All posts tagged: New Zealand

Countdown CheeseFest 2016 – review

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Last week, my social media was stuffed with cheese. I had the pleasure of being a steward at the judging for NZ Cheese Awards and also attended the CheeseFest a few days later. It’s hard to pin down an exact number, but I tasted at least 50 of NZ’s finest cheeses. While I can’t share much about the judging process due to strict confidentiality regulations, I can say that it was a full day of cheese judging and I would do it again next year. I’ve never worked as a steward before, but it’s a bit like being a waitress only you’re handling cheese, and you get to sample a lot of cheese. I mean a LOT. I picked up a bunch of tips for my next cheese tasting event and while I don’t think I will be spitting cheese at tastings any time soon, I do understand why it’s done. If you love cheese and can spare a Sunday in February/March, I would recommend volunteering at the judging next year. PM me for details. …

Auckland Seafood Festival 2016

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If you enjoy sensational, succulent seafood, then make sure you visit Auckland Seafood Festival this long weekend. My sister and I hit Auckland Seafood Festival on opening night and we had a truly delightful time.  We both love seafood so we shared a bunch of things we both enjoy. Arriving shortly after opening, there were no queues so we didn’t have to apply any strategy based on length of the queues. Last year I gave crayfish a miss because the lines were horrendous. Nothing like that this time around. We started with oysters and the Bluff farmed oysters at Sanford Oysters looked good to us. These were freshly shucked and served with malt vinegar and lemon (6 for $22). We had a little browse and then hit up Besos Latinos for some Peruvian ceviche ($14) and seafood empanadas ($10). The ceviche really hit the spot and the empanada (fried fresh to order) reminded us of a seafood pie.   Always popular at Auckland Seafood Festival are Auckland Fish Markets’ crayfish tails. This year they had grilled half cray tails …

Auckland Seafood Festival 2016 – double pass giveaway

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2016 has started with a bang. Like just about everyone else, I have some dietary intentions for the year. I was feeling like were were eating too much red meat last year, but instead of saying, “I will eat less red meat” I’ve been saying, “I will eat more seafood”. The thinking is different, the end result is the same. So far in 2016, I have eaten yakitori scallops, whole grilled squid, salt pepper squid, herb-crusted pan-fried salmon, bagel with lox, yakitori salmon, mayo-cheese mussels, prawn pasta, Vietnamese pancake with pork and prawn, prawn fried rice, prawn and fish butter curry, fish tacos and a fish burger. Not bad considering we’re only 15 days in. Here’s to 2016 being a seafood-fuelled year and hopefully I’ll will cook or eat a seafood dish that I’ve never cooked or eaten before. With Auckland anniversary coming up, we can look forward to even more seafood at Auckland Seafood Festival. Running 5 sessions over 4 days at Halsey Wharf which is downtown between the Viaduct and North Wharf. Thanks to …

Fullers Waiheke giveaway winner

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With special thanks to Fullers I am pleased to announce the winner for the return trip for two to Waiheke via Fullers. Drawn by Random.org the winner is… **drum roll please!** Nicole Dekker Congratulations Nicole, hope you have a wonderful time on Waiheke! Thank to everyone else for all your entries. There was a record number of entries for this competition. Waiheke is the most Instagrammmed location in New Zealand so I guess that shouldn’t have been a surprise. For those who are interested in going to Waiheke Fullers have a new timetable over summer, with more ferry departures, and new menu for those who want to enjoy local delicacies on board. The new menu includes Passage Rock wines, Tuatara craft beer and cider, Waiheke fudge and Te Whau Lodge’s toasted muesli. I’ll leave you with a few photos I took when I visited Waiheke with NZBloggers last month. To keep up with announcements including giveaways, make sure you follow me on Facebook or Bloglovin’.

Tasty hot dogs and a meaty giveaway

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L’Authentique (law-thon-teek) is a small local charcuterie run by Frenchmen. Charcuterie (sha-koo-ta-ree) is the culinary art of turning meat (mostly pork) into delicious things such as sausage, bacon, ham, terrines and pates. Known primarily for their handmade sausages, I love L’Authentique’s gluten free, dairy free and free range meat products. There are no fillers here and definitely no carcinogens (for those who worry about recent food headlines). The Koala and I have been eating lots of L’Authentique sausages this year. We tried the whole range of sausages so far and they are great to serve up at home or to take to a barbecue where you want to impress. I’ve yet to meet a sausage lover who doesn’t fall in love with L’Authentique sausages. Summer collaboration L’Authentique have just released two summer sausages for the Kiwi barbecue. In collaboration with Javier Carmona, Executive Chef at Orleans, a hot and smokey Louisiana Andouille (ahn-DOO-eee) sausage that comes in a 4 pack; and in collaboration with Hallertau Brewery, the Asian-inspired Peking Maximus which is made with Hallertau Maximus …

Fancy Steak and Chips

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This is a sponsored post. The Koala and I love a good steak, but I don’t order steak when dining out because it’s so easy to cook at home for a fraction of the price. I often go for the fattier steaks because that’s what my tastes buds like, but when I heard there was a leaner steak coming out that still tastes good, I was all for it. The flat-iron steak is a relatively unknown cut to the kiwi palate. A butcher’s secret, this cut is for people in the know. It is called the oyster blade steak in NZ and Australia. It is known in the US as the flat-iron steak and in the UK as the butler’s steak. Affectionately known as the ugly steak, this flat, rectangular cut comes from the shoulder and is trimmed to make it very lean. Because it is so lean, it’s important not to overcook a flat-iron steak. Just 3 minutes on each side in a hot pan and 5 minutes resting time. This month, Silver Fern …

Goats go to Hell…Pizza

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I was recently invited to try the the latest from Hell Pizza. I make pizza at home and standard toppings are not my speciality. Smoked salmon, spiced lamb and fat prawns wind up on pizzas at our house. Hell Pizza are on that adventurous foodie journey too so I was interested to see what was on offer. Enlisting the help of some Wellington food heroes, Hell Pizza have created the “El Cabra”. The Spanish word for goat, this Mexican-inspired dish was created by Chef Martin Bosley, Panhead Custom Ales and Mexican restaurant La Boca Loca. Hell Pizza are infamous for their naughty marketing tactics and controversial pizzas (hide your rabbits and your kangaroos) but this time, I feel like they’ve gone for something pretty accessible. I’ve eaten goat recently and I’ve cooked with it before and it’s really nothing to be nervous about. The flavour of the goat meat is very similar lamb – one of our country’s most prized meats. It’s a wonder why we don’t see goat on the menu more often. Did you know that all Hell Pizzas …

Taste of Auckland 2015 – the verdict

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This year, I wined and dined at Taste of Auckland. Twice. Going twice is some next level shit because if you’re like me, there’s no way you get even CLOSE to trying all the dishes you want in one session. This year was blue skies and summer glory and festival veterans will be positively basking in the sunshine. The reason being that the weather was horrible at last year. It rained so much, the grounds were chocolate mousse and gumboots were on trend. This year at Taste, sunglasses, summer dresses and a slight sunburn were high fashion. Things to see Fisher and Paykel’s Social Kitchen was thoroughly educational and entertaining. I caught the SUMMER OF YUM ice pop session with Our Kitchen (F&P cooking blog) and Dr Feelgood. Hosted by Kelly Gibney from the food blog Bonnie Delicious, I learned some handy tips about ice pops. For example, to stop ice crystals forming, you need to freeze the ice pops as quickly as possible so that ice crystals don’t have enough time to form. This can …

What to eat and see at Taste of Auckland 2015

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Taste of Auckland starts on this Thursday! Running Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 November 2015, this will be their second year at the new location of Western Springs. A haven for foodies, this festival is now in it’s 7th year. Consider it a walking, living, breathing, build-your-own degustation. Tickets are available online or if you prefer to wait and see what the weather is doing, there are also door sales. I haven’t missed a single Taste festival yet. Yup. You could say I’m a fan. Gourmet Hangi For the first time at Taste, there will be a gourmet hangi. Each session a different chef or restaurant team will be offering a gourmet take on the Māori hangi. Be in quick, portions are limited and on first in first serve basis. I grew up in Rotorua where hangi feasts were fairly common but since moving to Auckland 20+ years ago, there’s been a distinct absence of hangi from my life. You can bet I’ll be trying as much gourmet hangi as I can! The Gourmet Hangi will be …

Crispy fried chicken skins and sweet drinks at PappaRich Auckland

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PappaRich is a franchise serving up Malaysian classics across Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and very recently, Auckland. The first New Zealand store was promised for months on social media (I know because I was waiting patiently) and their loyal expat fans were insistent, verging on enraged that their beloved store opening was delayed. I think some people would have rammed the doors down if they thought it would get them a PappaRich meal earlier. Set on Level 1 of the SkyCity Metro complex (aka “IMAX”) on Queen Street in the city, this is a full size restaurant with all the furnishings and bright lighting you might expect from an international franchise. After soft opening for a couple of weeks, I was invited to the official opening a few weeks back where my sister and I, and others including bloggers Cecilia from Ultimate OmNoms and Sheena from As Told By Sheena. I was born in Hong Kong but grew up in New Zealand and I grew up eating Chinese/Malaysian food. So much to the point that I assumed it was Cantonese food …

Cheese and Chocolate givaway: winner

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With special thanks to Whitestone Cheese and Wellington Chocolate Factory, I am pleased to announce the winner for the Cheese and Chocolate giveaway. The prize consists of the latest products by both companies with the Lindis Pass Camembert being released just last week: Whitestone Cheese Ferry Road Halloumi Whitestone Cheese Lindis Pass Camembert Wellington Chocolate Factory Peanut Butter Bar Wellington Chocolate Factory Great War Bar Drawn by Random.org the winner is…**drum roll please!** Kris van de Water Congratulations Kris and thanks to all who entered. You can find all these new products at New Zealand stockists. This was the final giveaway in my series of giveaways to celebrate Bunny Eats Design turning 5 years. Hope you’ve enjoyed receiving goodies as much as I’ve enjoyed giving them away! To keep up with announcements including giveaways, make sure you follow me on Bloglovin’ or Facebook.

Bunny Eats Design turns 5 – Skinfood giveaway

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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

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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 …

Everything you need to know about Wine AKL 2015

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Do you like wine? Good. On Friday 14 and Saturday 15 August 2015, 80 of NZ’s top wineries will converge across the two floors of Shed 10 for Wine AKL. Wineries will be grouped by region so it will be like taking a little roadtrip vineyard tour of the country. Bottles of wine will be available for purchase and there will be a DJ, dancers and food from Euro available. Check out Euro’s festival menu here. Tickets are $25 plus booking fee and includes a tasting glass, the first five tastings and a wine guide. This event is strictly R18. There are 3 sessions: Session 1. Friday 14 August 2015, 5:00pm – 8:30pm Session 2. Saturday 15 August 2015, 12:00pm – 3:30pm Session 3. Saturday 15 August 2015, 4:30pm – 8:00pm For those with a thirst for some extra wine knowledge, there are 9 masterclasses which are $20 per class on top of your entry ticket. Masterclasses are: Session 1 Bob Campbell, Chardonnay – a regional round up of top wines Yvonne Lorkin, Organic Awesomeness! 5 of …

10 New Zealand flag designs that don’t suck

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Today marks the deadline for design submissions for New Zealand’s national flag. No one has decided that we will be changing our flag yet. It might not happen at all, but submissions have been accepted for consideration. As a designer and a tax payer, I agree that redesigning the flag is inevitable and something to think about for our future. Our flag is outdated and doesn’t reflect our nation. Still, changing the flag is an expensive, unpopular exercise we don’t need right now. Design by committee is never a good idea and generally speaking, crowd sourced design is terrible. The panel of judges was appointed by the government from nominations and represent a broad range of New Zealanders. There are no designers in the panel, though the panel have expressed that they will be consulting with advisors including design and cultural experts. Design by designers and selection by an experienced panel could work. But submissions accepted from anyone with an internet connection and selection by a cross section of people will be far more unpredictable. The sheer number of entries has been …

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 …

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 …

Black and white

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#NZbloggers are hosting a weekly blog post challenge. This week’s theme is Contrast and you can check out other posts on this theme here. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a striking black and white kitchen. I love the contrast, especially how it pops with accents of gold or greenery. Living in a rental, I’m blessed with a brown, beige and taupe kitchen with a utilitarian  steel bench (oh how dreamy!). I dream of the day when I can have black and white kitchen with gold or brass tapware and bright green plants. Until then, here’s a round up of some rather lovely monochromatic things for the kitchen from New Zealand retailers and manufacturers. Click on the descriptions for direct links to purchase. Fog Linen tray striped $23 Genevieve Packer statehouse tea towel $25 Scrabble letter mugs $24.90 JENZ Studio cloud plates Onyx chalkboard canisters $17-$30 Le Sac en Papier $18 Norm bottle grinder $139 Wooden chopping board $30 Reneé Boyd white vase with black and gold $75 Zigzag cotton floor rug $229.99 Honeycomb kitchen towel …

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, …

42 figs

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  Around this time last year, I started noticing fresh figs in my blog feed and on Facebook. Figs might have a rich and colourful history, but I didn’t grow up with figs. I didn’t know much about them so I bought a couple of figs at a crazy $4 each and cooked them up. I was naive and paid way too much for those figs, but I did enjoy them so tucked my fig love away for the day when figs were more affordable. Fast forward a year, I saw that Te Mata Figs in Hawke’s Bay were offering a special deal to their Facebook followers. One tray of figs for $27 delivered. I had no idea what a tray of figs looked like but it sounded like it would be more than 7 figs. I was in for a surprise. A huge tray of 42 figs arrived a couple of days later. Figs are highly perishable so I carefully moved them to a bowl and refrigerated them (the tray wouldn’t fit in our …