All posts tagged: Auckland

Auckland Restaurant Month 2015 – Events

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Auckland Restaurant Month starts this weekend! I’ve picked out a few budget-friendly events for those foodies who can’t quite make the $200 pp events that are happening across Auckland (as much as we’d love to). Check back over the next few days as I share restaurant promotions in different price brackets ($25, $40 and $60) as well as Q&A with chefs, owners, food writers and food bloggers throughout the month. Foodie Films If you missed the two food documentaries at the recent Documentary Edge festival, here’s your chance to see both of them for free. Deli Man is playing this Saturday and For Grace next Saturday. Seating is on a “first in” basis. Deli Man Saturday 1 August, 12pm Auckland Art Gallery Auditorium (FREE) For Grace Saturday 8 August, 5pm Auckland Art Gallery Auditorium (FREE) More info here: http://www.documentaryedge.org.nz Street Eats Saturday 29 August, 10.30am – 8pm Shed 10, Queens Wharf $5 entry (Free entry for supervised children) Immensely popular gourmet market with street food from central city restaurants. Beer, wine, kids’ entertainment and live music. …

Game of Rhones Auckland – a review and a meaty recipe

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A couple of Saturdays ago, my friend Miss A and I found ourselves at upstairs at Shed 10 on Queens Wharf. We were dressed in Game of Thrones garb, feeling a bit foolish and ready to taste some good wine at Game of Rhones. Game of Rhones is different to other wine tasting events because of the  unofficial Game of Thrones theme and also the awesome feature being token-free. You don’t have to worry about rationing out your drink tokens, just try whatever you feel like. Each ticket holder also gets a Reidel wine glass to keep. (Just in case you’re wondering, “Reidel” rhymes with “needle”). The only thing you have to pay extra for is food which was priced well for the size and quality. For $50 we got entry, all our wine tastings and a wine glass to keep. A bargain. Game of Rhones has enjoyed sell out events in Australia for a few years but this is the first time Game of Rhones has come to Auckland. There were plenty of dressed up folk from the …

The Food Show givaway: Winner!

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  With special thanks to The Food Show, I am pleased to announce the winner for the double pass drawn by Random.org. The winner is… **drum roll please!** Maria Williamson   Thanks to all who entered, if you would like to find out more about The Food Show or purchase tickets, details are below. The Food Show Thursday 30 July – Sunday 2 August 2015 10am – 6pm (finishes 5pm on Sunday) ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Auckland. Early bird tickets start at a very reasonable $26 for adults. For more information, please visit their website here. See you there! PS. Don’t forget to enter my other giveaway here. To keep up with announcements including giveaways, make sure you follow me on Bloglovin’ or Facebook.

Auckland Eats for Bastille Day

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Tuesday 14 July is Bastille Day. In France, it is called La Fête Nationale or Le quatorze juillet (fourteenth of July). This marks the start of the French Reveloution in 1789 and the first anniversary in 1790 a year later. In France there will be fireworks and parades. Here is a list of Auckland restaurants and their Bastille Day celebrations. >> Click on the restaurant names to visit their websites. La Cigale 69 St Georges Bay Road, Parnell Bastille Day celebration $75pp for 3 courses. Expect dishes such as beef Tartare, snails, duck a l’orange. Prize for most French looking table Touquet 23 O’Connelll Street, CBD. Tourquet have a 3 course set menu for Bastille Day: A flute of French sparkling wine, pork and venison terrine, blanquette de veu (veal casserole), creme brulee and madeleine. $58pp. Cheese course for an extra $25. Their regular menu will also be available. La Fourchette 8C Turua Street, St Heliers 3 course set menu with Veuve Clicquot champagne. $70pp. Salmon Tartare or Greek Artichokes or Escargots s/ in Garlic and Tomato Ragout. Pavé de Boeuf, château potatoes, spinach …

Kiwi Flavours in Mt Eden

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Last month, I was invited to Tuihana Cafe for a Zomato meetup. A mere 600 metres from my house, I was a little embarrassed that I’d never visited Tuihana Cafe before. With a clean, modern interior with gorgeous monochrome wallpaper on one wall and a huge photographic print of the owners on Piha beach, Tuihana has a modern kiwi feel…like a brand new beachside bach. The owners are Nate and Leslie: Nate is the operations guy and Leslie in charge of the food. The story We met with Nate, who guided us through their menu and business as if we were new staff getting up to speed. I’ve worked in hospo before but I’d never seen anything like this sort of training. Nate had printed a set of notes for each of us, props at the ready for our viewing pleasure and professionally photographs via his iPad to explain the dishes. Nate’s background is in IT and this geekery clearly shows with their tech integrated cafe. As someone tethered to a computer, phone or wifi …

Our Growing Edge July 2015 Intro – Party Edition

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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 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 Pia from Joie de Vivre and Cupcakes. The theme is PARTY WITH FRIENDS. I’ve got a few ideas for this month. Maybe I’ll even tick off a bucket list item. Some ideas you could try this month: Throw a 4th of July BBQ party Translate a family favourite to feed a large group Host a dinner party at home Invent some new drinks for a cocktail party Throw a make your own taco/burger/pizza party Create some make-ahead party canapés. To join, click on the submission button below:   Below are just a …

The Food Show 2015: double pass giveaway

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Thanks to The Food Show, I have a double pass to give away. Competition details at the bottom of this post. Foodie July Can you believe it’s July already? As Carli from The Enthusiastic Cook  summarised the other day, “AGHHGHGHGH How can winter suck with so many fun food events coming up?!” Graze and Feast is on this Friday, Game of Rhones on Saturday, and I’ve been invited to a Cocktail Club and Zomato’s birthday bash next week. The Food Show Another food event on my calendar is The Food Show at the end of the month. The Food Show Thursday 30 July – Sunday 2 August 2015 10am – 6pm (finishes 5pm on Sunday) ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Auckland. Early bird tickets start at a very reasonable $26 for adults. For more information, please visit their website here. The Food Show is an accessible expo of for food. Anything you can find in a supermarket, greengrocer, booze shop or kitchen you can find at The Food Show. Look for new and innovative products, lots of tastings and …

Graze and Feast – The Menu

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This time next week, there will be thousands of Aucklanders feasting on street food. Here’s a little preview of what they will be shoving in their pie holes… Graze and Feast will be held every Friday in July from 5pm at Shed 10 on Queen’s Wharf. Opening night is Friday 3 July. Entry is free and dishes range from $5 to $14. If you’re going, make sure you also check out my first post for everything you need to know about Graze and Feast. Vendors include: Ryan’s Kitchen, Brooklyn Dogs, Ekhaya, Dixie Barbecue, Banger Boys, Langos Hungarian Bread, Al’s Deli, Goodnight, Tiger Burger, Little Nomadic Kitchen, Love Bites, La Olivia, The Carvery, Go Go Mexican, Missoni Pizza, Siri Sri Lankan plus a few more. Follow their Facebook page for updates. “A gathering of Auckland’s best street foods including wood fired pizza, burgers, tacos, paella, bunny chow, Caesar salad, sirloin roll, pasties, American BBQ, patatas bravas, creme brûlée, ice cream, desserts.” Bunny chow? Unlike most, I actually know what bunny chow is, though I’ve never tried it. A …

Everything you need to know about Graze and Feast

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Auckland has a new food event called Graze and Feast. Graze and Feast will be held every Friday in July from 5pm at Shed 10 on Queen’s Wharf. Opening night is Friday 3 July. Entry is free and dishes range from $5 to $14. There will be plenty of food trucks and vendors to choose from. I freakin’ LOVE that there are so many other Aucklanders this keen on food events in Auckland. The hype is very real. My friend Miss A pointed me to the event page which I followed with interest. Within 24 hours of posting there were almost 10,000 Aucklanders interested in attending the event. At last count, with well over 16,000 interested in the event, we can be confident that events like these can continue to flourish in our city. Graze and Feast quick facts: Every Friday during the month of July. Edit : canceled after 2 events From 5pm at Shed 10 on Queen’s Wharf Free entry opening night. $5 subsequent nights. Seating for 400+ Aims to be a zero waste …

NZIFF 2015 – dinner and a movie

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New Zealand International Film Festival 2015 is fast approaching! The dates for each region are (in order of start date): Auckland 16 July – 2 August, Wellington 24 July – 9 August, Dunedin 30 July – 16 August, Nelson 6 – 23 August, Christchurch 7 – 23 August, Timaru 13 – 23 August, Gore 19 – 30 August, Hamilton 19 August – 13 September, Palmerston North 20 August – 6 September, Tauranga 20 August – 13 September, Masterton 2 – 16 September, New Plymouth 3 – 20 September, Hawke’s Bay 3 – 20 September For more information on the festival, films and screening times, visit www.nziff.co.nz As you probably know, I love movies and I love food. Movies and food? Oh yaaaassss. Last year, I picked out a some NZIFF movies and paired them dishes and restaurants and you can check them out here. Here are my top movie picks for NZIFF 2015 and their matching dinner recommendations…Please note, not all of these are foodie movies but most have food, eating or hunger themes. City of Gold, 2015 Directed by Laura Gabbert Starring Jonathan Gold (as himself) Portrait of Pulitzer Prize-winning LA …

#Winteriscoming #Wineiscoming

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Winter is coming! Winter is coming! If you watch Game of Thrones, this will be a familiar phrase. The Koala and I were quite late to Game of Thrones. We started watching at season 3 and binged on 30 episodes in about 3 weeks. Now that we’re caught up we have to wait week by week like peasants. PEASANTS! A little while ago, my friend Miss A told me about a Game of Thrones-themed wine-tasting event. Called Game of Rhones, it’s on Saturday 4 July at Shed 10 on Queens Wharf. The event has been celebrated in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and for the first time this year, Sydney and Auckland. A celebration of fierce reds from the Rhone Valley in France representing faraway lands. There will also be 20 wine producers from our own land to battle them. Vote for your favourite wine and the winning house will rule the iron throne (or something). Tyrion would approve. Game of Thrones attire is encouraged. If you feel silly dressing up in Game of Thrones gear, just …

Auckland Fair June 2015

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This Sunday at Shed 10 on Queens Wharf, New Zealand’s best makers will gather and present their wares. Entry is $5. You can bet that all around the country there are makers working day and night over the next few days to get ready for this huge event. There are over 150 independent makers and to cover the all would be impossible. To keep a list manageable I’ve compiled a little list of makers who may appeal to the foodie in you. Helo Birdie Auckland based artist Joey Ho creates watercolour and gouache paintings, prints and cards. Works feature tiny people, wonderful landscapes, cactus and of course, food. She is probably the coolest little sister in the world. No bias or anything… http://helobirdie.com Helo Birdie on Instagram Miss Changy Artist Ruby White presents a ceramic plates, cups and her signature rooster bowls. I have to admit, I have a girl crush on Miss Changy. She cooks from scratch, she makes furniture and all the ceramics her diners eat out of. Over achieve much? http://misschangy.com Miss Changy on Instagram …

Tofu Tuesday: Winter palm sunset

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Winter is coming. Tofu didn’t want to go outside yesterday morning. Typical Monday.  I scooped him up and placed him by the back door to check out the backyard. He said a big, “NOPE!” and hopped back to his room. But the weather turned out to be glorious so I popped off home at lunch and let him outdoors. By then the world was warm (hot even) and he was keen. I also took the opportunity to hang up a load of washing and throw another load in. You gotta use every ounce of sunshine you can get. By the time I get home from work at 5.15pm each day, the sun has already dropped below the horizon. Not ideal for photography but Tofu the bunny assured me it could work if I lifted him up towards the dying light.  He was right. Of course. I like how the palm trees in the background suggest we are somewhere much warmer. Click here to see more editions of Tofu Tuesday.

Deli Man: interview with director Erik Greenberg Anjou

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If you like food, you must see food documentary Deli Man. Run. Don’t walk. Grab a pastrami sandwich on the way. Deli Man talk, dinner, movie combo Yesterday, I rounded up bunch of foodies, bloggers and food bloggers to check out Deli Man at Documentary Edge with all the trimmings. Our appetiser was a free talk by the directors of two food documentaries. Director Erik Greenberg Anjou, the director of Deli Man and one of the directors of documentary For Grace, Mark Helenowski. Both directors showed trailers and clips from the movie and after an hour of food discussion we were HUNGRY. For our main course, we visited The Fed with the Deli Man dinner special. The Fed are official sponsors for Deli Man at the film festival so it seemed fitting to dine there before the movie. For $25 per head we enjoyed Matzo ball soup, pastrami with pickles and mustard, spit roast chicken and gravy, poutine, creamy slaw with peanuts, mash and gravy finished with coffee and NY cheesecake. Washed down with a cocktail and large serving of food …

Rum From Below

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#NZbloggers are hosting a weekly blog post challenge. This week’s theme is From Below and you can check out other posts on this theme here. New Zealand is a small cluster of islands in the southern hemisphere. Rum conjures up scenes of pirates and our little island nation seems to enjoy rum as much as any other island nation. I think it’s time to celebrate with three rums from below. Rum from below: Stolen Stolen Rum is one of my favourite spirit companies and lives in Auckland. The company started in 2009 in a flat right here in Mt Eden and is now sold in the US and Australia with other markets on the horizon. They have clever marketing tactics and a smooth drop to back it up. The rum is made in Trinidad and available in golden, white, dark and “spiced”. My favourite is the golden rum, although the white rum is pretty smooth for mojitos. Stolen launched Coffee & Cigarettes in the US but renamed it to Stolen Spiced for NZ and Australian markets. It’s pretty polarising in flavour. I’m not 100% sold on it yet, …

Deli Man and For Grace – Documentary Edge

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I love food documentaries, don’t you? Documentary Edge is an international documentary festival and has just started in Auckland. The festival runs in Auckland from 20 May to 1 of June and in Wellington from 3 June to 14 June. There are a range of movies to suit different tastes. There are two food documentaries in the festival: Deli Man and For Grace. If you’re interested in one or both, also check out the free event held at The Vault, Q Theatre where directors from both films will discuss food and film. Food Talk Sat 30 May, 4.30 – 5.30pm The Vault, Q Theatre In Conversation with Erik Greenberg Anjou and Mark Helenowski Director of Deli Man, Erik Greenberg Anjou, and director of For Grace, Mark Helenowski, talk food and film in this discussion of their respective documentaries. Free event. Deli Man (USA, 2014) Directed by Erik Greenberg Anjou, Deli Man is a look into the history and the food in Jewish delicatessens. Rated a very healthy 7.6 on IMDB, this story follows Ziggy Gruber, a third-generation deli man …

Love My City – April Round Up

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I’m pleased to be the host of Link Up event Love My City, which aims to connect bloggers and share spots and events in our cities. Whether it’s a review of an event or neat little place that you just discovered, Love My City is a great way to share your post. The event is open to bloggers world-wide and you can find out more or submit a post over here. I’ve lived in three vastly different cities in my life. Hong Kong (pop. over 7,000,000), Rotorua (pop. over 50,000) and Auckland (pop. over 1,000,000). I could tell you a thing or two about each of them. Coincidentally there were three entries to Love My City this month. All the bloggers currently live in Auckland and these are our city secrets… First I will start with Jule’s from The Kiwi Diaries who started this link up. When she and Le Boyfriend visited London, UK recently, they dined at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Union Jacks where they feasted on British classic of Fish and chips served with mushy …

Anniversary Dinner at Odettes

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The Koala and I celebrated our anniversary over a decadent dinner at Odettes. Odettes is pretty new to the Auckland scene and a cafe by day, restaurant by night. Odettes was recently named “Best Room” (the interior design award) by Metro and runner-up for “Best All Day Restaurant”. The hand made tiles around the room are a lovely detail that caught my eye. Ex Ping Pong The space is the former Miss Ping’s – a ping pong bar (table tennis, not Thai style) but it has been completely transformed. The dining room is vast with super high stud, comfy banquet seating with plenty of throw pillows for comfort. The colours and textures of the decor are great and the lighting is dim and romantic. Like many cool places in the city, they don’t take bookings so we arrived before 6pm because we had a show to make later. There were not many diners when we arrived and while more arrived later, the dining room didn’t fill up like I had envisaged. How we roll The …

Tasting Menu with Matching Wines

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I was stoked to be invited to a Zomato Foodie Meetup at One Tree Grill last week. As much as I love food and wine (like, HEAPS), I have never experienced a tasting menu with matched wines. I was in for a treat. I was annoyingly early for our 6.30pm start. When I arrived I was greeted by Charlotte who I know from what feels like another era. About 8 years back we lived and breathed a restaurant and bar in Parnell called Blowfish. It was a funny time. Charlotte took my coat and set me up with a delicious Xanadu Shiraz on a comfy couch. We chatted about old times and One Tree Grill. There were 8 of us and it was a pleasure to dine with other foodies and we had plenty to talk about food-wise and about our experience. Bloggers at the dinner were Cecilia from Ultimate Om Noms, Amy from My Dining Journey, Tiffany from Heartshrooms, Jen from Mango and Beans. The decor is inviting with dark wood furniture, white tablecloths, neutral colours, a large …