eatshowandtell » New Zealand

City Market & Fisher & Paykel MasterClass, Wellington

Howard — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 01:02:21 +0000

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of visiting ‘Wellington on a plate’ which is Wellington’s version of our Crave SIFF. This post is long over due, but hopefully it sets the scene for anyone who is considering visiting the event next year.

City Market

The City Market is a weekly market showcasing Wellington’s finest in food and wine. Some of Wellington’s top artisans showcase their talent and fresh goods for the locals.

Martin Bosely, one of New Zealand’s top chefs makes the trip out every week to cook his famous bacon and egg rolls. It’s a nice sight when you see real chefs up close and personal, manning a store when any one of his minions could do the same.

Gorgeous fresh produce

The variety and freshness of fruit and vegetable was amazing. Everything was vibrant and aromatic, and it really inspired me to get into the kitchen after seeing all the fresh produce.

The outdoor market

Outside was an amazing outdoor fruit and vegetable market, run by what looked like local farmers. Locals turned out in the hundreds, picking and choose through baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables. As a spectator, it looked like everyone was genuinely having a good time shopping for their groceries. With fruit and vegetable looking as amazing as this, who wouldn’t be?

Fisher & Paykel MasterClass

The inaugural Wellington Fisher & Paykel Masterclass day is the ultimate festival experience for food enthusiasts. It is very similar to SIFF’s World Chef Showcase, where chefs conduct a ‘masterclass’ which includes tastings and top tips for people to replicate in their own kitchens (if you have the equipment or ingredients).

This years lineup included Desmond Harris, Alexa Johnston, Al Brown, Martin Bosley and Chef Wan from Malaysia. The common theme across all chefs was their passion for their food and cooking style. I was particularly impressed with the honesty of Alexa Johnston and Al Brown. Their philosophy is to cook food which is dear to the heart of New Zealanders, and less focus on world wide culinary trends.

Logan Brown

We also managed to sneak in a dinner at Logan Brown, considered by many as a dining institution in Wellington. I loved the bistro yet historic feel of the place. The highlight dishes were definitely the Truffled Fries with Reggiano Parmesan!

eatshow&tell was a guest of Tourism New Zealand. Thanks guys.

City Market, Wellington

http://www.citymarket.co.nz

Fisher & Paykel Masterclass

http://www.wellingtononaplate.com

Logan Brown

http://www.loganbrown.co.nz

Martinborough, Wellington New Zealand

Howard — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:00:30 +0000

New Zealand brings back a lot of fond memories. Not everyone knows this, but I’m actually a Kiwi. I was born and bred in Otahuhu but came to Sydney when I was six (queue kiwi accent joke about sex). I consider myself Australian now, but there is one thing which I still stand firm on and that is my sporting allegance to New Zealand. Whether it be The All Blacks, Black Caps or Warriors, I’ll always pull the Kiwi card out during a trans tasman rivalry!

Martinbourough Town Centre

Its been a good 12 years since my last visit to New Zealand. Its funny how as Australians we love to hop on a plane to travel to Bali or Bangkok but we seem to neglect our Kiwi neighbours who are no slouch when it comes offering things to do as a holiday destination. I’ve been to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Macau and recently New York and San Francisco but I’ve yet to go back to roots in New Zealand or visit anywhere outside the East Coast of Australia, poor form.(...)
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The Bodhi Tree, Christchurch, New Zealand

Minh — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:32:52 +0000

After all of the looping around South Island we were ready for some rest and relaxation by the time we hit Christchurch! I’ve put out the call on twitter and on the blog for Christchurch recommendations, and after a week of Lamb Shanks and steaks I’m ready for something different! Sadly I’m unable to source many New Zealand food blogs, and even less that focus on Christchurch, in the end I turn to DineOut and MenuMania, New Zealand’s equivalent of Eatability.

After all my scouring about online the one restaurant I really found intriguing was the Bodhi Tree, a Burmese restaurant with a recommended dish of Tea Leaf Salad! Luckily the restaurant was a mere 10 minutes walk from our hotel and as we’ve arrived at the start of the night, the waitress is able to squeeze us onto a table. The restaurant is tiny, fitting around 15 tables and I’m charmed by its orange walls and Burmese menus, within 30 minutes all the tables are packed and the restaurant is buzzing.

Bodhi Tree Menu

The philosophy of the Bodhi tree is rather simple, ‘to eat rice in the most appetizing way possible’. There is a big emphasis on making dishes which pair well with rice and are so flavourful that they urge you to eat more rice. An ideal meal should consist of meat, vegetable, salad, seafood and soup and the serving sizes are designed to be shared between a group with 3-4 dishes per person recommended. Encouraged by this we try to do our best to order our the majority of the menu.(...)
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Nin’s Bin, Kaikoura, New Zealand

Minh — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:00:19 +0000

Before coming to New Zealand I really only had two intentions, to eat at Fleur’s Place and to eat at Nin’s Bin. Let’s just say I have a pretty one track mind when it comes to food! I knew that NZ had a good reputation for seafood and after seeing Not Quite Nigella’s post on Nin’s Bin, I immediately put it down as a stop on our epic road trip.

Finding the address for Nin’s Bin was no easy task, in fact the most precise instructions we got were to head up the highway for 20-30 minutes and it would be on the side of the road. We’d just come from the west coast of NZ where we’d seen some pretty amazing things, from Glaciers to snow and generally some pretty gorgeous scenery.The weather has taken us by surprise as it seems totally opposite to Australia, and a local we speak to tells us that October cold snaps resulting in snow aren’t uncommon, but it’s the heaviest snowfall he’s ever seen this late in the year, mind you it’s also the middle of spring at this time in the year!

Things are gloomy along the highway as we drive up north looking around for Nin’s Bin. The rain has been following us for the last 100km or so but amazingly clears up just as we see the sign for Nin’s Bin, it’s almost like it’s a sign (the weather that is). Nin’s comes up pretty suddenly on the right side of the road and just like in all of the photos we’ve seen, is a rather nondescript looking caravan perched along the shore.

Nin's Bin

Rather curious at this point we tumble into the small caravan, Nin’s was established back in the 1970′s and by looking at the décor not much has changed since then! According to Lorraine’s last visit Nin’s only offered Mussels and Crayfish, but their menu now has a new addition of whitebait patties. While we ponder what to order, the lady behind the counter tells us that the Green Lip Mussels have just come in fresh. Decided we order the entire menu, 2 Crayfish, a serving of mussels and a whitebait patty to finish it all off.

Crayfish Bonanza

We’re allowed to pick our own Crayfish and inspect each carefully, the prices for each are written on the tails and range from the high $20′s to one monster looking one clocking in $55. Eventually we settle on two priced at $42 and $45 respectively and are given the option of served as is with sauce, or warmed and cooked in garlic butter. I’m traveling with butter fiends so this is not even a question that needs to be pondered. Each of the Crayfish are sliced opened with what seems like the largest hatchet in history and in no time everything is sizzling and filling the caravan with the smell of awesome.

Nin's View

Although the skies have cleared and given us some sunshine, the wind chill is still going strong and we huddle inside the caravan as we wait. The caravan windows open directly to the shore and easily has one of the most picturesque views I’ve ever enjoyed while eating. Astroboy wanders outside to get some photos while we wait inside wondering at her insanity. While Astroboy is wandering around taking photos of the local flora I look out to the ocean and realise that one of the rocks is MOVING and is actually a SEAL! I race out to get some photos like a mad-woman and to this day… wonder just what that lady behind the counter must have thought.

Cooked Crayfish, $1 extra for cooking and another $3 for Garlic Butter

The Crayfish looks amazing when it comes out, they’re so fresh off the hot plate that the steam actually gets in the way of my first few photos! Even though having the Crayfish warmed and cooked in butter is essentially cooking the Crayfish twice the quality of the produce is so good that the texture has not suffered in the least. Suddenly there’s silence in the caravan only interupted with the occasional, ‘This is so GOOD’ and licking of fingers.

I’ve never had Crayfish before, but I have had Lobster which is a cousin. The texture and taste are relatively similar with the primary difference being size. The meat is easily pulled out of the tail and I soon find myself with a Crayfish lollipop on the end of my fork which I consume with glee. With the chilly weather I can’t really imagine eating it any other way, but another couple comes in while we are eating and seem to be enjoying their cold crayfish eaten simply with lemon and vinegar.

Mussels - $12 a dozen

The servings of mussels are more than generous and there are easily two dozen mussels in total on all of our platters. Eaten simply with a generous squeeze of lemon I actually find myself enjoying the mussels more than the Crayfish! The body of the mussels are big and juicy and despite just coming out of the ocean have a very clean flavour.

Whitebait Patty - $12

After having an amazing Whitebait omelet at Fleur’s only a few days prior there’s no way I can resist ordering the Whitebait patty. The patty is cooked simply, a few eggs scrambled with a generous serving of Whitebait and is a great way to end off the meal each of us wolfing down our triangles.

Or so I thought. Astroboy and rin take one look at each other and end up ordering another Crayfish for themselves! Determined not to be outdone I order another batch of mussels and find myself quite possessive of them, I end up sharing with oldguy when it’s obvious that there’s no way I’m finishing this batch off on my own.

Stuffed to the brim at this point we roll our way on our back into the car and head down the highway towards Christchurch and the last few days of our stay. Almost like a reflection of our moods, the weather turns a few hundred meters down the road and the car is engulfed in rain again! It’s almost enough to make you turn around and contemplate just one more Crayfish…

The Cow, Wanaka, New Zealand

Minh — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:49 +0000

Our trip to New Zealand is a first for most of us, Astroboy is actually New Zealand born but defected to Australia many years ago, she immediately becomes our expert in all things NZ (much to her dismay). Having never had a proper opportunity to explore New Zealand we decided the best way to tackle the country would be via epic road trip! Thus we planned our route, 10 days of driving in a loop around South Island with stops in Moraki, Wanaka, Franz Josef Glacier, Lake Brunner, Hamner Springs and finally Christchurch.

Day 2, Moeraki to Wanaka

Our eating adventures in Moeraki at Fleurs Place took somewhat longer than expected, by the time we leave its almost 2pm! The decision is made to skip over Queenstown and head straight to Wanaka. Unfortunately our gorgeous weather has ended and things are looking decidedly overcast by the time we roll into town. Wanaka is essentially a ski town and driving around I’m immediately reminded of Jindabyne as the town is built around the shore of Lake Wanaka.

The Cow. Not sure what the Queen has to do with the Cow but I loved their menu!

A little eaten and worn out by the driving we decide to take a local recommendation and keep it simple with Pizza at The Cow. The directions seem simple enough, head down until you see the Post Office and take a right. Somehow we drive past 3 times before spotting a tiny alleyway and the entrance to The Cow. I’m immediately charmed by the exposed ceilings, the booths tucked along the walls and the sight of the open fireplace and we decide to relax and eat in rather than take away as per our original intentions.

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Fleur’s Place, Moeraki, New Zealand

Minh — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:00:52 +0000

Feeling a little restless earlier in the year I decided to organise a holiday, tossing between Tasmania and New Zealand. In the end the only thing that tipped my hand was a Jetstar sale to Christchurch and I promptly bought my tickets and proceeded to forget about the holiday. Jump forward a few months later and the team was nominated for Nuffnang and going to Singapore! I was ecstatic, then disappointed (read crushed) upon realising that the dates for Singapore coincided exactly with my New Zealand trip.

After a bit of agonising I decided to go ahead with the New Zealand trip having already organised the majority of our routes and not wanting to let down my friends. After all, I’ve been to Singapore before and the only thing I knew about New Zealand was that:

They have a lot of sheep (delicious, delicious sheep).
Skiing is popular, snowboarding too.
A small trilogy known as The Lord of the Rings was filmed there.
Strange accents. I would soon learn that my pronunciation of ‘Six’ would instantly out me as an Australian.

In the end I didn’t regret going to New Zealand at all, it’s next to impossible to regret going on a holiday regardless of where you end up.

I also would have never have had the opportunity to eat an amazing dinner at Fleur’s Place in Moeraki, followed closely by an equally awesome breakfast the next day.

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© Minh for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dessert, Dinner, favourites, New Zealand, Seafood

Burger Battle, New Zealand Style

squishies — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:00:56 +0000

The second and final part of my two-part series of our eats in New Zealand’s beautiful South Island is a burger battle!

In the ring we have the newly found (i.e. we just found it) Red Star Luxury Burgers challenging the old favourite Fergburger for the title of EST’s Burger Champion of New Zealand.

The opponents are rearing to go, so… let’s get ready to ruuuummmble!

In the Red Corner…

Hailing from Wanaka, we have the challenger Red Star Luxury Burgers – a place that has just come onto our radar this year. I’m not sure how long it’s been around, but if it’s been there for a while I have no idea why we never noticed it before during all the years we’ve visited!

Our first day in New Zealand’s lovely South Island consisted of a very early morning wake-up followed by a 3-hour flight and a 6-hour drive. It was late by the time we drove into Wanaka, all bleary-eyed tired and hungry. We were going to settle for cooking instant noodles in the apartment once we checked in (but really didn’t feel like it) until someone pointed out the burger joint on the opposite side of the road.

Just as we trooped inside, the waitress came out with a couple of the burgers. Our eyes fairly popped out of our heads – the burgers were humongous! And oh they looked ever so tasty. With heightened expectations, we ordered and were not the least bit disappointed. We were all astounded by the freshness and deliciousness of the burgers.

I was too tired to take photos that night, so we went again – this time with some more friends in tow.

Virgin - Chickpea Patties, Salad, Sundried Tomato Hummus, Sweet Chilli and Minted Yoghurt ($12)

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The Hub, Wanaka, New Zealand

squishies — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:00:29 +0000

A group of friends and I travelled to New Zealand’s South Island for a week of snowboarding in August. The boys decided that they were going to cook for most of the trip (and oh boy, did they!) so we didn’t eat out all that much (to the relief of my wallet). We did however manage to visit a restaurant and pigged out at two burger joints – look out for the versus post from me next! It will be exciting! =D (Maybe…)

The resort that we stayed at boasted a pretty nice looking restaurant and going by our adage of “we’re overseas, we have to eat out at least once” we booked in a dinner at The Hub. It was a bit amusing when F made the booking but realised after hanging up that they never asked what time he wanted the reservation for. Sure enough, five minutes later, the restaurant called back sheepishly (no pun intended) asking the time we wanted for the reservation.

I hadn’t had a proper look at the restaurant when we first checked in, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that it looked quite warm and welcoming – also highly polished. They had these huge windows, but because it was night, they only reflected the interior, but I could imagine it giving way to those glorious white-tipped mountain peaks in the distance.

Bread and Butter

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© squishies for eatshowandtell, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, Dessert, lamb, Seafood