Jus: it's jus' a fancy word for gravy...

Well, it's Sunday, and it's generally the only day I have off. Today, I shouted my fiancée and my parents lunch at Brisbane's Customs House.
It's funny going to places like this, fancy enough so you can't wear thongs but casual enough so you can wear jeans and sneakers. Customs House is a historic building that is affiliated with The University of Queensland, which is great for me because I am a student at UQ and I get a discount. The food is a little exy, around $35 for a main, but I will say that it was worth every cent. Dad had the steak; Mum had the Veal scallopine; Amanda had the chicken breast; and I had the pan fried duck breast with a duck and shitaki mushroom pie in port wine jus. My descriptions of the food above make the menu sound basic, mine was really the only one I elaborated on but they were all like that: each meal had a small blurb and everything sounded delicious. Dad didn't understand any of it and asked what a 'jus' was, said phonetically. Mum and I laughed and told him it was a fancy name for gravy, before I joked and said I'd get him the kids menu.
While we waited, we looked at the view, which was of the cliffs that guided the river and the coat hangerish Storey Bridge as the backdrop. I could only imagine where the waters rose to during the January floods, but today, apart from being a little chilly, was perfect.
The meals arrived, all dressed nicely and in the centre of large plates, which made you think that the portion you've received is a tester, to see if you like the meal before they bring you the real portion, but no, and I am glad for it. After we'd finished with a lot of "mmm!"s and "ooh, it's nice"s, our plates were clean and we were perfectly content. Not hungry, filled to the right belt size, and not unbuttoning the top of our pants in an uncomfortable slouch. We were ready for desert.
Mum and I had the chocolate fondant, and Amanda and Dad had the apple n rhubarb spring rolls. We were all pleased with our choices. It was my first fondant and I did that thing like they do on Masterchef to see if the middle is runny; it was. The accompanying ice-cream was clearly home-made, silky and decedent.
In all, I would definitely go there again. It seems to be the place for birthdays, at least 3 songs were sung during our main. I suppose the only thing that gave me the shits were the wait staff who persistently bumped into me as they pass behind my chair. Apart from that, the service was top notch too.
In all, a great relaxing Sunday. The olds loved it, and so did Amanda and I. All that's left is to see how it comes out. I'll let you know tomorrow, I guess.

- CLM

cheers,

Craig.