You know how everyone who writes publicly feels the need to sum up the preceding year by making lists? The best, the most controversial, the most newsworthy, the biggest, the most well-known – etc etc
Well, fuelled by last month’s discussions here about the distinct lack of dining-out talent in the Kingston area, along with thoughts about what the hell are The Mercury going to find to write about NEXT year at this time, my thoughts strayed to which were Hobart’s most popular cheap takeaways – which would then automatically provide us with the knowledge of which area/suburb ate the most unhealthily!
A bit of research provided me with the following information which I am happy to be challenged on, given my research was not as thorough as it would have been had more people not been so selfishly on holidays, ergo not at their desks answering Rita’s calls!
It was revealed that the Kingston Beach Corner Takeaway (which has a new owner) currently sells around 40 cartons of chips per week – which is 600 kgs a week.
They also have a deal going there which is 3 dim sims for $1, resulting in 26 cartons (there are 12 kgs per carton) of dim sims per week being used, which in simple terms means around 9360 dim sims are sold each week!
Up there with Kingston Beach is Ange’s Convenience at Bridgewater which also goes through around 40 cartons a week of chips – same as Kingston.
Mykonos Sandy Bay and Food Stop North Hobart also top the ratings, however specifics were not available yesterday.
So, Rita’s dubious listing of top, luminous takeaways is Kingston and Bridgewater.
Well done, fast-fooders! Little wonder we have such problems at the RHH when we combine alcoholic and drug-induced bad tempers with fast food fine dining!
Monday, 28 December 2009
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30 comments:
9360 Dim Sims and 600 Kilos of chips. A week?
Kingstononians are gonna have one hell of an obesity issue if they keep goiing like that.
But think about it...
That is only ONE of the T/A shops at kingston beach!!!!
Oh My God.
No you can understad a bridgewater take away being that busy.
Completely different socio-economic group!
Kingstons a Mortgage belt, but Bridgewater is a Housing Dept Belt!!!
I personally love suburbs like South Hobart and Sandy Bay.
Would love to know how many KG Mures go through of chips.
Eagle Snack Bar at New Norfolk has been in business with the sme family of owners for nearly 30 years and still hand cuts their own chips! For a non take away food lover like me that's quality I find hard to beat. Was there on boxing day and the line up was nearly out the door!
Set the people free Rita. I'm actually finding myself siding with those who just eat what they want.
There's an element of Calvinistic preaching creeping into this site.
Yes, I like decent grub.
But let them eat chips if they want to.
If you decide to get your fat from highly-marbled steak in a butter and cream sauce, or your sugar from fancy desserts, then it is no more or less than the effects of flatty and chips and a double scoop of valhalla from the corner chippy.
You just save money.
As for the booze, well a $7 bottle of Cawarra won't do any more or less damage than a $60m bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
The thing the expensive stuff will damage is your dough supply.
Some of the dim sums I've had in posh chinese places are not much different to those 3 for $1 at Kingston.
By the way, it used to be 4 for a dollar.
So let's mainly stick to discussing the quality of what we get, not just what we are choosing. This, ``if you don't eat posh you're a bogan'' midset is wearing a bit thin.
I don't normally comment here but I have this time because I wholeheartedly agree with Sir Grumpy. I take offence at the very condescending tone of the last line of your post.
[Well done, fast-fooders! Little wonder we have such problems at the RHH when we combine alcoholic and drug-induced bad tempers with fast food fine dining!]
I am totally astounded at your assumption that all the drug and alcohol related violence seen at the Royal stems from the one area.
Sure, there are a lot of socio-economic problems at Bridgewater, but to allude that it is all down to the amount of chips people eat is condescending to the extreme.
Education not castigation is the key.
I think it was a joke... Some seriously sensitive chaps on this blog....
I'm with you Anon 9.44 - would love to know the amount of chips Mures buys!
Thanks Anon 5.18!
Sir G and frogpondsrock - I'm sorry you found condenscension amongst my wording, because there was none there, from my perspective.
My post was actually a commentary about the amount of fast food, both bought and devoured, in various suburbs of Hobart - and more pointing out that surprisingly, to me, Kingston was up there, as opposed to other suburbs which you might try to guess at. This follows discussions had here on this blog recently about the calibre of dining out options in the Kingston area.
There was no way I was making any kind of reference to being a bogan or not if you eat fast food, however if you want to make that assumption, please feel free.
My final sentence is definitely not a reference to anywhere, as I think people who end up at RHH with the mentioned issues are from everywhere, not any specific suburb. And I stick to what I said about people from anywhere and everywhere who end up at the Royal after eating fast food and or getting into a drug or alcohol-fuelled disaster. They require heaps more health attention for related issues than others who DON'T over-indulge.
I am sorry I can't affect people's tastes in food, but realised about 60 years ago that wasn't possible - hence my life is about 'live and let live'. Yes I detest fast food, but even my nearest and dearest indulge in this abomination so who the hell am I to make comment? If I can't influence my own kids, I give up! The only person I can seriously influence is ME. I wouldn't insult anyone else on this earth to presume they should, or would, follow my lead just because I said so!
You've made me cross now. Hopefully I won't end up at RHH with anger management issues!
I find when I get upset that comfort food is the go, Rita.
Say a meat pie and chips with cup of tea and bread and butter for chip butties, (oh, and a pickled onion) followed by a glass of real milk and some Tim Tams.
Now, don't you go judging me, will you?
I'm sure when the Queen gets pissed of with the Dook, she reaches for caviar and krug and some Prince Charles Duchy biscuits.
But after the moans about poor Tasmanians on an earlier posting, some of us might be getting anxious about the slant of issues.
Fear not, we have not lost our sense of humour.
Corner takeaway is open 7-8 7 days per week - 91 hours.
Now to sell that many Dim Sims, you would be selling 102 per hour for everyone of those hours.
Unfourtunately I belive that figure quoted is slightly incorrect. You would not sell that many!!!
FWIW it is not only bogans who eat take away. It's quick cheap and easy - convenient for many.
Yes, I live down that way and although it's been busier since the new owner took over, it's not London Airport.
Good chips, but!
There chips are the best!!!!!!!
Actually not so unbelievable.
Its open from 7am till 8pm 7days, thats 91 hours sure enough but anyone will tell you its constant traffic and then waves of people at a time. Hot day in Kingston can see a couple thousand hungry kids on that beach.
40 boxes of chips is conservative, add to that 60-100 kilos of flake, hamburgers and of course coke and ice cream. 30-60 cases a coke a day easy plus all the other stuff.
Feed the poor, dine with the rich.
Anon 7.01 - I'm not wanting to sound cheeky but not sure what you think they do to the chips to make them, as you state, the best. All they need to do is cut the plastic top off the bag and tip them in the deep fryer, surely?
Anon 6.32 - unfortunately the figure I quoted might actually err on the side of less rather than more of the demon dim sims sold at Kingston T/A, as did my amount quoted of chips used, as they required many more today and had to negotiate an additional delivery.
Rita: How do you know so much? lol I was in there today too
Rita, Rita. ``All they do is cut the top off the bag and tip them into the deep fryer''.
Now, here's where it goes wrong. The infant watching the chips has the fat too high, so burns the outside and leaves them hard on inside.
He or she has the oil on too low in temp, so they are soggy and gross.
Even if they do get them reasonably golden, they tip them into a baine marie and they sweat there for while.
No, it's harder than you tyhink to get decent chippies. we rejected the baine marie stuff and waited for fresh, yum.
PS, Nicholls Chickens at our local B/Bay supermarket can be disgusting because of this self-same problem.
They come in roasted, inside a clear bag, tightly twined, then placed in an oven.
The trapped steam in the bag then steams them till they are falling apart.
Soaking soggy chook.
You can only really buy the ones left over at the end of the day that they then place in the deli-cooler.
That way they have had time to recover from the steam room treatment.
How banal. Must I cook the bloody stuff myself?! (Well, yes I do).
Random Q: Is Sir G a man or lady?
There is an art form to cooking good chips!!!
Sir Grumpy is a debonair gentleman of fine breeding and taste, Anon.
A modest man, who likes to keep a low profile, in looks you would not be far wrong to imagine something akin to George Clooney with a bit of Sean Connery thrown in.
There's also a dash of Danny Bhoy, the scottish comedian in there too.
A warm and generous man who would stand out in a crowd, Sir G was a decent athlete in his day and has a fine palate to help guide his fellows.
Not averse to a noble or humble drop of wine, beer or whisky, his manners are impeccable.
He is a fan of genuine people such as Rita and Steve Cumper (even though he has been FORCED to take them to task on occasion!)
But only for their own good.
Spare the rod....!
As Mr Cumper once described you as a crevate wearing Terry Thomas I'm afraid that is as I shall always see you old chum. Anyhow:
You are absolutely right, there most definetly an art to cooking a good chip, even the frozen ones.
Anybody want me to bore them with the technical details then just sing out. Till then...
oh by the way Rita I did wish you seasons greetings but the bloody word verification seemed to reject me , so belated seasons greetings and may the new year bring you as much joy as your blog has brought to us all.
Cartouche.
Sorry Anon 8.35 but I'm not at liberty to reveal my sources, in other words, I'm not a dobber!
A bit of gender reassignment for Christmas, Sir G - exactly what you really wanted, wasn't it?
Thanks Cartouche, and the same to you and yours.
And - by the way - A bit more digging revealed yesterday that Mako fish punt upstairs (totally separate business to Mako fresh fish downstairs) and Fishy Business punt(same owners) next door go through 2 pallets of chips per week. That's 40 cartons of 15 kgs of chips, which equals the grand total of 1125 kgs per week! Don't know about you, but there seems to be a ready market for McCains goodies right here in our fair state, and don't worry about exporting anything at all! A good marketer combined with our predictable chippy-loving population = McCains governs the state!
And let me be the first to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the humble spud - especially a Tasmanian one!
I used to work at McDonalds in Moonah quite a while back, get this, the owner won the lotto, so purchased McD's as an investment, and then won the lotto again!!!
Anyway... My point of posting was to say that even back then we used to get through 1.5 tonnes of fries per week.
That is alot.
Kingston Beach corner takeaways food I believe has been nicer since the new owners took over, there is a lack of residual oiliness, the food stays inside it's crumbs/batter, and the oil appears to be changed regularly and used at the right temprature.
When you walk into a place and all you can smell is old oil, it's telling you something isn't it?
Anyway to add further fuel to this topic I am going to declare
LEGS AND BREASTS HAVE THE NICEST CHIPS!!!
Others will disagree I am sure.
I would also like to mention that when I worked in a beach side cafe in Melbourne, your business is very dependant on the weather.
Sure these places at Kingston Beach are busy when it's hot but what about the rest of the time?
When there are 90,000 kids on the beach who all want coke, smoothies, ice creams and hot chips, your shops there get rather busy yes?
What about the rest of the year? DO the good days make up for the bad ones?
In Melbourne we used to have cold days thru winter and we would take $300.
On hot days we could take up to $10,000.
All the workers etc pile into these takeaway shops 3 times a day for breakfats lunch and dinner.
It's the regulars that keep these places alive.
Last anon I agree legs and breasts chips are better. But I think location counts for a lot when it comes to volume.
I too have found the corner takeaway much improved since the new owners took over.
As a resident of Kingston I can tell you that the food businesses seem to do pretty well in the winter as well. I know that the juice bar diversifies into slow braised lamb and the like in the winter months and that they have a lot of regulars to keep them going. Chips I reckon are an all round the year food anyhow
Methinks Rita is somehow involved with this K Beach T/A ...
Trying to give it a free plug on her site!!!
Maybe she works there... lol
Yep! Can see it now. Rita working the fryers!
Sorry had to wait til I finished laughing to comment.
She may be up for it as I know she's looking for work but I'm not sure how long she last.
No offence Rita. I just know it's not your "cup of tea" so to speak.
No offence taken Christina! Yes, I'd do it if I had to, but I have to admit my heart wouldn't be in that kind of food prep!
I think you should open a chippy Rita. not so daft as it sounds. Use your expertise in customer service and training, get a financial partner then sit back to two days a week and slice up the profits. Put the place on the map. Might feather up that retirement fund a little rita.
Well, seeing as you put it that way Anon 8.47, I'm in! Just gotta find the financial partner to ante up the money to buy the business, and we're halfway there! Look out Mr McDonald, cos here comes Ruthless Rita and her fast food empire!
Hey could be tempted. We could have Sir G as our Maitre D complete with crevat and gap toothed grin. "Kingfisher" purveyors of hand cut chips and fresh fom the sea fish, not a dimmie in sight.
Food for thought.
Cartouche.
Rita: If your considering purchasing an already-established chippie, be careful!!! They cost so much.
Kingston Corner T/A Cost dam near $375 000 AFAIK.
I think you will find that it changed hands for zero. Guy was at the end of his lease and no option to renew. So I hear it was a walk in and start, no good will and the previous owner did not own the plant or equipment. Its a friend or relative of the landlord.
Well cartouche, thanks for the thought but I'm not sure my advancing years would allow the energy to deal with the great unwashed.
I'd rather be the well-heeled gentleman who lived up the road who wandered in for lunch or dinner often in a week. Like Peter Cook was in London with a local Italian restaurant.
He also often just rang them up and someone would pop along with some grub, when he was pissed, knackered, in a bad mood, hungover or just couldn't be fucked with the world.
(Or all of those reasons). Goodo, I'll have something with lots of tomato and basil sauce and parmesan. Maybe a thin spaghetti, a meat ball, tartuffo to follow, a bottle of chianti, mmmmmmm
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