Ass goblins and eccentricities aside, fish 'n' chips is a neat regional-style dish and I am interested in trying more of it. I found an H Salt Fish and Chips restaurant just a short while ago...it is just on the other side of the boulevard. H Salt is a chain that I recall at least from the 70's here in the US. It has declined in popularity but evidently a few still exist!

Always nice rediscovering a seemingly extinct old hole. Wimpy Bars are few and far between, as are the Harry Ramsden's Fish and Chip shop chain.

I have never heard of dehydrated onions, I always use fresh one, but then my burgers do not taste like Macdonald's burgers as they are just pure meat, a bit of onion and egg and nothing else fried in real butter. with salt, pepper and garlic spices.

I have only had fish and chips once, at the harbor down here in Bergen. I thought it was delicious, and I agree that a dish do not have to be complicated to be good. Steak with baked potato is not complicated but it is really good.

I just saw the Jekyll & Hyde Club on a rerun of The Girls Next Door, looks freakin awesome!

The dehydrated onions are just that. They come in small sachets we keep in the back room and just have water added a little while beforehand. Good for storage.

And yeah, fish and chips is definitely the idea sea side food. Until the seagull bastards start gathering...

I have never seen dried onions in stores in Norway, but if I see it I will have to pick up a package and try it out.

Seagulls are in permanent residence on the harbor in Bergen, however they are more interested in the fishermen gutting their catch a way further down the harbor than in people eating fish and chips. That reminds me that it is probably possible to get fish and chips again on the harbor now that spring have come, perhaps I should drag my hubby out to get some one of these days.

Oh and that reminds me of another harbor delicacy, fresh shrimps which where in the sea a few hours before, just boiled and eaten as is, very simple food, but extremely good.

Has anyone ordered something from a restaurant and got loads more than they bargained for? I went to one and ordered cheese on toast and a spicy bean burger just for myself before a night out on the booze to fill up on much needed grease. I ended up with two massive plates of food. The cheese on toast came with salad, pasta, cous cous, pulses and coffee, the bean burger also came with more salad, pasts, cous cous, pulses and two slices of pitta bread all covered in a spicy fresh onion sauce. I somehow managed to eat both dishes except for the pitta bread which I can't stand.

Oh and I'm going to my local "chippy" in a bit for mixed vegeatables in black bean sauce and chippy chips.

I am most certainly an "eyes bigger than my stomach" person. I'd have made the same mistake - would have ended in me half dead from gluttony and my dad happily finishing my portions. There's a pub nearby which is terrible for it. One garlic bread portion can fill the whole table.

I love food. Really love it. Love trying new things, and love going back to old favourites.

Some favourites:

German food. Things like pork knuckles, dumplings, Jaeger schnitzel, Goulash soup, liver dumpling soup. Some of the greatest food to eat on a cold winter's day. Goes very well with a good German wheat beer.

French food. Its complexity and delicacy make it as much a work of art as a meal. Makes for a supreme dining experience when you want to admire as well as savour. And it is a great excuse to drink French wines :) Then, simpler fare such as grilled trout. Some of the best fish and chips that I have ever had was on the bonnet of a car from a roadside vendor in the south of France.

American food. Americans make some amazing food. Chili. Southern style barbecue. Cajun food. When I have people over for a barbecue at home, this is what I will often make. It shows that barbecuing is not just about burning meat to a crisp over hot flames.

Italian food. A great food when you want something simple but amazingly tasty. I prefer pizzas and pastas to mains.

Greek food. Fried haloumi, barbecued seafood, dips. Amazing stuff.

Middle Eastern. Again, full of flavour and the sort of food you just want to eat with a whole bunch of people in a very casual and comfortable setting.

Thai food. Spicy and complex flavours.

Korean BBQ.

Indian food. Such a huge range of flavours (unfortunately we mainly see a small portion of that in most Indian restaurants).

There are so many great foods. Unfortunately, there are so many bad restaurants.

Manchester's droolingly descriptive post covers a lot of ground!

Yeah, I like variety :D

Manchester your post made me hungry. There are indeed so many great foods from around the world. One thing I miss though is more variation in Italian restaurants, the Italian kitchen is so rich, but all you ever see is pasta and pizza, now do not get me wrong,I love both pizza and pasta, but it would be nice to see more of the Italian kitchen.

I also really like the English kitchen, it is often overlooked and marked as boring, however I love things like Sheppard's Pie and other traditional British foods. I love fancy foods to, but sometimes I just like to relax with something simple.

I also love all kinds of Asian food, I love to taste spices that are normally not used over here. Often in Asian food flavors are mixed in ways which really work out well but which is not common over here and it is exiting to try out.

Book you made me smile with you're mention of "Shepherd's Pie" we also have "Cottage Pie" here in the UK but someone more knowledgable than me will have to explain the difference.

My fave food has to be Italian-though I haven't tried the spaghetti desert thing they specialise in yet and I'm very curious as to what that tastes like.

We have this going on at the moment. I like bacon, but in moderation!

And yes, there is bacon in that sundae.

http://k2togp2tog.files.wordpress.co...n-of-bacon.jpg

I'm also a lover of bacon, but even I wouldn't get the bacon sundae. All I can say is "ick!"

Shepherd's is made with lamb or mutton, cottage is made with beef ;)

I do love a good cottage pie. Anything with Mashed potato really - bangers and mash is a definite favourite.

As for bacon, I think it depends on how it's cooked. I often find restaurants do bacon far too streaky and crispy. This is how good bacon looks.

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thum...aked-beans.jpg

Blech! How often do you land in the hospital with salmonella poisoning?

:eek: What's wrong with a bit of back bacon?!

LOL, I was thinking the same thing! Undercooked egg, raw bacon......*gag*

Pfft! I wouldn't touch egg! The chick's that...never were :(

But that bacon is perfect! None of that brittle streaky crap.

We call that stuff "Canadian Bacon" where I live. Regular bacon is greasy and crisp here.

Greasy and crisp. Just the way I like it.:D

http://www.kryptonitekollectibles.co...omerbacon2.jpg

Sydney has some decent Italian restaurants that offer more than just pizza and pasta. But often I find that the pizza and pasta are what they do best anyway.

One of the problems that I have found with most Italian restaurants I have been to outside of Italy is that they don't seem to care about the presentation of their food. They sometimes cook good food, but you wouldn't tell by looking at it. This is a shame - it doesn't do justice to what they have prepared.

As a result, I don't think I have ever really thought of going to an Italian restaurant in Sydney for a "special" dining experience.

On the subject of bacon myself and a friend went to a restaurent for all day English Breakfasts. I got as usual the vegetarian offering but my friend was shocked to discover he got no bacon with his. I actually asked the waiter if there had been a mistake but no their all day breakfasts did indeed come without bacon. It's like Shepherd's Pie without the mash, fish n chips without the fish. Even though I'm veggie myself I was in shock for my poor mate he had really been looking forward to greasy bacon lol what a ripoff!

I would have thrown the hot breakfast back in their face!

@Manchestr - I know exactly what you mean about the presentation, it all just seems to...die on the plate.

But this is usually balanced by the wonderful Mediterranean decor! All those stone steps, candles and vines really set the scene.