Hungry?

If not, you probably will be after this post.  Muuahahahahhh. Hmm, haven’t practice my evil laugh in a while.  I think it needs work. 

Given the number of times food and drink creep into our conversations, I’m fairly certain that I’m not alone in my love of food.  All types of food.  I think one of the hardest questions anyone can ask me is what is my favorite food.  It’s right up there with if there was only one book you could take to a desert island, what would it be.  My response: One?  I can only pick one?

Sometimes I think I could eat spaghetti with marinera sauce and parmesean cheese for weeks on end.  When I was considering moving to Scotland, one of the foremost questions in my mind was whether I would be able to get black beans.  Because I’m not sure I want to find out how long I can live without having a black bean and grilled veggie quesadilla.  Italian food, Thai food, Chinese food, TexMex food, Middle Eastern food, Indian food, even a good ol’ grilled burger.  My version is a Original Garden Burger with pepper jack cheese, pickles, tomato, lettuce, and a little bit of spicy mustard on a toasted whole grain bun.  Yeah, baby.

Hungry yet?  Muahahahahahaa.  There, that one was a bit better. 

And this time of year, the fresh fruits and veggies that are available right out of the garden or orchard.  Slices of a perfectly ripe tomato sprinked with salt.  Freshly picked sweet corn.  An apple right off the tree.  The perfect peach and berry cobbler, bubbling right out of the oven.  Hot apple crisp.  Pie.  Chocolate….

Mmmm, I don’t know about you, but my mouth is watering.

One type of food that I really, realy love but rarely get to eat is Japanese.  Yummmm.  I don’t get to eat it very often, partly because I’ve never really learned to cook anything Japanese other than teriyaki salmon, and partly because good Japanese restaurants - heck any Japanese restaurants, are few and far between.  And they’re usually expensive.  And I’m a snob when it comes to Japanese food.  While in Australia, it occurred to me that this might be my best chance in the foreseeable future to get good Japanese food.  Lots of Japanese folks in Australia.  Hence, there must be at least one good Japanese restaurant in the Brisbane, right?

Google to the rescue!  And on my last day in Brisbane, I had two goals: see a bit of the city and eat lunch at Mizu.  Hopefully this weekend, I’ll be able to get pictures up on my blog about the first part.  But below are pictures of my lunch at Mizu, which by the way, I heartily recommend if you ever find yourself in Brisbane.  It was simple Japanese food at it’s best. Oh yeah.  I’m pretty sure I was making yummy noises as I was eating.

This is their vegetarian bento box.  Two avocado sushi rolls, vegetable tempura with dipping sauce, rice, agedashi tofu, and a salad with the yummy ginger-soy dressing that I can only seem to find in Japanese restaurants.  On the left is the cold sake that I tried.  It was very, very nice on that hot sunny day.

For dessert, I had green tea ice cream, which I order whenever I have the opportunity.  I’m not kidding.  Last time I was in Japan, I probably ate it at least 6-7 times.  This ice cream was very tasty, but not the best I’ve ever had, alas.  Just an ever-so-slight let down.  Very pretty presentation, though.

I savored and enjoyed this lunch like I haven’t one in a long, long time.  After all, who knows when the next time I will get another really good Japanese meal.

So what foods would cause you to make yummy noises while you’re eating?

Oh, and before I forget.  I did promise to try to bring back some Aussie lads.  Given that I was conferencing most of the time, I didn’t have too many opportunities to set out lures.  But not wanting to come back empty handed, I did happen to find these fellows.  Not sure if it’s what you were expecting, but it’s the best I could do. Enjoy!  :+) 

109 comments October 1st, 2008