around the time a rumble of foodbloggers descended upon zumbo yesterday — oh! the rapturous prose! the continuing mythology! — i was escorting the kid to her first real birthday party… at mcdonalds! in four years, we have been to mcdonalds three times: twice for little squeezy bottles of water, and once for fries, because we somehow could not find alternative chips in the city on a sunday afternoon.
so it was quite a foray beneath the golden arches with her three-piece chicken mcnugget happy meal, and the shiny lurid furniture in the purpose-built backroom, and the playground made of plastic tubes that amplify the shrieking.
me, i had my own treats to organise. settled into a table out front in the restaurant, with a copy of “the new yorker” in dire need of being read, i concentrated on dipping my fries into my caramel sundae. it wasn’t quite a masterpiece created by a french-trained chef, but it certainly had its merits. the fries were crisp and hot (though a few seemed almost liquid inside — water or oil, i couldn’t tell), and the salt crystals played off the caramel quite well (take that caramel beurre salé). the soft-serve was a cool, creamy foil… though you’d think that ice cream should be colder… shouldn’t it?
no matter. i finished it all, scraped the plastic cup clean, and headed back into the maelstrom just as lolly bags were being distributed. the screaming went up a notch. “where have you been?” asked one of the mothers, “in the cafe? that was a good idea.”
indeed, it was.
9 Comments
Salty chips in a sundae – you are a genius.
And glad your boy is back. And will look out for you to say ‘hi!’.
Ooh you do exactly the same thing I do (though I really hate Maccas at the best of times!).
Too bad you weren’t there on Sunday as I would’ve loved to have met you. Other than Suze I think you and I share another common friend! Oh well maybe next time?
i want fries now. now.
mm I do like that combination. But I’ve never thought to put it in the sundae. I merely use the fries as dipping devices.
Another thing that is good – Smiths Crisps Plain(crinkle cut) with vanilla icecream. Holy cow. Goodness.
I still remember when having a bday party at Macdonalds was THE thing to do.
belle: oh… it’s not so genius, and besides look! everyone’s doing it.
karen: ooh, who’s our common friend? is it sonya? she seems to know everyone.
deborah: yes, anytime is a good time for fries. perhaps lloyd can swing by KFC on his way home from werk.
sue: it’s one small step from dipping to being in the sundae. and much more efficient!
i am leaning towards plain potato chips these days, after noticing that the ingredients list is about a quarter the length of the exotic flavoured ones. what i’m looking forward to, on my next trip to singapore, is the chocolate covered potato chips from the japanese chocolate company, royce.
Y: wait… is it no longer the thing to do? must little kids have a clown in their own backyard, with a jumping castle and a pony and a performing band of bratz lookalikes? oh, sad world. my sister had a party at mcdonalds, though she was 16 at the time. i think she was being ironic. maybe.
I have very fond memories of a McDonalds Ice cream cake when I was a child.
I would have loved it if you could have come to the meet! It would be have been great to meet you instead of passing ships at Guylian cafe hehe
so it’s true! happy childhood memories of mcdonalds do unite everyone! wouldn’t it be odd if we finally did bump into each other at maccas?
Haha I’ll be the one with the cheeseburger and strawberry sundae. No red rose.