JON plus the churn and burn

Thursday 28th August - It's been awhile between JON dinners due to the excessive amounts of holidays that Bill and Oli seem to take. Fortunately, the cuisine offering at the Snow and up in Hydeaway Bay are no match and the boys soon return in need of a JON kick.

Spice I Am is Sydney's best cheap and cheerful thai. Many a thai restaurant will tell you they are "Thai Riffic", "Thai Terrific" or quite simply, "Best Thai". But none of them measure up to Spice I Am, with the Good Food Guide One Hat rating to prove it.

After numerous directions, a trip to Newtown and back and a walk through the dodgy backstreets of Surry Hills fearing for his life and the safety of his white Volvo, Jake manages to find his way to dinner. Oli and Nat have been discussing the benefits of training, triathlons, beer-free weekends and getting up at 530am. It all sounds solid until Jake arrives with a six pack of Tiger and the Basil Crispy Pork Belly (pre-ordered by Oli 3 days prior), Massaman curry, Green Papaya Salad and an entree of Rice Paper Rolls are ordered.

Jake's initiation into Spice I Am starts with the steamed fish balls - Nat's additional order in an attempt at being healthy. Thankfully, his bewilderment is soon tempered with relief and excitement as the basil crispy pork belly arrives. Little parcels of joy get JON going and Nat's
health kick quickly dissolves into a literal pork-out as she simultaneously consumes pork belly, mouthfuls of amazing beef massaman curry and shouts for more water to quell the hot chilli burn.

Dinner conversation around their current and future careers ("So then my boss pulls me into the boardroom and asks if i'm still serious about advertising..." "HA! What did you say?" "Lies, lies, lies, lies,..all lies just get me to LA") is cut short with the annoyingly efficient service designed to churn-and-burn bums on seats. "You finiiiished?" "No we're still going". "You finiiished?" "No I'm still going" (indicates a not-yet-empty beer bottle) "Really?" "YES! I"M NOT FINISHED"

The boys have returned to Sydney for a JON kick indeed. Five minutes after the table's cleared, JON get asked to pay the bill and leave so the table can be used for the next customers. Oli correctly predicts the rush will suddenly slow to a standstill with Spice I Am's dodgy tip tactics. The wait staff eye JON's bill 3 times before finally realising JON has no intention of leaving without their change.

$75, 45 minutes and 5 dishes later, JON is back on the street with the other punters, all wondering how they were pushed out so quickly. Oh well..

Still worth it.