had a few bucks in our pocket so we said a prayer and thanked the Lord. We walked to the supermarket to save gas. When we got there we bought a small can of tuna, a loaf of bread and a frozen can of lemonade.

We walked back to our apartment and made tuna sandwiches and cold lemonade for dinner. That was the best tasting dinner we ever had!

The leftovers lasted the next 2 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner til Friday payday.

🥪 😎 🥰 🥤
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Tuna sandwiches? Yes, I can relate, but I would have guzzled the lemonade or scarfed the sandwiches if they were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. lol.
 
bobinfaith said:
Can anyone relate to this;

I may have shared this before in the past but will share it again. One Tuesday afternoon when we were newlyweds our cupboard and fridge were empty.

We had a few bucks in our pocket so we said a prayer and thanked the Lord. We walked to the supermarket to save gas. When we got there we bought a small can of tuna, a loaf of bread and a frozen can of lemonade.

We walked back to our apartment and made tuna sandwiches and cold lemonade for dinner. That was the best tasting dinner we ever had!

The leftovers lasted the next 2 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner til Friday payday.

🥪 😎 🥰 🥤
Click to expand...

Reminds me of the time I was a young adult with a very modest income supporting two households. My ex-wife and I were separated. Most of my check went to her and I was left with approx 25-30 per month for food (1989). I bought case of ramen for 2 dollars and looked for many creative ways to stretch those dollars. I can tell you that I made Lincoln scream for over a year like that.

I was never sure how exactly I got by each month, but God always made a way. A tuna sandwich or fried egg sandwich was a real treat. There weren't as many lower priced grocery stores back then, but I found a day old bakery outlet near work and some old bag-n-save grocery stores that sold bulk and regular food items. Mostly I just was very frugal in what I purchased because the money had to last.
 
crossnote said:
Tuna sandwiches? Yes, I can relate, but I would have guzzled the lemonade or scarfed the sandwiches if they were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. lol.
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CPerkins said:
Reminds me of the time I was a young adult with a very modest income supporting two households. My ex-wife and I were separated. Most of my check went to her and I was left with approx 25-30 per month for food (1989). I bought case of ramen for 2 dollars and looked for many creative ways to stretch those dollars. I can tell you that I made Lincoln scream for over a year like that.

I was never sure how exactly I got by each month, but God always made a way. A tuna sandwich or fried egg sandwich was a real treat. There weren't as many lower priced grocery stores back then, but I found a day old bakery outlet near work and some old bag-n-save grocery stores that sold bulk and regular food items. Mostly I just was very frugal in what I purchased because the money had to last.
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Hey crossnote;

Peanut butter and jelly are still one of my fave sandwiches most every morning - Skippy or Jif peanut butter doesn't matter but I spread Smuckers sugarless jelly (yeah right! The jar says Sugar Free but still has polydextrose which is a form of sugar) so I only spread a little.

When Chuck mentioned his budget of $25-$30 each month for food, we use to take a little calculator to the supermarket to stay within our one-income budget.

Times past do remind and humble me. It is true, though it was tight, God always made a way.
 
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