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Dinner with Aussie and Chinese friends12e27382-52d2-4f8c-b2bf-d08ab6ab33c9

I visit a local dumpling restaurant regularly with a friend of mine [Jon] and we have formed a close friendship with a young man [Peter] who is from Sichuan Province in China but studying here in Canberra at university.  Lately, we have had dinner with Peter and his girlfriend Katie so Jon and I wanted to take Peter to a restaurant that was typical of Australia.Image 1fullsizeoutput_306Jon chose The Green Herring Restaurant which is located in a historic village near my home.  The restaurant is housed in one of Canberra’s oldest buildings; a 150 year old slab hut.  The Slab Hut was built in 1860 in a small town about 100 kilometres from Canberra and was transported to Canberra in 1970 and has been The Green Herring Restaurant for over twenty years.  The owner told us that the restaurant still maintains the original construction materials from almost 150 years ago with minor modifications and extensions to provide the necessities for restaurant operations.fullsizeoutput_307We arrived and were shown to our table.  The inside of this beautiful building is just as charming as the outside but probably a little too old fashioned for me. fullsizeoutput_30dfullsizeoutput_308We ordered a bottle of Australian wine but found out Peter doesn’t drink so we ordered him a soft drink.  Jon knows the owner of the restaurant having been there several times, so we were lucky to have personal service from the owner that evening.  We started off with a cob loaf with roasted garlic butter and balsamic olive oil as well as dukkah focaccia bread with a duo of dips.fullsizeoutput_305fullsizeoutput_30bFor our main courses, I of course, chose non meat dishes [a very nice pumpkin dish] and Jon discussed with Peter the Australian cuisine on the menu and then ordered for them both.  They ate kangaroo, Australian prawns, Australian lamb and Australian eye rib fillet…fullsizeoutput_30cfullsizeoutput_301fullsizeoutput_2fffullsizeoutput_304

fullsizeoutput_2fdWe also shared a couple of side dishes; beans and toasted almonds and buttery mashed potatoes…fullsizeoutput_30aThroughout the evening, it was lovely chatting to Peter and getting to know him a little better; hearing about his family in China and his studies in Australia.  He has since invited us to meet his family in China [which we are now doing next month; so looking forward to returning to what I call ‘my second homeland’].

It was then time for dessert and as all desserts contained gelatine, I passed!!  But the owner kindly had a lovely little cup of fresh fruit and ice cream prepared for me.  Must say the main dessert plate looked pretty good though.fullsizeoutput_302fullsizeoutput_303All in all a great night of fun conversation which allowed me to practice my Chinese (sometimes successfully)…