Melbourne's Tram Car Restaurant

This fabulous Melbourne tourist attaction has won many awards for its high standards and professional service. The old trams were given extensive makeovers with plush velvet seating, cooking facilities, refrigeration and of couse stabilisers. You would not believe how smoothly this old ram glides along with nary a clink of its glasses or a rattle of its cutlery. The one-way darkened windows allow patrons to see out but outsiders cannot see in. What better way for tourists to see Melbourne by night than from a travelling restaurant.This particular menu is from the 1990's and was served hot and with great style by the waiting staff.

The Melbourne Cup 1963

This is a fascinating menu from the Hotel Australia in Collins Street Melbourne in 1963. The Australia Hotel was a very popular hotel with the racing crowd with many trainers and jockeys staying there. more than once was the old safe at the hotel a temporary resting place for the gold cup. In 1963 the prize money for the cup was 25,000 pounds and it was won by Gatum Gatum ridden by J. Johnson. Also on offer was 12 new Falcon cars for the best dressed ladies.
This race is the richest "2 mile" handicap race in the world with prize money in 2012 being $6,175,00.00 plus trophies valued at $125,00.
The menu is interesting historically because notice the chicken being the most expensive item on the menu. ( there were no large chicken farms in those days ).

The mention of Rising Fast with the souffle refers to the famous New Zealand bred horse which is the only horse ever to have won the Melbourne Cup, the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate in the same year. Consomme Jockey Club is a chicken consomme garnished with diced carrots, pea and chicken royale.

National Restaurant Association. U.S.A.

Now for a function menu, a very memorable function menu. The 1982 Grand Banquet and Show for the National Restaurant Association of America in Chicago. This was definately the biggest and most impressive banquet I have ever been to, on the most gigantic scale. This was a sit down banquet for 2,500 people with a 5 course meal, a 60 piece orchestra and a dance floor for 600.
The menu as shown was excellent, served hot and all 5 courses completed in 1 and 3/4 hours which is quite a feat for large scale catering. This was followed by a floor show featuring Doc Severinsen on the trumpet ( he was the band leader on the tonight show ) and comic Flip Wilson. On our table we had 10 Koalas stacked up in the center and you could get a dance with the prettiest girl in the room for a Koala, in fact I danced with the daughter of the President of the NRA for a koala.
Also it was amazing to talk to some of the American people on our table who were all carrying concealed weapons evan in their dinner suits, even the wives were carrying 38's in the hand bags. Chicago did have a reputation in those days.

Petersham Nurseries Cafe. London

This famous nursery cafe near London currently has Greg Malouf, the Australian chef who specialises in Middle Eastern cuisine as the guest chef. The cafe is a proponent of the "slow food" movement and as such has quite a culinary following.

Laduree, Sydney

This famous Parisien patisserie and tea room was opened this year at the Westfield Sydney. Reknown for its macarons with a ganache filling designed in the middle of the 20th century by Pierre Desfontaine, second cousin to Louis Ernest Laduree, these elegant stores offer a glimpse of Parisien style. The menu pictures are only a sample of the multi-page booklet and its offerings. My Sydney dwelling daughter was most impressed so I suppose I will have to validate her opinion when I am in Sydney next year.....

Le Plaza Hotel, Brussels

Built in 1930, the architecture was modelled on the famous George V Hotel in Paris, it soon became symbol of luxury hotels in Belgium. In 1940 it was occupied by the German troops who booby trapped it before the arrival of the Allies. Fortunately only the Winter Graden ans the stained glass dome were destroyed. Like many famous hotels of the time it could not keep pace with the changing needs of the travelling public and closed in 1976.

In 1995, 400 million Belgium Francs was spent on its restoration and renovation returning it to its former glory. Visit its web site to see the magnificent restoration. This menu is from the 1930's and features a breakfast menu and an a la carte menu. Interesting to see savouries or "toasts"as they call them, similar to the older English menus.

Neil Perry's Spice Temple Restaurant

Australia's oldest ethnic cuisine would have to be Chinese, dating back to the 1850's and gold rush period. However most Chinese restaurants have been of the one regional style, Cantonese. Neil Perry has added to the new emphasis of different regions, particularly Sichuan. Anyone whos likes spicy food and Chinese food will not be dissappointed at his two Spice Temple Restaurants, Sydney and Melbourne. The menu sounds amazing and I will have to dine there soon for sure.