Cents and the City

Matakana Village Farmers Market

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:58:00 +0000

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting the Matakana Village Farmers Market with Sam and Tanya. Already a seasoned visitor to Matakana, Sam has been waging an intense war with annaisannamatthews on foursquare (or something like that) for the mayoralty of the farmers market. As it stands, Sam has recently regained control of the Market, but the situation could change at any moment. Stay tuned.

The Matakana Farmers Market is a permanent fixture in the village, a faux-rustic wooden board complex, much sturdier than the likes of other markets you'll find in Auckland and else where (which are often just a multiplex of Warehouse marquees.) But it's cute, and it caters astutely to the tastes of the Jaffas (like myself) that frequent it every Saturday morning. It is the place to be, darling. The Market is open from 8am - 1pm every Saturday, and as I found driving back through the Village on a particularly gorgeous sunny day (whilst it rained down in Auckland), the place can become chocca. So, if you're like me and believe in the philosophy of the early bird gets the worm, 8am, or soon after, is an ideal time to find a park while there is still plenty of them and enjoy theMarket at a leisurely pace.

Viet Q Foods makes some delicious summer rolls in prawn, pork and prawn, and vegetarian ($12 for 4). These things are as good an example of a summer roll if ever I tasted one. Did you just say 'Is that a pansy I see in that roll over there?' Why yes it is! Edible flowers makes an appearance in many things sold at theMatakana Market, the vegetarian summer rolls included. You have the option of a traditional fish sauce based dipping sauce, or a less conventional hoisin and peanut one (I was partial to the fish sauce one, Sam preferred the other.) So fresh and tasty, they make you feel positively virtuous, unlike eating some of the things to follow...

Silvana's Sicilian Foods is a stall specialising in traditional Sicilian treats including Sicilian cannoli, arancini, take-home lasagnes and more. The moment I laid eyes on the cannoli, I knew I had to have them. Even if it was 8.20 am (which I'd ordinarily deem too early for creamy-custard fillings) I'd been after these babies for a while, and I was finally going to taste one. At $2 each, they're a steal byMatakana Market standards. Let me break it down for you: the outside was like a sweet and crispy, deep-fried wonton wrapper, enclosing an rich vanilla custard cream. They're delicious, don't get me wrong, but I was left wanting a little sumthin-sumthin, like a lick of caramel a la brandy snaps. There were a number of things I had to forgo in the name of saving space, but next time I'd love to try her suppli, rice balls filled with porcini mushrooms and blue vein cheese, and her involtini di melanzani con ricotta (eggplant rolls filled with ricotta.)

Cannolis, mmmmmmm

iCater serves all sorts of dishes from breakfasty items to these cute little boats ($7 each) and some delicious barbecued mussels wrapped in bacon. The variety made it hard when it came time to choosing which dish to have, the smoked snapper kedgeree being an obvious choice as it was breakfast time. After humming and haa-ing I plumped in the end for the duck and lentil chilli which, while nice, lacked the serious spice I'd expect from a chilli. The garlic, chilli and coriander garnish on the top however really brought the dish to life. Next time I visit I'll be going with my gut (both literally and figuratively) and ordering the kedgeree.

Cobara Authentic Foods makes a mean pottle of dukkah ($11 each), with spicy, Tuscan and fennel-rich variations if traditional isn't for you. After the monetary set-back of procuring a container of dukkah, I thought I best spread my (limited) wealth elsewhere, but they also make a range of nut butters, the almond butter being a surprising unsung hero of the market and personal favourite.

Lothlorien Winery make a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including a delectable apple and feijoa juice ($5 a bottle). What's really cool is that all their samples are served to you in glass shot glasses. Classy touch. Sam was goading me to sample their stronger stuff, but I thought I'd leave the feijoa wine and liqueur for the time being.

Other stalls and happenings of note:

Windfall Foods makes a fantastic tomato relish. Like seriously. If you have a weakness of preserves, pickles and other stuff in jars, this stall is right for you.

Mustard Makers don't just make mustards, as their name would imply, but also these jars of dried spices and herbs which you can mix up at home to make fresh and easy tzatziki and herb and onion dip. The spicy chilli jar doubles as a dip or marinade base.

The time that Sam made me do a shot of wheat grass and filmed me doing it. It wasn't as unpleasant as I thought it would be, but it did remind me of a number of things mushed together that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Goes down easier than an shot of tequila, but that aftertaste must be quickly remedied with a shot of something from Lotherlorien Winery or similar.

Matakana Market is open rain or shine, but make the most of the improving weather and take a scenic drive up North to enjoy the Market while the weather is golden.

Matakana Village Farmers Market

2 Matakana Valley Road,

Matakana

Open every Saturday from 8am - 1pm

Restaurant review: Wine Chambers

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:58:00 +0000

I’d firstly like to wish everyone a (very belated) Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! I would secondly like to apologise for my slackness in posting, I have been eating, just somewhat less frequently than before. Nothing like a bit of retail/standing up all day to make you too tired to seek food outside of your own home after work.

A few days before Christmas, on the day my Grabone voucher was about to expire (yes, one of those again, they’re like the new Entertainment book) Nathan and I had a long lunch on one of the few beautiful days we’ve had this summer atWine Chambers on Shortland Street. Having been bounced at The Long Room the night before for wearing a t-shirt, I’d sent poor Nathan home the next day to get a proper shirt on him so the same thing wouldn’t happen at Wine Chambers. Alas, there were few suits in sight this lunch time (most likely having finished work for the year) and there was even a few back-packing carrying, sand-shoe wearing people at the table next to us. But don’t be mistaken, Wine Chambers is a swish looking place. The entrance to what is one of Auckland’s few remaining historical buildings is gorgeous and the restaurant has majestic chandeliers and Victorian pressed ceilings.

Wine Chambers describes its menu as having a ‘Mediterranean influence’ which has always been a dubious descriptor in my eyes. Russia is a little far from that body of big blue for stroganoff to be considered Mediterranean surely? I was grossly disappointed to be told that there was no confit rabbit as stated in the menu, but a confit chicken. Urgh chicken. I try to make a habit of not ordering my least favourite/most ordinary of meats when I’m dining out. So to the pistachio-crusted lamb rump it was, the dish being completed with crumbed truffle potato, aubergine and romesco sauce. I couldn’t fault the lamb, which was pink and tender and juicy, but the accompaniments were a different story. The aubergine had been pulverised to a gloopy slop and was the closest thing I’d had to baby food since I was one. No edge of creaminess, no particular flavour. The crumbed truffle potato cake wasn’t anything special either, with the barest whiff of the prized but ugly fungi. The romesco sauce was the sole bearer of real flavour, and I had no idea what a grilled half of a tomato was doing in my dish, because it was doing nothing for it.

A similarly mysterious tomato half appeared in Nathan’s pumpkin and feta gnocchi. The feta was soft and sharp, carrying most of the flavour; the beurre noisette i.e. sizzled sage and brown butter sauce was indistinguishable. Thankfully the gnocchi was exemplary, it was neither doughy nor under-cooked, and the walnut added a nice textural contrast to all the pillowiness.

Whilst the main course fell below expectations, dessert was delicious and indulgent. Two round scoops of a semi-bitter Belgian chocolate mousse sat atop rounds of (my favourite dessert at Valentines,) brandy snap. The richness was kept at bay by some sharp strawberries drizzled with a strawberry-balsamic vinegar sauce. My one major quibble is that there wasn’t enough of the latter!

Wine Chambers is an underwhelming restaurant given the prices they ask for, especially when you can see into Hotel De Brett’s Kitchen from where I was sitting. I sort of wished I was eating what was coming out of their kitchen instead. A rethink of dish composition wouldn’t go amiss if Wine Chambers wants to be known for more than just wine.

2.5/5

Lamb rump $36.50

Gnocchi (main) $26.50

Chocolate mousse $14.50

Wine Chambers

33 Shortland St

Auckland CBD

Ph. (09) 309 8191

Restaurant review: Ella Cafe and Lounge

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:09:00 +0000

“I love this place!” I declared to Nathan as we’re settling the bill. A man at the bar, obviously a local and repeat-patron at Ella overhears me and concurs. How had I not been here sooner?

Grabone was the catalyst for a visit that was well overdue. The rave-reviews over a year ago which welcomed Ella to the spot it now occupies at 118 Ponsonby Road had me willing a visit, but my wallet and reviewing target audience at the time (read: students) said otherwise. Now I am still a student, but my wallet now appears better nourished after some much needed summer employment and with an extra boast from a 2 for 1 Grabone voucher, Nathan and I found ourselves one Friday evening dining to the bouncing jazz at Ella Cafe and Lounge.

Ella is housed in a burgundy slit of a building; the walls of its narrow dining room plied with shelves upon shelves of wine bottles, full I might add. It’s super intimate in here, from the service to the closely placed tables to the ‘bar’ (read: counter). The feel of the place is relaxed, the sort of place locals (and less local, like ourselves) would go when use of the kitchen, or takeaways, is not an option, but it still retains an element of finery. A gorgeous, heavy velvet curtain is drawn across the open door, locking out the chilly evening breeze: I think I’m in love.

It’s a bistro, a pan-European one. But there’s no baloney in it’s variety. There’s albondigas from Spain and escargot from France; veal schnitzel and German potato salad from, you guessed it, Germany (and braised pork belly from Asia, just for good measure.) Such a mix I’ve found has often made for poor authenticity, but it is not the case at Ella. Nathan’s veal schnitzel and German potato salad was exquisite: the veal was crisp and juicy, without excess oiliness, and the potato salad was the stuff dreams are made of. A refreshing vinaigrette dressed the perfectly cooked potato, and the salad was given an extra lift by the slivers of gherkin and smattering of a mysterious spicy seed. I had a fair bit of schnitzel and the like in Europe earlier this year, but none such as good as can be found at Ella.

My lamb was a celebration of spring: the lamb was a blushing beauty and oh-so-tender, as was the emerald gems of broad beans and peas. The crowning glory of the dish was the wonderfully creamy pea puree which accompanied the dish; not in the least bit cloying, I made the disturbing realisation that it had a subtle but bizarre resemblance to the flavour of a cheeseburger (which is by no means a bad thing!). My one, if only, complaint was that the haricot beans could have done with a bit more time on the stove.

Dinner was rounded off by my most favoured dairy product, cheese. They serve cheeses by Over the Moon, a particularly apt name for how we felt as we sampled their Galatic Gold, a gooey and soft cheese with a orangey tone and washed rind. Nathan and I lingered for a while longer over a glass of wine while listening to the bouncing jazz bass and the the waiter teach the table next door how to use their birthday present (a wee gadget that adds oxygen to your glass of wine, supposedly enhancing its flavour!) I continued to declare several times after we’d left the restaurant how much I loved Ella and how much I’d like to go back, and if you are not acquainted with her already, you should seek an audience with her at once.

4/5

Lamb $31.90

Veal schnitzel $29.50

Galactic Gold cheese with fruit paste $10

Ella Cafe and Lounge

118 Ponsonby Rd,

Ponsonby

Auckland

Ph. (09) 378 7979

Restaurant review: Siri 7- Taste of Sri Lanka

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:28:00 +0000

Having worked literally a hop, skip and a jump away from Moshim’s Supermarket on Stoddard Rd on-and-off for years, I under appreciated what culinary delights lay in wait in the pokey, poorly-designed plaza.

Siri 7 was recently recognised in the 2011 Viva Takeout Awards, so the next time I worked around the corner from Moshims, I made sure I ate lunch out. The proprietor of Siri 7 is an extremely jolly and talkative guy, eager to share knowledge of Sri Lankan cuisine, especially after we had mentioned that we’d read about him in the paper.

The lump curry, a perfect parcel of curry, fried chicken, fragrant rice and hard-boiled egg, was a must. But Nathan beat me to the order, and so in the name of research, I was recommended by the owner to order the appa, wafery-cups made of rice flour, served with a chutney, sambal and fried egg.

I’ve yet to eat something off a banana leaf that disappointed me, as was the case at Siri-7. The spicy orange-coloured coconut relish was positively moreish, so much so that I had to be subtle with my assault on it lest Nathan should notice I was beginning to encroach on his share. The ‘lump’ included two curries, a vegetable one and a chicken one, both delicious; in fact, it was all delicious.

The appa was lighter and less to my liking; the chutney was comparatively flat compared to the complexity of the lump curry, but Nathan was more than happy to eat my share, in fact he rather liked it a lot. The sambal was tangy and full of onions, and there was simply not enough of it.

Jolly Mr Siri-7 came to check up on us to see how we liked everything, and even brought over some complimentary appetisers: golden croquettes of finely minced lamb which he explained were a popular starter in Sri Lanka. We could see why.

Deciding to visit is not an option, it’s a must, but if your choice of transport is the personal automobile, beware as Moshims Supermarket car park and clientele are notorious for causing parking lot mayhem.

4/5

Siri 7 - Taste of Sri Lanka

64 Stoddard Rd (inside Moshims Supermarket Plaza)

Mt Roskill

Auckland

Ph. (09) 629 1567

Vote for me in The Bloggers Awards 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:02:00 +0000

Awesome news! I'm a finalist in the The Bloggers Awards 2011 which celebrates great online writers! Please take two seconds of your time to click the badge above and 'like' Eat It Auckland (my newly rebranded blog; same content, different skin) if you've enjoyed reading Cents and the City and my Craccum column over the years :D

Thank you!

Restaurant review: Dosa Plaza

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:11:00 +0000

Since my previously meat-eating friend turned turned away from his life of sin, and now only feasts on vegetables and 'mock-meat' (why vegetarians would want to eat something that is in the likeness of what they have vowed not to eat, I'll never quite understand. Oh wait, yes I do, because it's awesome) I've been discovering more and more vegetarian restaurants and dishes which make a meat-free life bearable.

Dosa Plaza is a bizarre, but nonetheless delicious joint situated on Dominion Rd in the heart of Mt Roskill. Their specialty are dosa, a fermented pancake made from rice flour and lentils. Their tag-line boasts 'the world's widest menu in dosas' and they're not kidding. Menus must be sat down with and perused thoroughly here, and those incapable of making decisions at the best of times best stay away. I did feel that menu items such as the 'American chopsuey dosa' were unnecessary, if not a little disgusting sounding.

However our starter of pani puri was nothing short of scrumptious. You are given thin and crisp shells of chickpea batter which you delicately crack open and fill with the three condiments that accompany it: a very tasty chickpea curry, a sweet and sour water and a tamarind chutney. It's all crunch, and luscious chutney and curry in one mouthful. Mmm mmm!

So Sam's American chopsuey dosa was not ghastly, but who would want to eat something so far fetched from India in a dosa-house? My masala dosa combo was simply enormous, something I hope my amateur photography can convey clearly. This dosa was crisp, and stuffed with a somewhat bland spiced potato crush, dotted with black mustard seeds, but the dhal curry and coconut chutney that accompanied it more than made up for the potato's short-comings. But wait, there's more! There was also the addition of lentil patties done two ways (who would have thought one, rather boring looking pulse could have some many fascades?): as a spongey, snow-white cake and as crisp, deep-fried doughnut. As with all things in life, deep-fried won-out, but that didn't stop me from eating both of them anyway.

100% vegetarian, Dosa Plaza is a vego's haven. Everything is self-serve here, McDonald's style, despite Sam and I being the only customer's in the huge restaurant last Friday at lunch. Be wary of a rather obnoxious electronic bell and sign blinking the number that coincides with your order ticket signals 'order-up!' The muzak that plays in the background is of a new breed, and shockingly bad; we heard an interesting rendition of Europe's 'Final Coutdown' while we were there. In spite of all of this, provided you stick to the traditional menu - I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, there is some delicious vegetarian food to be had.

3/5

Pani Puri $7.50

Masala Dosa combo $13

American Chopsuey Dosa $11

Dosa Plaza

875 Dominion Rd

Mt Roskill

Auckland

Ph. (09) 629 6290

Restaurant review: Zap 2 Thai Cafe & Bar

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 01:15:00 +0000

I've been visiting Zap 2 in Balmoral for years now. They do, in my opinion, some of the best Thai in Auckland. Ask anyone. They're a suburban success story, expanding their once small restaurant into the shop next door to cater for their increasing patronage. Their prices are far more reasonable than any other Thai joint closer to the city, and I haven't once been disappointed. Takeaways is a popular choice but if you do decide to dine-in, BYOW is just a $1 per glass.

I like to start with their tod mun pla (deep-fried fish cakes) which are burnish-coloured delights, ripe with finely shredded kaffir lime leaves. A creature of habit, I follow this with my favourites, a red panang curry, pad prik grapow (a stir-fry flavoured with chilli and basil) and if we're pushing the boat out, pla tod (a whole deep-fried fish topped with sweet and sour chilli sauce.) I've yet to visitZap without someone ordering the perennial favourite, the pad thai, and last Wednesday when we visited for a post-exam celebration, there were three out of seven orders for pad thai from our table alone. Of course, Zap does a great rendition of it, and the portion is simply huge. There is often enough for tomorrow's breakfast, or a midnight snack.

Call me a bit of a thrift, but I took the left over gravy from my panang curry (of which there was a lot) and turned it into a second vegetable curry for lunch the next day but simmer in some fresh french beans and thinly sliced carrot and pork. Waste not, want not!

It's safe enough to wander in without a booking during the first half of the week, but by Friday you'd be hard pushed to find a table without calling ahead first.

4/5

Tod mun pla 5 pc $10

Panang curry $15

Pad prik grapow $13

Pla tod $17

Pad Thai $13

Zap 2 Thai Cafe & Bar

639 Dominion Rd

Balmoral

Auckland

Ph. (09) 638 6393

A Year in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:02:00 +0000

The end of another academic year is almost upon us (unless you’re stuck doing summer school, in which case, shame), and with that, comes the archetypal compilation of best foods and flavours encountered this year. As the great A.A. Gill, restaurant-reviewer extraordinaire once said, there’s nothing worse than writing about food that’s mediocre. Yes, there isn’t much wrong with it, but it isn’t that great either. This year’s list shuns such mediocrity and will hopefully reveal some secret places you didn’t realise had good kai, and some places that you’ll never hear the end of from me because it’s just so good. Without further adieu, here are some of this year’s best, in no particular order:

Best falafel pita/post-pump class protein pita – The Chilli Factor, every Saturday at the City Farmer’s Market, Britomart and Saturday and Sunday at La Cigale, 69 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell. Ph. 021 141 7348

Yinon Shimi makes some fine, fine falafel, tahini and hummus. In fact, everything he makes is good. It is all homemade, and his falafels are teeny golden nuggets of joy. You can also buy his fiery harissa hummus, salsa, chilli-pesto, feta and pita-bread, all divine, and it’s only $6 for a full-to-groaning falafel pita with the works. The best part of eating his falafel pita is wiping the flour off your satisfied grin afterwards.

Best late, late night feed – New Flavour Restaurant, 541 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden.

There are, unfortunately, very few places of substance open in the wee small hours, but if you’re ever down that way and in need of a good feed, New Flavour aka. Midnight Dumplings is the place to go. The sight of women hand-making dumplings at the table next to you may give off a bit of a sweat-shop vibe and be a little off-putting for some, but they are nonetheless delicious. One of the few places open till 4am, $10 buys you a steaming-hot plateful of dumplings in an infinite number of flavours (my favourites include the mutton and carrot, beef and fennel, and the pork and chives.) It is mandatory to eat them with lashings of black vinegar or red chilli oil, or both, and there are often enough leftovers for breakfast later that same morning.

Best for hard-to-find ethnic cuisine – Auckland International Cultural Festival, Mt Roskill Auckland War Memorial Park.

The Auckland International Cultural Festival happens every year around March (look out for signs in bus-shelters everywhere next year) and plays host to a number of international food stalls, including the esoteric Ethiopian cuisine. Injera is a spongy pancake with a uniquely sour flavour, topped with all sorts of delicious curries, stews and vegetables. How do you eat it? Simple: rip off pieces of injera and scoop up the toppings. It rained the day we went and things can get messy, so it pays to take another person with you: one to hold the umbrella and the other to hold the plate whilst you both gorge. The plates are big, but trust me when I say you might not want to share. You can also partake in an Ethiopian coffee ceremony: it was seriously some of best coffee I’ve ever tasted, which makes sense, since coffee originated from Ethiopia.

Heart attack waiting to happen (but so worth it – kind of) – Little and Friday, 12 Melrose St, Newmarket or 43C Eversleigh Rd, Belmont.

Being a medical student, I often feel a mixed sense of self-loathing and pleasure when I’m at Little and Friday. Much akin to smoking, I know that it is bad for me, but why then does it taste so good? Their rosemary cheese straws are the butteriest things to have ever passed my lips, and their cream and raspberry jam doughnuts are an icing-sugared time-bomb, but who cares! Not keen on all that sugar? How about a leek and haloumi tart topped with roasted vine-tomatoes? The devil is in the details here, with antique cutlery in communal jars, mint and cinnamon flavoured water (quirky but it works) in old-school milk bottles, and individual sticks of butter resembling pieces of yellow taffy twisted in waxed paper (because apparently you need more). Plus instead of order numbers, they have giant animal figurines instead, how cute is that?

Best fancy dessert-date – Mikano, 1 Solent St, Mechanics Bay.

Everybody has an Entertainment card. Even if you don’t have one, you’ll know someone who does. And one card is all you need to open up a world of finer things. Chocolate Boutique is great, but often over-run with tourists, and Mt Eden charges inexplicable prices for pretty average slices. So next time you’re planning a late night date with the girls, or a girl, consider the dessert menus of fine-dining restaurants everywhere. My personal favourite is Mikano next to the Port, an incredibly chic place with fabulous views of the waterfront and helicopter take-offs and landings. The service is impeccable, and the dessert delightful. The menu is constantly changing, but the chocolate fondant I had was pure luxury, and the accompanying espresso ice cream with liquored-crumbs was a match made in my mouth.

Best dang Lebanese and pita for pittance – Shefco Cedar Bakery, 827 Dominion Rd, Mt Roskill.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. I love Shefco. In much the same way that Tom aka. Joseph Gordon-Levitt loved Summer’s smile, hair, knees and heart-shaped birthmark, I love Shefco’s astringent spinach pastries, the generous herb-crust of their za’atar bread, their complimentary baklava with hot drinks and their freshly-baked pita for next-to-nothing. I feel joyous for how much I get for so little money, and wrong at the same time. Shefco is an Auckland institution that must continue long after our bellies are full and we are tired of pita (like that could ever happen.)

Published in Craccum Issue 23, 2011

Thanks all for reading this year! Whilst this is my last restaurant review for Craccum for this year, Cents and the City will still be bringing you nom-places to go after the November 3 (end of exams, see?) Until then, stay classy, and don't stop eating! If you guys have any suggestions for places to go by the way, just click the 'Contact' button at the top of the page and let me know!

Restaurant review: Shefco Cedar Bakery

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:46:00 +0000

Once an obscure cuisine in New Zealand, Middle Eastern kebabs have since taken over Auckland, and can be found in every Westfield mall from Henderson to Albany. A greasy kebab in the wee-small-hours is a staple in Britain for a late night out, but when have the British ever been hailed for their great taste in food? I must admit I have a soft spot for Middle Eastern fare. The garlic, the onion, the spices, the spit. Luscious yoghurt, hummus and tahini, everything is so flavourful, so decadent, so delicious. But not all kebabs are created equal and few places today deserve to be called good; the rest give kebabs a bad name. Thankfully one grey and windy Sunday morning, two woeful All Blacks supporters, distressed to hear the bad news about Dan Carter, wound up in the heart of Mt Roskill chowing down on a Middle Eastern feast.

Dominion Road is home to some of Auckland’s best-kept food secrets, some of which are song worthy. At one end there’s the likes of Two Fifteen and Merediths serving up some of Auckland’s finest food, and prices to boot. But as you head towards the humbler end of Dominion, the prices begin to dwindle to what we like to call ‘affordable’ whilst the quality and flavour remains admirable. Shefco Cedar Bakery lies halfway between the old Videon store and United Video and has been turning out fabulous Lebanese cuisine for over a decade. Unable to face the idea of another brunch of overly-priced eggs benedict and coffee, I suggested checking out Shefco, a recommendation from my aunt that I’d yet to follow up. It ain’t fancy, and one of my plates had the unusual ability to spin around whenever someone took a stab at the lamb shawarma, but you could tell it one of those places the locals love.

There are just a few tables inside and out, but most people prefer to do takeaways and there was a steady stream of customers coming in and out from eleven something till when we left after twelve. One guy came in and bought, I kid you not, at least a dozen packs of their freshly baked pita made on site. They were so fresh in fact, that there was condensation still in their bags. They also have a deli and grocers towards the back, the former selling imported feta, haloumi and a selection of olives. There are baklava aplenty here, also baked by them, and enormous bags of oregano and za’atar.

The most surprising thing about Shefco is its prices. Things here are, although I hate to use the phrase (as it somehow implies poor quality), dirt cheap, and the tendency is to order more than you are capable of eating. Arriving for the early lunch slot, many of the breakfast menu items were long gone, including the fattah (pita bread layered with yoghurt, tahini and hummus). Nathan rather conservatively ordered a selection of pastries ($2.50 each), one spinach, one feta, and the last lahem b’ajeen (a pizza of lamb mince) and a macchiato. I on the other hand thought it was as good a time as any to make my first meal of the day a plate of lamb shawarma on rice, accompanied by a Turkish Apple Tea, of course.

What makes Shefco the sort of place that stands out from the rest? The pieces of spit roasted lamb that graced dish wasn’t of the reconstituted variety that makes you think it came from something that used to ‘baa’ but you couldn’t be sure. It was charcoaled and meaty, dressed with lashings of hot chilli and refreshing garlic yoghurt, lying on a bed of yellow rice bursting with the tones of turmeric. The hummus was an unusual variant to ones found elsewhere, an ultra-smooth paste lacking that distinctive garlicky flavour but tasting like the purest essence of chickpeas. The lack of garlic was certainly not a bad thing, as it was more than made up for by the toum (garlic sauce). Deemed the highlight of the dish, this slightly sour and oh-so-creamy sauce was exploding of course with the flavour of garlic, and neither Nathan nor I could get enough of it. Nathan’s pastries were equally fabulous, each encased by a pillowy-soft, golden and bread-like pastry. Nathan’s preference was for the feta cheese variety, which had a salty and oniony twang, whilst I favoured the spinach, which was extremely tasty and surprisingly tangy. The lahem b’ajeen was topped with lean minced lamb, tasty and juicy with the flavour of capsicum and onion ringing through, and its thin pita-like base remaining miraculously crispy. To end a sweet meal even more sweetly, our hot drinks (all of them do) came with a piece of baklava, which was chock-full of crushed nuts doused in a sweet syrup in wrapped in filo to form a cigar.

When was the last time your brunch bill for two totalled to under $45? Until last Sunday, my answer was never. Our bill at Shefco came to just $25.50, and even now as I write this, I find this figure hard to fathom. As one fellow patron was leaving with his takeaways, he declared to his friend ‘I’m excited about this.’ This statement perfectly sums up my feelings about Shefco. Great kebabs and the like are hard to come by nowadays, and to know that such great food can be so affordable is an exciting thing indeed.

4/5

Lamb shawarma $9

Lahem baajeen $2.50

Spinach pastry $2.50

Feta cheese pastry $2.50

Turkish Apple Tea $3

Macchiato $3.50

- May-Lee Wong

Shefco Cedar Bakery

827 Dominion Rd,

Mt Roskill,

Auckland

Ph. (09) 620 5400

Published in Craccum Issue 22, 2011

Restaurant review: De Grand Thai

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 01:40:00 +0000

Life’s hard being a vegetarian. I wouldn’t know though, as I am not one. But my friend Sam is, and when it comes to dining out, it’s slim-pickings. Most restaurants feature only one or two vegetarian options, often a goat cheese and onion something or a risotto that, and a lot of the half decent vegetarian places are cafes which close by three. So our decision to visit De Grand Thai on the night of the inaugural All Blacks vs. France game was based on the existence of their dedicated vegetarian menu.

De Grand is situated near the intersection of Market and Great South Road, home to some neighbourhood favourites such as Diamond Takeaways, Kiwiana Fish and Chips and Sri Mahkota. Having visited De Grand, I think it is safe to say that the culinary integrity of this neighbourhood hub is well and truly intact. The name De Grand, whilst not particularly Thai in flavour, suddenly becomes less silly once you step through the front door. The restaurant is deceptively large, and the fit-out impressive. The prominent bar to the front of the place is, in a word, grand, and the front dining room that shares this space is a sight for sore-eyes, with slim wooden slats adorning the ceiling and opposite wall allowing dappled light to filter through, lighting up the ornately patterned wall behind it. No corner has been cut in this place, and everything is thoughtful. The tables are topped with black, be-speckled granite, the glassware and flatware are fine, and there is an elaborate chandelier at the centre of the larger dining room made from metal-casts of leaves. Everything is exquisite, except for the prices.

I guess someone has to pay for all the finery, although it should be noted that they have a takeaway menu where dishes are a few dollars cheaper than if you were to dine in. The menu itself is exhaustive, one of the few things that makes this restaurant so obviously Thai. Entrees range from $10-17 and feature your usuals (fish cakes, spring rolls, kari puffs) and some fusion-additions such as lamb cutlets with Thai herbs, and mieng prawns with a ginger and tamarind sauce. Taking the lead from Sam who has already been here before, we started with a plate of vegetable spring rolls. These are gorgeous and fresh, filled with shredded lettuce, cabbage, carrot, capsicum, spring onion, mint and coriander, the latter of which was not over-powering in the way that puts a lot of people off the herb. The dish was finished with a variant (the good kind) on sweet chilli sauce, which was zingy, slightly chunky and faintly reminiscent of marmalade.

Choosing one thing (I could only afford one) from the mains menu was hard: a panang curry here, or a basil and garlic stir-fry there? There were an unusually large number of lamb and duck dishes to choose from, and a dish of drunken noodles certainly piqued my curiosity. The vegetarian menu is smaller than the conventional one, but still manages to encompass a good variety of dishes (nineteen in all) so any accompanying vegetarians will, for once, be spoilt for choice. In the end, Sam challenged me to choose something I’d never had before and so I plumped for the aptly named spicy curry, a country style hot curry with Thai herbs and vegetables. Sam on the other hand, against his own advice, ordered the vegetable pad thai, a traditional stir-fried rice noodle dish with tofu, egg, peanuts, bean sprouts and spring onion.

My spicy curry, true to its namesake, was hot, and thanks to the super-efficient and attentive service, my water glass never ran dry. A take-off from the coconut-laden green or red curry, the gravy of my dish was more of a fiery tom-yum soup, resplendent in herbal, almost jungle-esque aromatics, groaning with matchsticks of fresh ginger and tender bamboo shoot. They were fairly generous with the pork, but not so much with the mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower and capsicum, which made only guest appearances in the curry. Sam’s vegetarian pad Thai was a nice rendition of (almost) everyone’s favourite dish, which had the added benefit of fat cashews and tofu pok (deep-fried tofu pieces) gracing the plate as well.

De Grand is a luxury dining experience most akin to a lavish spa resort in Phuket. The surroundings are beautiful, the service is brilliant, and the food is delicious. De Grand probably doesn’t need another rave review, but be prepared to pay top dollar. If you aren’t, you could always do takeaways instead.

Fresh Spring Rolls $11

Vegetable Pad Thai $19.50

Pork Spicy Curry $21

Steamed Jasmine Rice $2.50

4/5

- May-Lee Wong

De Grand Thai

93 Great South Rd,

Greenlane

Ph. (09) 522 2233

Published in Craccum Issue 22, 2011

Restaurant review: Satya Southern Indian Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Dahi Puri

Sun-dried yoghurt chilies

Lamb Gongura

Green Bean Coconut Curry

My name is May-Lee, and I am a masochist. Whilst I don’t derive pleasure out of other people’s pain, I certainly derive pleasure from my own. Whilst dining out at Satya South Indian Restaurant in Sandringham, Nathan brought up a very appropriate article he read recently, on what makes eating spicy food so addictive. The pain that one feels from eating a hot chilli triggers the release of endorphins that counteract such pain, making the act of eating hot food a pleasure. So there you have it, that’s why I am a masochist. Thankfully, this characteristic only has a role in my foodie, not private, life and naturally, dinner last Friday night at Satya was a pleasure in itself.

Anyone who has not heard of the Satya fame is clearly from out of town, or just in Auckland for the Rugby World Cup. Satya makes up a family of four Indian restaurants of the same name, found in Sandringham, Ponsonby, K’ Rd, and in the last month, Mt Eden. Still doesn’t ring a bell? Have you ever heard of dahi puri? It is a house specialty at Satya, which their menu very fittingly describes as a dish that ‘regulars hate to share.’ They are a magical concoction that plays on every texture and taste that is in one’s possession: a light, almost rice cracker-like base of chickpeas, topped with a dollop of smooth boiled potato and lashings of yoghurt and a tangy tamarind chutney, and finally topped off with chopped mango, fresh coriander and ground, roasted spices. In one bite, it is sweet and salty, spicy and sour, crunchy and creamy, and lusciously soft in all the right places. In truth, these babies were the main attraction in coming to Satya, but I was also prepared to sample the other South Indian fare they had to offer, and if I had never heard of it, I was probably willing to eat it.

Satya’s Sandringham fit-out is at best, humble, which has it fitting in perfectly with the rest of the Sandringham Road shops of kebab stores, dairies, and spice traders. Waiting to be seated, one glimpses not just the shop-front dining room, but also what’s going on in the kitchen. It would appear that the kitchen and atrium are one, with partitions that don’t quite reach the ceiling separating the two, and the heady aroma of a thousand spices permeating the breach. The front dining room was unfortunately cold as the door was permanently left open, and even the consumption of hot, hot chillies could do little to heat things up. The menu, true to form, was extensive, but as this was a Southern Indian joint (most Indian restaurants in Auckland are Northern Indian in origin) there were many more dishes to add to the usual butter chicken and tikka masala. Traditional South Indian cuisine is much lighter than its Northern counterparts, featuring less cream and more zest. A curry of lamb gongura caught my eye, whilst Nathan was seduced by a, not just vegetarian, but vegan curry of green beans and coconut flavoured with South Indian spices. Before our mains arrived however, we took to trying their dahi puri, sun-dried yoghurt chillies, and gun powder.

Gun powder. The name tells you very little, except perhaps in hinting that it may blow your head off. Described as a mix of roasted lentils, garlic, spices and chilli powder, what arrived wasn’t so much an entrée as a condiment that would have been more at home amongst the tamarind chutney and hot pickle. Nonetheless, it was a generously hot, spicy and tasty fusion of its individual components, which came in handy when our respective curries, ordered both as a medium, came to us tasting like a mild. The sun-dried yoghurt chillies were a real treat but only to be attempted by chilli-enthusiasts like myself. Dried in the sun and then marinated in yoghurt to extract the unbearable aspect of their heat, and then deep-fried. What arrived at our table was a pile of crisp and yellow whole chillies, crunchy to the bite, with a complex smoky and salty flavour that I’d imagine would make this an awesome snack to have with a few beers while watching a World Cup match.

My lamb gongura was light and tangy; rather than heavy coconut or cream, it was a tomato based curry with a decidedly piquant flavour lent by the gongura leaves. I am pleased to report that there was an absence of rubbishy-gristle filled lamb pieces, and that the gravy was lovingly mopped up with our golden, flaky paratha bread. Going with the theme of the unexpected, Nathan’s green bean and coconut curry was, in my opinion, not a curry at all. There was no gravy, not even a dry one, but with all that said, the shredded coconut that laced the dish had a wonderful nuttiness to it, and Nathan absolutely loved it. The beans had been unfortunately stewed to point I like to call ‘over-cooked’, but it was flavoured with a lovely and complex palate of cumin, black mustard seeds, and other spices which was the dish’s saving grace.

One of the things I enjoy most about Indian food is the variety it has to offer, and with a few well-chosen dishes here and there, one can compile a feast fit for a maharaja. As for my being addicted to pain? That urge was well satiated by Friday night’s feast, and whilst there was no post-curry fallout (they hail my stomach the ‘iron tank’), our two-litre water jug was drained in no time at all.

3/5

Dahi Puri 6 pcs $9.95

Gun Powder $2.95

Sun-dried yoghurt chillies $2.95

Green Bean Coconut Curry $14.95

Lamb Gongura $18.95

Paratha $2.95

Rice $2.95

- May-Lee Wong

Satya South Indian Restaurant

515 Sandringham Rd,

Sandringham,

Auckland

Ph. (09) 845 8451

Published in Craccum Issue 21, 2011

New review at Cheapeats.co.nz

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 05:51:00 +0000

Just thought I'd let you guys know, I've just started writing as a guest reviewer for cheapeats.co.nz. It's a great website that publishes weekly reviews on places where you can dine out for $20 or less. You can check out my review on Mamak by clicking here.

Happy eating everyone!

Cafe review: La Cigale

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:51:00 +0000

What is your preferred breakfast? Weetbix? Baked beans on toast? How about some yoghurt and granola, or better yet, some eggs bene or a full fried English breakfast? Having recently had the opportunity to travel to Mother England and across the channel to the Continent, I experienced a wholly different kind of breakfast in the latter, than the sort I’d been used to and had been instilled by the former. I met the Continental breakfast, where the food is light (as light as a croissant can be) and the coffee is black. Although milk-filled espresso is prolific in Paris, a traditionalist would say that at breakfast, black is best. It is not done to order jus d’orange (orange juice) as I did on Saturday morning at La Cigale when I ordered an Orangina (a pulpy and effervescent orange juice native to France) to accompany my Continental breakfast. But we are far from France, so I’m sure the rules may be bent a little.

La Cigale is an Auckland institution situated in the creative-industrial end of Parnell where the sight of BMWs and Audis trolling the quiet St Georges Bay Rd on a Saturday morning is the only hint that a little piece of France awaits you. La Cigale is housed in what is literally a warehouse, and whilst its tenure speaks more garage than Gallic, the atmosphere is lively and bustling on Saturdays and Sundays when they have their French-style farmers market. On these days, a sea of makeshift marquees are set up with not only fresh produce, but artisan meats, dips, spices, sweet things and of particular note some interesting Middle Eastern bread. The market alone has enough goodies and ready-to-eat food to have you on your way, but on Saturday I was there to sample La Cigale’s in-house café and see what all the fuss is about.

La Cigale is every gourmand’s dream, from the huge trays of freshly baked pissaladière (onion, olive and anchovy tart) to the Caspian sea salt that adorned the tables and the tiny burnish-coloured cannoli (caramelised and cream-filled pastries) winking at you behind their glass-cabinet. As I eyed the weekend brunch menu, I looked past the croquet madams, croissants and omelettes for the most French but unconventional dish I could find, and arrived at the Continental breakfast. It was a plate that summarised the best qualities of fine French fare: simplicity and high quality. The tomatoes, lovingly dressed with salt, pepper and a fantastic extra-virgin olive oil, were succulently sweet, and the muddle of juice and dressing a dream to mop up with my basket of fantastically fresh and crusty baguette. I slowly picked and chose my way through the thinly sliced ham and salami, taking a nibble from a tart cornichon here, and a slice of hard-boiled egg there. The smudge of mustard was as hot as wasabi and the cheese hard and full-flavoured. My one and only complaint would be for more cheese, please (I have a penchant for fermented dairy-products.)

It would be so easy to while away hours at La Cigale, all a person could ever want is here. Come in for breakfast, then stroll around, picking up a baguette, some cheese from the fromagerie, and ah hell, get what ever the heck you want, and if you wait just long enough, you’ll be ready to go for round two at lunch. If you think that’s great, you’ll be even more pleased to know that La Cigale does a dinner service as well.

4/5

Continental breakfast $14.50

Orangina $4

- May-Lee Wong

La Cigale

69 St Georges Bay Rd

Parnell

Auckland

Ph. (09) 366 9361

Published in Craccum Issue 20, 2011

Cafe Review: Vinyl Coffee Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 04:04:00 +0000

Vinyl Stack

Gotta get a back view - Vinyl Stack

Meat breakfast burrito

For anyone who has ever grown up where school balls were the social event of the season, they would know that the lead up to, and in particular, the day of the ball, can make the female species go a bit batty. You’ve woken up and realised you hate your dress, M.A.C has miraculously double-booked your appointment so now there’s no space for you and your hair has decided to go native. What is a girl to do? Last weekend I attended one of a couple of university balls being held, and feeling determined to be the calm and self-actualised person I thought I was, what better way to start a pre-determinedly stressful day with a relaxed brunch?

On our first sunny, end-of-winter’s day, I met Nathan at Vinyl Coffee Shop at the end of the main Dominion Rd drag closest to the city. It was Nathan’s serendipitous discovery (his favourite bike shop is right next door) which he is allowed to take credit for, and which I’ll now share the secret with you. It is a beautifully brightly-lit space, made all the more beautiful by the sun-streaming through the urban-loft style windows. Bare light bulbs hang from the ceiling on black snake-like cords that mysteriously taper off into the ceiling and the wall behind the counter is roughly painted concrete with rusty-brick peeking out in places. The atmosphere is thoughtful and cool, and the clientele much the same. Tattoos are the order of the day, and people who take their music seriously (it is called Vinyl after all.) With all that said, the place is cosy and fills up quick, which found Nathan and I dining at one of the small tables kerbside.

The menu features my favourite meal of the day, breakfast, all day and a slightly smaller selection of lunch options. Any menu that features curly fries is a winner in my books (which is why Denny’s gets one more star than is deserved), and here you can order it as is or tacked on to the side of one of their delicious sounding burgers. Vinyl impressively caters for not just vegetarians, but vegans as well, with a number of vege stacks, tofu burgers and scrambles to choose from. If none of those will do, however, they have a selection of baked goods (vegan ginger slice anyone?) to suit. I couldn’t go past the breakfast burrito filled with chorizo, free range scrambled egg, rocket, guacamole, salsa, spicy beans and sour cream whilst Nathan was taken with the vinyl stack, which featured potato rosti stacked with grilled vine tomatoes, free range streaky bacon, chorizo, thyme-roasted portabello mushroom, char veges and topped with a free range poached egg and hollandaise sauce.

I’m not going to lie, Vinyl’s breakfast burrito (now available on weekdays as well as weekends) was one of the best breakfast dishes I’ve found in Auckland. Seriously. The salsa, served on the side in a shot glass, was fresh and spritely, whilst the burrito was generously portioned and full of flavour. There was no beating about the bush with the chilli, the burrito was hot (just the way I like it) and it had me reaching for the water once my mocha (which by the way was fabulous, more coffee than hot chocolate) has been drained. My one plea could have been for a tad more chorizo, but there was more than enough scrambled egg for my daily protein-needs to be met. Nathan’s vinyl stack was a work of art on the plate: the grilled tomatoes came still attached on the vine, the discs of chorizo and portabello mushrooms were a nicely burnished colour and the rosti was magnifique. Taking a bit of everything and swirling it in the golden runny yolks and lemony yellow hollandaise is an eye-opening experience for those who thought they knew brunch, and it would seem that both dishes (and I’m sure others) at Vinyl were well-executed.

For those who find themselves meandering around that end of Dominion Rd, forget eating at the Nandos and Burger Fuel around there, you could get that anywhere. Don’t look past the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it café where the burritos are hot and the vegans are well looked after. Vinyl is a treasure of Auckland’s café scene so you’d be wise to pay it a visit.

Mocha $4.50

Cappuccino $4.50

Burrito $17

Vinyl Stack $20

4/5

- May-Lee Wong

Vinyl Coffee Shop

218 Dominion Rd,

Mt Eden,

Auckland

Ph. 021 256 5728

Published in Craccum Issue 19, 2011

Eurotrip: Rome

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:56:00 +0000

Piazza Navona

The Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Dome of St Peter's Basilica, Vatican

Pine cone Palace, Vatican

St Peter's Square, Vatican

One of the many alpine-cold water fountains that flow day and night all over the city; whilst I find it sacrilege that water can be that freely wasted, I find it incredible that the ancient Roman aqueducts are still being used to deliver clean and refreshingly cold water.

The Spanish Steps

Roman Forum

Arch of Titus. This is the arch that the French's Arc du Triumph is modelled after; I found it bizarre that what is one of Paris' most famous landmarks is just a copy of something the French liked from Rome. Good old Napoleon.

Construction sign. Or in my head 'No Robo-cop!'

Colosseum

Mac and the Colosseum

Restaurant Review: Daikoku Teppanyaki Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:50:00 +0000

Choosing where to go on a first date takes time and careful consideration: how well do you know the person? Will you run out of things to say? What about an exit strategy? Whilst I’m a fan of keeping things casual the first time around, for those who prefer a first date that’s a little showier, perhaps dinner out at Daikoku is just the ticket (especially if you fall under the category of being tongue-tied.) Sitting back and watching our teppan chef bang salt and pepper shakers and turn himself into an ‘egg-machine-gun’ (you had to have been there), this was neither Nathan and my first nor seventh date, but between eating and watching, there seemed little room for conversation, or awkward silences.

Although I’d heard the name come up over the years, I’d never dreamed of going to Daikoku, mainly because I’ve not been a fan of teppanyaki, save for the exquisite Bowz Teppan Dining restaurant in Greenwoods Corner. I’d always found the performance put on by the chef the focus, and not the food, the latter of which has often been mediocre and boring. But when a GrabOne coupon came into Nathan’s possession, we had to go. Fifty for a hundred dollars worth of food? That sounded like a challenge.

And challenging it was. I was at pains to finish my scotch fillet, which for all intents and purposes was the best steak I’d ever had. Thick, and cooked to a perfect medium-rare, to take bites from a piece of steak held hap-hazardly between bamboo chopsticks is mostly unheard of, with the exception of last Friday night. That night at Daikoku, I found myself seated around a large hotplate with five other strangers. It was a full house that night, with the lights being put out three times for ‘Happy Birthday’ to be sung in the two hours I was there. Daikoku is cosy and somewhat retro, housed in a building on Quay St that reeks of the eighties. Inside, the focus of the décor is on wood; dark wood panels framing white-wash walls, a large faux tree-trunk ‘growing’ through the middle of the dining room, one massive fire hazard given the number of spontaneous fires flaring up from each table.

The menu is made up of various meal sets, from the ‘traditional’ (which in this case, comes to mean singular type of meat) to ‘combination,’ which entails a duo of meats, and some funny names. I plumped for the ‘splash and meadow,’ a combination of scotch fillet and prawns, whilst Nathan went for the ‘chef’s choice’ of teppan steak and chicken. Each meal set came with the ubiquitous miso soup, two appetisers and salad, teppan vegetables, steamed rice and a dessert. Our first appetiser was a panko-crumbed and deep-fried prawn, which was unfortunately cold, and served atop a bland bed of vermicelli and mayonnaise. This was followed by the appearance of our teppan chef who with expert precision and presentation, served us up courgette, onions and mushrooms a la teppan.

From a young age, our mothers have taught us that playing with our food is an unacceptable practice. Clearly, the Japanese think differently, as our chef Tetsu took the concept of playing with one’s food to a whole other level. As he delicately dissembled a slice of sizzling onion into its respective rings and stacked one on top of the other, little did I know that he was building a volcanic-cum-locomotive-onion. In went the oil, followed by water, and finally he lit the top. Out spewed a column of fire making the onion resemble a Roman candle as the chef yelled ‘Onion Volcano!’ As the flames began to subside, it was quickly replaced by a pillar of steam, and Tetsu began to push the steam-spewing onion across the hotplate whilst blowing on a pink plastic whistle in the shape of a train.

Crazy? Bizarre? Bloody-entertaining by anybody’s standards, Tetsu continued to bang, chop and chink his way through the rest of dinner. The second appetiser of grilled prawns, whilst perfectly cooked, was covered in, in my opinion, a revolting concoction that seemed part custard, part mayonnaise, a wee-bit cheesy, and tasting of none of those things, if anything at all. They call it ‘yum-yum sauce’ but I prefer to call it by its real name, ‘yuk-yuk’. Nathan and I, for fear of missing out, ordered the chop-chop rice, and whilst just being fried rice by another name, it was made all the more delicious by the addition of copious amounts of garlic. In the process of making the chop-chop rice, the chef began tossing pieces of egg from the hotplate into people’s mouths, and whilst others at our table put on impressive performances, Nathan ended up with egg on his face, quite literally. Several times in fact.

At forty-something a pop, Daikoku is by no-means terrific value for money, save for the fantastic scotch fillet. But if you’ve never been to teppan-yaki before, and you’re looking for a little special-something to make your meal more memorable, then Daikoku is the place to go. Unfortunately I didn’t investigate the bathrooms for a window through which one may slip, so in the event your date turns out to be really into taxidermy or whose occupation is P-cooking, perhaps you should cross the old bathroom window trick off your list and come up with another one.

3/5

Chef’s choice $44.50

Splash and Meadow $49

Chop chop rice $5

- May-Lee Wong

Daikoku

148 Quay St

Auckland

Ph. (09) 302 2432

Published in Craccum Issue 18, 2011

Restaurant Review: Mamak Malaysian Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 10:08:00 +0000

Spring rolls

Growing up a child of a Malaysian-born Chinese, I’ve spent most of my life taking trips to that region of South East Asia to visit my many relatives and family. As such, I’ve had the pleasure of sampling a plethora of the country’s multicultural cuisines, and it hasn’t been unheard of for me to come back from a holiday a kilogram or two heavier. On my most recent trip to Malaysia, along with getting a taste of the nightlife, naturally, I got a taste of Malaysia’s answer to ‘BK-after-a-night-out.’

Sambal Prawns

The term ‘Mamak’ refers to Tamil-Muslims who own and operate late night street stalls catering to the awake and hungry, and I’ll never forget the taste of Mamak mee (fried curry flavoured noodles with a spritz of lime), or how impressively tall was our roti tissue, a thin and crisp pancake curled into a monstrous cone which towered a good metre above the table. Being Malaysian-born himself, Jeffery Ng has a new venture called Mamak which opened in the rather ritzy Chancery, and is bringing the culinary delights of the Mamak to our neck of the woods. So it was that five friends and I came together last Friday night for a reconvening of our Supper Club and we all found ourselves enchanted by Mamak’s spice and price.

Chicken Curry and Roti Canai

Mamak is a small place situated towards the back of the Chancery next to Caravan Serai, with room for seating inside and out. Like its Malaysian-counterparts, Mamak has seats available on the ‘street’. And unlike their Malaysian-counterparts, an attention to décor is evident. Substantial furniture is in place of plastic-centre stools and tables, with gas-heaters and awnings to shelter patrons from the elements. Given the rather frigid temperature these past few nights, I opted to book a table for us in their small but cosy shop-front. Indoors, it is dark-wood furniture contrasted with cream-coloured walls and natural stone accents. Best of all is the many wall decals of Malaysia-isms and their English translations: ‘Tandas dekat kiri’ or rather ‘Toilet to the left.’

Mamak’s menu is true to style, containing all the usual suspects, and a few strangers. The unanimous entrée of all things Asian, the spring roll, managed to weasel its way in, as did some pan-fried leek ‘gyoza’ which harks back to Japan. These two were ordered by the only slightly peckish Shav and Liv, and whilst inauthentic, they were nonetheless crisp, delicious, and beautifully presented in white paper and wooden box. The hungrier amongst us ordered from the more substantial mains menu which most of us were at pains to finish. Everything at Mamak was generous and like most things in Malaysia, a steal.

Mamak Nasi Lemak

Whenever I’m in Malaysia, I can’t help but sample nasi lemak wherever I go. Whilst its elements are essentially the same; the ikan bilis, the fragrant coconut rice, the cucumber and peanuts and hard-boiled egg and sambal, each has its own unique twang. So at Mamak, I couldn’t help but order their own nasi lemak, but vowing to come back for the roti canai and Mamak mee goreng on another day. An unusual addition to my nasi lemak was a side of sautéed cabbage, curry-yellow, and spiced with cumin and turmeric, which was sweet and mellow. It was also accompanied by a beef rendang curry, and whilst the beef was slightly on the dry side (a tricky balance to strike as the curry itself is meant to be ‘dry’) it had a subtle nuttiness leant to it by the addition of toasted coconut and I was in raptures over the taste, and sight, of curry leaves. The quintessential sambal, almost like a relish but without the astringency, was full of onion, chilli and ikan bilis and wonderfully hot. The final additions, which I can never get enough of, were the deep-fried ikan bilis and roasted peanuts. Ikan bilis are not dissimilar to our familial white bait, and both leant a moreish saltiness and crunch that makes nasi lemak, in my opinion, the ideal meal. To my right, Jamie had ordered the chicken curry with roti canai and a side of sambal prawns, the latter of which had been grilled on skewers and basted with sambal; these prawns were perfectly cooked till tender, and its marinade hot enough to have me reaching for my glass of water. Her roti canai were perfection; almost like a flaky pastry, with golden-brown blisters on the outside but soft and steamy in the middle. The benefit of being a food reviewer is that friends feel obliged to let me taste their dishes, and Jamie volunteered willingly on account of her stomach reaching full capacity with food still on her plate. It was fabulously comforting food, with tender chicken and the curry gravy resplendent with turmeric, curry leaves, cardamom, ginger and cumin. Amy declared her vegetarian mee goreng yum and we took Emma’s relative silence to mean she enjoyed her satay chicken with rice; she seemed too busy eating to be bothered talking.

Vegetarian Mee Goreng

Are you a Malaysian home-sick for the taste of home? Or a student wanting a decent feed for a reasonable fare? Even if you fit neither of those categories, Mamak appears to have universal appeal: they even cater for vegetarians, of which there are several meat-free dishes. Mamak serves a well-translated menu of some of the best Malaysia has to offer, but be prepared to book. Word about Mamak has already gotten round and a free-seat is an unlikely sight.

Satay Chicken and rice

Mamak Nasi Lemak $12.50

Vegetarian Mee Goreng $12.50

Roti Curry Chicken $13.50

Satay Chicken with Rice $12.50

Sambal Prawns $8

Spring Rolls $8

Pan-fried leek dumplings $8

Garden Broccoli $4

4/5

- May-Lee Wong

Mamak Malaysian Restaurant

50 Kitchener St,

The Chancery,

Auckland CBD

Ph. (09) 948 6479

Published in Craccum Issue 17, 2011

The Auckland Food Show 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 08:53:00 +0000

There is nothing more disappointing than appropriating money with the intention of spending it, and coming away without having spent a cent. With only one ATM serving 17,000 people last year at the Auckland Food Show, this time I came prepared with 60 dollars already in my pocket. But alas, as the clock tolled at 5pm, I trudged back out into the cold Friday evening with a full stomach but empty shopping bag.

Visiting the Food Show for the first time last year was a learning curve from which I gleaned a few pointers. If you don’t enjoy the awkward friction between two strangers or being bag-whacked, then it’s best to visit on a weekday when most tax-paying citizens are still at work. I attempted to avoid the unnecessary queuing of yesteryear by pre-purchasing my tickets online, and whilst I saved $2.50, I arrived at 2.30pm only to find that there were no lines. No lines for tickets, no lines for the ATM. Given that Friday’s crowd was 10,000 shy of Saturday’s, I was able to complete the circuit in two and a half hours instead of last year’s four, but the ASB Showgrounds felt unfortunately like a ghost town. There will always be the sorts of people who park themselves in front of the food samples, forcing a crowd to build up behind them like water behind a dam, and they were out in full force when I visited. That being said, manoeuvring wasn’t a struggle, which I thought would please me but actually left me feeling disappointed. There’s something about ‘The Chase’ that makes hard to obtain food samples extremely satisfying, in the same way that hard-to-get girls are more appealing than easy lays. Crowds, you can’t live with them, you can’t live without them.

Going to the Food Show on your own is about as sad as going to a movie by yourself. Who will cringe with you when you watch a man dressed as a chef, playing a guitar and singing impromptu songs taken from a recipe book? (Yes, that really happened this year.) Of course I’m better than that, and my usual partner in crime Sam was with me, every step of the way. Whether he was with me every bite of the way is a different story. As we begin to settle into a post-recession era, so comes the return of more substantial food samples, namely meat. There was much meat to be had: sausages and salamis, Russian dumplings and South African biltong. Which is why I felt like a bomb had been dropped when Sam mentioned to me that he had turned vegetarian. A week ago. Untempted by pleasures of the flesh, Sam handed off all his Jamaican jerk chicken and bratwurst to me, and I was only happy to oblige with its disposal.

For people who have shunned all things meat, I’ve always been perplexed by why vegetarians keep trying to recreate meat in tofu-form. I am a fan of tofu, but some of the soy-based meat products I’ve tried are truly disgusting. Which is why a special mention must go to Fry’s Vegetarian range. I sampled these from-freezer products, and whilst these are far from gourmet or artisan, they very nearly tasted like meat. There were no crumbling, floury soy-sausages to be found, and the crumbed ‘schnitzel’ may have well passed for the real thing.

There were noticeably less gourmet soft drinks being exhibited this year, which predominated the show the year before, but two beverages worth mentioning are a new product from Macs Brewery called Frusion, and a sparkling iced tea from Steaz. Frusion is a reduced-sugar soft drink making it less sickly-sweet than your usual carbonated syrups, whilst Steaz has released a range of sparkling iced green teas in some luscious fruit flavours that again were a pleasure to drink.

This year’s Food Show was also filled with false alarms, namely in the form of a fire alarm going off at one point, and my thinking I was having an anaphylactic allergic reaction to something I ate. Beware of an Asian peanut product that has chilli flakes and a mysterious peppercorn-like spice dispersed throughout the nuts. Upon eating one of these ‘peppercorns’ a frighteningly numb sensation spread throughout the back of my mouth and throat. Being a spice-freak, numbing chilli-heat was not unknown to me, but this was not the same; this felt like the prickling and tingling of dying nerve endings, and I was awaiting the breathlessness that accompanies severe allergic reactions. Thankfully, it never came, but as the sensation abated I stood in line at the coffee cart with my life continuing to flash before my eyes.

This was an account of life and (near, but not quite) death at the Auckland Food Show. Unfortunately there were no celebrity chef sightings this time round, and no products that particularly caught my eye, and whilst one might deem that disappointing, the ache in my belly around closing time said otherwise. The Food Show, as always, is a paradise for foodies, and greedy-guts, and for the adventurous looking to try new things. If you fit into one, or all three of those categories, then attendance next year is strongly advised. But maybe leave your vegetarians at home.

Published in Craccum Issue 16, 2011

Restaurant review: Sunny Town Chinese Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:57:00 +0000

High tea complete with cucumber sandwiches and scones with clotted cream is an English institution. The Chinese answer to the English high tea is yum char, which loosely translates to ‘drink tea’, and whilst there is some of that going on, it is the steamed dumplings which take centre-stage. For those who frequent yum char, everyone has a favourite haunt, and it was with some sadness that I dined for the last time on Saturday at mine, Sunny Town Chinese Restaurant.

Sunny Town is sadly closing its doors after 14 years of delicious but occasionally sketchy service. It has been sold to a new owner who plans to close it at the end of the month for renovations, and an unfortunate reworking of the menu. Over the years, I’d seen the likes of John Campbell lunch here, and whilst I missed a sighting of the honourable PM, a photo of a smiling John Key and the manager has been greeting me every time I walk through its doors for a while now. But as of the 31^st of July, the Sunny Town as I know it will be no more. As such, this was my last opportunity to introduce Nathan to the joys of Sunny Town, making it his second encounter with yum char ever, his first having been not that long ago.

Sunny Town like many Chinese restaurants, have their priorities in order, putting the quality of their food ahead of the quality of their surrounds, the latter of which was neither offensive nor remarkable. But the table linen was heavy and pristine white, all the better to spill things on, my dear. Yum char is a group affair, with more being the merrier, as this allows a larger variety of dishes to be sampled. The various dishes are smallish, numbering from one to four or five serves, and are carried around the restaurant from table to table, sometimes on carts, sometimes on trays, with the servers lifting the lids off bamboo steamers and replacing them again like a sort of guessing game. Which lid will reveal your lunch? Cow’s stomach anyone? How about some chicken feet?

Whilst we chose to pass on the offal (and we usually do), my parents insisted on ordering chicken feet in order to spook Nathan; little did they know that his flatmates and I had converted him on a previous occasion, and he declared as he tucked into a foot that chicken feet are his favourite. For those who remain sceptical, chicken feet are delicious. They’re not dissimilar to chicken wings, except with less fat and meat. The soy-brown skin falls off its many small bones, a result of it being braised in a deliciously rich and flavoursome sauce spiked with preserved black beans and garlic. If you try this dish, even just taste the scrumptious sauce, and can honestly say that it still repulses you, then I’ll eat this review.

Two other dishes that will be sorely missed when Sunny Town closes its doors is the baby octopus with glass noodles and the xiao long bao. The baby octopus is a steamed treat of tender purple and cream octopus in miniature, atop a tasty clear broth and slippery glass noodles. The combination of noodles and chopsticks makes for slow eating, but the process is delectable. The xiao long bao, or little dragon balls, is my all-time favourite. We often ordered this straight from the kitchen, two plates to eat while we were there, and two to take home. Before you gawk and assume the Chinese have taken to eating the testicles of mystical beasts, rest easy. They’re balls of pork mince, spring onion and lots of minced ginger, parcelled in delicate wheat dumpling pastry and steamed, served with red vinegar. Whilst they don’t adhere to the conventional form, which comes with a small pool of tasty soup trapped within the pastry casing, these are still nonetheless delicious, and I’d be lucky to find some like Sunny Town’s anytime soon.

If you ever find the idea of eggs benedict for brunch starting to bore you, or you couldn’t stomach another whisper-light scone, try something a little heavier and make a booking at your local Chinese yum char restaurant. Prices per head can work out to be as little as 15 dollars and there is as much jasmine tea as you can handle, making yum char a deliciously inexpensive lunch out.

In memory of Sunny Town Chinese Restaurant

3/5

- May-Lee Wong

Sunny Town Chinese Restaurant

404-412 Khyber Pass Rd

Newmarket

Auckland

Ph (09) 522 5000

Published in Craccum Issue 15, 2011

Restaurant review: Wong Kei

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:02:00 +0000

Source: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/23832230

Any Chinaman knows that when one is abroad and missing the taste of home, home may be found just a short tube ride away in Chinatown. On a recent trip to London, wandering the slightly dodgy streets of Soho around dinnertime led us to the scarlet arches of Wardour Street, the universal symbol of Chinatown.

With our last meal having been several hours before, our powers of logic and reasoning had taken a dive, and coming to a decision on where to eat took an inordinately long time. Concerns on matters of cash flow compounded to make the task all the more difficult. At last we arbitrarily settled on one Wong Kei, whose menu was cheap, and whose front windows harboured award-stickers, including a recommendation by Tripadvisor.com.

Despite such ‘recommendations,’ the meal that followed was beyond atrocious. I was later informed by a better-informed Londoner that Wong Kei restaurants were renowned for being cheap and nasty, both in the gastronomic and service department. The restaurant brand had encountered a number of lawsuits in past years on account of the brusque service, and as such made a name for itself. The waiters would apparently yell ‘Upstairs!’ and ‘Downstairs!’ at customers whilst seating them. It struck me as bizarre that such a place could attract anyone through their doors, but the souvenir polo shirts you could purchase at the counter with the words ‘Upstairs, downstairs’ said it all. This place was a Chinese restaurant Fawlty Towers.

If one comes to Wong Kei expecting the poor service it is reputed for, one may be sorely disappointed. Our waiter was perfectly mediocre without being rude, and the restaurant even includes free tea into the deal, which is one better than the restaurant next door which attempted to charge us for tap water. On matters of food, Wong Kei certainly lived up to its name.

In fairness, it did the job. I started off ravenous, and about a quarter way through my char kuay teow, I had thoroughly lost my appetite. This was not char kuay teow as I knew it, this was not char kuay teow by anyone person’s standards, which is why I was so confused by the large number of persons of Asian descent tucking in at tables all around me. What should have been dark brown pieces of delicate rice noodles was a radioactive yellow, and lacked that essential smoky flavour of oil heated to smoking point in a well-seasoned wok. But if I thought my food was bad, Jess and Becky’s ‘rice noodles with meat and vegetables’ was ten-times worse. Brown slop would be the most adapt descriptor, and the so-called ‘vegetables’ were singular in variety, several sad pieces of cabbage doused in a sauce the consistency of paste used in primary school used for papier-mache.

Whilst the experience left us initially depressed, we three couldn’t help but laugh about how after such deliberation, we’d managed to choose possibly the worst restaurant in Chinatown, and even in London. With our dishes left relatively untouched, the waiter looked particularly perplexed when I requested our oyster-sauced choy sum to go but said I wouldn’t be taking the rest of the dog’s breakfast with us. Even if I did have a dog, I’m not sure I’d subject him to my dinner. That said, the young man at the till greeted us on the way out with the most jolly smile (that’s good service I believe,) each of us taking a card from Wong Kei’s restaurant in commemoration of the most awful meal ever eaten, and went in search of the only thing that could rectify such a meal: Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream.

Wong Kei

41-43 Wardour St,

Soho

London, W1D 6PY

Published in Craccum Issue 14, 2011

New format?

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 04:01:00 +0000

Hello all!

I've returned from a month in Europe and am in the process of getting photos and accounts of my trip sorted for the blog. I am also trialling a new format for the blog, a wider one, so that the pictures I take can be viewed in a larger resolution.

I'm not sure whether I prefer the old or new layout, so if you have the time, please leave a comment to this post stating your personal preference and I'll take your responses into account. I'm more about the writing than photography, but I have some food photos that are too good to be left small!

Your feedback will be much appreciated!

Eurotrip: Venice

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:34:00 +0000

Bridge of Sighs

St Mark's Basilica

Canal

St Mark's Square

Gondola ride

Grand Canal

Venice at dusk

Eurotrip: Switzerland

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:03:00 +0000

Station up to Mt Pilatus

Lucerne, Switzerland

Trying out some cheese fondue

Eurotrip: Bath

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:57:00 +0000

Paddington Station, London

Oldest house in Bath, home of the Sally Lunn Bun

Bath Abbey

Bridge over the Avon River

The Circus

Royal Crescent

Roman Baths

Frigidarium

Eurotrip: London

noreply@blogger.com (Girl in the City) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:53:00 +0000

Rhino recovering from a rhinoplasty at the Museum of Natural History

Atrium of Museum of Natural History

Ghanian food from street vendor Spinach and Agushi, Portobello Markets

Entrance to Picadilly Cirus

Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery

Trafalgar Square

Lion statue of Trafalgar Square

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament

Houses of Parliament

London Eye

Peruvian food at Camden Lock

Beautiful summer's day in Hyde Park