Notes on Adelaide

Back from a quick trip to Adelaide, where of course we had to keep on eating, if whilst sometimes wistfully thinking of Mount Ainslie and properly chilly mornings.

Along with the observation that if you've seen one vineyard, you've seen them all (made after a day in the Barossa), two meals stood out. Both were consumed on Melbourne Road, within North Adelaide, a Red Hill-like enclave of privilege, segregated from the outside world by parks and ring-roads.

The first, at The Himalayan Kitchen, was accutely disappointing. Perhaps extremely small portions of tasteless food may be authentic Nepalese-Tibetan cuisine, but we doubt it. Plus they had the gall to price a Coopers Sparkling Ale for $6.80 and Heineken for $7.50. Plus the front-of-house staff member (who appeared to be a privately-schooled hippy) was entirely unmoved by our protests, suggesting lazily that "you can't please everyone". Walk on by.

The second meal, from across the road at Yakatori Takumi, was at the complete opposite end of the satisfaction scale. Delicious, well priced food, served by supremely polite and cheerful staff. More generally, in the aftermath of this comparatively delightful experience we were also struck by the thought that yakatori is almost always what tapas is inevitably not - tasty, cheap treats, that are the perfect companion to drinking. Canberra would definately benefit from more places like this - preferably within walking distance of our home.