An Afternoon out on the Peninsula (April 21)

The last of a trio of food reviews for the day. We're currently in the twilight period of the day. I've stretched my legs, had a shower and started dinner. Must say it's been a rather productive day today. Hope I can continue in this vein tomorrow.
So on Tuesday (April 21) I had a couple of things to do in the area. The first was to collect some mail from my PO Box in Umina Beach. The second was to get my Flu Vax jab at the surgery I semi-regularly attend in Woy Woy. Once the latter was done, grocery shopping was required. I had decided that I wasn't just going to go to Deep Water Plaza in the afternoon after collecting the mail, might as well make a day of it. The laptop gets packed as well so I can do something in the three hours I'll be hanging around. Of course, I'll need lunch. Today I desired a burger, one of the chicken variety. The choices were BFF outside Deep Water Plaza, Lush 1659 inside the plaza, or stroll to either KFC or McDonalds. Lush won seeing the weather wasn't too great. Sure enough, not long after entering the shopping centre it starts raining again.
Last time I dined at Lush was in 2024 when I had lunch with a friend of mine. BFF was in 2025. Either way I was going to be updating my dining experience at one of these places. Though they were a little busy on Tuesday (it was around midday when I ordered there) I still got my chicken schnitzel burger in about ten minutes. Same sized plate as last time, pretty much the same amount of fries and the burger was practically the same as well.

First bite though and the schnitzel was quite hot. Was it just taken out of a microwave? I had to let it cool for a bit before biting back into it. This time round, there was no problem with finishing the meal off. I even took my time seeing I was going through my e-mails.
I checked my bank account before finishing this post to find a $28 debit from the cafe. That included a can of drink and a surcharge for a bank card transaction. I felt that considering the size of the meal, $28 wasn't worth it. However, that seems to be the average price charged these days for a burger meal. The meal itself wasn't that bad though I'm now thinking that for better value I'd be better off buying a takeaway from the noodle place outside or wait until I got for my monthly trivia night at the Gosford Hotel. I may pay $30 there for a chicken parma with salad and chips but it's worth it.

Link correct at time of posting.

Picture taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2026.

Exploring Singapore Noodle Options 4 (April 2)

The second of my meal reviews for the day. Since I finished the first post (A Burger in-between Rounds), the weather has changed for the better. The temperature has dropped a point, the sun is out and one member of the local wildlife is wandering around my lawn picking at what's on it. In this case, it's a hungry kookaburra that has been quite successful and is now perched on the fence no doubt feeling rather satisfied.

I was a little busy at the start of April, with my mental health support groups on the 2nd and the 7th. This month being one of the rare occasions where I attended the Thursday group in Woy Woy before co-facilitating the Tuesday anxiety group in Wyoming. I also had to stick around at home on the Thursday, just in case technicians upgrading the electricity meter at the front property needed access to my place. They didn't and by midday I was walking down the laneway to catch the bus into Woy Woy and join the group at our usual location for the meetings on the foreshore during February to April. There was also a Mariners double-header at the stadium on Saturday (April 4th), the last one for the current season.
My choice of meals that lunchtime depended on which stand my bus pulls up at at the station. If it's towards the front, then it's the Noodle House on Blackwall Road. If it's at the rear, it's Woy Woy Asian Noodle and Chinese on the outside of Deepwater Plaza. Either one of them, I had decided, was going to be sampled yet again and this time added to my noodle posts. The bus stopped at Stand A, so it was Noodle House.
However, upon walking down Blackwall Road, I noticed that the casual cafe was unfortunately closed that lunchtime. This made things a little awkward. I had my heart set on a noodle dish and I really wasn't going to change my mind. Tempted as I was to try a nearby Thai place I hadn't dined at before, I decided to wander back towards the plaza, which meant crossing the main road back and forth before progressing towards the waterfront.
One bonus of getting lunch at Asian Noodle is that they have a lunch deal. If you order one item from 1-35 on the menu, you can add a can of soft drink for a $1, bringing the grand total to $13.90. Singapore Noodle is selection number 13. It is little more than a stove and a fridge but there is room for a couple of tables indoor and another pair out the front. The place is also quite popular for various menu delivery services.

On this occasion, I was satisfied with my meal when I finally got to the covered picnic benches where we've been dining for years. Both places that I've mentioned are currently running two and three behind Yi Yi in the Imperial Shopping Centre. The one I ate this time is worthy of being second with just enough curry powder to give it a kick, which is how I usually like it. Like the current leader it is consistently good and even with my fussy diet I find myself emptying the bowl completely, although when I grabbed another takeaway on the 10th, after doing some grocery shopping, one of the pork pieces felt like it had some bone in it and I had to remove it. That's been the only time that's happened since I've ordered food from there

Picture taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2026.

Links correct at the time of posting.

A Burger in-between Rounds (March 21)

A very autumn day here today. Overcast, sun is struggling to pierce the clouds but according to the weather app it's 20°. Sure doesn't feel like it. Regardless of what it's like outside it's a good day to to stay indoors and catch up on my blog posts, of which there are several to get through.
The food blog has three and this is the first of them. I had almost forgotten this one after the repeated trips to Parramatta for the Women's AFC. It's a crossover post for the gaming blog seeing this is related to an event I participated in on March 21.
For four years now at the Ourimbah RSL, which is on the main road pretty much in the centre in the township, there has been one day Blood Bowl tournament held, which, for some like myself, is usually the first one they play in every year. I've been running, or co-running gaming events on the coast since 2006, though these events didn't become official until 2010 with the first running of the Gosford Gauntlet. As a specialist gamer, I'm glad to see these events on the coast, which have grown in size since Covid, attracting players from Sydney and beyond.
The venue is very easy to get to. Being on the main road, it is a short 5 minute walk from the local train station albeit that you have to cross the road, then cross back over again to get to there. Being one of the smaller stations though it's only serviced once an hour. You can get a bus to the location (from either direction the #36 passes through there) or you can drive if you live locally. Some of the Sydney-siders do it seeing there's an M1 freeway intersection about a minute north of the venue.
Result wise, it wasn't that great for me, with just one draw to show for it out of the three games. (If you want to read the match notes you can find them here when I've posted them. Just one of the few posts I need to create.) The first game was terribly frustrating and I was quite relieved to get downstairs for a drink and a bite to eat around 12.30pm.
Last year I opted for the loaded fries. This year I went for a burger, which range in price from $25 to $32 if you're not a member. On their dining room menu you have a choice of four. Having had their beef burger before, I decided on the fried chicken option this time, which is served with cheese, slaw and sriracha aioli with a small serving of chips, which is standard for all burger meals.

The burger wasn't too bad, though I found the slaw quite annoying seeing it escaped the burger with every bite. Not to worry, you can eat it up with the chips. It was the right option in-between rounds and it was just the thing I needed before returning to the games room upstairs, after washing it all down with an alcoholic ginger beer.
There are plenty of other food options for a quick bite on a games day. The entrees have a varied selection, including the stock standard potato wedges, spring rolls and garlic bread. There are salad options as well though if you want something quicker and cheaper you can grab a sandwich or a sausage roll from the coffee bar.
Ourimbah RSL is a nice venue. Staff are genuinely friendly and you can stick around for a drink or two outside if time allows, stay for another meal, watch the live sport on multiple TV sets or listen to the evening entertainment. It is a very convenient option for yours truly seeing he has a mate that lives a couple of minutes down the road. Even if he isn't going, one can catch the #36 practically right outside his front door and can get dropped off at the school across the road.

Links correct at the time of posting.

Picture by Geoff G Turner (c) 2026.