Bai Long Store

Bai Long Store is not a store.  It is a magnificent restaurant. It is difficult to believe it has taken this long to return. This is our first visit during this time in Australia. We have been three times previously and each time has been excellent!

This visit is better yet. We are dining with Bronwyn and Neil. The men begin with beers. Neil is the more adventurous this time. His beer is green. It is interesting and worth a try.

First up CJ's favorite, eggplant with a Guinness batter and Sichuan caramel drip.

Second share plate is salmon and kingfish sashimi with truffle soy, wasabi puree and pickled beetroot.

We apologize but the food was so good, we often had it eaten before CJ realized he'd not taken a photo. Don't blame the restaurant for poor plating, blame our gluttony and their excellent preparations. For the remainder of the meal we had prawn dumplings with XO shallot chips and ginger vinegar; crispy prawn with creamy spicy mayo, wasabi, and a green salad; Peking duck bao with cucumber, spring onion, pickled onion, hoisin sauce, and spicy mayo. These were all small plates for four.

 The one large plate was crispy tempura barramundi with spicy tartare.

The food was excellent as always. This service was better than ever. They serve this entire large restaurant with only three people. They are always the same three. There is a tiny Asian woman with a great personality who can't be 80 pounds dripping wet. If she turns sideways she disappears. Jerry isn't much larger. He has a great personality and is a hoot. At one point when talking about the beer Neil is drinking, he informs us that the third waiter/bartender got wicked drunk on it the previous Sunday. He's talking to us about one of the dishes and as natural as can be tells us that sometimes the kitchen screws it up. Jerry was on a roll this night.

How they manage to wait the place with only the three of them and manage to take time out to chat is beyond us.

Jerry not only takes this picture but when CJ asks if he has unfiltered sake, which they do not, Jerry decides to provide us with a complimentary glass of sake each, just to see if we like it. We do.

 

It took us seven months to get to Bai Long Store. It won't take seven months to get back.

New discoveries in the parklands

CJ decides to take a short walk into the south parklands. He makes some new discoveries.

Only in Australia. He comes across the South Australia Croquet Association and there is apparently a croquet tournament on. Who knew?

 

In this section of the park, authorities have left it rustic with a stream running through and under walkways.

 

Next up are a playground, tennis court and basketball court. Walk long enough and there is always something new to see, something new to discover. CJ hesitated to say there were an infinite number of routes through the parks but he's is not convinced there are.

Raj on Taj

Carol has had a bad hair day. She went off to the market and town. On the way home her trolley wheel catches while she's pulling it home, and she goes flying. A nice couple assist her. She calls for rescue and CJ dispatches an Uber. She arrives home bruised and battered. She has a bad scrape on one knee yet no tear on her pants. She has a badly bruised and inoperative wrist.

CJ insists we have dinner out. Trying to get last minute Saturday evening reservations at our two favorite restaurants is impossible.

We dine at our third choice, the local Indian restaurant. We were pleased with their takeout so dine-in should be good.

Dinner is excellent, and we have days of  leftovers. With the sauce it is impossible to tell what we have ordered. Carol is having (surprise, surprise) the daily barramundi special. Somewhere under the sauce of CJ's dish are two of the biggest lamb shanks ever. Both dishes are excellent. Strangely, the garlic naan is disappointing. What Indian restaurant messes up naan?

 

 

What wine to select. Zinfandel is an American grape and virtually unheard of in Australia. CJ makes a high risk selection choosing not only the Zin, but a winery we've never been totally keen on. The Kalleske Zinfandel is a pleasant surprise.

Early Dinner at Pizza et Mozzarella

We're back! We had an afternoon appointment outside of the CBD on South Road. Uber delivers us back to Rundle Mall to shop. It is nearing the dinner hour. We decide to kill twenty minutes and wait for Pizza et Mozzarella to open.

It is a wise decision. We have the restaurant to ourselves and we have Richard, our favorite head waiter, to ourselves and will have for 45 minutes. We begin with the usual two pizzas, order of meatballs, and same wine Richard recommended last year.

While we wait for food we work our way through a good part of the wine while joking with Richard about the day we had to order a second bottle, for LUNCH!. A second bottle is needed. We order an order of takeout meatballs but after finishing both dinner meatballs we order a second meatball takeout.

CJ is in rare form. Having completed both bottles of wine, he decides we need a genuine Italian after dinner drink. He consults with, or more appropriately conspires with Richard with the end result two digestifs arriving for us to sample and share. Three had been discussed only two ordered. That will not do, particularly not in CJ's current mood. We order another of our favorite from the first round and the third possible selection. Best of show: the one Richard said would be best.

Within a week, CJ will have a bottle at the house. Needless to say, with the addition of a second order of meatballs and four extra drinks, our bill sets a record for us.

Walk in the southeastern parklands

Today CJ turns south in Victoria Park and makes a circuit through the southeasternmost park. The walk begins passing a group playing cricket before giving way to these chaps playing soccer.

Farther along the path is lined with tall gums towering above rows of olive trees. Citizens harvest the olives but it is unclear if there is a rule who can and cannot.

 

There is a paved diagonal bike and walking path beginning at the southeast corner of the CBD parklands. It is also lined with gums and olives.

 There are conservation rules regarding the removal of dead wood.

The diagonal path eventually leads back to the east parklands. This bridge marks the border between the south and east parklands. Cross it and you are back in our neighborhood.

Sashimi Tuna at Home

There are a number of seafood markets in the Central Market. One sells blocks of sashimi tuna. We had our reservations until we cut and served the tuna. It is outstanding. We're on our fifth block.

Carol takes her noodles with scallions, CJ has his with jalapeños, heaped with wasabi soy sauce. There is no sinew in the tuna.

 

Sushi Train - Choo Choo

We have avoided the concept of eating sushi at a sushi train. Carol has read there is a good one, Kintaro Sushi, in Adelaide. CJ has noted that during his walks, this place is always filled, even with COVID restrictions. We decide to give it a go.

There is no personalized service like dining at a sushi bar such as Hama Sushi. There are no hugs and kisses like at Hama Sushi or Maru Sushi. At this place the offerings pass on a conveyor belt, you make your selections and when done, they count up the plates by color and you pay out and off you go.

The food quality is a mixed bag. Some of the dishes were tasty. Some were pedestrian. None were to the quality we are expecting. Our next Adelaide sushi experience will be at a sushi bar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a postscript to this, CJ was shopping in Norwood after a podiatrist appointment and needed lunch. There is a sister Kintaro Sushi in Norwood. He had lunch there, not so much for the food, but to come home with a few pocketful's of wasbi.

Ballaboosta Saturday Night

We decided to dine at Ballaboosta one Saturday evening. If you want a seat inside, we have yet to break the code on when the reservation must be made. Even though it is winter, and a bit chilly outdoors, we're forced to accept an outdoor table; and this is with an advanced booking, one of the last remaining. At least there are massive propane-fired heaters.

There is a barrier on one side of the seating area. Something is happening on the other side. It appears someone, perhaps the restaurant, puts on an entertainment on Saturday evenings. It changes weekly. This evening, there is a man on a keyboard and woman singer performing 40's and 50's crooning music. Breaking up the performances are a couple Rastafarian blokes twirling fire sticks.

 

 

 

 

CJ made the booking earlier in the day, and in person. A banana creme pie has been calling to him all day and he is not to be dissuaded by silly arguments of diet and weight loss.

First Tomsey Sunsets - This Time Around

These are the first sunsets from the Tomsey rooftop deck; at least they are the first from this occupancy. We enjoyed many between 2008 and 2010.

 

 

Legacy of the Adelaide Formula 1 Australia Grand Prix

Between 1985 and 1995, Adelaide hosted the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix on a street circuit. Eventually the race was moved to Melbourne. The circuit is now used in March for Super V8 racing, the Australian equivalent of NASCAR. Beginning in December, they begin building the grandstands and pit facilities. They don't disappear until May.

At the center of the bottom middle, is Carrington Street. Our Tomsey Street house is located along the lower edge of the map.

Adelaide's memory of the Grand Prix is commemorated on Hutt St. by these castings.