All posts tagged: food

22. The Fridge

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… A busy neighbourhood cafe. Small in front, walk down the stairs, through their humming kitchen to more seating downstairs and outside. Come here for… Pies. Really good pies in a range of flavours. Some lovely cabinet food and sweet treats. The most interesting thing on the menu… Beef & Guinness pie Moroccan lamb pie Steak & mozzarella pie Unexpectedly wonderful… Pies of course! I am also addicted to their Chicken and bacon caesar wrap. The anchovy mayo is amazing. I would come back to try… All the pies. Catering to… Ominis and veges. Not much for gluten free diners but gluten free toast available on request. Expect to spend… $15-$30 per person The service is… At the counter, friendly and efficient. Kitchen and coffees a bit slow when they are busy. Best to stick to pies and cabinet food if you are hungry or in a hurry. Avoid if… …

21. Thirty Nine Cafe

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… Front, typical cafe, out back in their outdoor area, it is bit more arty and funky. Could do with a reno though. Come here for… We have been coming here for a decade just for the bacon hash. I’ve tried a few other things on their menu but their bacon hash is just wonderful. When I go with friends, we order a table’s worth of bacon hash. The most interesting thing on the menu… The bacon hash. Unexpectedly wonderful… The bacon hash. I would come back to try… The bacon hash…again. Catering to… People who love honey bacon, roasted portabello mushrooms, a big hash brown, and shit-tons of hollandaise. Vegetarian options and gluten free options available. I dare you to swap the honey bacon for eggs to create a vege version of the bacon hash. Expect to spend… $20 per person The service is… At the counter. Friendly most …

20. Mamak Malaysian Restaurant

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… Chancery Chic meets Malaysian street food. If you haven’t been to the Chancery, when it first opened, the cobble-stoned centre was very fancy. Now most of the stores have changed hands though the architecture remains. Very limited space inside so most of the seating is outdoors, they have heaters and big umbrellas for cold, wet nights. Come here for… Home made style Malaysian street food. A small selection of Malaysian main courses, drinks and appetisers. All at a food hall prices. Lots of tasty appetisers which are great for sharing. The most interesting thing on the menu… Nasi Lemak with ikan bilis (fried anchovies) Spicy soft shell crab Unexpectedly wonderful… Roti – made on site Beef Rendang Satay Chicken I would come back to try… Their laksa – These steaming bowls of spiced noodles are are huge and popular. I must see what the fuss is about. Catering to… Omni, …

19. DeBretts Kitchen

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… An expansive atrium that is brightly lit and surprisingly warm. A bit posh with bright coloured furniture and arty decor. What you might expect for an upmarket hotel restaurant. Come here for… Date night, special occasions, fine food and drink. The most interesting thing on the menu… Welsh rarebit souffle with quail egg, caramelised onion, rye Roasted hapuka, spiced pumpkin, wild rice, yoghurt Roasted quail with butter milk, baby beetroot, puff grain, sour cherry Unexpectedly wonderful… The artistic, thoughtful desserts Both pink breast and tender confit in their duck dish I would come back to try… The pre-show dinner ($45 for 2 courses and a glass of wine). The $35 lunch special which includes an entree, main and dessert served in one course and a glass of wine. Catering to… Limited menu catering to most appetites. No allergy info marked on menu.  Only one vegetarian starter and one …

Anticipating Street Eats 2014

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A highlight of Auckland Restaurant Month is Street Eats this Saturday. Once again in the covered Shed 10 on Queens Wharf, this is a free, family-friendly event. See my review of the first Street Eats last year here. Last year, my friend Coco and I sampled five different $5 dishes between us for $25 plus a $6 beer each making it less than $20 per person. Staying pretty true to street food, we ate deep fried food, food on sticks and pizza. This year I might splash out with $30 or $40 so I can try a few more dishes and perhaps another tipple. I hope they have the deep fried milk again (pictured top row, middle). It’s been a year since I had it and I’m hoping I can eat it again. If you have never tried deep fried milk, you are missing out. It’s like eating the silkiest deep fried custard. It’s magic. Worth burning your mouth for. Tips for Street Eats Bring an appetite Bring a friend to share dishes with Bring cash (the EFTPOS line …

18. Ima Cuisine

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… Warm and cozy. Bookshelves full of books, a welcoming mural, beautifully patterned lit ceiling and low light make for lovely ambience. On the quiet end of Fort Street, once you are inside you feel like you’ve stepped into another world. The smallish dining area can feel a bit noisy and full though so be prepared if you’re looking for a quiet night out. Come here for… Middle Eastern, Israeli and North African inspired healthy and hearty food. Ima means mother in Hebrew and family-style dining is celebrated here. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The most interesting thing on the menu… Brik – North African delicacy. A crisp fried parcel with fresh tuna preserved lemon and a soft cooked egg The range of vegetarian sides Unexpectedly wonderful… Mezze – especially the spice roasted cauliflower Arab rice – lentil pine nuts almonds pistachios and caramelized onions I would come back to try… …

The Cult of Foodies

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On Monday I went to Late at The Museum. It is the first in the series for this year and this month’s edition was The Cult of Food in conjunction with Auckland Restaurant Month. Located in Auckland Museum’s events centre on top of the museum, the space has 360° night views of the city and harbour. The night was hosted by Aucklander Jesse Mulligan who you might know from TV or radio or Metro magazine or his food blog which is generically cleverly named the Auckland Food Blog. Providing both comic relief and a relaxed tone for his guests and panelists: Professors Rod Jackson and Grant Schofield provided insightful academic banter while celebrity chefs Al Brown and Anne Thorp provided the foodie perspective. The panelists nominated 4 dishes to be voted on for New Zealand’s national dish. Each panelist gave their reasoning for their nomination. Nominations for New Zealand’s national dish: Al Brown: Fritters Grant Schofield: Lamb roast Anne Thorp: Fish and spuds Rod Jackson: Chicken and bread I found Rod Jackson’s reasoning very interesting. Of the meat …

17. Cereal Killa

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… Busy, airy and light but located in a crappy part of Dominion Road. Come here for… Not your average brunch. Eating on the way to/from weekend morning errands. The most interesting thing on the menu… Coconut porridge with pear, ginger and rhubarb. Unexpectedly wonderful… Their coffee. I would come back to try… Pancakes with bacon, banana, vanilla mascarpone & blueberry caramel Creamy herbed mushrooms on sour dough Catering to… Everyone. Plenty of vegetarian options and gluten free bread available on request. Kid friendly: there are 6 items on their kids menu. Expect to spend… $20-$30 per person The service is… Friendly and efficient. We had a few different servers but we were watered, coffees and fed in quick succession. Avoid if… You don’t like people experimenting with your breakfast. Cereal Killa 360 Dominion Road, Mt Eden Open 7 days http://www.cerealkilla.co.nz  

15. Fukuko

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… A surprisingly cozy space with clean lines, mood lighting, 6 tables and plenty of standing room. The jars and bottles of sochu may be decoration and/or ingredients for cocktails. We visited on a quiet weeknight but I can see this place filling up easily. Come here for… Very good Japanese fusion bar snacks. Their pork buns and tacos are divine. The softest, loveliest buns I’ve eaten in a long time. Their cocktail is extensive and very experimental. The most interesting thing on the menu… Spiced roast duck taco Unexpectedly wonderful… Steamed pork buns Sole tempura taco The temperature inside on a cold winter’s night I would come back to try… Braised miso short rib taco Japanese gimlet Catering to… Afterwork and lunch time drinkers and snackers. Not many vegetarian options. Gluten free options not marked on menu. Expect to spend… $20-$40 per person The service is… Great. Just …

14. Ramen Do

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… More like a cafe rather than a Japanese restaurant. They had a renovation but it’s still quite bare and utilitarian. Only a smattering of Japanese touches so there is not much ambience. Which is why people… Come here for… Ramen of course! A noodle shop first and foremost and most diners order ramen. The most interesting thing on the menu… Tuke Men – ramen noodles served with dipping sauce Unexpectedly wonderful… The beautifully cooked eggs. Boiled and marinated with runny yolks. I would come back to try… All of their ramen, add $1 egg (or extra meat if you prefer). Catering to… Omnis and vegetarians. No gluten free options, although you could order a rice dish and ask for no soy sauce. Vegetarian options available but limited. Expect to spend… $15-$20 per person. The service is… Functional. At the counter or table side. Up to you. Avoid if… …

12. Kushi

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… A beautifully built wooden dining area with private booths and intimate tables. Come here for… Decent Japanese food right in the heart of the city. Izakaya style food, a little bit of fusion. They have a very well thought out drinks and snack combo menu worth trying. The most interesting thing on the menu… Takowasabi (raw marinated octopus in wasabi) Unagi (grilled eel) Unexpectedly wonderful… The chef’s choice of starters. A nice surprise and fun to discover and eat. I would come back to try… The drinks/snack menu such as 2 pints of Orion beer and a plate of karaage fried chicken. A $30.95 value for $19.30. Drumming performance at 7.30pm on Fridays. Catering to… Japanese food lovers, adventurous food lovers. Some vegetarian options, but most bento sets come with sashimi so check with your waiter. Special dietary requirements are not marked on menu. Expect to spend… $15 to …

11. Depot

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… Heaving. A cosy but busy space for the average kiwi bloke in mind. Purposefully casual. A little bit of vintage. Very nostalgic. Come here for… For cheap cuts cooked well (mostly over charcoal or wood), fresh oysters and clams shucked to order, wine on tap. Honest (man) food designed to be shared. The most interesting thing on the menu… Fergus’ bone marrow (who is Fergus, and is he OK?) Southern fried skate wings Unexpectedly wonderful… Fish sliders Potato skins. I never thought I’d pay a man 10 bucks for potato skins. I would come back to try… Oysters and clams shucked to order Catering to… Boisterous and adventurous eaters. Meat and seafood lovers. Expect to spend… $30-$60 per person The service is… A bit cheeky, but good. Avoid if… You are a fussy eater or on a diet. Vegetarians need not apply most of their vegetable dishes include …

Late at the Museum: The Cult of Food

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In conjunction with Auckland Restaurant Month, Auckland Museum will be hosting LATE at the Museum: The Cult of Food on Monday 11 August from 6pm until late. Tickets $20, Members $10. Food and drink will be available for purchase. I have my ticket, currently going solo if anyone wants to join me. The ever-evolving Late is a series of curated evenings, which include special guests, live performances, drinks, food, and special late-night exhibition tours. Over the course of an evening we delve into the culture of food, past, present and beyond, we also look at local eating habits and attempt to answer the ever popular question: “What is New Zealand’s national dish?” If you are what you eat then who are we as New Zealanders? First up in the this year’s LATE series we take a bite out of the mouth-watering topic of food. Chaired by Jesse Mulligan your expert panel for the evening features chef and restaurateur Al Brown, AUT Professor of Public Health Grant Schofield, Anne Thorp from the popular TV series Kai Ora and Rod Jackson, Professor of Epidemiology …

6. Cazador

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In celebration of Auckland Restaurant Month, I will be posting 31 quick-fire reviews on 31 restaurants and cafes in the Auckland CBD and city fringe. The atmosphere is… A charming kitschy restaurant complete with round archways, plastered walls and more taxidermied beast and fowl than some diners will feel comfortable with. The bar area was packed and boisterous at 6pm when we arrived, the dining area quietly well behaved. Come here for… Game meat (and vegetable) dishes served in an unfussy style. Simple clean flavours using unusual ingredients. The menu of about 5 starters and 5 mains changes frequently with daily specials to entice. The most interesting thing on the menu… Crumbed lamb’s brains with sauce gribiche (current menu) Poussin hearts with pancetta and parsley (daily special) Unexpectedly wonderful… Braised ox tail Crumbed lamb’s brains with sauce gribiche I would come back to try… Everything. They menu is updated every 2-3 weeks to keep things interesting, though favourites will re-appear in various forms. Catering to… Omnivores and adventurous meat eaters. Free range, ethically sourced meat eaters. …

Devouring the beast

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  Last Saturday, my friends Coco, Miss A and The Koala and I enjoyed a day of activities related to the beast. Observing the beast First, the girls and I joined up mid-day and went to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Auckland Museum. 100 photos from both professionals and amateurs wielding professional cameras amazed and inspired us. Devouring the beast Later that day, we joined up again, this time with The Koala in tow and feasted on beasts at Cazador – Auckland’s only game meat restaurant. I’d been dreaming of this animalistic day for a while. Looking at photos of beautiful birds and beasts and eating birds and beasts later. It’s a macabre pairing so I’m glad we let a good 6 hours pass between the two activities. Cazador comes highly recommended by anyone that visits and was a wonderful experience. The food is cooked simply, letting the unusual ingredients shine. More on Cazador in my dedicated quick-fire review later today. Like any good food blogger, I had studied Cazador’s latest menu prior to our visit. Their …

1 pâté, 18 cheeses and 3 soups

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Cheesey leftovers We had quite the cheese fest in the weekend and ended up with 7 different kinds of cheese leftover. Leftover cheese!? What is that? I hear you ask. I know, it sounds strange to be the owner of leftover cheese. To be fair, we sampled 18 different kinds of cheese and most of them were finished. I’ll be posting more about the cheese fest later. We had a shit ton of crackers, baguettes and antipasto bits and pieces. I made 3 cups of chicken liver pâté for the occasion and have a little leftover. It is amazing spread on hot toast. If you’ve never eaten pâté on hot toast before, you are missing out. The moment that buttery goodness touches heat, it starts melting. It’s amazing. The Honest Truth This week The Honesty Box delivered spuds, kumara (sweet potato) and a big pumpkin among other goodies. This all screams SOUP to me. Since we had no soup last week, this week we’re having 3 kinds of soup! I’m cutting down on gluten for my Graves’ …

Crispy Roast Pork: Cantonese style

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This post is part of Our Growing Edge, a monthly blogging event to encourage bloggers to try new food related things. Ash from Organic Ash is the host for this month’s event. If you have a blog and you are eating or cooking something new this month, click below to join. More information here. Crispy roast pork (siu yuk) can be found hanging among roast ducks and slabs of shiny red BBQ pork in the windows of Cantonese BBQ restaurants everywhere. Traditionally, pork is roasted with seasoning in a charcoal furnace and is served as an appetiser* with your choice of dipping sauce. Soy sauce and hoisin sauce are popular but I love it dipped in mustard. Served with a bowl of rice and some Chinese greens, it’s a simple and delicious dinner. It’s interesting to note that the words “siu yuk” directly translates to roast meat, not roast pork. I guess pork is so ubiquitous in Cantonese cuisine that meat equals pork by default. While I have made English-style roast pork on many occasions, I’d never considered cooking the …

This week’s menu

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“Mmmmm…millet!” Yes, this has been uttered by me on more than one occasion. No, I’m not a hippy, tree-hugging, health freak. I’m also not a bird. I love millet, almost as much as I love rice and I’m a bit baffled why millet isn’t more common. This week I’m making a millet pilaf and stirring through fried sausage, pesto, toasted cashews and lemon zest. I’m going have leftovers the next day for lunch and I’ll probably be thinking about it all morning prior to eating it. If you’ve never tried millet, please give it a go. I tried it for the first time last year with this roast vegetable and millet salad and now millet is a staple in my kitchen. Millet is gluten free, cheap and a great substitute for rice, couscous, pasta etc. It’s quick and easy to cook (similar to rice, a bit more forgiving). It’s good hot or cold, though I prefer it hot in this weather and tends to be quite liquid hungry so will soak up any flavours and sauces that …

Dinner and a Movie: NZIFF Food Matches

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The New Zealand International Film Festival is currently on in Auckland. Next week it will start in Wellington and Christchurch will follow that. The Koala and I LOVE watching movies. Like, love it to bits. We have varied tastes in what we look for in a movie but we can usually both recognise a good movie, even if it’s not our favourite genre. I like anything thought provoking or whimsical and The Koala likes anything with action. We both enjoy thrillers and scares. Recently, we invited a group of friends to watch the cult classic Tampopo. It is a 1985 Japanese film about a woman, her ramen (noodle) shop and her search to make the perfect bowl of ramen. A foodie action comedy with some very innocent characters who contrast with some freaky food erotica. Naturally, we followed the movie by feasting at our local ramen shop. Sorry, we didn’t partake in food erotica. That pairing may have been obvious, but I like to pair food with activities. It’s like wearing shoes that match your bag. A little bit fancy. …

Getting back on track menu

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Results I had a blood test on Saturday and the results weren’t so flash. I hadn’t been feeling quite normal lately and I should have guessed that I was back to being hyperthyroidic. My last few blood tests had been great so this setback feels like a slap in the face. The pendulum swings both ways, so let’s hope it swings back in my favour with adjusted meds and diet. I haven’t done a menu plan for a few weeks and as a result, maybe I’ve been slacking off on my self-imposed diet. There is controversy about diet and auto-immune diseases. My endocrinologist (frustratingly) says diet has no influence on my condition. But I think eating better makes sense and surely it cannot hurt. I guess being able to control at least one aspect of my life helps. Diet I’m going mostly gluten-free and eating lots of whole foods. Proteins, vegetables, dairy are up. More juicing. Minimal alcohol and refined sugar. I’ll allow myself 1 glass of wine per week (medicinal purposes) and use honey in my hot drinks. I’m going to invest in a …