Lauraine’s blog
15 October 2011
I just attended the most inspiring and useful demonstration. It was held in an unlikely venue for a pork event. But the Auckland Seafood School (!!) has a terrific demonstration area, with tiered seating so food writers and several butchers from Foodstuffs had a terrific view of expert butcher David Porter of Harmony as he cut up a whole pig and shared secrets of the butcher with us.
It was all terrifically informative, and even though I thought I knew most cuts, I learned all sorts of cooking tips. The best value that we can buy is pork scotch fillet, and it cannot be emphasised enough that pork can be be cooked and served nicely juicy and a little pink. Also, another tip is always buy thicker, rather than thinner cuts. I took home some 2.5 cm schnitzel and it was amazing, pink, juicy and tasty.
David Porter is a meat genius and I was delighted to see the owner and butchery manager from my local New World Remuera supermarket in attendance. They have great meat there!
Nick Honeyman, chef at the about-to-open new restaurant Cru says he finds a pig's head really useful. When David had portioned the pig into the cuts we above, Nick gave a short, really good cooking demo. He's a natural! His crispy pork tails and pork head terine were amazing, and after seeing his demonstration of making crackling,it'll be perfect crackling every time in my kitchen from henceforth. Nick's a honey(man)!
One more thing: Always buy New Zealand- raised Pork like Harmony, Freedom Farms and other reliable brands and don't be fooled by pork that is sourced overseas and processed here. Read the small print and shop at a reputable butcher or supermarket.
1 October 2011
Above is pictured my home for a few days, the Black and White house at Temple Tree, Langkawi. The tiny resort, next to sister property Bon Ton is only about ten minutes drive from the airport, and I arrived on a connecting Malaysian Airways from Kuala Lumpur. I am on a research mission to find the best of the island’s Malaysian food.
Langkawi has some gorgeous international five star hotels, all with amenities that well-heeled travellers expect; TVs, phones, golf courses, sandy beaches, a multitude of restaurants and bars and carpeted rooms so that when you awaken you could be anywhere in the world. But why travel to do that? Tick another destination off the list?
Temple Tree is different. Owner Narelle McMurtrie and her business partner Alison Fraser sourced eight almost derelict 80-100 yr-old villas with different cultural influences from all over the Malaysian peninsula. They were dismantled, every piece of timber numbered and then rebuilt on a secluded site near the coast and adjacent to local wetlands. Black & White, a Malay style house was originally in Negri Sembilan but sits beautifully in its new surrounds and should last another hundred years. The floors are the original ancient hardwood planks and I love the way when I take a shower the water just runs down back to the ground through the cracks between the boards. Electric fans whirr over head to keep me cool and a few of the cats from Narelle’s Langkawi Animal Shelter & Sanctuary (LASSie) have adopted me.
Also on the site there’s a choice of two attractive lap pools and the Eurasian style Straits Club House (shipped from Penang) where guests and tourists staying elsewhere on the island can snack and enjoy delicious food. Bon Ton next door is open to all too, and there Narelle gathered eight traditional Malay Kedah houses on stilts and set them around another lovely pool. The main adminstrative centre is there, the resort restaurant, and Chin Chin Bar & Lounge, an original Chinese shop house, is ideal for relaxing and enjoying Langkawi cuisine. Narelle is a real Foodie so this is known as the best restaurant on the island.
When I think about all those tourists attracted to the bright glitzy bars along the waterfront near by and closeting themselves in shiny hotels, I am concerned that tourism has taken a strange turn in the last fifteen years. Surely we travel to find adventure, new experiences and eat bona fide local food? It seems we’ve forgotten about the unusual, and all the authentic experiences of resorts like this, which are actually labours of love, can offer?
www.templetree.com.my www.bonton.com.my
17 September 2011
I was not a fan of semillon. Few grow the grape in New Zealand and the wines I’ve tasted always seemed harsh, a little woody and rather lacking in fruit. But an afternoon spent with Bruce Tyrell at his famous family vineyard and winery in the Hunter Valley last week convinced me otherwise. If you want to taste semillon and love it, start at the top.
Tyrell’s is a family owned winery that dates back to 1858. Bruce Tyrell, the current CEO and family head is fourth generation and it seems like the business might continue for many more generations, as his children are involved and every bit as passionate as he is. The shed (above) has been kept as an historic symbol on the hilltop site, but guards the original winery which itself is a complete eye-opener. In an age when wineries seem to think they need to build monuments to themselves, Tyrell’s modest buildings (dirt floors, old oak casks of mammoth proportions by today’s standards) belie the quality, success and fame that has been attained by their wines.
After a fascinating tour of his winery Bruce Tyrell invited us to his private tasting room. We were privileged. On the walls were photos of the family and a map that showed the many family vineyards scattered throughout the Hunter Valley. The Hunter is a great two day grape escape from Sydney - it takes a mere two hours in light traffic to reach from the Harbour Bridge and loads of accommodation options and some fine restaurants can be found. Tyrell’s also have vineyards in McLarenVale, Heathcote and the Limestone Coast.
We tasted and sipped our way through four semillons, two chardonnays, a deliciously soft Vat 6 pinot noir 2010, and five shiraz wines. Wow. The chardys were fascinating and I thought the Belford 2009 chardonnay was a ‘must buy.” The shiraz wines were really tasty and I’d love to get my hands on a bottle of the Lunatiq Heathcote shiraz ’09 which seemed to the first- ever female version of that varietal.
Tyrell’s are recognised around the world for their semillon and the six year-old Vat 1 from 2005 was a total knockout. Fresh as a daisy and totally reminiscent of Roses’ lime juice this wine convinced me I could love semillon! I also loved the single vineyard semillon from Belford, and the Johnno’s basket pressed semillon. Delectable. And guess what? I found that much awarded ’05 semillon at Sydney airport duty free. So I brought some home. Who’s for drinks?
16 September 2011
I have had my first taste of The Cloud. It was a long walk in windy wet weather to the furthest end of the Queen’s Wharf for a press reception this week. Visitors who manage to find their way there should be impressed. Apparently research shows that the overseas perception of New Zealand food is still “sauvignon blanc, frozen lamb and milk powder.” (In 2011?) So the organisers have brought together a host of generous and excellent suppliers from around the country to address that astonishingly misguided idea.
The space, once you’ve passed through the “We Think Differently Here” exhibits, is divided into four areas; rural, urban, winery/orchard and seaside. Some Clever Bastards (literally) have stylised the surrounds in appropriate splashes of colour, and you can eat and drink your way through each space (at a cost). Portions are tiny but the drinks are generous and at $57 for 8 tastes with matching drinks, it is reasonable value unless you’re a hulking great front- row-forward rugby player.
I especially loved the rosemary marinated beef brioche burger with Whitestone cheddar and beetroot relish (pic above), a Marlborough clam chowder with lemon oil and herbs, and the lamb cutlet with mash and a green olive mint salsa. It’s sophisticated food and the accompanying beverages range from wine matches to local juices, mineral waters and organic fizzy drinks. And unlike the RWC sponsorships, competitors in business sit nicely beside each other, drawn together to promote NZ’s superb bounty.
But. And it’s a big but. The absence of our wonderful New Zealand chefs who have their hands on our amazing produce each and every day as they work away with it in their restaurants and cafés around New Zealand is incredibly noticeable. The organisers have called on three Australian/English restaurateurs, (and Annabel Langbein), to triumph our food. Admittedly Josh Emmett, Justin North and Warren Turnbull were all born here and are all unquestionably fine chefs, but they’ve all fled the coop and live elsewhere now. They don’t work with New Zealand’s best products in the very environment these products are sourced from.
What’s wrong with superstars here like Simon Gault, Al Brown, Michael van de Elzen, who the public know from their fine restaurants and fascinating TV images? Or superb chefs like Martin Bosley, Rex Morgan, Jonny Schwass, Simon Wright, Geoff Scott, Judith Tabron, Michael Meredith, Sid Sarawat, Ben Bayly, Kate Fay and tens of others? Where are they? Why have they not been cajoled into participating? The world visits us and we can’t put these chefs on the one and only chance of a world stage for the curious visitors? It’s no wonder the perception of our food is anchored in the eighties. Once again it seems we suffer from cultural and culinary cringe.
14 September 2011
- Barrio Chino; A new hot and cheap Mexican restaurant in Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross. Don’t miss the quesadillas, ceviche, the meaty albondigas, a huge range of tacos and the best selection of tequilas and margaritas outside Mexico. 28 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross T 02 8021 9817
- Toko; this popular Japanese restaurant in Surry Hills is crushed every night but plenty of room at lunch for a light interesting meal. Superbly fresh sashimi and sushi and the lacquered eggplant is to die for. 490 Crown St, Surry Hills t 02 9357 6100
- Westfield’s new shopping centre, opposite David Jones in Pitt St brings glamour back to inner city shopping. Shop till you drop with every luxury label positioning a glitzy store there. Favourite? The golden lacy glass storefront of Miu Miu.
- Justin North’s stable of restaurants, cafes and eateries at Westfield. Becasse has moved there with a flowery new look, but I long for the former site with its bustling European feel. Turn instead to adjacent sister restaurant Quarter Twenty One where the food is more approachable and still unmistakably with Justin’s stamp. Also a great café and bakery, a wine store with fresh produce and a cooking school! Enter at Pitt St T 02 8064 7900
- The Foodcourt on Westfield’s fourth floor takes top marks for the sheer quality of the food offered. Love the Din Tai Fung noodle bar for the soupy pork dumplings, Justin North’s Charlie & Co where you can get a wagyu burger with truffle essence and the Snag Shop with superb gourmet sausages in a play on hot dogs. Could eat here all day and into the evening too.
- Take the ferry to Manly if it’s a sunny day. The promenade features a range of cafes and eating houses, all opposite that beautiful sandy surf beach. My pick? Manly Wine, brought to you by the same people as Gazebo and The Winery. 8-13 South Steyne, T 02 8966 9000
- Escape to the Hunter Valley. Only a two hour drive on the freeway north, it’s a great place to spend a night or two and relax, drinking beautiful Semillon and Shiraz wines. The ‘don’t miss’ wineries are Tyrell’s, Mistletoe and Brokenwood. Eat at Muse, The Cellar and Esca Bimbadgen, all in Pokolbin.
- Smith’s on Bayswater has just taken over where the Bayswater Brasserie left off. Excellent value with great steaks and generous side orders. Hasn’t quite hit the right atmosphere yet. 32 Bayswater rd, T 02 9357 2177
- And enjoy all the atmosphere of the RWC without the crowds or trains that can’t or won’t get you there by watching the big screens at The London, a fashionable Paddington pub where the pizzas are thin crusted and authentic. 85 Underwood St,
Paddington T 02 9331 3200
- Best breakfast in town is at Sonoma Bakery Café at the Fiveways in Paddington. The cured salmon platter with ricotta, avocado and mint and a softish boiled egg on their excellent sourdough ‘Miche’ toast is heaven. We even bought bread to pack in our cases so we can still enjoy it back home here! 214 Glenmore Rd, T 02 9331 3601
- And an 11th reason; to visit my beautiful daughter who knows all the best places!
2 September 2011
Last night I saw four men wrestle for almost ten minutes. Sean Connolly had the honour of opening his Grill at Sky City's new 'eat street' (The Depot and Red Hummingbird have also just opened, joining Dine by Peter Gordon and Bellotta in Federal St.) To celebrate Sean was supposed to release the top of a Salmanazar (9 litres) of Veuve Clicquot.
The cork refused to budge so the sommelier took over, then a brawny League player had a go and finally Luke Dallow gave the bottle more than a few shakes and finally the cork popped. Delicious.
Finger food only last night but if the lobster burgers, Alaskan King Crab sandwiches, whole suckling pig with crispy skin, Sterling caviar and more are anything to go by The Grill is on my list of must-go-tos. Stunning design by Andrew Lister and a remarkable white tiled kitchen on full view. The city hots up!
31 August 2011
Some mornings I wake up all fired and opinionated. Today is typical. What’s got me going is my attendance last night at the Good Egg Awards.
Essentially the Royal NZ SPCA initiated Good Egg Awards to recognise commitment to consumer and food industry use of humanely produced eggs. In other words, as an association that safeguards the welfare of animals, they’re concerned about some of the more suspect treatment of laying hens. (So you thought SPCA gathered up stray dogs and saved kittens from being drowned at birth? Think again.) Good Eggs from happy hens for healthy intelligent consumers. A great recipe.
The Good Egg Awards were given in a variety of sections including retail, restaurant, café and catering, farmer, food manufacturing, and takeaways. I was pretty pleased to see a second generation McDonald’s franchise holder from Christchurch win the takeaway section. The genial man who collected his award explained he was committed to using great food like Good Eggs, even in the face of research that showed his policy didn’t increase business. Kakako, Henergy, Farro Fresh, The Library Café in Onehunga were the other impressive winners on the night along with several restaurants with high impact in Sky City’s restaurant group. They must use zillions of good eggs!
Consumers who want to follow the fine example of these winners can look for the SPCA”s Blue Tick on egg cartons. (Pic above). Once you spot that tick, you’ll never go back. Your conscience won’t let you.
All this good stuff in the same seven days when our giant food production company, Fonterra (or FONTERROR as they have become in my mind,) decided to pull the plug on paying farmers for organic production of milk. Having encouraged farmers into this arena, they’re now crying over the cost of organic spilt milk and deem it uneconomic. What about us who want it? What about the courageous farmers who invested in alternative farming methods? What about the future generations who guard their health? Come on Fonterra, sometimes things are not about a rather small figure on the bottom line, especially when you’re a multi, multi million dollar company. Even though you are the backbone of our NZ economy. Please rethink this one.
28 August 2011
Last week, at Wellington on a Plate I was lucky enough to score a ticket to the High Tea at Hippopotamus restaurant in the Museum Hotel on a balmy Saturday afternoon.
All the smart set of Wellywood turned out to see the divine clothes by Alexandra Owen. Mark Hadlow, straight from the set of The Hobbit tried hard to steal the show in his fabulous suit, but nothing could beat a glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne and the amazing food. (See pic above)
I think the Museum Hotel is one of the capital's best assets. A trip south is always the better for the indulgence of the food and wine at Hippopotamus. Vive Chef Laurent!
22 August 2011
I have a severe case of Wellington Envy. I spent the weekend there, taking in a few of the Wellington on a Plate events and eating in a restaurants. It seems that size doesn't matter for even though the city is miniscule compared to Auckland, there's this fantastic "we are all here to support each other" about the place, which never happens in Auckland.
The WOP concept, perhaps loosely based on the Melbourne Wine and Food Festival, brings all the restaurateurs, foodie producers, retailers and much more together in a whirlwind two weeks of showcasing just what the region (and the Wairarapa) has to offer. And that means fabulous eating, drinking, partying and having an amazing foodie time.
I only tasted the tip of the iceberg, but the Fisher & Paykel Masterclass was an intimate show at the Michael Fowler centre with about 150 attending, that made it worth the trip into the cold! I loved it. Chef Wan, the little energiser bunny Ambassador Chef from Malaysia kicked it off. His Nonya Prawn and Pineapple curry was divine.
Al Brown followed, with wonderful simple venison dishes, and had Rex Morgan as moderator. Rex is so witty he really stole that show, gently ribbing Al and keeping him on track.
Des Harris in his first ever gig on stage produced amazing food that was absolutely the best of the day. There will be many Wellingtonians who will head to Clooney if they ever visit Auckland I am picking, for more of Des' truly delicious, truly stunning food.
Alexa Johnson was also there from Auckland, cooking her traditional but not forgotten puddings. She's an excellent presenter, clear and instructive with fine recipes for apple pie, blancmange and some yummy salt almond toffee.
And to finish the day long line-up, Martin Bosley took to the stage with Rachel Taulelei and did a riff "Nose to Scale" eating, which involved cooking every part of a fish. Martin's roasted snapper head with butter sauce dripping over it ( pic above) was quite the masterpiece although I missed out on the eyeballs which are always delicious. His tartare of snapper with salmon roe was ethereal too.
Well done Wellington! The tastings were generous and pretty amazing too.
And I want to go back to eat at the glitzy new Ancestral in Courtenay Place (will this be the tipping point that tidies up that sleazy stretch of eateries and clubs?), Arbitrageur for Chris Green's honest-to-goodness food and the Museum Hotel to eat at Hippopotamus.
13 August 2011
When I told Murray, my husband, we were going on a two week trip to Sri Lanka, all he could say was, “Why are we not going to Paris?” I really had no answer to that, as this trip was at my instigation as it’s a place that I have always hankered to visit.
Mary Taylor, a long time NZ Guild of Food Writers member, has been leading tours through her Food Matters tour company to Sri Lanka for almost ten years. The itinerary of each group is “Taylored” to suit individual and collective interests. She led two back to back tours this year, the first concentrated on fabric and art, while our group wanted to focus on food and architecture. We were seven; with a skilled and careful bus driver, a knowledgeable local guide, a charming baggage handler and Mary to look after us.
We stayed in stunning, luxury hotels, all hand picked by Mary for their Sri Lankan ‘x-factor’. Majestic colonial edifices, a Geoffrey Bawa designed eco-friendly hotel perched amongst rocky outcrops and tumbling vegetation, an amazing converted tea factory, a planter’s bungalow that I feel was a every bit as good as Huka Lodge, and the Lighthouse, another Bawa designed hotel in the coast near Galle where the waves crashing onto the rocks below lulled us to sleep.
For me, travel is all about food. Sri Lanka is a lush country with intense cultivation that provides plenty of food for all 23 million people who inhabit this teardrop shaped island to the east of India. Successive waves of travellers and immigrants from southern India, Malaysia, the Middle East, Portugal, Holland and England have made their mark on the spicy rich cuisine, leaving a legacy of vegetables, spices, rice, tea and much more to sustain the Sri Lankans.
The smelly bustling Pettah market in Colombo, a vibrant fish market in Negombo, a vegetable distribution market at Dambullah, a traditional spice garden and a couple of cookery lessons helped to really understand the local cuisine. Visits to the Dilmah tea factory, a dessicated coconut processing plant, a boat trip to observe cinnamon quilling, and walking amongst the tea pickers on the plantations got us up close and personal with the bounty of Sri Lanka. There were food experiences galore, and truly wonderful rice and curry meals.
Breakfast was buffet style everywhere and it’s intriguing to watch other tourists who want to stick to their own food; bacon and eggs, cereal, and espresso coffee. Not for me. I ate lacy egg hoppers each day, with a selection of spicy vegetable curries and now at home I’m finding my tomatoes on toast truly bland. Mary is the ultimate tour guide, quietly witty, incredibly calm even when the bus breaks down on a remote strip of road, and has made fabulous contacts and friends through Sri Lanka who welcomed us warmly and fed us delicious food.
I’m not a dedicated animal lover, but we ticked off quite a list of intriguing wild life; cheeky monkeys on our balconies, colourful birds, water buffalo providing buffalo curd for almost every meal, and adorable orphaned baby elephants in a special transit house who came in from the wilds while we visited, for their daily ration of milk. We also visited a little primary school, and we were constantly handing out pencils to wide-eyed children who curiously and shyly approached us.
And something I learned about Sri Lankans and their sport. We know about their love of cricket, but most people we spoke to knew all about our All Blacks. Apparently Sri Lanka has more than 130,000 registered rugby players. That’s more than New Zealand by miles!
It was an outstandingly successful trip and I dream about going back. Even Murray wants to go on another Mary Taylor trip and not to Paris!
Pic; Kandalama Hotel by Richard Harris