Ice Cream Memories

This is actually in response to a post from http://chocolatesuze.com/ asking for favourite ice-cream memories ... I couldn't resist sharing.

So, when I was a kid, my family would go out to eat at least once a month or so. It was a lovely big deal - my mum would get all dressed up, I'd be allowed to wear lipgloss and a little bit of her perfume, and we'd all go out somewhere WAY above my brother's and my heads. Chicken nuggets all the way, yo!

Once we'd finished we'd go to this tiny little ice-cream place in Maitland and grab scoops of something to eat on the way home. I'd always get a fantastically "grown-up" flavour like rum 'n raisin or dark chocolate or old english toffee to show how mature I was (I hate rum 'n raisin).

Then, on the way home, my father - from the passenger seat - would wind down all the windows, zoom open the sunroof, and crank up the stereo on whatever we happened to be driving and just HOWL away to Willie Nelson whalin' on My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.

On repeat. It wasn't a short trip.

How the hell my mother didn't flat out kill him I'll never know. Especially when my brother and I wanted to get in on the action and tried to stand on the centre console to poke our heads out of the sunroof and howl along.

Every time, though, they'd grab us around the waist and let us stand up long enough to feel gloriously rebellious, then haul us back in knowing that by the time we'd get home the sugar high and head-rush would have exhausted us to the point where we'd be half-asleep in the backseat and a goodnight kiss and hug from Mum would have us crashed out about 0.243 nanoseconds after heads had hit pillows.

Thanks, Mum.

Mon's on Beaumont, Hamilton

I love Thai food. My favourite place in Sydney is a a place called Top Speed Thai in Willoughby that does the most amazing cashew noodles....mmmmm.

So what better way to celebrate a workday birthday than by continuing the quest for Newcastle's best Thai food?

Tom Yum Goong (small size), $8

This is one of those rare yummy things that just taste like it's doing you good. I'm quite new to tom yum soup - the "sour soup" description has always thrown me - but I'm well on my way to being addicted now.

(Sidenote - I was sick as a dog with the flu a few weeks ago and all I craved was tom yum soup. And sleep. And orange juice. If that doesn't mean it's good for you I don't know what is).

Yeah, this is awesome. This version is apparently a bit heavier on the coconut milk than traditional Tom Yum soup is meant to be, but I actually rate it higher than the other versions I've tried. It's spicy, a tiny bit creamy, very tart, very fresh. Tastes like healthy!

The soup itself if made up of oyster mushrooms, tom yum paste, lemongrass (I'm not a lemongrass fan, but this is used delicately enough that it enhances rather than overpowers), chilli, basil, coconut milk, spring onions, lime, and... prawns.

Surprisingly, the dud point here were the prawns. Obviously frozen and pretty much tasteless, these added absolutely nothing to the dish. Hell, I don't love oyster mushrooms and I enjoyed them more than the prawns. Shellfish fail.

Satay Chicken Skewers with Rice ($10 lunch special)

It's hard to go wrong with chicken satay. It's also hard to do it really well. This version falls somewhere in the middle. The sauce is great - creamy, spicy, a massive health hazard to anyone with peanut allergies - but the chicken is very dry. I wonder if they're using the more expensive chicken breast instead of cheaper but sturdier chicken thigh?

Still, I give this one an 8/10. Mmm. Nom.

Pad See Ew with Beef ($10, lunchtime special)

I have never been a fan of Pad See Ew. I've seen it ordered, enjoyed, reviewed and raved about too many times to count, but I've always thought it either a. too bland or b. a bit of a cop-out.

Holy crap, I love it when I'm wrong. Also, I'm not ordering thai food from food courts anymore. Even the awesome ones in Market City.

This is fantastic. Tiron actually ordered it a while ago from Mon's and I was pretty sure he was onto a good thing when I found myself snacking on leftovers in the middle of the night. Nom.

It's amazing to think that such a simple dish can be so satisfying. Thick noodles,chinese greens, beef, a couple of eggs, some thick soy sauce. This version tastes like it's got a little garlic and a fair shake of black pepper tossed in as well and the finished product is just amazing. So comforting, so tasty, so freaking good.

Thai Fried Rice with Pork ($10, lunch special)

Oh man, this is good. I love fried rice (I'd love to be one of those girls who only eats steamed rice and avoids fried rice like the plauge, but why deny yourself of something so awesome?), so fried rice is one of my standard measuring-points for Chinese and Thai restaurants.

Congratulations Mon's, you now top my list. And to the lovely lady taking my order who suggested pork as we'd already covered the other options - seafood, chicken, and beef - you have my thanks. Pretty much going to be the standard protein in fried rice from now on.

Oh, you want specifics? God, you guys are pushy. Ok. This is not a dish for dieters. The only vegetables here are for taste or garnish, not for nutrition. Having said that, I felt better after gorging on this than I have on any other Thai fried rice - less overwhelming desire to take a nap, more a mild thought that I should have eated the cucumber garnish and it'd probably be nice to take a walk after dinner.

The pork is fantastic, both mild enough to soak up the surrounding flavours and and and tender enough that each piece is good just on its own. The rice is flavoured with a sweeter soy and a little more garlic than usual, which just serves to make it even more-ish.

Will we be back? Hell, yes.

Depot on Beaumont, Hamilton

So the Depot on Darby is a long-standing fave, so when the new Depot on Beaumont opened we were amongst the first in line to try it out.

Unfortunately, the night we went they were experiencing teething problems, but the (very charismatic) manager was quite apologetic and comped our meals.

So, a couple of months later I received a $50 birthday voucher from Depot - Bam! Perfect opportunity for a revisit!

Now, admittedly both Tiron and I were down with the flu, so this isn't going to be one of our more exciting nights out. Plenty more of those to come later, don't worry.

Clover cocktail - raspberry, mint and gin $14

(Please excuse the picture quality, low lighting and Iphones do not mix)

As you might know I'm obsessed with mint in cocktails so this was defiantly a must-order. Very tart with just a touch of sweetness, this was very refreshing (and nice and strong!). It was served super-cold which was a great trick for a non-iced cocktail and managed to avoid turning from cold and refreshing into warm syrupy dregs. Being that it took me about half an hour to drink the damn thing this was a great trick. I suspect magic.

In a lovely spot of gender reversal I was craving steak and Tiron was craving salad and veggies, so we ended up going for the summer vegetable mezze plate ($25.90) and the char-grilled rib eye with king prawns ($37.90) to share, with a side order of asparagus, pancetta and walnuts ($8 small / $14 large).

Now on to the pics!

Summer Vegetable Mezze $25.90

Tomato and ricotta bruschetta, gazpacho shooter, spinach and manchengo croquettas, olives, warm fig and labneh salad.

Very pretty? Absolutely. Worth $25.90? Not so much. If the portion had been a bit bigger I think we would have been quite happy, but as it was it felt like the kitchen had sent out an entree by mistake.

The highlight of this were definately the spinach and marachengo croquettes. Creamy and cheesy and gooey with lovely fresh spinach, we could have eaten a whole plate just of these. And then had bypass surgery. Mmmm.

Chargrilled 1824 Rib Eye with King Prawns and Chimmichurri

Now this is more like it. Look at those prawns!

Mmm, steak. And a giant prawn.


The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and had that lovely balance of flavour and tenderness inherent to a good rib eye cut. I do wonder if the steak could have benefited from a thicker cut to let the flavour of the meat itself shine through, but that could be more a personal preference than anything else.

I'm not usually a fan of chimmichurri but this one was a surprisingly good - nice and rich and fiery without being overwhelming. Not surprisingly, the prawns were fantastic and bursting with flavour. I think a trip to the fisherman's co-op is in order for some more of these :-)

So yes, it was lovely, but it just felt like it was ... missing something. I do kind of begrudge paying close to $40 for a piece of meat and a couple of prawns - no matter how nicely cooked. Unless it's wagyu, then I'm in.

This is really crying out for something on the side. The Depot on Darby offers the exact same dish (for the same price) but throws in a few polenta chips and a green salad. Bam. Done. Sounds great.

Asparagus with pancetta, walnuts and lemon ($8 / $14)


Mmmm. Asparagus. And pancetta. Noms. So much noms.

We actually didn't notice 'till we got the bill that we'd been given a large serve instead of the small ordered, but honestly when it's that tasty you can hardly begrudge a bigger serve :-)

So, what's the overall verdict?

Staff? Absolute A plus. No question about it.

This is one of those places you will walk away raving about the staff. Every single person we spoke to was friendly, helpful, and bent over backwards to make sure everyone was having a great night. Even calling to make the booking was a feel-good experience - I was all aflutter about vouchers and dates, and the gentleman dealing with my disorganisation could not have been more charming.

Many kudos as well to our hostess who happily humoured us as we played "search the file" on my Iphone looking for our voucher on checkout!

Ambiance? Look, it's busy. On weekends it's very busy.

Honestly, I think we probably picked an unfortunate night to come - with both of us slightly ill, a busy, crowded, loud restaurant didn't hold the same appeal it might normally have. However, both this visit and last I took the "pariah's seat" (back to the room) and did feel rather ill at ease with so many people rushing past in such close proximity all evening.

Food? Yes, the food is good. Sometimes very good.

I think if you were out with a bunch of friends after somewhere trendy for tapas and cocktails, or looking for something a bit more upmarket out in Hamilton, you'd be hard pressed to go past Depot on Beaumont. I loved some of the components (including the amazing baked goat's cheese and capsicum relish on sourdough we tried last visit) and all the ingredients were squeaky-fresh.

For a meal, though, Beaumont just doesn't quite live up to its twin on Darby Street. The food itself is equally as good, but the value for money just lets the side down.

Worth trying? Sure.

Make sure you go right after payday! Grab a group of friends if you're going on Friday or Saturday night, or pick a weekday evening or head on over for lunch if you're after something more intimate.

Would we go again? Maybe.

I think we'll stick to Depot on Darby for the moment though.