All posts tagged: eel

Auckland Seafood Festival 2015 – food porn and review

Published by

My seafood gobbling friends and I descended on the Auckland Seafood Festival at midday today with hunger in our bellies and a readiness to partake. Being the middle of Auckland Anniversary weekend, the city was BUSY. There was plenty of atmosphere and things to do. There still are. The layout of the venue at Halsey Wharf was quite different this year and the areas felt a little less marked out. No restaurant alley this year, but it was easy to navigate. There was plenty of seating, though the limited shade was snapped up quickly. The lines were short all except for the line for the Oceanz’s crayfish (from $25 for half) which was so long (about 40 bellies deep) we didn’t bother. My favourite dish was one from NSIA a school for hospo students. Pulpo in honey and balsamic, gazpacho caviar, Spanish olive soil, capsicum sofrito ($8). Pulpo is spanish for octopus and this dish was filled with bite size octopi. Quite an adventurous and sophisticated dish, it really paid off. We also tried their …

Delicious Vietnam: Eating In The Old Quarter, Hanoi

Published by

Before our epic SE Asia holiday, I had read a few  blogs to inspire my appetite. One of the best was A Food Lover’s Journey by Ahn in Melbourne. Mouthwatering and easily relatable, Ahn is a Vietnamese expat and reading her blog is enough to make anyone crave Vietnamese food. The monthly Delicious Vietnam blogging event conspired by A Food Lover’s Journey and Ravenous Couple was never something I thought I would participate in. When I saw their reminder this month, I realised that it was just about time I wrote about Vietnamese food and our time in Hanoi. Vietnamese food in Auckland There is a lack of Vietnamese restaurants in Auckland, but one of my favourites is Hansan Vietnamese Restaurant. One of those places with cheap, fresh and delicious food, but severely no frills service, my review can be found here. The other Vietnamese place worth mentioning in Auckland is Banh Mi. Who do great filled rolls and all the classic Vietnamese dishes as well. Anticipation “”Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best — ” …

Unagi at home

Published by

Unagi: freshwater eel. Often served as unadon or unagidon (on rice). From what I’ve read, in this country at least, restaurants buy their unagi pre-cooked and pre-sauced. I love unagi, but why pay someone else to microwave pre-cooked, pre-sauced unagi when you can do it yourself? You can find unagi packs with sauce in the frozen section of your local Asian market at about $9NZ each. I’ve bought these before from a Japan shop and also a Chinese grocer. All you have to do is remove the eel from the packaging, zap for a few minutes then pour on the sauce. Serve with rice, maybe a salad or greens and some edamame and presto! 2 bags of unagi can feed 2 or 3 people for dinner.