If you like eating, go to a diner!

I recently had dinner at Gecko Restaurant and Bar in Brighton Le Sands (for those international readers, it is in Sydney, Australia). The entrees were grilled octopus and grilled halloumi cheese with tomatoes, and my main was seafood risotto. The food was disappointing, especially given the price tag. I could go on for days, but in a nutshell, the octopus was overcooked and rubbery, the balsamic glaze was too sweet to go with the halloumi cheese, the cooked tomatoes lacked the punch needed to balance with the salty halloumi cheese, and my seafood risotto was under-seasoned, and didn't even come with parmesan cheese! My dining experience at Gecko added another disappointing dining experience to my long list of disappointing dining experiences, and further strengthened my preference for diner food. My advice to all foodies out there: if you like eating, go to a diner! And here is why:

First of all, you actually get fed at a diner. On the contrary, you need to eat before and after going to most (fancy) restaurants. I think there is something very wrong about having to eat before and after a restaurant meal, when you go to a restaurant with the intent of getting fed! I have visited many fancy restaurants, where I pay out-of-this-world prices for a plate of food as big as the bits and pieces you usually find caught between your teeth! Maybe it is just me being greedy, as I do have a more-than-healthy appetite, and am capable of swallowing a whole cow when I am hungry, but I am convinced that most healthy people would agree that anything less than 100 grams should not considered a 'main' unless you weigh less than 50 kilos (or have eaten beforehand). I remember going to Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen in Melbourne a few years ago, and feeling so hungry after the two-course meal that I had to rush to a pie shop afterwards to get a quick fix. While restaurants may argue that quality meals come in small portions, my stomach AND wallet would beg to differ. Compared to restaurant meals, diner meals on average are at least twice the size, and less than half the price. For instance, if you ever feel like a refreshing Vietnamese noodle soup, pay Dong Ba in Bankstown (Sydney) a visit. Both your stomach and wallet would love you for it, as you can get a huge bowl of seafood soup almost the size of a small bathtub with lots of salad on the side for only AUD$9!

Apart from the fact that you get a decent meal out of a diner, you are also more likely to be served authentic dishes in a diner than in a restaurant. You local Vietnamese diner or pizza joint probably serve dishes more authentic than those you will find at their fancier 'cousins', for a fraction of the price. I have been to countless restaurants that have the guts to call themselves “Italian Restaurant”, when in fact they serve a mixture of Thai, Italian, Greek, Mexican…to be continued. I don’t call this fusion food-I call it confusion food. The word ‘Italian’ has been abused to the max in the restaurant industry to the point that as long as you cook with tomatoes, you can potentially label yourself an Italian restaurant. So next time you fancy a bit of authenticity but don't want to spend your entire week's wage, pop into your local diner, rather than some fancy ‘Italian’ restaurant that breaks your bank and serves you curries!