Too Cool For School

  • May 31, 2022

I walked to the university today. This is no small walk, and with brief stops at two shopping centers (Waratah and Jesmond) it took me about 3.5 hours.

As you can see the weather was beautiful. But it was also very windy: I even got a wind alert on my phone! This hardly bothered me as I swaggered along in my shorts and t-shirt.

At Jesmond post office I was amused to hear some women talking about how cold it was outside. Australians have a very different impression of ‘cold’ than what I’ve become used to, and it seems for some these are the days to stay indoors!

Newcastle uni – my old stomping ground for 3.5 years between ’90 and ’93 – hadn’t changed that much. The buildings I used to take classes in were all there, and the vibe of the place wasn’t far removed from three decades ago. It’s still a very green campus, if an ugly one.

The little shop I used to buy my sausage rolls in is now a Subway. The old video arcade in the student union is now an admin office. The big restaurant that sold fried rice and egg rolls has become a large empty room and overall everything seemed a little more sterile and dour than I recall. I also saw very few students, which surprised me since classes are still in progress. Maybe they’re too cold?

That’s the engineering building where we moved to play our MUDs when maths got antsy, and a bit further along I walked past the ‘bar on the hill’ where I almost got crushed at a Tex Perkins concert. The buildings seemed closer together than I had remembered. Maybe I’ve just gotten bigger?

I caught the train back to Hamilton, a four minute trip from the uni station that never existed back in my day. It was easy and convenient, and won’t be the last train I catch this trip.

At Beaumont street I found the above chalk scrawlings. Call me a skeptic but these – which stretched nearly the full length of this popular shopping street – seemed to be accompanied by bill poster adverts for ‘alien’ t-shirts. Was this just a local designers viral marketing scheme?

The winds had picked up and it was time to get back to mums. By the time I arrived I was a bit exhausted – I’d been walking about 5 hours – but today was worth it for the nostalgia alone 🙂

Ramen 16: Great Southern Chicken

  • May 30, 2022

A new hemisphere has revealed new chicken ramen, just waiting for my review. With no further delay…

Fantastic Chicken Noodles (1449 kJ, 18.6 g fat, 1090 mg sodium)

It takes bravery to name a product ‘fantastic’, and is this case it’s absolutely misplaced. The inclusion of desiccated peas and weirdly green spices gave me pause, but the strangely root-like noodles were the biggest deterrent.

I was hungry when I prepared it, and dove right in, but this product tasted of weeds and dank places. The noodles were the worst culprit, with a spongy cellulose texture and the taste of wood pulp. This was a shockingly bad ramen noodle, and I’d fly to the other side of the world to never have to eat one again. I’ll score it -8/10

Maggi Chicken Noodles (1290 kJ, 10.2 g fat, 1515 mg sodium)

I read this is Australia’s best-selling noodle product (not just chicken noodle, but overall) and I’ve reviewed the brick version here over a year ago. The cup contained fewer than the usual amount of noodles, and the veggie pack was only finely diced carrots!

As with the brick version this was… only ok. I’ve eaten forty-something chicken noodle products now and this would be squarely in the middle: enough to keep you alive but nothing to look forward to. I used to love this flavor as a kid, but now obviously my tastes have matured: 5/10.

Choice Chicken Noodle Soup (1350 kJ, 13.7 g fat, 1150 mg sodium)

This is (I believe) the Woolworths store brand and the least expensive ($0.75) of those tested here. It looks like Fantastic spices combined with Maggi noodles and I wasn’t expecting much.

To my surprise this was pretty good! The noodles were better than most, and the spice taste was slightly peppery and more chickeny than the two above. The more I ate the more I liked it, and if I were to eat more ramen here in Oz this – so far – would top my list. A solid 7/10.

So far, I’ve found nothing too special or unusual on the shelves here. But there’s more to come, so maybe the next post will reveal a surprise or two?

  • Posted in Australia
  • Robert

Review: Cowboy Angus

  • May 29, 2022

This time I went to Hungry Jacks (the Australian version of Burger King) and once again ordered something I’d never usually consider: the Cowboy Angus.

As you can see I got the meal, and it may be a little difficult to see in the above shot but the box the burger was served in was massive. You could have easily fit a couple of Big Macs in there. I was terrified since I eat like a bird these days.

Here’s the marketing shot compared to what I got:

At first glance – and indeed at second – the bacon and onion rings seem absent. Perhaps they’re hiding inside:

So they were, albeit hardly as impressively abundant as the marketing suggests. You will also note the absence of any sauce, since I ‘had it my way’ and ordered the burger without mayonnaise, mustard or ‘sweet sauce’. I’m am not one to spoil perfectly dry food with evil sauces!

The first bite was ok and the second better. I had prepared for the worst after the debacle that was the macca’s burger, but about a third of the way in I realized this was fantastic!

This might be an ugly burger – and obviously it’s much too big – but the taste was quite wonderful. Each bite was an explosion of meaty goodness, with a hint of crispy onion and acceptable cheese. As much as I tried (did I say it was way too big) I couldn’t stop eating it and before I knew it had finished it all!

Of course I’ll never eat one again, but I have to say that overall this Grill Masters Cowboy Angus was delicious and worth the money Bernard is paying me to eat it! But I think that’s enough burgers for now… I think it’s time to try some chicken!