The Derby West

As yesterday was Friday and we went out a bit and had a good time. We decided to go out for lunch, so we tried a new place called The Derby West. I thought it would be more of an Aussie bar, but when we got inside it was a little surprising. There was a tiny bar and many small tables. We got the "lunch set" which included the soup of the day and garlic bread, your choice of entree, a side and a drink. The soup was a thick stew with bok choy and carrots with tomato/beef based broth. It was WONDERFUL! The garlic bread tasted really good with it too. Colin got a mixed green salad with smoked salmon and I got the New Zealand sirloin with fries. The salad came with a fish sauce vinaigrette (yum) and the steak came with steamed veggies and a nice gravy. Colin ordered the orange juice, which didn't sound appetizing with my meal, but I wish that I had after ordering the "tea drink". It was a milky drink made from a powder. Not what I was expecting at all. It was a bit chalky, but after having received hot tea in the other restaurant, I assumed that it would be brewed, but apparently not. The meal was very nice, though a bit out of our budget as something we do frequently, but it was a nice change.

After that we bought a few house items. I got my own pair of flip flops for wearing around the apartment, since there is an ocean that is our kitchen floor from our leaky/torn washing machine hose. Supposedly it'll get fixed this weekend. We also bought a ceramic knife, which should be sharp - as knives are supposed to be. This means I won't have to try to clean another chicken with a butcher's knife. YAY! The last thing we got for the apartment is a nice soft bath mat. It's nicer than the cold floor and soft. We're also hoping it'll help keep our floor cleaner by catching most of what comes in the door on our feet from the rest of the apartment.

After making our purchases, we went to the mall to walk around. It is interesting - there are a few "kindergartens" there, which I assume are child care facilities, but ones that particularly teach art or math or English. I also got to see the large grocery store that was the top floor of the building. It seemed pretty nice. It's got more variety than most of the other Wellcome stores around the neighborhoods and you can buy in a decent size of bulk. I also really liked the toy store and wanted to search for some art supplies there, but didn't get a good chance to look for them. We might take a walk back down that direction today.

It was a pretty good day and the culinary excitement has led me to another venture today: risotto. Dinner should be an interesting affair.

:)