Tag: food

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The 9pm Not Quite All of the Trains with David Feng

A Chinese man in short-sleeved shirt stands on a railways station platform on a bright sunny day. Behind him stands a very shiny modern train in white, blue, red, and grey livery, with a legend in Lao script.
David Feng stands in front of a high-speed train of the Laos–China Railway in 2023. (Photo: Supplied)

I like trains. Do you like trains? I hope so, because today we’re talking about trains. There’s a strong focus on China and on high-speed trains, and our guest on the internet from Beijing is Chinese-Swiss international rail visionary, it says on his YouTube channel, David Feng.

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The 9pm Hometown Visit to Gawler

Looking across the street at two classic Victorian-era civic buildings. On the left is a two-storey stone building, three windows wide, with a portico at the front finished in white plaster. Across the top it reads INSTITUTE and on the facade there’s the text “In Memoriam 1914 - 1918”. On the right is a shorter but similar building, with a terrace on top of its portico, and a row of four flagpoles. The flags are limp because there’s no wind, and they can’t be recognised. On the top of the facade is a set of arms (featuring a hawk, wheat, and lion, but drawn incorrectly), and the words TOWN HALL. In between them is a hint of modern architecture, namely the glass entry to a new building behind these two. The sky is bright blue with a few fluffy clouds.
The Gawler Institute building (1871) and the Gawler Town Hall (1878), photographed on 29 June 2025. On the town hall the arms are drawn incorrectly (PDF). (Photo: Stilgherrian)

Today’s episode is a bit different. It’s more personal. I, Stilgherrian, was born in Gawler, South Australia, and lived there from ages 11 to about 17. Last year I visited the town with my good friend Snarky Platypus, and he asked me some pertinent questions.

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The 9pm Slop Bowl of Discourse with Snarky Platypus

On a drab metal tray sits a white plastic plate piled with stuff including lettuce and dribbles of an unidentifiable brown sauce, a brown paper bag printed with the slogan “[Our] chips are lovingly crafted for [something out of sight]”, and a paper cup labelled “Chipotle Mexican Grill”. In the bottom left corner there’s an inset photo of a platypus.
Chicken burrito bowl with tortilla chips and drink at Chipotle, August 2022, by Sarah Stierch/Wikipedia Commons, used under a CC BY 4.0 license. Platypus inset photo by Taronga Conservation Society Australia / Chris Wheeler. Digital composition by Stilgherrian..

I like food. My good friend Snarky Platypus also likes food. And we also like wine. But we also have opinions. So in this final episode of the spring series we bring you some of those opinions.

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Talking #activatedalmonds on Balls Radio

I was so irritated with the idiot pseudo-science being peddled by “TV chef” Pete Evans last weekend that I went beyond helping turn the #activatedalmonds hashtag into a thing. I also made it the topic for my regular spot on Phil Dobbie’s Balls Radio this week.

I won’t write any more about it. It’ll make me cranky. Just listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:13 — 7.7MB)

If you’d like more Balls Radio, have a listen to the full episode. You can subscribe over at the website.