a little bit of cardomom

Gifted Gourmet (Thanks Liz)

2010-03-22T20:53:00.005+11:00

Hi Folks.

Sorry that you've had to wait almost 2 years for my next blog post. I would like to make some excuses but the only thing that feels right to say is that it just hasn't felt right. Today it does.

Many of you will be familiar with Simon Marnie. He's the morning radio host of 702 weekends. He's been a foodie for ages. My sister -in-law dobbed Barbie and I into a his radio segment called Gifted Gourmet. The segment gives non-professional cooks an opportunity to share their cooking skills using what's in season.

Simon choose me. Barb's bio of me for 702 (that never got published) explains why:

Like her South Indian head wobble, my mother used cooking to express a thousand things. Mostly love, but it could also show ambivalence (cabbage thoran), displeasure (a slightly over cooked cutlet), indignation (the spit of fish fry). But like I said, mostly love (a mountain of prawn biriyani).

As an adult I try and use words as my main means of communicating – but I am still infuriated and delighted by the subtlety of my mother’s ability to communicate through food. I think growing up with this connection between food and emotion has developed my ability to know exactly which food I need to eat to suit a particular mood or situation. Thus, I need to eat the right food to make an experience right, which necessitates my need to be able to cook what I need to eat, in order to express and complete a moment or experience.

My wife, who grew up in a meat and seven soggy veg kind of family, is doing her best to become a good Malayali wife – at least in the kitchen.

The edited version

If you want to hear the segment just click on the link below:

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/10/16/2392624.htm

Many friends and family listened when the show was originally broadcast on the 16 October 2008. Speaking to my Mum (many of the recipes I learnt from her) after the show aired I had to laugh when she chastised me about the amount of tumeric I said should be used in one of the recipes. Not to worry, tumeric has many medicinal qualities.

Camping with the Nances

2008-04-07T11:58:00.012+10:00

Sometimes I think that Barb and I are crazy. We made the decision to stop buying presents (stuff) for family that they don't really want. We've decide to purchase or organise fun stuff and experiences instead. A couple of Christmas's ago we bought our extended family tickets to Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, as done by Belvoir St theatre. It was a really fun day out.

Last Christmas we decided to organise to take Barb's extended family camping and we would cater for the weekend. It was surprising how soon March 14th came around.

Barb and I had a really stressful and busy week leading into the weekend away. We were exhausted. I had a couple of job interviews on the Friday we were going away, we'd just had some bad news that we were starting to come to terms with. We'd also had a relatively fruitless early morning trip to the markets, that we'd assumed that it would save us time and $$. (we came back with a box of figs and a couple of herbs). The week sucked.

Barb really put in that week. After trying to teach 5 kids with autism she came home to prepare a goulash and a tex-mex special so we could reheat it on the weekend. She spent Friday morning preparing camping gear and packed the car when I returned from my interview. Everyone should have their own personal Barb.

We camped at East Beach, Kiama. All Nances and Walkers (Liz's family) came. We were also fortunate that Jo's new beau, Matt could come along. Matt was great to have along. He patiently taught those interested how to use a river kayak in the surf.

Everyone pitched in their own way. We borrowed a tent for the Walkers, Carol and Rob pitched a giant tarp, Jo brought lots of lovely beer and the Walkers brought enough apples and grapes to feed the entire camp ground!

I still find these events stressful. I love being with everyone but I'm not so good with the chaos. Being around young children can be fun but also reminds me of what Barb and I don't have. I struggle to not let this show too much.

It was fun to be together. No one had to rush to another engagement or had an important errand to run. Our job was to be together.

Bagan

2008-04-02T13:15:00.010+11:00

The latest Food Appreciation Guild (FAG) outing was to Bagan, a new (and Sydney's only) Burmese restaurant in Strathfield. I had read a review in the SMH that stayed with me. You can search for the review:

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/good-living/restaurant-reviews/

We were greeted by velvet covered menus that could have been mistaken for a Indian wedding album. The menu was full of pictures, labeled with names that gave you little indication of what the meal contained. Mitch ordered, with a lot of help from the waitress.

We order the famous pennyworth salad, fried whole fish, lamb curry, seafood hot pot and a couple of other dishes. The food looked influenced by Indian and Chinese cuisine. The curry was divine.

We were joined by Renjit, who was in Sydney after his recent move to the USA and his old flatmate, Caroline. I want to come back and try some of the other dishes on the menu.

Macadamia Nut capital of the world

2008-04-02T11:39:00.013+11:00

There's not a lot of photos of my friend Libby on this blog. That makes me a bit sad because the reason for this is that she lives in a small town outside Lismore called Dunoon. She moved up there about 5 years ago due to her circumstances at the time. I would tease Lib by saying she lives in the "macadamia nut capital of the world".

I recently spent three days hanging out with Lib after leaving my job under difficult circumstances. I really needed some time out We had a great time of catching up, reflecting on some of the difficult things we'd been through and were currently experiencing. We drank lots of Cooper's green and Campos' coffee, and I had the occasional rolly.

We visited the famous markets at The Channon and spent lots of money. Lib kindly modeled some clothes I was thinking about buying for Barb. Lib bought a very cool bookmaker's hat. I really enjoyed hanging out walking, talking, browsing and buying.

We went to Byron Bay one arvo to watch Into the wild. We had to have a couple of beers afterward.

I miss Lib. I miss having a schooner or two of Toohey's Old at the White Cockatoo in Petersham. I miss inviting Lib over for a curry. I miss drinking too much coffee and beer in her backyard. I miss chatting and laughing together. I miss growing up together.

Rob at the cricket

2008-03-25T13:50:00.008+11:00

I took my father-in-law, Rob, to watch the final of the Pura Cup. NSW was desimating the Vics. We both had the day off: Rob - because he was retired, me - because I was unemployed. When we arrived we took a seat in the Ladies Stand. As you can see by the photo above there was plenty of room!

Rob recounted that he hadn't been to the SCG since he was a child. I think he mentioned that he came with his Dad to watch The Don.

The food choices were severely limited. Pies, chips, beer and warm coffee were on offer. I had to take a photo of Rob eating chips. He lives off a very healthy diet, smothered with salads, thanks to his wife Carol. We then had ate lunch at Thai place in Surry Hills that we found along the walk to Central Station.

The Last Dumpling

2008-03-12T10:22:00.013+11:00

The final event for FAG in 2007 was a visit to Hong Fu North East Chinese Restaurant in Parramatta. Mitch ensured us that the pork dumpling were to die for. I guess that's why we had two servings.

Speaking of near death Barb has a great story of when she burnt her face when she ate a very hot dumpling at a similar place in Chinatown. As she bit into the steaming hot dumpling juice from the hot meat squirted across her cheek leaving a red hot burn mark. Barb used the very cold can of unopened coke that I had ordered to cool the burn and continued eating. What a trooper!

Northern Chinese food came into my life when I was 21 years old. My friend Glenn took me to the legendary Seabay Restaurant on Pitt Street to eat hand made noodles and dumplings for my birthday. The host, a tall thin elderly man greeted you with a warm smile and cheesy music. I have eaten here several times, with different groups of friends, some who I've lost contact with. Each time I visit Seabay it brings back memories of both the food and the people I've shared a meal with.

Parramatta is an underrated foodies paradise. Indian and Sri Lankan restaurants jostle with Lebanese and kitsch western food establishments like Hooters, Hog's Breath Cafe, Lone Star & City Extra. A couple of places to try are: El Phoenician (Lebanese), Istana (Malaysian), Temasek (Singaporean), Tingha Palace (Yum Cha), Flavour of Ceylon, Neelam (Indian), Orexi (Greek) and Sahra (Middle Eastern). That should keep you going for a little while. Thanks to www.eatability.com.au

I would also highly recommend the Coffee Emporium in Westfields (Level 5, near the fruit shop). I used to drink coffee at the original shop in Bankstown. Check out their website: www.coffeeemporium.com.au

Wobbly Dessert

2008-03-12T09:30:00.013+11:00

When my friend Renjit turned 30 a couple of years ago I wanted to take him out for a quintessential Sydney experience. I organised for a small group of friends to go swimming at Palm Beach followed by an early dinner at Jonah's. Justin, Kate, Barbara, Renjit and I had all become close friends since Renjit re-located to Sydney, from Perth, via Melbourne.

I had met Renjit in December 1993 at the inaugural Marthoma Youth Camp which was organised by a team of displaced Malayalees living in Canberra. One of the group was Reji, Renjit's older brother. Renjit and I have shared a bond ever since. He still teases me about the bandanna and Roy & HG t-shirt (with an underpants emblem on the front) I wore at the camp. Yes, I was too cool for school.

We had a great time at the beach and had to get dressed after having outdoor showers. I imagine that Renjit, Justin's and my bodies would have been terribly distracting for the locals.

At Jonah's the view was a perfect metaphor for our friendship. We were sitting on the edge of the ocean all looking out together in awe. None of us really knew what was ahead of us but we all knew that we would share the journeys to come together.

The video below captures the moment we shared perfectly. Do it.

Tea for Two

2008-03-12T09:16:00.007+11:00

Barbie and I shared a lovely morning tea at the Tearoom, Gunners Barracks. It's located in Middle Head, near Mosman. It was a lovely way to spend a Monday, that we both had off from work. After our meal, of pretty little things, we wondered done the path to Clifton Gardens to let Tima play on the beach. It's the perfect place to take your mum!

Bhajji and the Beast

2008-02-21T17:04:00.016+11:00

Sorry for the long delay in updating my blog. I thought that a good place to start is on cricket, India and food - three of my favourite things. Most of you would have been aware of the recent tensions between the Aussies and Indians that exploded at the Sydney Test Match. I was fortunate enough to see VVS Laxman's delightful century with my good mate Lib. The controversy surrounds the interaction between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds. I don't want to dwell on the racism aspect of the furore but on the culture clash - i want to discuss the "racism meets food card".

Are we really happy to indulge in other people's food but want nothing to do with the people themselves?

Harbhajan is nicknamed Bhaji by Indians and the Turbanator by Westerners. In the picture below my friend Jamie, and his wife Anne, were stalking the Indian cricket team in Canberra. They were able to get some photos of Bhajji, sans black turban.

Bhajji's are commonly served as entrees in Indian restaurants. They are vegetables battered in chickpea flour and deep fried. My mum would often make bhaijis using onion, potato and cauliflower. We would dip the hot little vegies into sweet chilli sauce. Yummy.

Indian nicknames are curious. I have always found the use of the name "Baby" to refer to certain middle aged Malayalee men a little bit uncomfortable. My dad was known as Jimmy. He was a Jacob. I wonder what he would think of my cricketing nickname, "Scary Spice"?

Aussie nicknames are often dictated by shorten a name and adding an "O", like "Dave-O". Original it ain't. What I do love about some Aussie nicknames is the link to English rhyming slang or one's that have a cryptic edge. Cricketer Adam Gilchrist is known as Gilly by the public and "Churchy" by his team mates. Why? A young autograph hunter once approached Gilchrist and said: 'Excuse me Eric Gilchurch, can I have your autograph?".

Back to Bhajji. One of the strange cultural anomalies that was highlighted by the clashes at the Sydney Test Match is that India is becoming more like Australia and vice versa. This was exposed when some of the Aussie cricketers were involved in filming a Bollywood film at the SCG and at the same time the Indian players were playing beach volley-ball down the road at Bondi Beach.

Blond, fit and very fast bowler Brett Lee seems to have transended the hostility between the two sides and countries. His foray into Bollywood, and duets with Asha Bhosle, has shown his ability to see difference as an opportunity for connection. Lee has used his very blondness, good looks and cricket talent to create a wonderfully open and charming persona within the Indian context. Watch the film clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48eHkZfnGug

Perhaps the clash between Singh and Symonds has nothing to do with culture. Maybe they're two aggressive and passionate sports people who rub up against each other the wrong way. What has changed is that the Indian cricketers are willing to give as good as they get. The soft gentle gandhian like sterotype of the Indian is being eroded. I suspect that there will be a lot more clashes between these two cultures to come. The cricket field is one place that the public will be privy to the clash.

So do you think that we'll see the day when Andrew Symonds (the only brown man in the Aussie cricket team) and Harbhjan Singh do a commercial together eating Bhajjis?

Acha!

Tha Jerk Chicken

2007-09-03T21:13:00.000+10:00

Barb is a project women! She had last Thursday off work and she decided to make jerk chicken.I firsted tasted this dish at some of the carribean shops that served homestyle food in Neasden in the UK. Barbara and I lived here when we went travelling in 2000.

"Jerk" style cooking comes from Jamica, with two key spices: allspice (Jamician pimento) & Scotch Bonnet peppers. The latter are a bit tricky to find in Sydney so Barb used red ball peppers and red chillies. Jamican food has Chinese and East Indian influences.

Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_jerk_spice and if you want to see Tracy cook some jerk chicken go to: http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/jerk_chicken.htm

As you can see by the photo below we all loved the jerk chicken!

My Ma's Fish Molee

2007-09-03T20:30:00.002+10:00

My good mate Renjit texted me one arvo,"Would u like 2 invite me over 4 dinner 2 night?". My response was "sure thing mofo" and I returned home from work to cook a traditonal Kerala style meal, featuring a fish curry cooked in coconut milk broth. This dish is usually served with lace appam (fermented rice pancake).

This recipe comes from "A Treasure Chest of Recipes". This book was put together by the Marthoma Church in Sydney. It is a pucka Kerala dish:

1/2 kg Spanish mackeral sliced 2 onions thinly sliced
1 inch ginger, chopped 6 green chillies thingly sliced
4 cloves garlic chopped 1 sprig curry leaves
1 cup thin coconut milk 2 tomotoes sliced thick
3 tablespoon oil

Spice mixture:
1 teaspoon corriander powder 1/4 teaspoon pepper powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin powder 1/4 teaspoon tumeric powder
4 cloves garlic

Heat the oil in a flat pan with lid. Fry the sliced ingredients until light brown. Add the ground spices and curry leaves and stir on a low heat for 5 minutes.

Using a spatula push the mixture to one side of the pan. Place the fish pieces in a single layer in the centre*. Put the mixture (masala) over the fish and add the coconut milk.

Sprinkle salt then place the sliced tomotoes on top, simmer till fish is cooked through and remove from fire.

This dish is best eaten using your hand.

*The fish can be fried in a spice mixture before adding the coconut milk.

Cricketer's Arms

2007-08-20T12:29:00.000+10:00

I know this is food blog but I had to include this picture of my mate Slem as Jesus. Aaron, who is animator, created this picture following Slem's amazing century during winter cricket. The Cricketers Arms went on to win this semi and the final.

Weekend's Away

2007-08-12T14:10:00.002+10:00

Following the death of Maya last year Barbara and I have made the decision to take weekend's away as often as we can. This has been helped by the gernerosity of family with holiday homes.

Barb and I took a spontaneous trip to Bilipin in March to stay at an orchard. It was lovely because they provided local produce from their farm.

We ate, talked, swum, bushwalked and rested. We also had to place a vote at the local school hall.

Barmuda Cafe, Australia St, Newtown

2007-08-12T13:52:00.000+10:00

I like Bamuda cafe in Newotn. I think it does the best breakies in the Inner West. See my ricotta hot cakes above. Delish!! The coffee's good, service is prompt and they alway serve you water. Barb's a fan of the Planet Newton.

My friend Anthony took me there years ago. I love to catch up with a friend during the week for a coffee and a good chat. It was actually the place that my Mum and Barb's parents meet for the first time.

Dr Proctor

2007-08-12T13:36:00.000+10:00

Here is Ali nd Barb enjoying some local chinese take-away (roast duck) in Canberra. Ali is an flamate of Barb's when she used to live in Ultimo. Ali's a top chick who loves life.

Yum Cha

2007-08-07T07:27:00.001+10:00

For Barb's older sister Liz we celebrated her birthday (36) at a chinese restuarant. It was the usual suspects: Jake & Barb, Carol & Rob, Sister Jo, Liz, Al, Ameile & Kataya and Al's lovely parents, Roger & Robyn.

I love the chaos of yum cha. Everyone says at the start, "Hey you can choose" but as soon as the silver carts go by everyone is is yelling out for this dish or another.

What I aslo love about these occasions is how the Nance gene is never too far away. Carol brought along a delightful Margaret Fulton classic desert. It was great!

Manu & Lisa

2007-08-05T22:31:00.000+10:00

Barbara and I finally caught up with Manu and Lisa. They got married in India last year and spent some time in Harvey Bay, where Manu was working before moving to Sydney in Jan. Lisa is someone I have known for several years through the Marthoma crowd. Lisa went to the trouble of cooking a lovely indian meal.

I value these types of relationships as there is a boat-load of cultural and religious dilemmas that we can share and explore when we are together. (BTW Lisa was the chick in the stunning yellow sari at our wedding).

Braised Oxtail

2007-08-05T22:02:00.000+10:00

I saw this recipe on the SBS Food lovers Gude to Australia. I couldn't resist. I think i was drawn in by the use of 2 litres of wine.

Ingredients:
2 kilo oxtail
extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots,sliced
1 ½ -2 litres red wine
2 large oranges, juiced
water or beef stock
Orange zest

Method:
Trim off excess fat from the oxtail.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan, add sliced shallots and brown the oxtail.
Remove the browned oxtail to a deep saucepan.
Deglaze the pan with some of the red wine and pour over meat. Add the remainder of the red wine, juice of 2 oranges and enough water to cover the meat. Bring it to boil and simmer for about 2 hours.
Add the zest of 2 oranges and simmer for a further hour.

At this stage the oxtail and sauce can be put into refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
While chilled, skim off the fat then bring meat and sauce back to simmering point.
Remove the oxtail and place in oven to keep it warm and reduce the remaining sauce.
An option is to stir a dollop of butter into pot to enrich the reduced sauce before serving.

Serve with lightly cooked asparagus and crusty bread.

Well as you can see by this recipe I am still struggling with my cholestrol situation. Well everyone enjoyed the meal.

Good Cholestrol, Bad Cholestrol

2007-08-05T21:30:00.000+10:00

I've got high cholestrol. Bugger! Well Jenny, my GP, said it was good that i have found out about it now. Well as you can seen by the entries on this blog eating is one of my hobbies. I've struggled with choosing poached organic chicken breast over caussoulet.

My dad died in his early 60's of a heart attack so i'm learning to be careful. I have to go back to the GP and get re-tested. Well it's put the fear of ignorance into a couple of my mates. Please just one more piece of duck confit. Please.

Thirty Five

2007-08-05T21:02:00.001+10:00

I was spoit for my thirty fifth birthday this year. Barb reprised last years family Xmas dinner of roast pork. It's a recipe from the bible (Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion), called Justin's wonderful rack of pork". Watching Kate savour the crackling was a real joy. She was formerly a vego a couple of years ago. Entree was seared scallops, on the shell with avacado salsa. Desert was a poached pear in saffron and vanilla, followed by a french goats cheese and pettite fours from Adora hand made chocolates.

Sugar Anyone?

2007-07-03T19:20:00.000+10:00

My friend Renjit took this picture when he was in India a couple of years ago. It reminds me of the a story I heard recently of a jalebi eating contest. A jalebi is like eating deep fried orange sugar, soaked in sugar syrup. I think they ate over 20 jalebis each.

Here is a jalebi recipe for you to try at home from http://www.bawarchi.com/cookbook/rajasthan1.html

Ingredients
200 gms. plain flour (maida)
20 gms. gram flour (besan)
200 gms. sugar
few drops yellow colour
2 tbsp. milk
ghee to deep fry
a plastic easy squeeze bottle

Method

Sieve 100 gms. maida and besan together.
Make a batter using warm water.
Keep aside for 24 hours.
Add remaining maida and food colour and more warm water if required.
The batter should fall easily when poured - Not too thick not too thin. Keep aside.
Make syrup of the sugar by adding water and boiling.
Add the milk and all the scum to form while boiling.
Make one string syrup. Strain.
Fill bottle with batter. The nozzle should have a hole the thickness of a knitting needle.
Heat ghee well in a shallow frying pan and form jalebis in the form of concentric circles about 2 inches on the outside.
Fry till crisp, drop into hot syrup. Drain with a perforated spoon, serve hot.
Makes: 30-35 pieces

The Harp

2007-06-27T21:33:00.000+10:00

This is me sharing a beer with my missus at our local, The Harp in Tempe.

АПЛОДИСМЕНТЫ (Cheers)

2007-06-06T20:54:00.000+10:00

There exists an unspoken social contract when you visit a restaurant that promotes itself along the lines of a specific culture. When I visit the local German club I expect to see leather clothing, drink wheat beer and eat pork sausages. The service should be efficient yet indifferent. Only Thai restaurants are exempt from this rule.

Recently FAG visited the Russian Coachmen. A Surry Hills institution located on the tree lined Bourke St (East Redfern side). I actually lived about a block away in 1996 and have longed to visit this place. It didn't disappoint.

The visit started without Emily's booking being recorded in the rather large but sparce diary. The fit dude with short cropped hair said it wouldn't be a problem as the restaurant was empty. A falsehood as later in the night was to prove.

As you can see from photo above, the place had a sort of boudoir quality about it. There was a lot of red velvet to recline against. The lighting was non existent and I think they were trying to save a few rubles by not heating the place. The live entertainment was not provided, "not enough bookings". So we were entertained by the ambience created by the giant plasma screen blaring out indian pop and our own stumble towards drunkness.

We debated the economics of buying a bottle over individual glasses of vodka. It cost about the same either way but the opportunity to order a bottle of vodka seemed to match the spirit of dinner at a Russian-themed restaurant. The order was made and a second request by the reluctant Phil saw the crisp bottle of Polar Bear vodka appear.

We encouraged from the bar to our table by the lovely, yet laconic waitress from Odessa. Her response to "How's the veal come?" was "Veal. It's veal.".

The food was salty and rich in fat. Entrees of pickled herring, with roasted potates, vegetables drentched in mayo/cream and a lovely smoked salmon salad. Sorry I can't forget the meat dumpling dolped with cream.

Meat filled main courses were consumed. A couple of people had the beef stroganoff (yes more cream and meat!), Renjit and Mitch had the meet and cheese. Another bottle of vodka was downed. Desert was either bavoiris or crepes. We were kinda sloshed now. It's seemed that the contract with Russian Coachmen had been fulfilled. The bill was paid.

Nearby a bunch of Russian youngsters, enjoying a banquet, turned their attention from becoming well-pickled to us. Words were exchanged, tomotoes were thrown, Boris Yeltsin and Putin were used to insult and inflame. Biffo was barely avoided.

Standing outside the gaudy facade of the Coachmen the mood of the Fagsters had changed. Reminiscences were quickly shared. Hurried farewells were said and taxi's were jumped into. What a night.

Sailor's Thai

2007-05-23T22:50:00.000+10:00

This photo was taken at Sailors Thai Restaurant. My good friend Renjit gave my wife Barb a gift voucher to this restaurant in December 2005 for her 30th Birthday. It was a very thoughtful gift as Renjit and I had shared a couple of meals upstairs at the Canteen before he moved to Sydney. Sailor's Thai sort of signified all that Melbourne was not. Barb was part way throught the pregnancy of our daughter Maya, who was born on 16 May 2005 and died 5 days later, when we shared this meal together.

This was the desert.

Justin's fatherdom dinner

2007-05-23T18:35:00.000+10:00

Late last year I organsed a dinner at the fantastic restaurant at the Three Weeds Pub for my mate Juzzy who was about to become a dad. It was a dinner for roasting Justin's fears of fatherhood while eating sublimly rich food and NZ vino.

Fresh made sourdough bread rolls kept us full until entrees of cured ocean trout with avacodo icecream followed by perfertly cooked and tender fish mains. Wow. I can remember that each time I took a mouthful of the fish I was hoping there was still some left.

It was at the 3 weeds, about a decade ago, I enjoyed hearing Deb Conway and her band while eating fish and chips. Thing's have changed.

Pink Sugar

2007-05-23T18:23:00.000+10:00

Here's my missus, Barb and good friend Vicky enjoying fairy floss at our local primary school fete. No dagwood dogs (a battered & deep fried hot dog) in sight!!

Meat Feast

2007-05-22T19:28:00.001+10:00

Every few months a goup of friends who have a love of food, both kitsch and ethnic, get togther. We are known as FAG or Food Appreciation Guild. The last FAG outing was at the family run La Parrillada, Leichhardt. A group of 6 shared about 3kg's of bbq meat, Peruvian style. A mixture of pork, beef and lamb served on a hibatichi. Unfortunately La Parrillada's "All You can Eat" special ($19.90) had run out so there was no deliciously succulent chicken. This was the main meal, after we had consummed a bowl of deep fried chips and deep fried sausages. I highly recommend this restaurant.