Help restuarant and take out priced meals in Sydney Australia.

[MicCanberra]

Oh, I'm not fussy about how nonprofessionals cook at all. But, yes, many people are intimidated to cook for friends who are chefs, although they should not be. I would never criticize their cooking.

Well that is good anyway, anyone who comes to my place has to like eggs on toast.:o

[MicCanberra]

I like weetbix but certainly not for every breakfast, let alone every meal. They must be used to very bland tasting food.

[martincath]

Yes, they have come here to stay with us. <snip a bunch more explanation>

The more detail that comes out, the more abnormal these folks sound. Less horrible too. I would guess that, after how you were treated, they were ashamed to use all of your nice stuff - I know that some of my rellies do get a bit antsy about differential wealth levels and try to avoid making use of hot tubs, borrowing cars, or anything else that they're not in a position to reciprocate about equally. Since we're mostly not talkers about potentially-offence-causing stuff, it's sometimes just not feasible to have a frank discussion about finance to hash out any kind of 'fair' exchange.

 

Oh, I'm not fussy about how nonprofessionals cook at all. But, yes, many people are intimidated to cook for friends who are chefs, although they should not be. I would never criticize their cooking.

Agree - many professional cooks/chefs/somms in my circles, never had any critique of a home-cooked meal or wine choice except positive notes unless I ask. I'll try just about any recipe I think guest will enjoy, regardless of who the audience is - but I too find many folks are terrified of professional judgment.

 

 

Sort-of relevant, especially with the whole hosting rellies issue: my mother won't cook for me at all any more whether I visit her or vice versa. Ever since I sent back a dish in a restaurant - I don't care how many stars you have, a crunchy risotto is being sent back immediately - she feels if I'm willing to do that to a 'fancy chef' I must think all of her food is terrible! Trying to explain relative expectations between $100+ resto meals vs. home-made mince & tatties didn't take - I enjoy cooking so no problem, but she does still get the groceries.

 

 

Maybe your BiL/MiL were too scared to cook for a Pro, especially if they live on Weetabix(!?), but especially if they're picky eaters I still find it super-strange they would not have loaded the pantry with the basics and at least ordered takeout the first meal until you got a decent night's sleep.

[spookwife]

Ah! Now the story is starting to make sense. Still not good hospitality in my book but I can visualize what happened now.

 

I often plan a slow-cooked meal when I'm expecting guests, especially if there are likely to be travel delays. Sometimes I make a stew/casserole/curry a day or so in advance, then it only needs reheating and some sides to go with it.

 

 

see if I were a professional chef I would be massively insulted if I were expected to do all the cooking when visiting someone.. friend or relation. its just as bad as being a doctor and being expected to hand out free advice or medical exams in the living room after dinner.

[spookwife]

Well that is good anyway, anyone who comes to my place has to like eggs on toast.:o

 

 

I do!

[OzPinoyCruiser]

Thanks for the tips on everything.Fancy they do not provide meals for you like we do .

 

Funnily enough I have offered to buy brunch when I land in the morning on Sunday for brunch and they all thought it a good idea.So I did something right.Now due to the E.M. I don't know.

 

Why do these things happen at the last minute:eek:

 

It is amazing the difference in hospitality because in USA,Canada and in UK we all are generous to our visiting friends especially when visiting from afar.

 

 

 

We are from Sydney and we provide everything to our visitors at home. We cooked for them etc. I supposed it depends to whom are they visiting here in Australia. But for us, when we have guests/visitor we provide them what they need and drive them around for tours. True that prices here are generally expensive compared to other countries.

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

see if I were a professional chef I would be massively insulted if I were expected to do all the cooking when visiting someone.. friend or relation. its just as bad as being a doctor and being expected to hand out free advice or medical exams in the living room after dinner.

There are numerous jobs that come to my mind that I think would not be appropriate to demonstrate in the living room after dinner.;p

[GUT2407]

There are numerous jobs that come to my mind that I think would not be appropriate to demonstrate in the living room after dinner.;p

Yet there are other professions that are asked for free service (usually advice) all the time.

[MicCanberra]

I do!

What about egg in the hole,sometimes known as Egg in a basket or even toad in the hole (although it is not a proper toad in the hole.)

[GUT2407]

What about egg in the hole,sometimes known as Egg in a basket or even toad in the hole (although it is not a proper toad in the hole.)

 

 

Yep, On the BBQ?

[MicCanberra]

Yep, On the BBQ?

Yum, yum.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I had pre-shopped based their preferences and my ideas of American foods they might like to try and the house was full of all kinds of food - which considering I keep a huge supply of ingredients on hand normally, was even more than that. I remember showing them my pantry and they gasped. Of course, I had stocked the guest bathrooms with all the stuff they could possibly need - even things that they might or might not need like a first aid kit, makeup for my MIL, etc. I always think in terms of, what if you have traveled somewhere and ALL of your stuff goes missing? So I had everything they could need and more just in case their luggage got lost. Even things like bathrobes and some clothing which were gifts for them. The guest rooms in that house adjoined the home theater which could also be used as a living room, so I put bottled water and soda in the refrigerator in there and glasses on the counter for them to use. I also put some snacks in each room - fruit, cookies, crackers, nuts and candy, fresh flowers, coasters for glasses and laundry hampers in each closet. There were fold out stands for luggage so they could unpack easily.

 

We also took them to a lot of different kinds of restaurants while they stayed with us.

After the trip was over, Mum wrote a letter thanking us for taking them all over the US and she wrote that my "cooking was lovely, but all the other food in America was too spicy, too salty, too sweet, too sour." We had taken them to the following types of restaurants: Japanese, Churrascaria, Steakhouse, Lebanese, Turkish, Chinese, Thai, Cajun, Low Country and Mexican food just to name a few of the cuisines they experienced. I had mostly cooked either French or Italian or Tex-Mex Ranch food.

 

Can I come and stay at your place, please? :D

[MicCanberra]

Can I come and stay at your place, please? :D

LOl, that is what I was thinking, Theatre room, with fridge. Sound like luxury.:cool:

[OzKiwiJJ]

I'm more tempted by the sound of her pantry, and the food.

[spookwife]

What about egg in the hole,sometimes known as Egg in a basket or even toad in the hole (although it is not a proper toad in the hole.)

 

 

made that last week actually.

 

isn't Toad in the hole for dinner?

[SuiteTraveler]

LOl, that is what I was thinking, Theatre room, with fridge. Sound like luxury.:cool:

 

In Texas, homes with theater rooms are more common than not. Any home built in the last 15 years of 3,500sq ft or more would have a home theater. Take a look at these houses and floor plans if you are curious about Texas homes:

http://www.shaddockhomes.com/available_homes.php?sort=date&page=1

[SuiteTraveler]

I like weetbix but certainly not for every breakfast, let alone every meal. They must be used to very bland tasting food.

 

Yes, I think that's right. Last time I was at Mum and Dad's place, I was cooking breakfast and I went to get some spices and she really didn't have anything except a very old bottle containing Italian herbs that had seen better days. Other than that, she had some salt, which she rarely uses apparently - the box was from the 1980's and that was pretty much it so I went to the grocery store to get the things I needed. My inlaws used to grow and raise a lot of their own food, but I guess Mum never bothered with herbs or spices much when cooking it.

[SuiteTraveler]

Can I come and stay at your place, please? :D

 

Of course.

[firstcarib]

It's always a big shock when people find out about the restaurant prices in Australia. But everything there costs a lot more.

 

I guess you have not visited these relatives in Australia before so here are some tips on the etiquette of staying with family there. When visiting other people's homes in Australia, you are expected to pay for and bring your own groceries. They will take you to the grocery store (but considering the emergency situation - they may not have time to do that, so you might want to take a taxi) and provide you with towels and a bed, but you should bring your own shampoo and soap and other personal items as well as food. I usually wind up buying a hair dryer and leaving it with my hosts when I leave. Also bring gifts for your host and hostess. What I typically do is preplan what I will make them to eat and then bring some of what is needed with me. Since I live in Texas, I make Tex Mex for my Aussie relatives. So I will bring tortillas and the spices and salsa for fajitas in their original sealed bags/containers then grab chicken, peppers, onions, avocado, cheese, sour cream and oil at the grocery store. Simple to make since it only requires 1 pan and then a bowl to make guacamole.

 

If you take a taxi, sit in the front seat with the driver - otherwise they will think that you think you are better than them. Tip Sydney taxi drivers no more than 10%.

 

In addition, to cooking or providing a meal for them during your stay. Always offer to help with the dishes and cleanup.

 

Hope that helps.

 

 

 

 

 

As as Australian, I find these comments most insulting. I hope it is related to the first of April. K

We are not Aussies, but Brits( Poms) who go to Australia often & always enjoy fantastic hospitality there. We always take wine or beers f invited out, but never our own food! So we hope its a joke too...seriously DO NOT pack food in your luggage or else you could end up in an Aussie prison or face a large fine! Its definitely forbidden to take any kind of food stuffs into Australia...inc fruit, veggies, honey...even salsa I guess!! For goodness sake, this is not a backward country, they know about salsa!

In fact the food in Aus is some of the best Ive had, a real mix of Asian style, English style & Aussie burgers & pies...all of high quality. Yes it is expensive, yes Aussies are well paid, but if everyone was well paid the world would be a better place!

[spookwife]

In Texas, homes with theater rooms are more common than not. Any home built in the last 15 years of 3,500sq ft or more would have a home theater. Take a look at these houses and floor plans if you are curious about Texas homes:

 

http://www.shaddockhomes.com/available_homes.php?sort=date&page=1

 

 

Yup. The one we rented was fully wired for a home theater system . It was nice

 

 

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[ducklite]

In Texas, homes with theater rooms are more common than not. Any home built in the last 15 years of 3,500sq ft or more would have a home theater. Take a look at these houses and floor plans if you are curious about Texas homes:

http://www.shaddockhomes.com/available_homes.php?sort=date&page=1

 

Not just Texas--it's common in FL, NC, NJ, PA, AZ, NV, and a host of other states.

[notentirelynormal]

Not just Texas--it's common in FL, NC, NJ, PA, AZ, NV, and a host of other states.

 

Since we've gone off topic I'll just add this one comment.

 

 

Unless you are really rich, don't expect it in a house in California. I always crack up when I watch TV shows where they say I want a new 5 bedroom house, with granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances and go on and on. Oh, and I don't want to pay more then $250,000 for it. And they find it. You couldn't find an unfurnished one bedroom apartment here in So Cal for that kind of money. Add a few more dollars - like $700,000 more and you can begin to find a house with a home theatre. Cracks me up.

[SuiteTraveler]

We are not Aussies, but Brits( Poms) who go to Australia often & always enjoy fantastic hospitality there. We always take wine or beers f invited out, but never our own food! So we hope its a joke too...seriously DO NOT pack food in your luggage or else you could end up in an Aussie prison or face a large fine! Its definitely forbidden to take any kind of food stuffs into Australia...inc fruit, veggies, honey...even salsa I guess!! For goodness sake, this is not a backward country, they know about salsa!

In fact the food in Aus is some of the best Ive had, a real mix of Asian style, English style & Aussie burgers & pies...all of high quality. Yes it is expensive, yes Aussies are well paid, but if everyone was well paid the world would be a better place!

 

It is definitely legal to bring food in cans or in sealed containers into Australia. I always present my food items to Australian customs on arrival. I'm not sneaking anything in and I know what is legal to bring in and what is not. I'm not bringing food items that are easily available in Australia. For example, Pace Picante Sauce was not available in Australia in the 1980's and that's why I brought it. However, over the past 31 years things have changed in Australia, just like everywhere else and now they have salsa's in the grocery store. Last time I went, I brought powdered peanut butter for my SIL as it was not available anywhere in Australia at that time and she could not find it online either and I showed it to customs like usual - they were not concerned about me bringing the product in but were really interested in it as they had never heard of powdered peanut butter before - I think I had a group of 10 Aussie customs agents all looking at it and asking me if it was good. I kind of wished I had brought an extra to give them so they could try it in their break room. They thought it was a super cool product! Right now, my SIL says there is one size of tortillas available in her town and was amazed when she saw all the different sizes here in Texas. Of course, the size of the tortilla needs to match what you are making. The alternative to me bringing a sealed package of tortillas would be me having to bring a tortilla press to make them from scratch - which would be a pain because tortilla presses are usually cast iron, cast aluminum or wood with the most common in Texas being cast iron. There is a benefit to bringing food into Australia - the line for customs when you have food is usually only 5 - 10 people compared to the ones without food which will be 100 deep.

 

Here's information on what you can and can't bring into Australia:

http://www.agriculture.gov.au/travelling/arriving-in-australia

 

Basically, if it is in a commercially prepared can or jar of something it is OK to bring it into Australia. Australian customs has also allowed me to bring in commercially packaged snack bars and tortillas in sealed plastic bags. If I can buy it in Australia, I don't bring it. It's not about saving money with me, it's needing an ingredient that you simply cannot buy in Australia and that would be a lot of trouble to make from scratch.

[SuiteTraveler]

Not just Texas--it's common in FL, NC, NJ, PA, AZ, NV, and a host of other states.

 

True, in most states, where there is new home building going on you will find homes with home theaters, large game rooms with bars, and huge open kitchens. The houses in the US are really over the top in terms of amenities.

[MicCanberra]

made that last week actually.

 

isn't Toad in the hole for dinner?

Yes, it is a pastry type dish with eggs and sausages inside I think.