Deb Ong 翁诗美

Chef jackets have a couple of little slots in the sleeve of the upper arm for you to keep a pen/sharpie and a tasting spoon.

Every so often I'd forgot to take a spoon out of my jacket.

Now they are just lovely little reminders of all the different kitchens I've worked in :)

6 metal dessert spoons of various shapes/sizes lined up next to each other on a white/grey granite kitchen bench.

So I've been sick at home for the past two days and going stir crazy.

Decided to go through my cutlery drawer, because why not?

Here are some spoons that I have *accidentally* stolen from different kitchens over the years.

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

NYT ran a ‘As a parent of an autistic child, RFK Jr is right about autism actually’

Fuck off into the sun

Love lo mai gai.
They really are the perfect quick lunch!

Every once in awhile we might have something fun on the misc shelf.

Some produce that a customer brought in, or harvested from our rooftop garden.

It really taught me how to be creative with cooking methods and how to play around with textures and different methods of flavour extraction.

Every Friday, I would put all of these random things into a huge gastro (metal oven tray) and stare at them until I could come up with something cohesive and tasty that people would want to eat.

It was really good training.

In one of my first jobs as a chef de partie (section chef), I was in charge of helping the head chef come up with specials for the weekend.

We had a shelf in the coolroom which we called the 'miscellaneous shelf", where we put vegetable offcuts and other bits and pieces that needed to be used up.

A sunny-side up fried egg sits on top of a couple of golden brown oval corn fritters on a white patterned plate. They are garnished and framed with bits of green leaves, strands of fried rice vermicelli and flecks of red chilli oil .

On special this weekend is a whole bunch of stuff that I needed to clear from our coolroom 🤣

Corn & cheese fritters with green apple gazpacho, fried egg, grilled zucchini, crispy rice vermicelli and a petit salad of watercress, apple and pickled shallots.

Fritters are gf. Made with tapioca flour.

I was wrong. I'm very sorry.

I have prepared a handy press release/statement for anyone who has really fucked up.

Feel free to save & use.

The thing I love the most, above feeding the people that come into our establishment, is them letting us become a part of their lives.

Cafes, while private enterprises, can be beautiful community spaces.

This is not the first time this has happened. We've had other regular customers pass away over the years.

The grief of their loved ones seeping into our lattes and scrambled eggs.

The stories of their demise finding their way to us by proxy.

We are sad today.
An elderly customer has passed away.
Their family just came in to let us know, and to thank us for taking care of him.

I will always remember Ken.

His earnest thank yous to every member of staff as he would leave.

How he liked his coffee.
How he loved our caramel bundts.
How he was so proud to introduce us to his family every time they came to visit.

Rest in peace gentle sir.
Have a pint for us up there 💜

I love him and his quirky bowtie.

Also wonky teeth make him highly relatable.

We're ok.
Just exhausted. It's been a long day.

Trying not to think about how much it will cost to reprogram the car and get new keys 😬

We feel so lucky to be part of this community.

And while it sucks to have our home and personal space violated, we are thankful to be surrounded by so many good, generous people.

Wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
#westisbest

Some neighbours combed through their security footage, while others offered to loan us their cars.

Some dropped off beer, and many stopped by just to see if we were ok.

One local locksmith even came by after we finished work to change all our locks for us. No charge.

This could have been an extremely shitty day, and it was in part...

But what really shone through was how amazing our local community is.

#innerwestmelb

So, our house got broken into this morning.

They got my husband's playstation, his car keys and our spare house keys before the dogs woke us up.

The best part? This happened a couple of hours before we had to open up the cafe 🙃
(which is literally just up the road from our house)

#hospolife

So the news about a Singapore political party coming out (haha) as anti-LGBTQ is very timely because the ruling party is likely going to field a LGBTQ activist. She will likely win due to the ‘unique’ traits of our political system (you vote for a group of people rather than an individual, most […]

@benjamino.bsky.social

Also, the Women's Circus in West Footscray is a wonderful, supportive and inclusive space for anyone who wants to fly their freak flag high. 🤸‍♀️🏳️‍🌈

Me hanging upside down from a trapeze in the shape of a leaping gazelle.

Sorry I can't come to the phone right now ... I've run away to join the circus.

Is the audi still there?

So did they???
I'm invested now.

I will never understand people who get off from being patronising and condescending to hospo workers.

Get over yourself.
Your $15 does not entitle you to belittle me or my staff.

And please don't ever darken the door of our establishment ever again.

Close up of a small honey jar with a circular label. The label has a black and white drawing of a reindeer with a red nose, and the words: "HO MO HONEY JP's Bees Hive: Patricia Harvest 007/201124"

Today for our little act of resistance, we are silently dosing local conservatives (via house-made fig and honey muffins) with:

Single origin ho-mo honey 😏

Just because you can't understand what an autistic individual is trying to say, doesn't mean that they aren't communicating with you

I think it's hilarious 🤣