All posts tagged: Zomato

Zomato Bloggers Meet Up: Le Chef

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The premise It’s been over a year since my last Zomato Meet Up and this week, I attended my first Zomato Blogger’s Meet Up at Le Chef on Vulcan Lane. We dined as guests of Zomato and Le Chef though all opinions are my own. The setting was romantic, the company was delightful, and other bloggers present were: Carli from The Enthusiastic Cook, Laura from Laura Laura, Maddy from Madicattt, and Georgie from Georgieats – all of who I’ve eaten with several times. I interviewed Le Chef owner Edouard Le Goff for my Auckland Restaurant Month series last year when they had their other branch (you can read it here) and it was great to put a name to a face (and a food to a belly). Edouard was exactly as I imagined, very French, very enthusiastic and answered all our questions with ease. The restaurant Le Chef is located in quiet spot on a charming, cobbled pedestrian-only lane in the city. Tucked away from the bustle of Queen Street, Le Chef channels rustic and romantic French charm. I’ve never been to France but it’s on …

A word about rants

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I work as a graphic designer and more recently a photographer. I trade service for cash. I might not be in “THE service industry”, but I certainly offer a service. I receive critical feedback from my clients all day, every day. It’s part of the job. Many clients want their projects to look how they want it to look. It’s not about me. “Change the colour, make it more sexy, can we try this font?” “Sure of course we can try that, that’s a great idea, I’ll send a new proof shortly.” I would never attack a client for their feedback on my work. Ever. Not in private, not in public. When Mr Duffy responded, he asked the woman to send through a photo of herself, so he could tell his staff what she looked like. “This will help us very much, making you easily spotted will make it way easier to tell you to f*** off in person…” That’s why I was horrified at how a Wellington burger owner took private constructive feedback and …

Sawadee Kaaaaa – Zomato Meetup

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I have three food-related events on this week. On Sunday there was The Auckland Seafood Festival and on Tuesday I indulged in a night of tasty Thai food, kitschy cocktails, and foodie conversation. I have one more event up my sleeve this week. More on that later. My fellow reviewers, bloggers and the lovely ladies from Zomato converged on Sawadee, a Thai restaurant at the K’ Rd end of Ponsonby Road, across from the sunken buildings at Western Park. It’s been around for about 20 years so I was embarrassed to admit that while I love Thai food, I had never been to Sawadee before. Sawadee is much larger than you might expect from the street. The decor is inviting, well lit and flowers and electric candles set the scene. Sawadee’s special summer cocktail menu is all retro tiki-bar. I tried the Crying Tiger (brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice, rimmed with sugar). I picked this because it seemed like the sensible choice out of the very flamboyant list of cocktails. It was perfect. Not too sweet, no crazy colours or …

Mexico Giveaway

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Hey Aucklanders, do you like free food? In conjunction with review website Zomato.com, I’m giving away a $50 voucher to be used at Mexico. To enter, fill in the entry form at the end of this post. Mexico are well known for their tasty menu, great drinks, cool decor and sweet prices. Check out my quick-fire review for Mexico earlier in the month here. Auckland Restaurant Month special: $25 FOR TWO COURSES AND A MARGARITA Includes a BBQ pork in pibil achiote taco with picadillo of pineapple and ceviche with chicharron, chipotle, coriander and lime, served with a spiced apple and clove margarita. Mexico 23 Britomart Place, Britomart Open 7 days http://www.mexico.net.nz Competition stuff! Terms and conditions 1 entry per person. This competition is open to Auckland residents only. The winner will receive a $50 voucher for Mexico. It is the responsibility of the prize winner to redeem their prize. Prize may not be exchanged for cash and no change will be given. Entries close Thursday 21 August 2014. Winner will be drawn on Friday 22 August 2014 and contacted by email …

We have a winner!

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Congratulations to Chris (SimpleLifeOfChris) who has won the $100 worth of Auckland restaurant vouchers courtesy of the restaurant review website Zomato. A big thank you to all who entered and better luck next time! If you would like to keep up to date with news including future competitions, you can subscribe to this blog (link on the right) or to my Facebook page here. For those in Australia and New Zealand, we are celebrating a special year with consecutive Easter and ANZAC holidays. For the price of 3 annual leaves days, we can receive 10 consecutive days off work. Naturally, the last 3 days have been really quiet in the city. Wishing you all a safe holiday season. Please be extra safe if you are driving home this weekend.

Tofu Tuesday: The Zomato Easter Egg hunt!

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In conjunction with restaurant review website Zomato and Tofu the Easter bunny, we are running an Easter Egg hunt on Zomato with a prize of $100 in restaurant vouchers. Zomato has a powerful search engine which you can use to search specific ingredients, dishes or even ambience notes. To enter this competition, visit Zomato.com and have a nosey in the Auckland category. Search for the keywords “boiled egg” and view all the restaurants that have a boiled egg mentioned in their reviews. Name 4 of these restaurants in the contact form below to be in to win. Entries close Wednesday 23 April 2014 and winner will be drawn by Zomato, contacted by email and announced here and on social networks. Terms and conditions 1 entry per person. Only correct entries will be accepted to the draw. This competition is open to Auckland residents only. The winner will receive $100 in restaurant vouchers: $50 Tatsumi, $30 Nickie’s Thai, $20 Mission Bay Cafe. Prizes may not be exchanged for cash and no change will be given. Entries close Wednesday …

9 items

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The Food I thought I would do a separate post for the meal I enjoyed with ten other bloggers at The Paddington, Parnell. There were 9 dishes (10 if you include the fries) and I ate every single one of them. I started with a glass of Rabbit Ranch (of course) pinot noir and stuck with the reds for the evening. Even though it was pretty much an open bar, everyone was on their best behavior. It was a school night afterall. From The Paddington’s Finger Food Menu Hoegaarden cured salmon in cucumber ribbons Confit vine tomato bruschetta From The Paddington’s Appetisers Menu Homemade mushroom wontons with chili dipping sauce Honey soy beef skewers with a chili lime dressing The Paddington’s Signature Dishes Mini portions of Seafood chowder Caesar salad to share with options, chicken and calamari to taste From The Paddington’s Mains Menu Slice of Pizza: Salami chicken and caramelised red onion with bbq sauce Sliders: Pork Belly Burger with Japanese mayonnaise slaw and fries From The Paddington’s Functions Menu Guinness & Baileys Cheesecake …

The most photographed wontons in the world

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Last night, tucked away in a pub in Parnell, ten Auckland bloggers gathered and feasted upon a nine dish tasting menu. Hosted by restaurant review website Zomato and The Paddington, this was an opportunity to show off the venue and a new menu. Zomato Zomato (rhymes with tomoto) launched here mid 2013 and is the newest review website in New Zealand. Zomato are gaining a good market share of reviews with their easy to navigate, clean design. As a graphic designer, I love a sleek website and I’m sure you do too. Their data collecting technique is mind boggling. Their data collectors have included over 3000 Auckland restaurants with more added weekly. I signed up to Zomato earlier this year and use it to get a feel for unfamiliar restaurants. With a tiered points system, reviewers on Zomato gain social status based on their activity. Almost any activity on Zomato will gain points and you can choose to follow reviewers with similar tastes. For those that love sharing and looking at food porn, you upload photos to restaurant listings and …