Lauraine’s blog
14 August 2012
I don't envy the windy weather,the southerly gales or the old houses that cling to the cliffs in Wellington. But there is a unity in the food scene, evident this week at Wellington on a Plate if I am to beleive the programme. There are lots of exciting things I would give my right hand for. Next year, maybe?
I was in the capital city last week and managed, in between cloud bursts to visit a few really nifty innovative guys around the town.
Moore Wilson's is better than ever. Love that rotisserie wagon parked in their carpark with about 90 hot tasty chickens rolling out every 45 minutes, the amazing cheese section, the variety of great breads, the fresh-as-fresh produce and so much more.
Zany Zeus Cheese and icecream cafe at 129 Randwick Rd Moera, Lower Hutt is a do not miss. Organic milk, amazing Cypriot style fresh cheeses, terrific ice cream and coffee. Love that new smoked Brinza and the smoked yogurt is AMAZING.
On Trays, 38 Fitzherbert St, Petone is a veritable treasure cave of amazing imported foods. Everything from a well chosen cheese selection to cured meats, wine and even caviar, no less if you can afford it.
Six Barrel Soda Company cafe, cnr Eva and Dixon sts. Very cool little intimate cafe anad some amazing artisan soda syrups brewing away in the kitchen. Brought home the lime syrup for my gin.
Floyd's 130 The Parade Island Bay is a friendly local cafe where the children are welcome and happy, and the food and coffee are superb. I lust for their malted milk shakes!
And to eat; reports coming soon. Portlander in the Rydges hotel for sensational steak. (see below)
Foxglove, at 33 Queens Wharf with a great harbour views and beautifully styled food.
Matterhorn, Cuba Mall. Hasn't missed a beat. Dave Verheul's food is a cut above most I have eaten this year. And cocktails matched to the degustation menu; now that's class!
Wellington; I'll be back. Soon I hope.
12 August 2012
I had tried sake before, usually warmed and proabably very ordinary, but last night sake came alive for me. Mr Daisuke Kinoshita flew in from his family's Amabuki Shuzo sake brewery in Saga, Japan to share his sake over a degustation dinner at Cocoro.
Cocoro's Chef Makoto is a brilliant and inventive master of degustation meals. He may be one of our city's best chefs, and we're lucky Cocoro's owner Ricky Lee has set him such a stylish and sleek space to showcase such amazingly inventive food.
We had seven courses through the evening, each masterfully matched to different sakes. Now I know much more; The Amabuki sakes, brewed from specially grown sake rice and made with flower yeasts, range in flavour and colour from bone dry, crisp clear light styles to warming, mouth filling rich flavours, and can be crystal clear liquids with not a hint of colour, through to pinky hues that are pretty in the glass.
Chef Makoto's food was outstanding. Pre dinner, to accompany a surprising sparkling sake Mr Kinoshita had brought with him that very day, there were Bluff oysters bathed in ponzu, some crisp light seasonal vegies in frothy tempura, and the masterpiece, cubes of sweet jumbo tiger prawn in light-as-air spun filo pastry.
The presentation of Cocoro's food is always startingly good, with tastes and flavours that live up to the promise of the plate. I loved the little chawanmushi with whitebait, salmon caviar and baby paua served as our starter, which was followed by a seafood 'box' of sashimi and sushi. The box is like magic, opening out to a feast for both the eyes and mouth. Especially wonderful were the crisp Northland ocotpus slices, and the best tuna nigiri I have ever tasted. Sliced from the belly of the farmed blue fin tuna pictured above, it had been specially flown in from Osaka and was totally delicious and delicate. (Freshly grated wasabi from Canterbury with this course was spicy and really fresh.)
We also dined on grilled miso marinated toothfish and Akaroa salmon that had been cooked confit style and accompanied by a special umami booster of miso, sake and shoyu, matched with a clear "Marigold' sake with warm tones. The spicy grilled crayfish tail was slightly crunchy, rich, perfectly cooked and matched to a super-dry style of sake that totally enhanced the experience.
Next, a meltingly tasty duck breast, slow roasted, finished over charcoal with a sweeter sake that had hints of strawberry flowers. To round the evening's feast, a garden turned up on my dessert plate. I love the way Japanese chefs extol the seasons, and Makoto did exactly this with a winter garden of fruit with spiced Valrhona chocolate fondue, juxtaposed with the clean flavours of green tea icecream, and another wonderful Amabuki extraordinary rich sake made from 55% polished rice. A wonderful night!
Cocoro, 56 Brown St, Ponsonby T 09 360 0927
12 August 2012
Just when I had bemoaned the lack of steak restaurants, The Portlander threw its doors open to lucky Wellington this week. What we grow best of all in New Zealand is grass, and all those lush pastures provide fodder for terrific cattle and sheep. We're so proud of our amazing lamb and beef. And the Exec chef, Kit Foe, at Rydges Hotel has gone to great lengths to assemble a stunning menu of beefy treats, supplemented by the finest fare for his menu at The Portander.
It doesn't matter how comfortable a hotel is (and the Rydges' rooms are lovely with spacious bathrooms which is something I always seek), it's actually good food that will draw people back. The recent revamp and rebranding of the street level restaurant, and accompanying foyer bar is clever. Every night during the week, there's sizzle and meaty scents in the foyer, as steaks are cooked on a little grill and chunks passed around for guests and people popping in for a drink. Masterful!
The restaurant, although somewhat functional in appearance, is now going to become really popular. There's a great menu that includes grass and grainfed steaks (all with the provenance proudly announced) and a selection of light entrees, fresh fish and seafood treats (loved the meaty paua fritters, tasty pork, and more.) There are are at least seven burgers to try at lunch time and the dessert menu is fantastic - I'm chasing the chef for the apple crumble recipe, as it so original and divinely delicious.
Love the witty marketing like the card above; and the one that says, "You don't have to sleep with us to eat with us."
The Portlander at Rydges Hotel, 75 Featherstone St, Wellington T 04 499 8686
12 August 2012
I have heard people described as 'national treasures', (on one memorable occasion a friend even claimed that about herself!) and in this golden Olympic week there's no doubt we do have people who are admired by the whole nation. But it's a big call.
Recently I was in Taupo and where two of our country's real treasures came together for a perfect occasion. Fleur Sullivan and Huka Lodge. Ta daa!
Most New Zealanders will never have the chance to stay at Huka Lodge, but nevertheless it is the most perfect place that we should all be proud of. I recall my friend Darina Allen,(who herself is a national treasure of Ireland, and that's beyond dispute) travelling the country in a campervan I'd arranged for her and Timmy, her husband. They called into Huka, parked the van in the carpark and were so captivated by the tranquility and majesty of Huka Lodge they booked a room immediately. Darina loved their night there so much she returned to Huka three days later.
Every detail has been thought out well , from the warm welcome and the attention from the staff through to the large comfortable rooms overlooking the fast flowing Waikato river which speeds up to leap over the Huka Falls a stone's throw away. The lodge is fastidiously maintained and Chef Michel Louw's food is stylish, well balanced and beautifully presented. The most important thing is that nothing is ever too much trouble at the lodge.
Fleur was there to speak at a luncheon, and she is one amazing woman. Fleur has an eponymous restaurant on the ocean's edge at Moeraki, and single-handedly has made it the most talked about and loved destination seafood place to eat freshly caught seafood in all
Aotearoa. She shared stories from her life while we ate her Moeraki seafood chowder, a lovely blue cod main course and the wonderful Whitestone cheese from Oamaru which Fleur had specially carried north.
Special events such as this at Huka are one of life's special occasions. I loved every minute.
7 August 2012
I have always thought food writers, cookbook authors and television cooks have a big responsibility as we are paid to encourage people to cook. And the better we can make that food, the better and more healthy our readers and watchers will be. So it annoys me that some writers look for gimmicky stuff, rather than what I'd be so bold as to call real cooking.
Food prepared in a minute with cans, frozen packages and not a skerrick of fresh stuff in sight? NO! A whole book of meals with three ingredients? NO! What about meals under $5? Maybe. Four ingredients? NO! - Well, er, um, in the last case, I have just had to eat my words.
I have just finished my lunch and it was the silkiest, tastiest soup I have eaten in ages. I wanted something warm and filling, and I found a potato in the larder and from the fridge a leek, some duck stock I had made over the weekend, and the remains of a carton of creme fraiche I had needed last week for a photoshoot.
Four ingredients (plus condiments), a little chopping, half an hour simmering and hey, presto, my soup. Here you go:
- 1 large leek, chopped into small dice
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 500mls duck stock
- 2 tbsps creme fraiche
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy pan, add the leeks and potato and cook gently until wilted. Add the stock, bring to a simmer and leave over the heat for 20 minutes. finally add the creme fraiche, stirring in well and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 2. Utterly delicious!
4 August 2012
I’m recovering from two fantastic days at The Food Show. If I may say so myself my Duck & Pinot masterclass was a knockout success....two delicious Saveur duck recipes, about 90 people who now know how to bone and twice roast a duck, three divine Sacred Hill pinot noirs (we’re having the Prospector tonight to toast NZ’s gold medals) and the best goodie bag at the show, thanks to New World Remuera and Lucy Meek of Saveur duck.
The Show itself is always filled with surprises and being the veritable showcase of all that’s good, new or trusted, it's an endless feast of great food. Here are just some of the exciting products that caught my attention:
Lewis Road Butter – the standout new product. I have been waiting all my life for this superbly smooth creamy butter. It’s made with a hint of culture so now I will never need to buy Lurpak again...I can rejoice in a pure, artisan butter, made with milk from the Bay of Plenty.
Little Paddock’s Captain Vanilla Ice cream. This company that uses Green Valley milk has some whacky flavours (baby cup cake) but their vanilla is the best.
Butlers Chocolates. Gorgeous European chocolate and they are opening a chocolate café at Sylvia Park next week.
Zany Zeus’s new range of smoked products. I was the privileged recipient of a preview of smoked Brinza, smoked ricotta and smoked yogurt. All coming to a store near you soon. The mind boggles at the new recipes we will come up with.
The Original Kumara Chips from Temptations of Kerikeri. Fabulously crisp, a real kumara taste and quite healthy. Yum!
Tomette single meal portions that are made by real French men (quite dishy they are too). Love the lamb Provencale with creamy mashed potato, the coq au vin (who could resist that?) and the fragrant saumon l’aneth (salmon with dill sauce and pilau rice.) www.tomette.co.nz
Granpa BB’s toasted muesli. Absolutely the best muesli I have had and the only problem is it’s only available on line. www.granpabbs.co.nz But it’s worth the trouble!
Cloudy Bay chilled diamond clams and surf clams. Simply the freshest and most briny shellfish imaginable. Blanched so they open easily and I am going to love my clams with pasta for my dinner tonight!
Mahana Red apples & Angelys pears. Two new fruits make the entrée to the market. The apples are crisp and sweet, and the juicy pears are great keepers with amazing fragrance.
Hungry Bin. This is the other product I have been waiting for all my life. An easy care, economical compost bin that creates an ideal environment for worms to use up my scraps, turning them into fertiliser for my garden. Love it!
And I can’t explain how proud I felt when I saw the clever section where Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development had gathered together so many of my artisan food producing friends. A smart, snappy alley filled with the likes of Mahurangi Oysters, Clevedon Buffalo products, Salumeria Fontana sausages, Heron’s Flight grape juice, the Mustard Makers, Perfect Produce, Wild Wheat and more. So many great local stories.
Well done Dona White of Northport Events and her Food Show team for another successful year.
17 July 2012
I really love yum char. The concept of sitting and watching as the carts go past, laden with dim sum treats so you can choose exactly what you desire is high on my list of favourite meals.
I've been to Hong Kong and eaten at that amazing yum char restaurant near the Financial Centre on Hong Kong island where the food was varied and wonderful, especially after a wait of 90 minutes on a Sunday morning. Here in Auckland my favourite has been Grand Park, the large chaotic restaurant under the grandstand at Alexandra Raceway where anything with fish is particularly good.
But yesterday I ate dim sum at Sun World under the York St Carpark on Khyber Pass and I was very impressed. The variety of different fried, steamed, baked and roasted dim sum was impressive. It's a typically large sprawling place, that's not particularly smart or flash, but it's very busy, even at 11.50am on a Monday and that is a good sign. There were only about two tables where the diners were not Asian, and that's a second really good sign.
I loved the little dumplings, neatly pleated and filled with soup, and the siu mai were deliciously porky and prawny at once. Baked rice, wrapped in lotus leaf is always on my list of choices and Sun World's is generously filled with the rich pork mixture. Their rice noodle dishes are properly slipery and tasty, and we loved the slightly spicy crumbed and fried cubes of tofu.
Then I spied what I thought were perfect white bread chicken sandwiches. How wrong could I be? Three cheers for William Chen as he not only introduced me to this sweet, fluffy snack; Pak Thong Ko, which was one of the more unusual but wonderful dessert treats I have eaten in years, but he also took the photo posted above. Only the world's best magazine art director (formerly) could manage to capture the essence of this white rice flour, sugar and yeasty treat and make it look beautiful. White food on a white plate on a white backgrounnd. Thanks William, and I hope we'll be back at Sun World, very, very soon.
Sun World, 2A York St, off Khyber Pass Rd, Newmarket T 09 520 3218 Open 7 days
15 July 2012
If I had been better organised we may have booked and eaten at one of the many good restaurants around the city which had special menus in honour of Bastille Day. However, I think we hit the jackpot!
Last week in my Listener column I wrote about oysters. For years food writers like me have banged on about how poor it is that restaurants do not shuck oysters so they can be enjoyed as they should be; right out of the shell, still complete with briny seawater within minutes of shucking - No plastic pottles of oysters, ever!
I also wrote that I would be celebrating Bastille Day with fond memories of my visits to Paris. Whenever we visit Paris our first stop is Brasserie Bofinger near the Place de Bastille, or a little specialty oyster bistro, Huîtrerie Regis, just off the Blvd St Germaine. It’s mandatory we order a very large platter of freshly shucked oysters with a glass each of Sancerre white wine. Briny oysters arrive on a bed of seaweed and ice, with accompanying lemon wedges and brown bread. Heaven.
But things have improved here lately.
The goods news is that Pacific oysters, part of our vital aquaculture industry, are cultivated in many sheltered harbours around New Zealand and shipped to restaurant in the shell, unopened. So we can enjoy fresh oysters the way the French do. And, they’re at their best right now in this colder weather.
Here at home, we did exactly that too. Our feast was just as I imagined. Fresh oysters from Mahurangi Oysters (Andrew and Lisa Hay put them in the cute little wooden crate and sell them at La Cigale French market. Their oyster fritters are legendary.) And my friend Barbara brought around a bottle of Puligny Montrachet which we sipped while I shucked. And then we opened a bottle of Felton Road chardy which may be almost as good as the Burgundy. A prefect night and three cheers for La France!
12 July 2012
Last night the NZ Guild of Food Writers held a debate/dinner at the cosy Wintergarden reception centre near the Auckland Museum duck pond. Members and the public attended, feasted on superb tender spiced roast venison, a new cut of pork roast, roast chicken and roast leg of lamb. With all this meaty stuff on the menu, we needed a few veges too, including crushed roast potatoes and large dishes of garlicky roast pumpkin, carrot, and more. To accompany, Sean Armstrong provided his Loaf Volcano bread rolls, and a deliciously cute bread and butter with Dollop custard - yum! And with Selaks NZ Roast Day coming up on the 5 August, we enjoyed a selection of Selaks Reserve wines.
The debate was fun; Martin Bosley actually stole the show as the witty MC, but not before some one who will remain nameless said to him, "I love your restaurant, - Euro." Yikes!
The affirmative team, Sean Armstrong, Ali Leonard and ably led by the Cuddly Cook, Annabelle White put forward a good argument, with several quotes about pretentions in food. But the negative side, led by Metro editor Simon Wilson with the sassy Jude Tabron and the very clever Nici Wickes won the day, as voted by the audience.
Of course, with that audience of food writers, eaters, food-rock-star groupies and other assorted food lovers and cooks, it was always going to be that way. Of course we're not Foodie Pretentious Tossers, not anyone there, ever. But I have met some who could be!
Pic above: Ali Leonard, Fiona Nugent of Eat Your Books (google that) and Simon Wilson feast on the delicious venison at the Wintergarden.
9 July 2012
Just over 24 hours ago I was in the heart of Bangkok's Chinatown. I'd arrived on the overnight train from Chiang Mai. Don't ask, it's long and interesting story, but my advice is Do Not Ever Be Tempted To Take That Train - Ever. The 12 hour trip turned into 15 hours, it was freezing (over-active aircon), boneshaking and rattly, barely clean and I'd have taken my life in my hands if I'd eaten in the dining car.
However, when I arrived in Bangkok, I was whisked to the Shanghai Mansion, a particularly cool hotel in the heart of Chinatown. It was divine - the sort of authentically decorated yet not contrived designer place that makes you go; "Yes! I am so pleased to be here."
Bright cheerful bold colours, a calm atmosphere, luxurious fittings and not too expensive. Hard to find up a set of escalators from the street but a totally welcoming haven.
Best of all, tumble out into the street and eat the amazingly cheap street food of Chinatown, cooked before your eyes, or dive into the dark alleys of the liveliest and steamiest market I have seen in Asia.
Well worth checking out if you're adventurous at 479-481 Yaowaraj Rd, Samphanthawong, Bangkok
www.shanghaimansion.com