Friday, May 11, 2012

It's A Red-Letter Day!

I scurried out to my car to retrieve some clothing... as I was rummaging through the mess in my boot, a large work ute pulled up outside my house.  I shoved the jumble of clothes and shoes back into the car, and panicking slightly (as this meant I would not have time to change) I casually turned around and waved as Liam wandered up my driveway and enveloped me into a hug. 

And that is, you might say, where it all began!

On our anniversary last week, things were a little different.  Although I still hadn't changed when he arrived, and although he still enveloped me in a huge hug when he got home, we are a long way from where we were on our very first date.

After picking me up, we drove to Knox City near my house, and wandered around for a while before settling on Hog's Breath Cafe.  This year, we decided to return to the scene of the crime!

It's been a year since we'd been here last, so I had no idea what to expect from the food - not to mention the fact that Hog's Breath isn't exactly a gourmet establishment to start with!  We decided to start the meal the same way as our first ever date with...


... Boss Hog Mushies! [$9.50]

At first glance, there is a major difference between the plate that has been set in front of us and the dish as it was in my memory.  The portion size has gone down, and the price gone up! This is to be expected in this day and age, however disappointingly the amount in the bowl appears to have decreased by almost half. 

Fortunately, that's where the disappointment ends with these mushrooms.  I pop one in my mouth, and bite through a peppery crunchy coating to taste that wonderful mushroomy juice which is almost scalding on my tongue! Yet I can't resist and continue to eat them piping hot, with a little smear of the tartare sauce provided. 

As we're deciding what to order, Liam pulls these out of his pocket, and places them on the table :


As our anniversary falls in between both of our birthdays, we agreed on no gifts... however I couldn't resist a couple of small items!

Right before our first date, Liam had decided it would be a good time to try and mow some of the lawn, electrocuting himself in the process! He sent me a text of his bleeding finger, and to be honest I thought it was his way of cancelling on me at the time! He reassured me that he was still keen to see me, and I told him I would have bandaids to make it all better. 

Flash-back!  Here are his superhero band-aids!


I tried to find the same superhero band-aids but to no avail, so instead had to settle on Transformers or Cars.  I couldn't decide, so I bought both! We're both still children at heart.

He has a love affair with Stitch, so I bought him this phone cover, where the ears pop in and out! Yep, there's an iPhone hiding under that little blue Alien!

Okay, now back to the food!  We decided to try a Mixed Grill Tower for 2 - that way we'd be able to sample a little of everything that Hog's Breath has to offer! The tower includes steak, lamb, ribs and bacon, with a serve of Hog Tail fries, and your choice of sauces and either salad, vegies or mash. 

Vegetarians... look away now!


It really is a tower! Like... the high tea of meat?


That is a mountain of meat! Carnivore's delight, and a nightmare for vegetarians!  We opted for steamed vegetables as part of our tower, but I didn't take any photos... you all know what vegetables look like!

I have to say, unfortunately I was left underwhelmed by our meal in general.  The meat, while I could find no real fault with it, was lacking in flavour.  We had ordered it to be rare, and by the time it was brought out to us was cold.  The lamb cutlets had been perched on top of the plate, and were the coldest of all, so by the time we got to eating had congealed and were not that pleasant to eat. 

The Hog Tail fries were probably the best part of the meal, however these were slightly cold as well, and tasted like they'd been sitting around for a while. 

Again, there was nothing wrong with the vegetables per se, however if a restaurant can't steam brocolli without stuffing up then we have major issues!

It had been a year since we'd eaten at Hog's Breath last, and going by the quality of our most recent experience, it will be another year until we dine here again.



Hog's Breath Cafe on Urbanspoon

19 comments:

  1. happy anniversary! love the phone cover and the bandaids haha. not too sure about hogs breath tho ;) haha. btw liam is one of my favorite names! im glad you guys had fun :) xxxxx

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    1. Haha I know, Hog's Breath is ew but it has special memories :) I think it will be a once-a-year-only destination though!

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  2. Awww... The phone case is so cute!

    I had no idea Hogsbreath did those tower things... I have been a few times but I stick to the basic ceasar salad wrap haha

    It does look might meaty!!

    Glad you's had a good anni though!

    x

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    1. Yeah! I'd never had the tower before, but thought we'd give it a shot. Massive meat overload!

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  3. Happy Anniversary!!
    It's so nice to have these little traditions you can go back to or re-invent every year :) x

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    1. Thank you! :) Yes, I love having our own little special places/memories!

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  4. I love the bandaids, very cute.
    You also went away for your anniversary right? I'm starting to wish SJ and I celebrated ours :-(
    Looks like you had a great time :-)

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    1. Yes, we went away this weekend as a belated birthday present for Liam! Was fantastic, will post about it soon! We aren't big on anniversary as it falls between our birthdays, but it's nice to do something small to remember the special day! x

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  5. Love the band aids haha. Hubby and I used to go to hogs a lot but he got food poisoning and we never went back. With their current prices there are much better places to eat at!

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    1. I used to go their fairly often, but I think the standard has fallen a lot since they became bigger! Definitely better places to eat at.

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  6. Happy Anniversary!! I haven't been to Hogs breath in ages.

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    1. Thank you! :) I find Hog's Breath these days is a bit hit and miss. Although I do love the fries!

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  7. happy anniversary! you have an eventful memory to celebrate your first date!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, I'm grateful for the memories that we get to revisit :)

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  8. ahh your blog makes me so hungry! :D

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    1. Oh, you're back!

      Keep blogging and visiting, there will be plenty more food photos to come! :P

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  9. Happy Anniversary!

    I'm never overly sure if I like HB or not. I think it's just the curly fries that always win me over ;) xxxx

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  10. The bandaids story is so cute :) I've never been to Hog's Breath, but I think returning to where you had your first date and orderin the same meal is a lovely way to trip down memory lane. Happy anniversary!

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  11. Bloody hell hahahah! This post is evil Im sitting at my desk its 4.30pm and I'm starving, Stumble across this psot and nearly eat my computer screen haha!

    Yum!
    Happy Anniversary X

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