A piece of Holland in Alice Springs

Hey hola, here I am again, with yet another fabulous news:

I found stroopwafels in Alice!

A miracle! Last friday, I finally made it to an organic food shop (the only one in Metropalice) called Afghan Traders to buy some locally roasted coffee and there it was - a pack of stroopwafels... Well it's not all that perfect - it's aussie made which means it's far from that heavenly taste and texture of the original ones and it's bloody expensive - $3,50 for a pack of 4 (I miss you Holland!). But hey, I'm in Alice Springs!

It reminded me of the good old days at TU Delft, when stroopwafels were my staple food - I ate at least 2 packs (of 10) every week and I remember I ate them even in a shower (hope you're reading this, Andrew!). A student's life...

Tim Minchin

Have you heard about Tim Minchin? No? So here I am to extend your cultural horizons again!

He's an Australian musician-comedian. Incredibly intelligent, smart and witty. Amazing singer and pianist. Total crack-up with power to make you think. Absolutely adorable. Check him out!

I watched his two shows with my friend Lyn, who's been his fan for a number of years, and I totally loved them! So much that I even bought the DVDs...

Poached eggs

Here comes another of my culinary discoveries! Poached eggs! Don't know where they come from but I'd never heard about them outside Australia.

It's nothing more than yet another way of preparing eggs but I just love it, so I thought I'd share it with you.

The preparation is very easy: crack each egg into a small bowl and then gently slid into a pan with simmering water with small amount of vinegar (to prevent dispersion of the egg white). By checking the softness of the eggs, you can easily find out when they are ready the way you like them (I like runny yolk). It usually doesn't take more than 3 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tim Tams

When I wrote earlier that the only typical Australian food I could think of was Vegemite, I totally forgot about Tim Tams!!! Time to fix it.

Tim Tams are absolutely divine chocolate biscuits. Once you discover them, you want to eat them all the time (something like Dutch Stroopwafels)!

Interestingly, a wonderful technique of eating Tim Tams called Tim Tam Slam has been developed over the years. You bite off the opposing corners of a Tim Tam and use it as a straw to suck up your coffee. Then just let your Tim Tam full of hot coffee melt on your tongue. Orgasmic!

Vegemite

Does Australia have its own cuisine? Or at least its own foods? In fact the only one I can think of is called Vegemite. So what is it? It's a Nutella-looking spread for your toasts that is as unique, as rich and as surprising as Australian fauna. But hold on, you've gotta be careful when you first taste it! You'd better read this post first!

How to taste Vegemite for the very first time

Typical scenario
Your very good Australian friend keeps talking about this fantastic thing, as huge part of true Aussie culture as stubby holders, to the point where you just have to try it. So he or she gives you the magical jar containing this divine food with a simple instruction: "Spread it on a toast! That's the best way". And so you do, you warm up your toast, take a generous amount of Vegemite and put it on your toast in a half-inch thick layer. Then the most exciting part comes, you're about to taste it! Expecting sweet Nuttela-like taste, you don't hesitate and bite as much of your toast off as you can. And suddenly, your face turns into an awful grimace expressing mixture of endless surprise, disgust and pain! You definitely didn't expected THIS, right? The content of your mouth together with the rest of your toast (if there is any) fly into a rubbish bin and you are done with Vegemite for the rest of your life. What a loss, what an unnecessary inconvenience! Your life can't be considered complete without Vegemite! But your life can be saved thanks to this blog. Keep on reading.

Recommended procedure
1. warm up your toast
2. put generous amount of BUTTER on your toast. You see how the toast beautifully soaks all the butter like a thirsty alcoholic her morning beer? Wonderful! You are on a good way to complete your masterpiece!
3. spread VERY VERY thin layer of Vegemite on your buttery toast
4. eat your toast without fear! Enjoy every bite! Bon appetit!
5. make another 5 Vegemite toasts and eat them all!

Stubby holders

What is the most typical symbol of Australia? Uluru? Opera House in Sydney? Kangaroo? Boomerang? Didgeridoo? No no no! None of those!!! It's a stubby holder! They are everywhere, everybody uses them and you can buy them at every corner. And they ARE pretty useful - nothing in the world is better than a bottle of ice-cold Coopers Pale Ale! But how do you want to keep the right temperature of the beer in a normal 50℃ summer day? That's right, use a stubby holder!

Some tips for great Aussie music and movies

Australia produces an incredible number of amazing artists as well as some great films. Here are some I've got to know and like very much. Check them out!

Music

The Cat Empire (wikipedia, myspace) - my absolutely favourite Aussie band. Very melodic mix of various styles. Check out my favourite song: Lonely Moon

Tijuana Cartel (myspace) - wonderful energetic band, they played in Freo twice and I had to go to both of the gigs.

The Beards (myspace) - hilarious band from Adelaide with phenomenal lead singer, all of their songs (2 albums by now) are exclusively only about beards.

Hilltop Hoods (wikipedia, myspace) - brilliant hip-hoppers from Adelaide. Listen to my favourite song: The Nosebleed Section

The Beautiful Girls (wikipedia, myspace) - mostly roots music. My favourite track: Learn Yourself

Rogerthat (wikipedia, myspace) - I actually saw those guys back in Amsterdam. They are cool.

The Spooky Men's Chorale (wikipedia, myspace) - I got to know them thanks to Andy, my current host here in Tassie. They're brilliant! Absolutely hilarious!

And as an extra, here's my favourite kiwi band:

Fat Freddy's Drop (wikipedia) - awesome band, check out my favourite tune: Ernie

Movies

The Castle (wikipedia, imdb) - absolute must see! A classic amongst Aussie comedies.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (wikipedia, imdb) - great movie that takes place in Australian outback and Alice Springs (as well as Coober Pedy, for example)

Lantana (wikipedia, imdb) - pretty good drama

Wolf Creek (wikipedia, imdb) - scary as shit, especially for backpackers traveling in Oz...

Van Diemen's Land (wikipedia, imdb) - quite interesting movie about an escape of a group of prisoners to a rain forrest in Tasmania. Involves cannibalism... Saw it in a cinema in Perth.

And two pieces I haven't seen yet but am keen on doing so as soon as possible:

Rabbit Proof Fence (wikipedia, imdb)

Ten Canoes (wikipedia, imdb)