Now for something completely different

[Mareblu]

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Each ship is different. Some are more flexible than others. Princess used to have lobster and pheasant on the same formal night menu. I think the lobster also had prawns with it. I wanted the lobster as an appetiser so asked for just the lobster tail. Nope, it came out as a full main. Oh well! I ate the lobster and left the rest. I needed to leave room for the pheasant which I love when it's done well. Princess was a bit variable on that dish, and a couple of time they substituted guinea fowl instead. Tsk! Tsk!

My favourite go-to dish in Europe is always pheasant.  To us here it's so very rare, but in the Northern Hemisphere, it's found on many menus.  Exquisite if treated with respected and rested well.  I always call it my very own "Peasant Pheasant" because waiters glance askew when my face lights up when it's on the menu.  They probably think I come from the moon 😉

[Mareblu]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

The pheasant pluckers gone

We once went to a combined birthday party where we halfway through the evening sheets of that song were passed around and we all had to sing it.  Hysterical😆

[Blackduck59]

12 hours ago, NSWP said:

 

## I would like Lyle to post some actual pics up on meals he had.

 

Sorry Les, I only photographed the beef Wellington.

 

It was tasty but the meal was marred by slow service. We only ate in the main dining room twice. The first time they sat a lady wearing heavy perfume close by. That was an honest mistake, they didn't know Lynn was allergic. We were quickly re-seated which was nice...until they seated another perfumed woman close by within 2 minutes of moving us.

The second night we made it clear of Lynn's allergy to perfume, they sat use in the extreme back corner, we thought we got the naughty seats. The service was painfully slow, after a little more than an hour we were waiting for dessert and they sat not one but 2 perfume laden women right next to us. If dinner hadn't taken more than an hour to serve we would have been gone none the wiser. As it was we had to leave pronto, we had dessert in the buffet. The was the end of the restaurant for us.

[Blackduck59]

I'm sure lots of people enjoyed this cruise and are or will be Viking loyalists. For us this voyage has not lived up to the premium price we paid. 

Our next cruise will likely be on Holland America. They have an East Coast Canada and New England cruise that has an itinerary we like, it starts on my birthdaynext year. The prices are much more reasonable than Viking. Unfortunately the itinerary that Celebrity does not suit us as well as the Holland America one.

[BRANDEE]

4 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I'm sure lots of people enjoyed this cruise and are or will be Viking loyalists. For us this voyage has not lived up to the premium price we paid. 

Our next cruise will likely be on Holland America. They have an East Coast Canada and New England cruise that has an itinerary we like, it starts on my birthdaynext year. The prices are much more reasonable than Viking. Unfortunately the itinerary that Celebrity does not suit us as well as the Holland America one.

Hope the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick is one of the ports.  A hydrofoil ride in the St. John's River Rapids is a must. Does the itinerary include NY?

[NSWP]

6 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I'm sure lots of people enjoyed this cruise and are or will be Viking loyalists. For us this voyage has not lived up to the premium price we paid. 

Our next cruise will likely be on Holland America. They have an East Coast Canada and New England cruise that has an itinerary we like, it starts on my birthdaynext year. The prices are much more reasonable than Viking. Unfortunately the itinerary that Celebrity does not suit us as well as the Holland America one.

G'day young Lyle, first up let me thank you for your reports etc from Viking Orion, sorry it did not meet you expectations.

 

Secondly, the New England/Canada East Cost cruise, you will enjoy that. We did it on P&O UK's Aurora, from Southampton, so we had the transatlantic there and back, so it was about 3 and a half weeks all up.   Visited NY, Boston, Newport RI, St.Johns, Quebec City, Halifax, Sydney (Canadian version lol.) couple of others too from memory, Charlottetown rings bell, Anne of Green Gables etc.   NY, Boston and Quebec City were overnight/two day ports, so saw a bit.

 

[Mareblu]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

G'day young Lyle, first up let me thank you for your reports etc from Viking Orion, sorry it did not meet you expectations.

 

Secondly, the New England/Canada East Cost cruise, you will enjoy that. We did it on P&O UK's Aurora, from Southampton, so we had the transatlantic there and back, so it was about 3 and a half weeks all up.   Visited NY, Boston, Newport RI, St.Johns, Quebec City, Halifax, Sydney (Canadian version lol.) couple of others too from memory, Charlottetown rings bell, Anne of Green Gables etc.   NY, Boston and Quebec City were overnight/two day ports, so saw a bit.

 

We did it with NCL (not Viking Lyle) and it would be up there with our best cruises of all time.  A magic part of the world, particularly if you go in "The Fall" as we did.  It was also a significant birthday for me.  When I suggested New England for a birthday trip, my husband's eyes lit up.  Lots of good golf courses around Glen Innes, Inverell, etc., he gushed.  I said to think of Boston, Charlottetown, etc.  We absolutely loved it.  After the cruise (NY to NY) we did a fabulous land tour with Tauck through Vermont, etc.  Years earlier we played 18 in BC on the other side of the country for his significant birthday.  Sadly, my arthritic hands no longer allow me to play, but he still plays at least twice a week.  

[Blackduck59]

3 hours ago, BRANDEE said:

Hope the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick is one of the ports.  A hydrofoil ride in the St. John's River Rapids is a must. Does the itinerary include NY?

 

Unfortunately not NYC BRANDEE. We may try to work it in before the cruise. The embarkation port is Boston with the terminus in Quebec City or Montreal. There are stops in New Brunswick and Newfoundland which are often missed on the east coast Canada cruises. 

[Blackduck59]

The East Coast cruise will be in August (the 23rd is my birthday) I don't think that Newfoundland is on the later itinerary. Unfortunately no fall foliage. I think the weather may be a little less desirable in late September, early October. 

Lynn didn't appreciate this

 

 

Orion did not ride this well 🤔.

[Mareblu]

4 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

The East Coast cruise will be in August (the 23rd is my birthday) I don't think that Newfoundland is on the later itinerary. Unfortunately no fall foliage. I think the weather may be a little less desirable in late September, early October. 

Lynn didn't appreciate this

 

 

Orion did not ride this well 🤔.

Sorry about the lurching.  I actually love a roiling sea, don't know why.  I hate flying though😬, and can understand you didn't find the conditions at all pleasant.  Your birthday is our wedding anniversary🙂

Anyhoo...I won't tell you how much you'll enjoy your East Coast cruise, because I seem to have jinxed this one for you.

[OzKiwiJJ]

14 hours ago, Mareblu said:

My favourite go-to dish in Europe is always pheasant.  To us here it's so very rare, but in the Northern Hemisphere, it's found on many menus.  Exquisite if treated with respected and rested well.  I always call it my very own "Peasant Pheasant" because waiters glance askew when my face lights up when it's on the menu.  They probably think I come from the moon 😉

I spent quite a few years working part time in Rotorua and at one stage there was a pheasant farm nearby and one of the restaurants I used to go to regularly always had it on their menu. I rarely see it in Australia though. 😪

 

A highlight of one visit to London in 2008 was trying grouse. It was served with all the traditional accompaniments, so many of them! I  thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I had gooseberry fool for dessert - gooseberries are rarely seen in Australia either - so it was a memorable meal. 

[Aus Traveller]

We have wild pheasants living near us - they even be somewhere on our acreage property. In summer we hear their distinctive call and sometimes we used to see one in our backyard. We haven't ever been tempted to try to catch one. 🙂

Edited April 17, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[MicCanberra]

12 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

We have wild pheasants living near us - they even be somewhere on our acreage property. In summer we hear their distinctive call and sometimes we used to see one in our backyard. We haven't ever been tempted to try to catch one. 🙂

They are relatively easy to catch, especially if they are already on the menu.

[OzKiwiJJ]

13 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

We have wild pheasants living near us - they even be somewhere on our acreage property. In summer we hear their distinctive call and sometimes we used to see one in our backyard. We haven't ever been tempted to try to catch one. 🙂

That's interesting. I was actually wondering if Australia was too hot for them but obviously not. 

[GUT2407]

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

The East Coast cruise will be in August (the 23rd is my birthday) I don't think that Newfoundland is on the later itinerary. Unfortunately no fall foliage. I think the weather may be a little less desirable in late September, early October. 

Lynn didn't appreciate this

 

 

Orion did not ride this well 🤔.

Well I’ll never forget your birthday, 23rd Aug was the day I finally convinced The now Mrs Gut that I was loveable after all, a long story that fortunately for me had a happy ending. (Not sure she thinks it was such a happy ending).

[LC1950]

OzKiwiJJ, why not do a road trip to the Barossa and visit Maggie Beer's Farm Shop?  Here is a link to their restaurant.  Click the 'Pheasant Degustation" tab on top of the page.

 

https://www.thefarmeatery.com/

[Aus Traveller]

15 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

They are relatively easy to catch, especially if they are already on the menu.

Many years ago when our children were very young we had a fence across the back yard to keep them to the area near the house. The pheasants used to run/flutter across the property and sometimes get caught in the fence.

Edited April 17, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[BRANDEE]

3 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Unfortunately not NYC BRANDEE. We may try to work it in before the cruise. The embarkation port is Boston with the terminus in Quebec City or Montreal. There are stops in New Brunswick and Newfoundland which are often missed on the east coast Canada cruises. 

We did our East Coast/Canada cruise many years ago on Carnival and had a great time with all the ports.  I think there is now a Canada/East Coast/Iceland cruise available.  Sounds interesting!

Hope your experience on this cruise does not sour you to try a Viking riverboat cruise in Europe.  We found that experience to be worth the high price.

Edited April 17, 2022 by BRANDEE

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, LC1950 said:

OzKiwiJJ, why not do a road trip to the Barossa and visit Maggie Beer's Farm Shop?  Here is a link to their restaurant.  Click the 'Pheasant Degustation" tab on top of the page.

 

https://www.thefarmeatery.com/

I couldn't see the Pheasant Degustation link unfortunately, just their new EAT and FEAST menus which don't have pheasant on them. 

[Mareblu]

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I spent quite a few years working part time in Rotorua and at one stage there was a pheasant farm nearby and one of the restaurants I used to go to regularly always had it on their menu. I rarely see it in Australia though. 😪

 

A highlight of one visit to London in 2008 was trying grouse. It was served with all the traditional accompaniments, so many of them! I  thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I had gooseberry fool for dessert - gooseberries are rarely seen in Australia either - so it was a memorable meal. 

Grouse is served on Cunard;  I noticed it when I was checking dining details for our cruise in October.  Yummmm.   Had it in the Scottish Highlands (land of my ancestors) a few years ago and just loved it.

[LC1950]

9 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I couldn't see the Pheasant Degustation link unfortunately, just their new EAT and FEAST menus which don't have pheasant on them. 

 

Oh that's odd.  I'm on my desktop using Firefox if that's of any help?  It's up on top along with links for  "Flower School", "Cooking School", etc.   Anyway, here's the description.

 

From AUD AU$150.00

• Duration: 90 Minutes (approx.)
• Location: Nuriootpa, South Australia (AU)

A sumptuous 4 course Pheasant menu to be shared between 2 people  including bread and pate to begin  , Consommé  , roast pheasant with multiple accoutrements and a little something sweet to finish. Each course matched with premium Estate wines Only available for pre bookings with full payment  NOT SUITABLE FOR VEGANS OR VEGETARIANS other dietaries can be accommodated with notice. 

 

Sorry for any confusion.

 

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, LC1950 said:

 

Oh that's odd.  I'm on my desktop using Firefox if that's of any help?  It's up on top along with links for  "Flower School", "Cooking School", etc.   Anyway, here's the description.

 

From AUD AU$150.00

• Duration: 90 Minutes (approx.)
• Location: Nuriootpa, South Australia (AU)

A sumptuous 4 course Pheasant menu to be shared between 2 people  including bread and pate to begin  , Consommé  , roast pheasant with multiple accoutrements and a little something sweet to finish. Each course matched with premium Estate wines Only available for pre bookings with full payment  NOT SUITABLE FOR VEGANS OR VEGETARIANS other dietaries can be accommodated with notice. 

 

Sorry for any confusion.

 

 

 

No worries, I was looking at it on my phone so that may be why.

 

It sounds yummy! But I don't think we'll be doing another SA road trip in the near future - I'm still recovering from the last one! Just joking, we had a great time,  but it's a long drive from Sydney.

Edited April 17, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[LC1950]

Yes, of course it is but when you mentioned pheasant I thought immediately of Maggie and Colin Beer's pheasant farm.  We visited there, oh so very long ago.  Here I am in 'The Cook & the Chef's' kitchen. 

 

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, LC1950 said:

Yes, of course it is but when you mentioned pheasant I thought immediately of Maggie and Colin Beer's pheasant farm.  We visited there, oh so very long ago.  Here I am in 'The Cook & the Chef's' kitchen. 

 

 

 

I completely forgot about it. We visited Maggie Beer's place many years ago when we went to the Barossa but went the other way to McLaren Vale and Kangaroo Island on the last trip.

[Docker123]

Many years ago I went to the Pheasant Farm when they had the proper restaurant - best in the world, or something.

 

Roast pheasant, lovely entree tart, and nice sweet. The pheasant was memorable, in a good way.

 

I had Guinea fowl for the first time on Cunard. Last time, too.