Orient Hotel, The Rocks

Alan and I played a game in Sydney's 'old town', The Rocks. We pretended to be tourists with DSLRs, hats tripod and even a purpose built camera backpack to complete the 'I am so great. I have a camera' look. Only thing was, unlike others who have mastered this look, Alan knows how to use a camera. I am excused as well because...errr...I kind of know how to use a camera if I google what I need to do and once played 'model' in a real (real as in, before me, only attractive 6ft tall girls had entered the premises) photo studio. I remember standing on a piece of wood to make me taller. Wood; yet another trick of the photography trade.

Ooo a pretty brick house

Mr Whippy!! This photo was made to look 'hipster' by Alan

Mural in a basketball court, somewhere on the way to the Harbour Bridge

Shapes. Aren't I creative? I soooo should have been an arts student; I like sitting on grass and could do it for three years (It's all in jest. Bring on the acocunting jokes! I want to hear them. Really!)

Harbour Bridge - did you know there are security guards standing on the bridge all day?

Playing tourist is hard work. We needed food. We went to the 'German' (or as I call it, Bavarian) Loewenbrau Keller. No prices displayed on the menu standing outside. Ok, how are we supposed to know whether the food fits within our Excel spreadsheet budget? Nee, ich habe keine Lust auf Schnitzel! Noodles? No, I do not eat noodles! Umm...pub? Yes, we went to the pub; the Orient Hotel.

We ordered our meals and drinks at the front bar. It was crowded. It is quite uncomfortable standing in a crowded place with a tripod, backpack, big cameras and broad brimmed Cancer Council approved sun hat. To make things worse staff were pushing tables around the room and one managed to hit me in the ankle.

Are the owls in the courtyard there to scare other real birds away?

We ventured out the back to the courtyard. I am so used to non smoking areas now, that I forgot that court yards are where people who have a desire for cancer and emphysema amongst other diseases congregate. Luckily the smokers left just after we sat down so I did not need to passively smoke and die a little inside for too long. Yes, I really dislike smoking. I have seen it kill people painfully and slowly.

The courtyard was full even at 2pm! We found a seat after a looking around for a bit, like lost puppies.

Beef pie with mashed potato and salad, $15.50

Oops, did I order a pie? I sure did. Thing is, you do not need to eat the pastry. Just eat the filling:) I enjoyed the pie, it was tasty, beefy, hot and filling. The sauce inside the pie reminded me of a packet sauce for lamb raggout my mum used to make but it was good. The mash was also so good that I ate it - I hardly ever eat potato. The salad needed more tomato, as the one shown above was lonely and needed a friend to accompany him/her to the exciting place that is my gastrointestinal tract.

Vegetable lasagne with chips and salad, $13.50

Alan ordered the vegetable lasagne thinking it would be lasagne made with vegetables instead of lasagne sheets. His assumption was incorrect. He did not enjoy the lasagne and I did not enjoy the little bit I tasted. It tasted like...nothing, yet was so rich. We were also quite amused by the orange coloured sauce.

At least Alan enjoyed the salad;)

Oh yum! Maille mustard Mmmmm

Alan was so saddended by his meal that he tried to cheer himself up by making a bithday cake out of it. Now that is innovation

Apart from plates from prior patrons still scattered around on the tables and Alan's lasagne, I enjoyed the Orient Hotel. The court yard is welcoming, the food fills you up and even if you do not like the food, you can practice being innovative with it:)

**All dining/product reviews are based on my experience at the time of dining/consumption.