We were supposed to visit Scotland this week, but low and behold...Scotland doesn't exist anymore! The only Scottish restaurant within our parameters (see rules week 1) closed its doors. Quick change of itinerary, and off to The Czech Republic we went.
This landlocked sovereign nation has the most amazing history. The capital city Prague was once the capital of the Holy Roman Empire (962 AD), then The Kingdom of Bohemia (1212), the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867) and the former Czechoslovakia (1918). After 41 years of communist rule, the bloodless "Velvet Revolution" of 1989 led to the formation of a democratic government. One element of demonstration in support of the Velvet Revolution was the jingling of keys. Protesters would jingle the keys in their pockets, a telling sign to the communists: "Goodbye, it's time to go!". It also symbolised the unlocking of doors and opening the country to new opportunities. The only threat to peace was the ethnic conflict between the Czechs and the Slovaks, which resulted in the "Velvet Divorce" - an amicable split to establish two sovereign states (1993): The Czech Republic and neighbouring Slovakia.
In search of authentic Czech cuisine, we travelled all the way to The Czechoslovakian Club in Burbank, a 15 minute drive southeast from Brisbane city. Burbank is a large greenbelt suburb, and a declared Koala Habitation Protection Area. Named after Alfred Burbank, a well-known horse dealer who settled in the area in 1890, the suburb is dominated by large acreage properties with extensive gardens and prestige housing (it has the third highest median house price in Australia). Fifty years ago, refugees from the communist ruled Czechoslovakia founded the club on a huge property in rural Burbank....now they are sitting on real estate gold!
It was the first time we needed our headlights on beam to find our destination. Burbank does not have any streetlights, there are no shops nor public transport. We took a right turn off Mount Cotton Road onto a compact gravel track winding through thick vegetation. As we passed through the Club's gated entrance, we were surprised to find a large building with out-buildings and a packed carpark. We approached the veranda with a light sense of excitement, like true intrepid travellers embarking on an adventure with unknown consequence.
We opened one of the French doors with red check (czech.....sorry!) curtains concealing the view to the inside. Immediately to our left was the most important part of the club: the bar. We signed the visitors book, noticed my name on a reserved table card - Mariki (well, I assumed it was me...) - took our place and absorbed our surroundings: the huge rectangular hall had a friendly and intimate atmosphere; most of the tables were occupied by big family groups, old friends, young couples; longstanding members greeting each other by first name, and kindly nodding our way to acknowledge our presence.....confused as to who we were; flags, crests and paintings decorate the walls; big televisions screen footage of their homeland - images so beautiful, we immediately added a visit to Prague on our bucket list.
But first things first. While waiting for Phil and Martina to arrive we bought two Czech beers at the bar: Keith had a Zlaty Bazant, and I had a Pilsner Urqell, brewed in Plzen, the home of Pilsner Beer. Mine beautifully bitter, Keith's smooth and quite sweet. We were encouraged by Stanya (club secretary) to place our orders, as they quickly run out of the more popular dishes. She explained how it works: There is a set menu. You order and pay at the bar. For $16 you get a bowl of soup with bread, a choice of 4 mains, a dessert and tea or coffee. You receive a number and your dessert on a big red tray. Then you progress to Eva who will dish up your steaming hot home made soup, you take some bread, grab your cutlery and off you go. When your main meal is ready, your number is called over the PA system and you collect your plate from the serving counter. When you are done, you return your tray to the kitchen. I jokingly asked if I should also wash my own plate, upon which Stanya cheekily answered: "Don't ask twice!"
Last night's menu featured Barley soup. It was delicious: a flavour-packed broth, dense with barley, potatoes and vegetable greens. For the mains, one could choose either Scegedin Gulas with Knedlik (Goulash with dumplings), Plnene Bramborove Knedliky zeli smaz Cibulka (Stuffed Potato dumplings with home made sauerkraut) or Veprovy (pork) or Kureci (chicken) schnitzel with Bramborovy Salat (potato salad). The four of us decided to order a different main each, eat a quarter, and then pass our plate clockwise, so we could all taste the Czech spread in front of us. The goulash was amazing - the meat so tender, it simply melted in your mouth. The dumplings were bread-like, the ideal vehicle for mopping up the rich gravy infused with onion and herbs. The potato dumpling was stuffed with minced, cured pork and served with sauerkraut. The sauerkraut deserves a special mention. Clearly not from a brine-filled jar, or an imported tin, this sauerkraut was so fresh, one could actually smell the lacto-fermentation process converting the sugar in the cabbage to the tantalizing sour taste loved by so many. And the schnitzels were perfectly cooked: golden crispy crust encasing the meat - tender and juicy inside. This was served with potato salad and some greens. The dessert was a baked cherry cake (careful...stones included!), light and fluffy.
We really enjoyed our evening, and it was hard to believe that we were in Brisbane and not Brno. There are 31,079 Czech descendants living in Australia, most moving here after WWII. A recent spate of young Czechs are electing to study at Australian Universities. That is surprising, as The Czech Republic has some of the most advanced universities in the world. They recently opened CEITEC, a modern science research centre, leading the world in genomics, nanotechnology and biology. At CEITEC they developed a self-cleansing paint for buildings, a gel to fix broken human bones and plastic packaging made form deep frying oil waste, that spontaneously disintegrates after a few months.....the list goes on. Other interesting facts shared last night included their love of beer ( highest world consumption - 160l per person per year), manufacturing (from Skoda cars and hockey pucks to radar and soft contact lenses) and Defenestration....allow me to expand:
Defenestration is the act of throwing someone out of a window. Prague is the world capital of defenestration, with two very significant "defenestrations" shaping its history. The first one occurred in 1419, when a crowd of radical Czech Hussites expressed their discontent with the direction of the Catholic Church by throwing 14 council members through the window - 7 died. The second important defenestration (1618) was the fate of four Catholic Lords Regent at the hands of disgruntled Protestant Lords (long story... worth reading) and triggered a 30 year war!
We live in a fascinating world. Dobrou chut!
More winter food next week...some fragrant curries from Sri Lanka, perhaps?
No comments:
Post a Comment