Lauraine’s blog
6 May 2011
The Star & Garter saloon bar was our first stop for the third and final night of our Crawl found us in Coromandel town, and it was a short walk from the Anchor Lodge on Wharf Rd, where we stayed. After a heart-warming whisky and local honey-based cocktail it was onto a bus and off to the Mussel Kitchen for our entree.
Seafood always tastes better when you can smell the sea, so our starter of Coromandel oysters pictured above - our NZ rock and Pacific oysters plus a smoked oyster, followed by mussel fritters with a stunning baby leaf salad with limeade segments were totally appropriate, with the harbour's edge just across the road. (Both these shell fish are grown in open seawater nearby and can be bought at the respective processing plants, almost across from each other on SH25.)
We the headed to the very good Peppertree restaurant in the township for surf and turf, tender eye fillet of beef paired with a juicy crayfish tail. Peppertree has been in Coromandel for years and on Fridays a local market sets up on the pavement outside.
Finally, now groaning after three nights of almost too much food, we ate dessert at Success cafe, and roasted feijoas on the apple cobbler with Manuka honey ice cream and a caramel encased macadamia proved a fitting end to our local homegrown feasting.
What a terrific idea for tourists to follow this fun-filled dining trail over three consecutive days. It is truly and literally, a taste of the Coromandel.
6 May 2011
Who would think that in a tiny town of about 1200 people I would find as sophisticated dish as that pictured here?
Tairua is a holiday destination and for visitors just a whistle stop on the touring route around the Coromandel peninsula. But there are couple of very good places to dine, so it's worth staying a night at Pacific Harbour Lodge (ask for a chalet on the waterfront) and taking the time to dine.
Our cafe crawl meal started at Manaia Cafe in the main thoroughfare. A stunning frozen mojito made with local persimmon, orange, rosehip and vodka was garnished with a star fashioned form the centre of a persimmon and some incredibly edible coloured sugar crystals that loked like a cross between sand and crushed local gems. We then ate that quail pictured above; boned and stuffed deepfired leg, pan fed breast and balsamic lentils and Brussels Sprouts salad. The amazing touch of blue moimoi potatoes whisked in to blue foam gave the dish its cutting edge. Take a bow, Chef Oliver Rimpler!
It was then into the bus and off to The Cyprus Tree for lovely flounder fillets on a lime and lemon risotto with tempura whitebait and seaweed caviar. That little restaurant is one of the treasures of New Zealand, sitting out on the water overlooking the Tairua inlet. There's a corner table that I will be demanding if I return next summer when the restaurant re-opens for the season.
And we finished our crawl at The Old Mill with a lovely local apple baked in feijoa nectar and stuffed with dates, mascarpone and Whenuakite walnuts. Great use of local produce again.
6 May 2011
I have just spent three days touring in the Coromandel and judging a Café Crawl – part of the region’s Homegrown Festival on this month.
First town was Thames. We checked into Cotswold Cottage, (pic above) a charming B&B just on the edge of town with a sunny outlook over the Kauaeranga River. Highly recommended as the hosts Jacqui and Graham are experienced operators, who have revamped a lovely villa to provide very comfortable accommodation. Fine breakfasts served and dinner on request.
A café crawl involves three local restaurants or cafés getting together, organising a three course progressive dinner, and on this occasion reflecting not just the food locally grown, but also injecting a bit of pioneer spirit as that was the suggested theme.
A cocktail was served in the magnificent historic Pump Museum, then it was on to our starter at GBD in an old pub (there used to be over 100 pubs in Thames we learned from our tour leader who was well versed in the local history.) Matatoki Blue cheese dipped in Tairua honey and crusted with roasted chestnuts on a feijoa and guava jelly reflected both the food grown around and the season.
Mains at the cosy Rocco Restaurant were a choice of local seafood hotpot filed with Coromandel mussels, paua, and scallops in a broth or pickled local pork with native greens and appled cabbage. To finish Bullion, in the main street, served us an Apple Showcase with the cutest little toffee apple and a manuka honey mousse.
Good food and hospitality are part of the Thames experience and it’s worth taking time to stop there to seek it out and to spend time seeing a fascinating part of NZ's early pioneer history..
30 April 2011
It's not like me to stay up beyond midnight but as one of the young things said to me, "You probably only to get to see two royal weddings in a life time."
When I was at Cordon Bleu last century we rushed through our prep and then literally ran all the way from Marylebone to The Mall to watch the procession for Princess Anne's wedding to Mark Phillips. When Shy Di wed Charles, back in New Zealand, we bought our first TV, our daughter Katie wore a gold crown she'd made at Constance Colegrove kindergarten that day, and we all sat in our lounge and watched that regal occasion.
This time, for Will and Kate's wedding it was all about the food. I took my 88 year old mother to The Langham for the Tea Royale and Champagne during the week, as Mum wanted to watch this wedding by herself last night so she could hear and see everything and even change channels at whim. The Tea was a huge success on Wednesday. Mum loved every bite and was more than impressed with the nine tier wedding cake in the hotel foyer.
So we went to friends (pictured above)and I cannot imagine a more suitable dinner to celebrate than the one we shared last night, while glued to the telly. Fit for a future king, and certainly fit for a wedding observers' feast, we started with Champagne and oysters in the shell and smoked salmon on blinis.
Then Coq au Vin with salad and bread and Pegasus Bay pinot noir (a perfect meal for eating on the couch.) To top it off, just as the blissfully and newly- wed couple emerged from the Abbey, we indulged in pavlova with lemon cream and raspberries.
But there was more. How could you watch a wedding like that and not have chocolates? Scorched almonds - the classic- and a box of soft creamy centred chocolates.
Now, about those hats at the wedding........ouch!
17 April 2011
I am loving the tree-ripened pears in the farmers markets right now. At Matakana I have been buying some brilliant crimson-red skinned pears that are delicious. But stuck in the city this weekend, I have come home from the farmers markets with three varieties all worth eating.
Pears are at their best when they begin to turn yellow, unlike apples which tend to become floury once the skin is yellowish.
In the bowl pictured here the greenish hued pears with brown marks on their skin are Conference variety. They are quite grainy, but very popular with children apparently as they are crunchy with good mild flavour and lots of juice.
The very large brownish gold pear is a Beurre Bosc which is a buttery pear (just wouldn't you know that by the name!) which is a good for eating and even better for cooking.
And the pear that has the green golden hue and sits at the back of the bowl is a Doyenne du Comice pear. To me it's the Kate Middleton of pears - the name on everyone's lips and absolutely the star of the moment. I love Doyenne du Comice for the perfume, the flavour and the juice that runs down my chin when they are at their optimum. Yum!
(And in case you're wondering, yes, those roses are from my garden.)
17 April 2011
What a treat! Clevedon market on Sunday morning is the go. My first visit proved to be the last on that particular site, as next week this charming, country meeting place for great food moves into a new barn, two or three paddocks further down the road.
After the obligatory coffee we wandered about, tasting and talking. We caught up with gardening guru Lynda Hallinan, a regular there, and Helen Dorrestyn who started the market and the Clevedon Valley Buffalo cheese company, and ran into several friends there too. Despite my visits to three markets yesterday (see below) I came home with yet another overflowing bag of goodies. My picks from the market today;
- Sarah Stacey's authentic Cornish pasties (she's from Cornwall and makes a tasty filling of beef, swedes, onion and dried herbs and black pepper in her flaky pastry case.) Her pork pies are terrific too.
- Clevedon Valley buffalo mozzarella and cinnamon yogurt
- Kipdale Farms free range organic chicken
- Mount Eliza Cheddar
- Sweet outdoor grapes
- Healthy parsley plants for my garden
- Freshly picked Conference pears
- Outdoor field mushrooms with dirt still attached
- Wild Wheat Mixed grain bread
I'm set for the week, and am on the job menu planning right now. Lots of tasty dishes coming up.
17 April 2011
It’s rare for me to have a weekend in the city. I’m usually at Omaha Beach and the visit to the Matakana Farmers’ Market each Saturday morning at 8am is de rigueur, whatever the weather. So despite horrendous wind and rain, (not to mention a 9am wake-up after my night at Moochowchow) I was off this morning to three central city markets.
Parnell Market at 545 Parnell Rd in the old Foundation for the Blind buildings and car park was my first stop, and my favourite. It’s a fortunate market as they have the luxury of moving inside to the Jubilee Hall when it’s inclement. Like today (see above.) Fabulous vegetables from local growers; baby Asian eggplants, baby leeks, baby carrots are on the menu tomorrow night with a gorgeous looking free-farmed pork rack, produced by happy pigs on a Houhora farm in the far north. I also bought cheese, figs, and the soft white baps from Pukeko Bakery that I can also buy in Matakana. And some Doyenne du Comice pears, which are actually worth their own story (I will post that tomorrow.)
Auckland City market, cnr of Gore and Galway streets in Britomart was really struggling this morning in the wind and rain. A good selection of peppers, pears, breads, and vegetables, but I felt so sorry for the stall holders who had to cling onto their tents. It’s small but sincere market.
But for sheer innovation and imagination you can’t beat the La Cigale French market in the lower end of St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell. It was humming. Mike and Elizabeth Lind have no boundaries with their business here, and the harnessing of consultant chef Warwick Brown’s skills and passion for food has taken the market to new heights. Originally the Linds imported French antiques and Parisenne fashion, (still there) but now the focus is imported French food and wine, highly popular casual French dinners Wed-Fri, and the French market on Wed afternoons, and Sat and Sun mornings. It is huge.
There are many stall holders in the market area selling artisan produce, delicious food, and much more. I loved the Turkish deli items and bought a stack of Turkish flat bread for an Easter party I’m planning, some fresh raspberries, and Cathedral Cove macadamias. I was tempted by an antique olive urn but didn’t have the $2000 in my purse. I am hanging out for Lotto tonight so I can return tomorrow!
8 April 2011
Mollies Hotel is under new ownership. This boutique hotel, in a grand villa between Ponsonby and Herne Bay, is now being run by resident owners, Murray Rose and Nicola Guinness and their family.
I went along last night to the very first event to be held since the family took up residence last week. I have been to a number of functions and meals there in the past, and always found the atmosphere a little cloying. That it is not the case any longer.
Nicola is a woman of extreme talent. Her Front Room business in St Kevins Arcade produces extraordinary fabrics, furnishings and linen that are elegant and unique. So the new curtains, screen printed tablecloths and other pieces she has made, along with her chic art collection, bring a new modern quirkiness to the hotel.
The same team remains in the kitchen and they did a fine job of our dinner last evening. The canapes were some of the best I've had; petite, full of flavour and only one bite each. Perfect with the Veuve Clicquot!
A great modern interpretation of Caesar salad to start was followed by moist flaky hapuka with dill and miso. No fuss about dessert, just a well chosen, properly ripened cheese selection with lots of fruit and nuts.
Dierdre Irons played Chopin nocturnes and Ravel. Nicola and Murray proved to be superb hosts. Get prepared to see Mollies become a fun place to be.
7 April 2011
There's a new place to eat in town that's hot. Serafin Bueno Sanz, the talented Spanish chef who presided over the kitchen of The Regent Auckland hotel back in the 80s has returned to our shores and opened an utterly sophisticated Tapas, Montaditos and Pinchos bar.
It has been purpose built, tucked in behind the building at the junction of Dominion Rd and Walters Rd in Mt Eden. The design is stunning; the pale wooden ceiling formed in a concertina effect reflects light, and there are lovely overhead lights hanging so you can actually see the food and the freinds you're relaxing with. There's even an internal courtyard that's reminiscent of the clever space at Matterhorn in Wellington, the likes of which we haven't seen in Auckland before.
We went the other night to a private opening celebration and I was delighted by the tasty morsels that emerged in a steady stream from the kitchen. My favourites? The bellotta ham on lovely fresh crusty bread, potatoes smothered in a garlicky uncutous sauce, and a tiny bowl of tasty lentils topped with a slice of perfectly cooked duck.
We were served Spanish albarino wine as this was a private party. Unfortunately Serafin has not received his licence to sell wine yet as one couple in the neighbourhood has lodged an objection, which won't be heard in Wellington until May 19. Why they would object defies me, as this is exactly the sort of friendly little tapas bar that most neighbourhoods in New Zealand would kill for.
It also brings up the point of mindless legislation that kills creativity, business and common sense. About a pebble's throw away there is a large noisy bar that seems to me to be a watering hole where Eden Park goers often linger before and after games at the ground knocking back bottles and bottles of beer while standin gon the pavement and even spilling out into the road. Here we have a quiet, shy European of enormous talent who cannot get ahead with his business that is raring to go, and in the process wil be improving our culture by introducing sophisticated snacks to enjoy over a glass of wine.
And what's wrong with the Auckland Council that they have to hand the hearing over to some authority in faraway Wellington? Go figure.
Serafin. 225B Dominion Rd, Mt Eden T; 09 630 0228
1 April 2011
Last night I presented a cooking class at Andrea Hinchco's Taste Matakana kitchen and wine shop in Warkworth.
All my recipes can be found under RECIPES on this website.
My theme was "Locavore" (and you'd expect that from me, as I'm passionate about the local artisan producers and growers) and I used the fabulous Matakana Smokehouse hot smoked salmon from Pete Clementson, and Greg Scopas' Salumeria Fontana Sicilian Sweet Fennel Pork sausages.
Taste is doing regular intimate cooking classes right there in the shop. Call Andrea on T; 09 425 0302 Neville St Warkworth.