Author: Bunny Eats Design

Bunny Eats Design turns 5 – Skinfood giveaway

Published by

Skinfood is New Zealand owned, New Zealand made skincare range based on natural ingredients. Skinfood does not test on animals and use sustainable ingredients. Skinfood products are free from GMO, parabens, artificial colours, artificial fragrances. I am a “Skinfoodie”. I’ve used Skinfood products for years. I adore their mud masque and moisturisers and I love that Skinfood are stocked in most supermarkets in NZ. It’s super easy to buy cruelty free skincare with your weekly grocery shop and the products I use are just $14 each. Thanks to Skinfood I have a prize pack worth over $150 to give away. To enter, just follow my Instagram account, and name one food I have posted to Instagram recently. Entry form at the bottom of this post. Produce pictured are props only and not included in prize. The Skinfood prize pack includes: Mud masque natural Rotorua mud with aloe vera and jojoba oil Mud & honey body bar with natural volcanic mud and manuka honey Exfoliating body bar with walnut shell to exfoliate dead skin and manuka honey …

Bunny Eats Design turns 5 – Foodbox giveaway

Published by

I got into Foodbox a few years ago when I was investigating different food delivery services in Auckland. Foodbox was the most well rounded service I found with fair prices for the average household. Foodbox began with with a few fruit and vege box options, now they offer many more items to make cooking at home a breeze. Foodbox offer quality free range meat, seafood, free range eggs, milk, bread and artisan goodies along with their main fruit and vege boxes. Fruit and vege are mostly local except for bananas and the odd grape or pineapple in winter. Thanks to Foodbox, I have a Big Bang worth $45 to give away. To enter, you must follow Foodbox’s Instagram account and answer a fun vege related food question. Entry form at the bottom of this post. “The Big Bang is brimming with New Zealand grown fresh fruit and vegetables for your week. It is our medium sized mixed fruit and veg box which is specifically designed for 3-4 people but would suit a vegetarian couple and/or a small family with 1-2 young children.” Due to logistics, this prize …

Bunny Eats Design turns 5!

Published by

5 years ago, I started this blog. It sounds like a long time. But then when I remember that I’ve living in the same house for 6 years, at the same job for 10 years, with The Koala for 13 years, living Auckland for 22 years…5 years doesn’t sound so long. The journey 5 years ago, I had just started to enjoy experimenting in the kitchen and was taking terrible photos of my food. If you dig around, you’ll find my first blog posts. I can laugh about it. My curiosity to try new things and persistence kept this blog going. Since last year, I upgraded my DSLR, I joined brunchclub, I met lots of lovely bloggers, I’ve eaten with lots of food bloggers, I made a media kit (to get more serious and focused), I created a photography portfolio, I started using Instagram, I attended food photography workshops, I took on photography jobs. I started getting invited to food events as media (OMG whut!?), I ate out, I ate out a lot, I’m still here. Courage to …

Chinese American kitsch with a twist

Published by

Last night I attended a new pop up at Coco’s Cantina on K Rd. Coco’s Cantina is a rustic Italian kitchen with family-style dining. While the Cocos are galavanting and eating their way through Italy (team building exercise: BOSS LEVEL), the restaurant is being “house sat” by fledgling food businesses Judge Bao and The Pie Piper. I’ve blogged about Judge Bao before and mentioned their friends The Pie Piper who regularly impress foodies at The Street Collective on Ponsonby Road with their bao and pies. On different day, the setting could be called romantic. The lighting was dim with small flowers and candles at the tables. We were seated on long tables and served family-style with a mix of food media present. I fan-girled a little bit but didn’t introduce myself to any of the foodie heroes at the other tables. Um…not there yet. We sampled a range of dishes from Judge Bao’s ambitious pop up menu and ended with slice of pie of our choice from The Pie Piper. We dined as guests of Judge Bao and …

Damask

Published by

#NZbloggers are hosting a weekly blog post challenge. This week’s theme is DAMASK and you can check out other posts on this theme here. This post is about the only item of damask I own. One time when The Koala and I stopped over in Thailand, long before I had this blog, I bought a huge damask tablecloth for no reason that I can tell. I think it was intended as a gift, but I ended up keeping it. Fast forward to a few years later, I realised the tablecloth was double sided and made my food photos look instantly luxurious. I tend to stick to boring old plain white fabric these days to allow my dishes to be the main focus, but there’s something bold and wonderful about the damask.

WOOP – a review

Published by

I am pleased to announce a special promotion for my readers. Just use the promo code BUNNYVIP to receive $25 off your WOOP order. I was recently invited by Thomas Dietz to try a new food delivery service in Auckland called WOOP. Thomas is a (former) Parisian, foodie and the entrepreneur responsible for TOMeTTe, those beautifully branded, ready-to-eat French meals we first tried at The Food Show in 2012. Since then, Thomas has launched a new initiative called WOOP (World On A Plate). Branding One thing about both TOMeTTe and WOOP, is the branding is right on point. A flash silver box arrived, the ingredients packed with the skill of a Tetris master. This box can easily fit on a shelf in your fridge – which I would recommend since they’ve packed it so snug it would be hard to beat. Convenience A weekly delivery of 3 meals for two or four people, these feature gourmet meals that take an average of 15 minutes to prepare. Sitting somewhere between cooking from scratch and “heat and eat” meals, much …

Food Porn on Film

Published by

#NZbloggers are hosting a weekly blog post challenge. This week’s theme is FILM and you can check out other posts on this theme here. If you have a little nosey around this blog, you may have noticed I’m a bit of a film junkie. I love lots of genres but food and cooking films are up there. While there are many lists of great film food and cooking scenes, many are outdated. So here is my curated list of some pivitol food scenes from recent cooking films so as well as suggestions for local dining. Chef 2014 A movie about a food truck, the grilled cheese sandwich scene is some sizzling hot food porn. Don’t watch Chef on an empty stomach and figure out if there is a source of Cuban sandwiches in your local BEFORE you watch the movie. That way you can run, not walk to porky, cheesy goodness. Chef best food porn scenes: Grilled cheese Opening scene How to make a Cubano scene Pair this movie with your own 3 cheese grilled sandwich …

Our Growing Edge September 2015 Intro

Published by

We all have bucket lists. Whether they’re written down somewhere or kept in our heads and hearts. Our Growing Edge is the part of us that is still learning and experimenting. It’s the part that you regularly grow and improve, be it from real passion or a conscious effort. This blogging monthly event aims to connect and inspire us to try new things and to compile a monthly snapshot of what food bloggers are getting up to. More info on the event can be found here. This month is hosted by Hannah from Love The Little Bakery. To join, click on the submission button below: There is no theme for this month so just go with what every is new and interesting to you, although Hannah the host loves to bake if that inspires you at all. Some ideas you could try this month: Bake something you have previously failed at Decorate a cake Cook something you’ve seen on Pinterest Host a themed dinner party Use up an exotic ingredient you once bought on a whim Recreate something you …

Street Eats 2015 – food porn and people watching

Published by

Today is the last day of Restaurant Month. What a month it’s been! On Saturday was Street Eats, a highlight and grand finale event of Restaurant Month. I arrived at Street Eats at 10.30am when it opened, paid $5 admission and set upon documenting and eating my way through the huge selection of delicious food. As I’ve mentioned before, going early is the best way to avoid crowds at Street Eats. I only had to wait in line for 1 dish and since I got there early before the crowds, I even got to chat to some chefs about their dishes. Each restaurant, eatery, pop up and food truck offered between 3 and 5 dishes, all under $10. Shed 10 was filled with restaurants and plenty of seating. In the centre island, drinks could be bought from various wine, cider and beer retailers.  With festive bunting and live music it was set for great atmosphere. Food trucks and pop ups lined the outside space between Shed 10 and The Cloud. I had already eaten at both Mexico and Orleans last week …

Tasty questions with Nom Nom Panda

Published by

Nom Nom Panda is an Auckland food blog with recipes, reviews and news. A great resource for those who enjoy dining out in Auckland. Her cooking adventures are well documented and fairly scientific and tables of findings and information are common with the panda. Nom Nom Panda’s monthly feature Auckland Diner’s Diary is a list of Auckland’s eatery openings, closings and food-related events in Auckland, it’s both an interesting read and a unique historical record of Auckland’s culinary landscape. Below are Nom Nom Panda’s answers to the tasty questions I cooked up for your enjoyment. Describe your blog: Food related musings. News and reviews. My kitchen experiments. What is the most popular post on your blog? It used to the one about Chinese eggettes, but lately it’s been overtaken by Homemade Puffed Rice, even though my creations were not anything like the commercial version. Name your favourite comfort food: It’s hard to pick one thing, but I guess it would probably be a freshly made toasted cheese sandwich. Fat and carbs always make you feel better, right? It even gives the impression that it’s …

Tasty questions with Rice & Kai

Published by

Rice & Kai is a food blog by fellow Aucklander Audrey Young. An adventurous foodie, she is not shy to test out new recipes with bold flavours or textures and to and tackle epic food challenges or dinner parties. Below are her answers to the tasty questions I cooked up for your enjoyment. Describe your blog: The blog documents my food adventures! It’s where I take note of recipes and food ideas I’ve tried that I think other people would be interested in.  I also write a little bit about places I’ve eaten at. What is the most popular post on your blog? Bill Granger’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, followed closely by the deep fried homemade egg tofu recipe. Name your favourite comfort food: Wonton soup!  I love having a big bowl of pork and prawn wontons.  I can eat a scary amount of wontons in one sitting. What did you have for breakfast? I went out with a friend for breakfast this morning.  I had a baby spinach, prosciutto, tomato and blue cheese omelette.  It was good. What is the …

Tasty questions with Lucy Eats

Published by

Lucy Eats is a combination of recipes and reviews by Auckland food blogger Lucy Abraham. She cooks and eats delicious, hearty food and knows a thing or two about Chinese food. Below are her answers to the tasty questions I cooked up for your enjoyment. Describe your blog: I come from a Chinese family where a gathering is not a gathering unless there is an abundance of food. My blog is about food that you can share with loved ones. What is the most popular post on your blog?: Sweet and Spicy Candied Nuts (Click for link). Name your favourite comfort food: I love having chicken and sweet corn soup. I could have a whole pot of it! What did you have for breakfast? A breakfast frittata made from left over roast chicken and chunky roast veggies. What is the most delicious thing you’ve eaten this week? The porridge at The Store, Britomart – it had rhubarb, apple and real honey comb! What are 3 sources of inspiration to you? Instagram, Mindfood magazine, the interesting diets my friends and …

Tasty questions with Leisha Jones, Honeytrap

Published by

Down in St Kevin’s Arcade on the infamous K Rd is a little cafe called Honeytrap. Offering their signature meaty BBQ sandwiches, soups, salads and their popular “shake of the day”, their food always packs a flavour punch. Honeytrap use free range meat and eggs and their sauces and pickles are made in house. I’ve mentioned foodie web-series Club Sandwich a couple of times. What I haven’t mentioned is that Honeytrap are responsible for this sweet little look into the Auckland culinary landscape. You can check out the entire collection of films here on Vimeo. Leisha Jones is the is the owner of Honeytrap and below are her answers to the tasty questions I cooked up for your enjoyment. Describe your restaurant’s food: Comforting. Flavourful. Creative. What is your restaurant’s signature dish? Our BBQ beef brisket sandwich. The beef is braised in the oven for around 8 hours, before being shredded and tossed with our house made BBQ sauce. Then served on a toasted bun, with zucchini pickles (also made in house), and red cabbage slaw with ranch dressing. It has been on the menu …

Tasty questions with Miss Charlotte Cake

Published by

Miss Charlotte Cake is an Auckland pinup beauty who bakes cakes and desserts. She loves high tea and all things vintage. She came runner up in the Miss Pinup New Zealand 2015 Competition and was recently a winner on Come Dine With Me New Zealand. I’ve had the pleasure of dining out with Miss Charlotte Cake a few times via #brunchclub, #cocktailclub and Zomato and she’s always charming, gracious and impeccably dressed. Below are her answers to the tasty questions I cooked up for your enjoyment. Describe your blog: Rustic Baker – Blogger – Pinup Gal What is the most popular post on your blog? It’s actually a post I did on what its like to live with a pinup girl and is aimed to my parter Carl. It was shared so many times on social media I lost count. I think others just found it really interesting getting a guys point of view on all this vintage stuff! You can read it here. Name your favourite comfort food: A big bowl of hot spaghetti bolognase and lots of parmesan cheese grated on top. …

Tasty questions with Ang Sarap

Published by

Ang Sarap – A Tagalog word for “It’s Delicious” is a recipe blog with stunning photography. Raymund lives in Auckland, New Zealand and is the cook and photographer behind Ang Sarap. He works in IT and enjoys cooking and traveling. Ang Sarap has a huge following and it’s easy to see why. His recipes cover a massive range though he has a special focus on Filipino and Asian flavours. To give you an idea of size, he currently has over 1000 entries accepted onto Foodgawker and Tastespotting combined.  He writes with generosity and honesty about food and dining out. His love for travel is evident through his often exotic recipes. His Food Blogging Tips for Starters is an super thorough guide to starting your own food blog. I *almost* missed out on this post due to Raymund’s travels but was lucky enough to get it in the nick of time. Below are his answers to the tasty questions I cooked up for your enjoyment. Describe your blog: Ang Sarap is mostly about dishes I tried and recreated from different culinary experiences, most of the dishes in my blog are Filipino recipes but not limited …

Tasty questions with Takehiro Ito, Tanuki’s Cave

Published by

Tanuki’s Cave has legendary status in Auckland. Located down under Queen Street it has a bunker-like quality making it a cosy haven for tasty bites and your choice of Asahi, Sapporo or sake. Their yakitori (skewers, cooked over charcoal) comes 2 sticks per order making it perfect for intimate dinners. They have vegetarian and safe options like chicken, steak and pork belly as well as hearts, liver, giblets and tongue for the more adventurous. If you get a chance, try the chicken hearts! The Koala and I celebrated one of our wedding anniversaries at Tanuki’s Cave…meat on sticks and flowing booze for two. It was perfect. A tanuki is a Japanese racoon dog and has significant meaning in Japanese folklore. A great dinner and movie paring for Tanuki’s Cave would be Pom Poko, an animation about Tanuki’s and their magical testicles. Yes, you read that correctly, I said testicles. Did I mention it’s a kid’s movie? Takehiro Ito is the is the Head Chef at Tanuki’s Cave and below are his  answers to the tasty questions I cooked up for your enjoyment. Describe your restaurant’s food: …

Tasty questions with Casual Ramblings

Published by

Casual Ramblings is written by Amy Tam and is a journal and photolog with an appreciation for the finer things in life. Topics include travel, dining out and fashion. Amy also has a review-only blog just called My Dining Journey. Her archive is impressive.  With 161 reviews on Zomato, you can trust Amy has a few solid opinions about dining out in NZ and around the world. Below are her answers to the tasty questions I cooked up for your enjoyment.   Describe your blog: Travel the world. Do what makes you happy. Capture the moment. What is the most popular post on your blog? ​My bag review of the Prada Saffiano Lux Double Zip Tote. Name your favourite comfort food: Mince and Cheese pie (don’t judge me!). What did you have for breakfast? Hard boiled egg and a soy Nespresso coffee. What is the most delicious thing you’ve eaten this week? The melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket from Miss Moonshine in Ponsonby. What is an underrated ingredient? Chickpeas – I go through so many chickpeas at home. I roast a batch over the weekend and eat them as snacks …