I was amused to see a debate at this noticeboard about what "full as a goog" meant and what the hell a goog is anyway. Most people seem to agree with my understanding - that a goog comes from a googy egg (?) and to be "full as a goog" is to be stuffed full of food. It was nice to find out that it can also mean that you are very drunk - full up of grog I guess.
If you want to get full as a goog but can't afford cicciolina you could do worse than a big bowl of noodle soup. This genre is one of my favourites but as usual I'm a bit of a snob - there's nothing worse than a big bowl of creamy orange flavoured soup with a few fat noodles masquerading as a laksa. So two of my favourite Melbourne noodle soup haunts, one old and one new:
the penang coffee house is where I had my first laksa and it served me well for the first 16 years of my life until I fled the Eastern suburbs. The laksa here wins on taste alone, it's a complex spicy broth, more brown than orange. There's also more thin rice noodles than yellow noodles which suits me, a good range of vegies and lots of squishy fried tofu puffs. At $9 or so it's no longer the cheapest option but it is the best. I remember a time when we used to get it take away, and then if there were leftovers I ate them for breakfast... mmmm. I also love that it has pineapple in it, though I know that might gross some people (hi Sarah) out.
Penang Coffee House is at 395 Burwood Road, Hawthorn near the corner of Glenferrie Rd, which is just near Swinburne.
kimchi tray is a new addition to my list. This little korean joint seems to be an offspring of kimchi grandma and offers a smaller range of dishes that come on a tray (ah ha) in more of a quick meal environment. Sadly, you only get 2 side dishes. I dropped in with Mum for an excellent kimchi noodle soup. It was just on the comfortable side of my chilli threshold, full of excellent firm rice noodles, lots of kimchi and some shredded vegies.
Unfortunately one of my side dishes was kimchi, which was a bit redundant while the other one was a couple of slices of orange - made for a good little palate cleanser anyway. The soup was so damn good though that I didn't mind. At about $8 it's going to be my new favourite quick city dinner and it's one that is guaranteed to make you full as a goog.
Kimchi tray is on Flinders st, between Elizabeth and Queen.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
full as a goog?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Hi - I just stumbled across your blog from Foodporn watch and was amazed to find another Melbourne foodblogger! There's so few of us and it's great to read about restaurants, places and streets that I recognize. I'll be returning!
i secretly like pineapple on pizza too. just because an ingredient may be really really bogan-ish doesn't mean it's not yum!
Hi!
I am just wondering if the Penang Laksa is the authentic version... with just gravy and thick white noodles... and pineapples.. mint leaves...
that's all. i saw the pic u posted.. and am wondering if it is the original Penang Laksa...
i really want to taste Penang Laksa.... but in melbourne.. it's like finding a needle in a haystack.
pls email me if u or anyone else know where to get Penang Laksa in Melbourne!
sexyleeann@sexyleeann.com
Hi Lee Ann,
as far as I know the Penang Coffee Shop seems like a pretty real deal kind of place.. but i can't vouch for authenticity. It certainly does have pineapple and thick noodles.. but i think they're yellow and then it has thin noodles as well. Definitely a good thick grainy gravy. Why not give it a try and let me know how authentic you think it is.
From Google (ahaha):
"Goog" is a variation of the northern English slang word "googie" meaning an egg.
Heh... words are awesome.
the term was actually 'full as a gook' and it stems from the Vietnam War when US soliders would riddle their enemy with bullets and joke about it. in Aussie slang it has lost this connotation obviously, but I still find it kinda disturbing.
Post a Comment