Categories: Alfresco/Outdoor Area, All Rated 5+, All Rated 6+, All Rated 7+, All Rated 8+, Asian - Varied, Asian Fusion, Auckland - Central, Beverage - Alcoholic, Beverage - Non-Alcoholic, Candy, Chocolate, Cocktail, Cupcake, Dessert & Sweets, Dinner, European - Western, Events, Full Review, Gelato, Ice Cream, Indian, International, Japanese, Lunch, Malaysian, Markets, Meat, Nuts, Photos Included, Rated 8½ - 10, Seafood, Seasoning, Tea, Vegetable, Wine
It’s been far too long since my last post and what better time to jump back into things than after one of the most anticipated foodie events held in New Zealand – the Taste Festival?
This year I managed to make it to two jam-packed Taste sessions. I had just bought half-priced tickets through work when a mate whose winery was exhibiting told me he had spare general admissions. Yeah, I tried half-heartedly to get rid of my second pair but anyone who wanted to go already had tickets, so I was “forced” to go a second time. Darn my #firstworldproblems.
Taste has got to be my absolute favourite annual event held in Auckland, including anything in the non-food world. The mild late-spring weather, the enthusiasm of hundreds of food and wine lovers, the outdoor seating, live music and lounge-y chilled atmosphere with the buzz of the city just outside combine to make the perfect social and gastronomic experience!
I loved the event in 2010 when it was called Taste of Auckland, and liked the idea that it would now be extending to participants from other parts of the country, but I couldn’t help but worry that some of my preferred restaurants last year had decided not to participate this year. However, generally speaking, I feel most of the restaurants, including ones I hadn’t heard of, stepped up and delivered delicious world-class food. Considering the scale of the event and that it’s held outdoors, the venue is also well organised and clean, and a nice place to spend time in.
My first visit was Thursday night, which turned out to be the best night to go, and the weather was fantastic. Wednesday’s Gala night had been jam-packed due to a GrabOne voucher deal, and it rained. Friday and the weekend sessions were also immensely popular, but I was after a balance between ambiance and good service and the dishes I wanted not selling out! S & I sampled a satisfying 12 dishes (shared each so we could try more), and that wasn’t including the random free samples of cupcake, sorbet, and other things floating around.
I work next to Victoria Park, so the following day I returned with a friend in the afternoon for “lunch” and tried another 5 things. Almost too full to return to work, we ended the sunny afternoon with some scrumptiously refreshing wine sorbet and gelato from Giapo.
I really wanted to write about Taste last year, but by the time I got around to it, the details were pretty fuzzy and I didn’t feel like I could share anything valuable. So this year I was a smart-ass, and I took notes! Not actually at the event, but immediately afterwards. So here is an overview of what I thought of all 17 dishes I sampled…
Half Crayfish Tail with Café de Paris, Butter, lemon & Vivian salad
Some might have called this a little heavy handed for fine dining but I thought it was amazing. Rich and creamy without that stuck-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth feeling, all the components coming together quite harmoniously – even Stuart who is not a praline or honey fan was impressed.
COCORO – Tiger prawn and courgette filo tempura, tartare and Worcestershire sauce, Tonburi and Wasabi Tobiko field and sea caviar
4.5 / 5
Listing all the ingredients on paper, this sounds like a complex dish, however, everything went together so well, it was like the chemistry at a lively dinner party between close friends, to use a pretentious comparison. As great as the flavours were, the textures were really the highlight. The satisfying crisp of the unique tempura “batter”, the warmth of the courgette and near-perfectly-cooked prawn, and the pop-in-your mouth roe…
THE GROVE – Half Crayfish Tail with Café de Paris, Butter, lemon & Vivian salad
4 / 5
The only real issue with this dish was that there wasn’t enough of it. The buttery richness of the café de paris sauce did not take away from the subtle sweetness of the small crayfish tail. As delicious as it was, the dish was simple and probably will not ultimately be remembered for originality. They were serving up so many of these, though, that I had to wonder how many shellfish had to give up their lives for this festival.
Tiger prawn and courgette filo tempura, tartare and Worcestershire sauce, Tonburi and Wasabi Tobiko field and sea caviar
RESTAURANT SCHWASS – Corned Duck, bacon, egg and pea salad
4 / 5
One of the best duck dishes I have had lately. The paper thin strip of cured bacon was delectable as well, and it was a good pairing. Was a little bit of salty on salty, but for the portion size that wasn’t an issue at all.
TRUE SOUTH DINING ROOM – West coast white bait Thai infused fritter, pickled cucumber and lime crème fraiche
4 / 5
Maybe I’m a sucker for whitebait, but this might be the best whitebait fritter I’ve tasted. The Thai flavour and lemongrass really does pop out and the crème fraiche was beautiful. Less sure about the cucumber, but it didn’t detract from the dish.
I love lamb, and this was succulent and well seasoned, but I could not have identified the puree as artichoke-based if not described. Goat’s curd dumpling was awesome.
MONSOON POON – Malaysian Sago Pudding with coconut cream and palm sugar syrup
3.5 / 5
This was really extremely yummy and just the right amount of creaminess and sweetness for me, the sago was al dente, but I am not giving it an extremely high rating because it was simple and easy to make at home
CRU AT SALE STREET – Popcorn Pork – Canadian scallop, Tete de proc, corn puree, freeze dried corn
3 / 5
Great concept, scallops cooked just right, but the pork could have been just a tad more tender and moist. Corn puree was slightly too corny and grainy – I am a fan of the taste of corn paired with this pork but possibly could have been lighter
TRUE SOUTH DINING ROOM – Pressing of Southland rabbit, Riesling jelly and toasted walnuts
3 / 5
All the individual components here were tasty. The rabbit fell apart in my mouth, and was extremely gamey, which I love, and the Riesling jelly was light, sweet and delicious, but I didn’t feel the two paired well or complemented each other at all.
Venison was great and went well with the pomegranate, but I wasn’t a fan of the fennel as it wasn’t cooked and that strong fennel taste overpowered the venison a bit
Left: Malaysian Sago Pudding - with coconut cream and palm sugar syrup; Right: South Indian Venison Curry - Canterbury wild venison slow cooked with garam masala, cumin, coriander & chilli
Pleasant but the meat was not as tender as could be hoped
MALAYSIA KITCHEN – Nasi Goreng with Lime and Sugar BBQ’d Chicken
2 / 5
Better than the laksa (see below), but still a far cry from some of the best Malaysian you can get in Auckland City. The Malaysian Kitchen was so busy both times I visited that I wonder about the quality control.
MONSOON POON – South Indian Venison Curry – Canterbury wild venison slow cooked with garam masala, cumin, coriander & chilli
1.5 / 5
I had never seen venison in an Indian curry. I thought it lacked the tenderness it should have had. Venison is so lean and it would be difficult to cook it over a sufficient amount of time for an event like this. The spice/flavour was fair but unremarkable.
Didn’t really do anything for me. All of the meat was slightly overcooked, the marinade was ordinary and the pork sausage was uninteresting in flavour
MALAYSIA KITCHEN – Kuala Lumpur Chicken & Prawn Curry Laksa
1 / 5
One of the blandest, most lacklustre laksas I’ve had for quite a long time. At food court prices for a quarter of the average food court serving, and with quality not even on par with the better quality food court Malaysian… it’s not worth it. I adore authentic Malaysian food, but the quality at this festival has been pretty disappointing and I can only wonder if Rick Stein regrets putting his name to this kitchen.
From next year, I’ll be keen to check out a couple of the other Taste festivals hosted by various cities around the world and see what they have to offer!
The full menu
So, in the time that I’ve been away from this blog, it seems the users of the World Wide Web have not! I rack up a respectable number of views each week which seem to be concentrated towards certain posts. In particular, my somewhat “controversial” St. Pierre’s Sushi review seems to consistently collect the highest amount of non-spam comments even after periods of inactivity.
The main reason for my absence was that due to my “mild” OCD tendencies, I managed to lock myself down to such a rigid format of reviewing that eventually I felt stifled! What if I just wanted to rant a bit about a few random things, unrelated but for their connection to my tastebuds? What if I just had one amazing thought, tip or recipe I wanted to share? There was no room to actually let my passion for food come through in whatever way I felt like on any given day…
Chill, Indie. The internet will not actually implode if you don’t follow your ridiculous self-imposed rules for sharing your thoughts with the world!
Categories: Deals & Discounts, Menu Change, News, Price Change
What a month. Since I last posted, I have moved into a new apartment (which I love to bits), had the stomach flu, been on a 9-day long holiday in amazing Japan, taken on a load of work in a role still quite new to me, dined at a few good places I have wanted to try for awhile and revisited numerous favourite haunts.
I want to tell you separately about Tokyo and the food culture there – what I experienced, what I loved, what I didn’t. But before that mammoth undertaking, I’ll overview the surrounding stuff.
Soto - Seared Tuna Fillet with Peppered Zucchini
Wednesday the week before we left for the holiday, we paid a long-awaited visit to Soto in Ponsonby. They serve contemporary Japanese cuisine, and while I was very impressed and enjoyed the food immensely I didn’t full appreciate the truly gastronomic experience they created there and their imagination before I spent a week and a half in Japan. I’ll go on to explain this in the relevant reviews…
That same week, I dined in for the first time at Japa Deli on Anzac Ave and had a lovely and flavoursome “Sauce Yakisoba” – soba noodles lightly fried on a sizzling plate with a savoury brown-coloured sauce – at a very reasonable $7.50. For a quick working lunch, this was quite nicely presented. The irony of having so much Japanese food in Auckland before leaving for Japan was not lost on me, but I regret that even less now…
On Saturday, two days before my flight, a friend and I had managed to squeeze in a booking for the Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea at Langham Hotel’s The Winery. I was happy with both the setting and the food and before reviewing fully I will just say that at least the latter was much better than at Sky City Orbit.
Creamy Mediterranean Pasta Bake with Chicken Tenderloins
Finding decent ethnic (ie. non-Japanese) food in Tokyo was completely impossible and as much as we enjoyed most of our epicurean experiences there, upon our return Stuart and I were both in serious need of some western comfort food. The evening of our landing, we headed to Murder Burger in Ponsonby for the second time for some serious giant-eye-fillet-patty goodness. Satisfying.
Our burger splurge was followed by a couple of days of rich homemade nomminess, including the this creamy mediterranean fettucine bake with chicken tenderloins pictured. Definitely no sushi for lunch – I managed to grab myself a sandwich from Knuckle Sandwich for the first time in months. They really do make great sandwiches – too bad they are so expensive compared to similar options around.
With our tastebuds so spoilt, work was really by far the hardest thing to go back to and by Friday we needed to treat/console ourselves (again) for having to slave away in the office after running freely around a large vibrant city for the better part of two weeks. Cue excuse for trying out the pizza place now just across the road from the new apartment – Pizza Fresco. I think Stuart had eaten here once before and found it only okay, and seemed to enjoy it more this time around. 6 or 7 out of 10 on food. 10 out of 10 on convenience!
Pizza Fresco - 'Jordan' pizza with Middle Eastern spicy sausage, roasted peppers, jalapeno, coriander pesto, chilli sauce and black pepper
Otto Woo was the choice for that Saturday. Affordable, order-online, takeaway-and-eat-at-home food which was somewhat guilt-free compared to your average local food court, plus we had that Entertainment Book voucher to use up.
This was followed by Mother’s Day, for which I took Mum to the Observatory for their seafood buffet lunch. Despite the obvious good view, I was quite unimpressed by the atmosphere of the restaurant, but while the food wasn’t amazing, it did not disappoint either. The selection, in fact, was abundant and generous and the presentation good for a buffet. Taste – good, not great, but I was stuffed afterwards. Highlight was unlimited Movenpick icecream.
Burger Fuel ended a working week of yummy but healthy sandwiches, homecooked meals of couscous and fish, teriyaki & honey beef skewers and stir-fried buckwheat noodles. I just have to complain about the new menu – the chips (both spud and kumara) no longer come in “small” and “large” but now only one medium-ish size, which for most people would be too heavy as a side after having one of their massive burgers. Furthermore, aioli is now charged separately! Their delicious signature dip which everyone loved them for when they first broke onto the scene – outrageous!
The Observatory - Seafood Buffet Lunch
I attended Susan’s baby shower on Saturday and it was a bring-a-plate occasion. We ended up with three types of dumplings, delicious homemade samosa with spicy dessicated coconut, three types of chocolate muffins of varying sizes, a gorgeous cake, lemon ginger slices, fresh-baked apple crumble… amongst many other goodies which left us all full to bursting.
A friend was in Auckland from out of town so we all went out for “yum char with the ol’ crew” on Sunday. Our former favourite, Sunshine Restaurant, had closed down so we went to the “usual” of our friend from the shore. Star Cafe is in Wairau Park near Hoyts and Harvey’s Furnishings and I used to go there with my parents in the mid-90s. Had not been since then and after Sunday I wasn’t that sorry.
So a new week is beginning and I get to check out a Thai restaurant, a sake bar and a cool Newmarket bar. Other than that, work, saving for a potentially long holiday and a massive review backlog will keep me out of trouble.
Categories: All Rated 8+, Auckland - Central, Banquet/Set Menu, Beverage - Alcoholic, Beverage - Non-Alcoholic, Dessert & Sweets, Dinner, European - Western, Fine Dining - 25+ NZD Mains, Full Review, Guest Review, Lunch, Main Course: 25 - 40 NZD, Photos Included, Place Review, Rated 8½ - 10, Sides & Snacks, Starters & Appetisers, Supper
Date of Last Visit:
08 May 2010
Food & Beverage Quality:
9
out of
10
Menu Selection, Range:
1.5
out of
2
Service:
2
out of
2
Décor, Ambience, Location:
1.5
out of
2
Environment, Hygiene:
2
out of
2
Value for Money:
1.5
out of
2
Overall Rating /10:
8.8
So it was birthday time again and this meant I needed to choose a restaurant to take my partner to, as sadly it was his birthday not mine. My first choice was SidArt but unfortunately they were closed to take part in a competition so I made my reservation at The Grove and was not disappointed.
The Grove can be found next to St Patrick’s Cathedral in central Auckland (just over the road from the Gen-i Tower). Parking is pretty good around here and we didn’t struggle to find a space.
As you walk in you are greeted by the front desk; the restaurant is long and thin and has dimmed lighting to give it that imtimate feel. The decor is simple but elegant and creates a nice atmosphere to the restaurant – the lighting is low and there are lots of candles around. We were taken to our table which was in a line of five tables for two and if i had one criticism the tables were just a bit too close together.
The Grove - Lamb rump with aubergine caviar, gremolata, broad beans
Service was quick and efficient and not at any point did I struggle to get the attention of anyone if required, which it mostly wasn’t as they were so efficient.
There wasn’t a huge selection on the menu but what there was they did well, so I guess this is the advantage here. So for a starter we had Seared scallop, blue swimmer crab, heirloom tomato & zucchini. I skipped the starter as there wasn’t anything that captured me on the menu but I did try this dish and although as previously discussed I am not a seafood fan, it was fantastic – perfectly cooked and well presented. (I forgot to take a picture of the starter so you will just have to believe me.)
The Grove - John Dory with cavelo nero, pickled grapes, almond, & verjus
Then for the mains we had John Dory with cavelo nero, pickled grapes, almond, & verjus and Lamb rump with aubergine caviar, gremolata, broad beans, with a side of Seasonal greens w macadamia & lemon which on the night was brocollini. The meals were well presented and my lamb was cooked perfectly. They were out of John Dory that evening so Snapper was served instead and we were advised of this menu change. The lamb was a well put together meal, the portion size was good and all the flavours worked well together but weren’t so overwhelming that they took anything away from the lamb. The snapper was beautifully cooked, great portion size and there were no complaints from my partner who happily polished off the entire plate.
The only thing that was noticed was the 35 minute wait for our mains. This was acknowledged by our waitress without us pointing it out; she apologised and we received a complimentary coffee and dessert for my partner who had decided to steal mine rather than order his own.
The Grove - Valrhona chocolate pavé, roasted pineapple ice-cream
The Grove - Homemade Petit Fours
So for dessert I ordered Valrhona chocolate pavé, roasted pineapple ice-cream and my partner received a complimentary selection of home made petit fours. There really is no way to describe the dessert I had other than amazing and you really have to try it! It has to be the best chocolate dessert I have ever had and the pineapple ice cream worked beautifully with the pavé helping to cut through some of the richness from the chocolate. I assure you I was not disappointed as I so often am with desserts (my favourite part of the meal usually). The portion size for the pavé was spot on – any more would have been too much… amazing dessert. The petit fours were very cute and went down very well. Presentation wasn’t bad and they were also delicious, but the pavé was definitely the show stealer.
All up the meal was fantastic, definitely happy to go back. The service was amazing and I just have to mention how clean and nice the toilets were. This is definitely a restaurant I am happy to recommend to friends.
Menu Selection & Prices
Seared scallop, blue swimmer crab, heirloom tomato & zucchini
26.00 NZD
John Dory with cavelo nero, pickled grapes, almond, & verjus
39.00 NZD
Lamb rump with aubergine caviar, gremolata, broad beans
It’s been a pretty hectic couple of weeks yet again, and with no time to prepare food I have been grabbing takeaways far too often. I know, I know, not really new for me.
To finish off the long weekend, I had lunch on sunny Easter Monday with girlfriends in Botany Downs at SaNook Thai Express (reviewed), a meal of very moderate enjoyment based on very few expectations.
T2 Tea Shop in Botany Downs
After lunch on said Monday, we discovered a cool little new shop in the Botany Town Centre mall called T2. It caught our eye by being brightly coloured and packed with customers and turned out to be a store specialising in tea. They sold dozens and dozens of different types and flavours of teas from around the world as well as tea-making and tea-related products. The staff seemed pretty knowledgeable as well – if you asked them about a tea based on its name (eg. red green and pretty) they could tell you off the top of their heads what was contained in it. The teas come mostly in leaf form but tea bags are also available for a limited range of flavours.
There has been a gelato shop open in Chancery for awhile and I never put two-and-two together that it was the one that had previously closed down in Mission Bay, presumably because it was too close to Movenpick. It’s called Paradiso and only when I visited it and had the cheesecake gelato and coconut sorbet did I realise it was the same shop. It had been one of my favourite gelaterias before Giapo came on the scene, and judging from what was sampled, it’s still pretty good.
Speaking of coconut, I’m having a major coconut phase at the moment. I seem to be wanting it in everything – ice cream, bubble tea (coconut milk tea is the best!), Chinese dessert breads, chocolate (Whittakers coconut slab is excellent – not overly coconutty like Bounty). I hope this craving ends before I turn into a coconut myself…
T2 Tea Shop in Botany Downs
Love-a-Duck is one of my major guilty pleasures and favourite treats on Friday evenings after a long week – one that I indulged in last Friday. My favourite dish other than the duck ones (which are all pretty good, although nothing compared to authentic Peking Duck!) is the stir-fried flat rice noodles with beef and egg. It’s actually a somewhat runny scrambled egg, which sounds strange and doesn’t look overly appetising to the untrained eye, but it’s a dish I grew up eating and is fantastic.
Last Sunday, at a housewarming BBQ for a friend, I discovered the joys of marinated chargrilled pork scotch fillet. Tender and juicy – it was amazing and I can’t believe I have underestimated pork steaks so much! There were also delicious skewers on the barbie – teriyaki beef, satay chicken, seafood (prawns, scallops, salmon and squid along with mushroom, onion and capsicum), sweet Chinese-marinaded pork. As per usual, there was more than we could finish and we all had more than we should have had.
The highlight of the fortnight was definitely the wine tasting event on the 12th at SIDART, organised by Jesse of Auckland Food Blog. It was the first of this type of event I had ever been to, and knowing absolutely nothing about wine and being a seldom drinker, it was an eye-opening, informative experience and a thoroughly enjoyable one, too. I took fhawkins along with me as I knew she would enjoy the wine, food and company… we chatted with some interesting people, and the canapes served with the wine were amazing also and encouraged me to return to SIDART to dine as soon as possible!
The rest of the week hasn’t been half as exciting and has mostly been throwing away and boxing up my belongings. Met a friend at Hulu Cat on Thursday after work and eventually ended up with three others at Brew Bar on Quay until 9 in the evening when I should have been at home packing!
Instead of the usual lazy takeaways on Friday, I opted this week to eat at the Daikoku noodle bar by Britomart. This is one of my favourite places to dine in because the atmosphere is just so great. You can sit at the counter surrounding the noisy kitchen in the tiny restaurant while the friendly staff and cooks talk to and yell orders at each other in Japanese. Often, a frequent (Caucasian) patron will come in and start chatting to them in perfect Japanese! I still prefer this old spot to Tanpopo – the noodles are good and the gyoza is excellent.
I had planned to dine at the Langham Hotel on Saturday, having their special Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea. My girlfriend and I agreed on a time but in the madness of the week, I totally forgot to make a reservation. I called up in a panic on Saturday morning and my worst fears were confirmed – they were fully booked for the whole weekend. As the next weekend was also filling up fast, I booked for next Saturday. Done and in my diary – I can’t wait!
To console myself, I went with the boyfriend to La Cigale French market, one of our favourite places to go on a slow-paced weekend. As usual, I made my way through the stalls sampling all the condiments I could find then purchased a Moroccan lamb tart-thing in the cafe inside – it was served with this deliciously creamy yoghurt sauce. Stuart had a porcini mushroom and onion pizzette thing, which was almost as divine, and we finished up by sharing a lemon & sugar crepe and a hazelnut crepe. Suddenly, not having tea in Wonderland wasn’t so bad.
If you don’t like average food and possible bad food poisoning, avoid at all costs Pasqua Espresso Bar in Westfield Downtown. I’ll say no more!
Three guest reviews from three contributors this week! And we have a good range, too – a product review on beer, lunch at an inner-city pub and dinner at an up-market restaurant. A big thank you to Stuart, Susan and Fiona.
The next weekly update, if I have time for it in my preparation to leave for Japan, will be an exciting one! I am planning on dining at Soto for the first time on Wednesday after numerous recommendations from just about everyone and I hope to have many friends join me so we can sample as many dishes as possible – the menu looks amazing. Saturday, of course, is the Alice in Wonderland tea and that promises to be at least a feast for the eyes. As for the days in between – I will be busy unpacking I suspect, so Love-a-Duck, here I come again!
Categories: All Rated 5+, All Rated 6+, Auckland - Central, Beverage - Alcoholic, Beverage - Non-Alcoholic, Dessert & Sweets, Dinner, European - Western, Fine Dining - 25+ NZD Mains, Full Review, Guest Review, Lunch, Main Course: 25 - 40 NZD, Place Review, Rated 5 - 7, Sides & Snacks, Starters & Appetisers
Date of Last Visit:
Food & Beverage Quality:
7.5
out of
10
Menu Selection, Range:
1
out of
2
Service:
1
out of
2
Décor, Ambience, Location:
1
out of
2
Environment, Hygiene:
2
out of
2
Value for Money:
1
out of
2
Overall Rating /10:
6.8
Dine is situated in the SkyCity Grand Hotel in the centre of Auckland, so is easily accessible with parking in the SkyCity complex itself. The restaurant has a simple decor that is easy on the eye but they have also gone for a cosy feel with leather and some big old fashioned arm chairs at some tables. Considering this restaurant is in a 5-star hotel I was expecting a bit more from the service; having worked in the hospitality industry for many years I hold this to a high standard and unfortunately they just didn’t quite make the grade. There were times when I had to signal for service, I managed to scare the waitress when I placed my drinks order as she was not expecting it, and clearing the table didn’t happen as fast as it should have (which has to be my biggest pet peeve when eating out).
The menu doesn’t have a huge selection but it is a well-rounded and well-thought out-menu, with something to cater for all dietary requirements, and they are willing to adjust dishes if required.
To start, we had the buffalo mozzarella – something which I love and haven’t had in a long time for one reason or another. The dish was tasty and full of flavour without being overpowering, especially the mozzarella which had a very smooth texture and light taste. The only thing I would change would be to give more mozzarella. This probably isn’t necessary, I’m just a big cheese fan!
My partner had the scallops. I am not a great lover of seafood but he chooses it everytime we go out. They were well cooked, with good flavours and again the star of the course wasn’t overpowered with the other accompaniments on the plate.
We were happy with the starters and they gave us a real taste for the mains…
For my main I had the lamb; lamb is one of my favorite meats and I have to admit it was done perfectly. I requested medium-rare and that’s what I got. It was a generous portion of meat served on kumara mash with broccollini and tempura cauliflower. The only part of the dish I wasn’t too sure on was the cauliflower – the batter was a bit thick for my liking and it didn’t quite seem to sit with the rest of the meal. It was a good well-sized meal but it was missing something that I can’t put my finger on. That being said I devoured the entire plate feeling very satisfied.
My partner had the snapper for his main, which I tried; it was very tasty and the flavours served with it complimented the fish well. The portion was again a good size and we shared one side of salad between us, which we didn’t finish. The fish was cooked perfectly and all the elements of the meal worked well together… but again he said there was something that was missing.
Dessert – this is always my favourite part of the meal and I was not disappointed! I was torn between the chocolate parfait and the creme brulee; luckily my partner chose the parfait so the brulee it was for me!
It was beautifully presented with peach slices and three small tower-shaped pieces of olive oil cake. The creme brulee itself was creamy, rich and delicious with a nice vanilla taste. The oil cake was spongey and moist and the sorbet was amazing with the most beautiful flavours that just made the whole dish work so well and help cut through some of the richness of the dessert.
The chocolate parfait was also fantastic – the rich chocolate with the espresso and mint ice cream were just perfect, the flavours complimented each other well and made it for a very pleasurable dish to eat. Both desserts were a good size and any more would have made it hard to finish!
All in all we had a very pleasant meal, in a nice restaurant with good food, and I would possibly go back there but more for a business meal than a personal one. In regards to value for money – it is decent, but if you are looking to spend around the same price I would go for more intimate dining somewhere like O’Connell Street Bistro or SIDART.
Menu Selection & Prices
Clevedon Valley buffalo mozzarella with macerated nectarine, green bean and mizuna salad, a pinenut wafer, lime basil seeds and marinated baby aubergine
22.00 NZD
Pan-seared Alaskan scallops with cauliflower puree pickled garlic, shiitake mushroom and rocket, finished with vanilla dressing
28.00 NZD
Crispy skin snapper on soft gorgonzola polenta, confit garlic, karengo, grilled asparagus and crayfish salad with kombu infused nage
38.00 NZD
Seared Hawkes Bay lamb loin with whipped star anise, chilli and spiced kumara mash, tempura battered cauliflower, steamed broccollini and a wholemeal puff pastry
Categories: All Rated 5+, All Rated 6+, All Rated 7+, Auckland - Central, Bar & Club, Beverage - Alcoholic, Beverage - Non-Alcoholic, Dessert & Sweets, European - Western, Full Review, Guest Review, International, Lunch, Lunch Special, Main Course: 12 - 18 NZD, Open Past Midnight, Photos Included, Place Review, Pub, Rated 7 - 8½, Sides & Snacks, Starters & Appetisers
Date of Last Visit:
15 April 2010
Food & Beverage Quality:
7
out of
10
Menu Selection, Range:
1
out of
2
Service:
2
out of
2
Décor, Ambience, Location:
2
out of
2
Environment, Hygiene:
1.5
out of
2
Value for Money:
1.5
out of
2
Overall Rating /10:
7.5
The Bluestone Room - B.L.A.T. sandwich
The Bluestone Room had been recommended to me by several people and today we went there for our first team lunch of the year. I can say that we definitely all enjoyed the food and service. I thought the pricing on the lunch menu seemed a bit on the high side for a bar when I first checked it out online, but considering the quality of the food we ended up being served it was actually pretty reasonable.
The Bluestone Room - Surf & Turf skewers
It’s in an old stone heritage building dating back to the 1850s, beautifully restored but retaining its unique character. The first impression you get walking into the bar is positive – stone walls and dimmed lights, but it’s not overly dark for the daytime. The place is clean with clearly defined areas for drinkers and diners. Overall, service was excellent. We were given three bottles of iced water between ten of us and we didn’t have to wait long for food to arrive.
Because of our large group we ordered a wide selection of food. I chose the B.L.A.T., a friend ordered Surf & Turf (a new addition to the menu since yesterday) and another friend ordered the Pot of Ribs. To their great credit, the meals came on all together – another sign of good, professional service.
The Bluestone Room - Pot of pork spare ribs
I was slightly disappointed with my B.L.A.T. meal as the chips were a touch undercooked – if they had been in the fryer for another 30 seconds or a minute they would have been crispier and hot as they should have been. The aioli dip was somewhat bland and runny, however, the sandwich was good aside from not having fresh sliced avocado. The avocado mash could possibly even have been pre-prepared (ie. like at Subway), but I couldn’t tell.
The Surf & Turf consisted of three skewers of prawns, scallops and Angus beef atop fresh green salad with aioli. The friend who ordered it was very satisfied with the quality and quantity of the food. As for the Pot of Ribs, we were all surprised to see it actually arrive in a pot as we thought that was just how the dish was cooked. It was served with two pieces of bread and lemon water (for cleaning your fingers). The ribs were happily devoured by another friend and dining partner.
It was an enjoyable lunch overall, and I would definitely return here to try the other meals. It was an added bonus to be given discounts when we paid as well – thank you, Manager!
Menu Selection & Prices
B.L.A.T. – Crispy streaky bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato, smoked tomato relish, and aioli served on toasted bread with chunky chips
15.00 NZD
Pot of Ribs (Small) – Pork spare ribs served with barbeque sauce and sesame seeds
15.50 NZD
Soy Chicken Wrap with crispy noodle and honey cashew nut salad and a satay mayo
14.50 NZD
Gourmet Chicken Burger – Grilled chicken breast served with guacamole, bacon, lettuce, aioli, tomato relish and fries
18.50 NZD
Address:
9-11 Durham Lane, Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand
Categories: All Rated 5+, All Rated 6+, Beer, Full Review, Guest Review, Product Review, Products: 5 - 10 NZD, Rated 5 - 7
Date Last Sampled:
10 April 2010
Product Taste and Quality:
7
out of
10
Packaging and Information:
2
out of
2
Value for Money:
1
out of
3
Overall Rating /10:
6.7
This anglophilic bottle contains six references to England; but is that a good thing? I don’t know, my heritage traces to England and yet you don’t hear me bragging about it. I know little of English brew and I couldn’t even say for sure whether I’ve tried a bitters. You could say I’m more liable to throw out a jig and grab an Irish stout than venture into an English pub in New Zealand. In fact, while writing this I’m staring out a can of Wexford Irish style, my writer’s carrot and stick.
Wells Bombardier beer (English Premium Bitter)
Anyway, the drink. It’s an appealing sight post-pour – a clear, deep amber-red hue. Though very little head to be seen, I expect this is primarily a tap beer and it didn’t detract much from the experience in this case. Classed as a bitter, after all I’ve heard about them I didn’t feel I was trying anything new here. I suspect I’m missing out on the real deal with this drink.
Despite this, I really enjoyed the beer. A bit malty but I found it to have a pleasingly smooth after-taste. I would drink this with food or by itself, but don’t ask for a food match as I couldn’t comment on that topic beyond “takeaway-friendly”. My only complaint is cost; at $8 for a single 500mL bottle it’s not a price tag that advertises respect for the thirsty masses.
Retail Pricing
Glengarry, Victoria St
500mL bottle
8.00 NZD
Full Product Name:
Bombardier English Premium Bitter
Store/Vendor:
Glengarry, Victoria Street
Purchase Location:
Cnr Elliot and Victoria Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand
Manufacturer:
Wells & Youngs Brewing Company Ltd
Address:
The Brewery, Havelock Street, Bedford, MK40 4LU, United Kingdom
Categories: All Rated 5+, All Rated 6+, Auckland - East, Beverage - Non-Alcoholic, Casual/Family Dining, Curry, Dessert & Sweets, Dinner, Full Review, Lunch, Lunch Special, Main Course: 12 - 18 NZD, Photos Included, Place Review, Rated 5 - 7, Sides & Snacks, Starters & Appetisers, Takeaway, Thai
Date of Last Visit:
05 April 2010
Food & Beverage Quality:
6
out of
10
Menu Selection, Range:
1.5
out of
2
Service:
1
out of
2
Décor, Ambience, Location:
1
out of
2
Environment, Hygiene:
1.5
out of
2
Value for Money:
1
out of
2
Overall Rating /10:
6.0
A couple of years ago, thirsty while waiting for my movie session to start at the Circle Lounge cinema in Botany, I wandered in to SaNook Thai Express and ordered the interesting-sounding “Rose Milk”. When it arrived, it certainly looked interesting too and I was surprised by just how pink the drink was! It was so rosy, in fact, that I felt it necessary to snap a photo to prove my point when I told people about it. Unfortunately, the lighting was so average and had only my cellphone so it took an insane amount of photoshopping to get the hue just right. Take a look.
SaNook Thai Express - Rose Milk
But was it good? In a word, yes. The longer answer is that I barely remember what it tasted like other than that I did enjoy it – in my memory everything was eclipsed by the vibrant colour.
I did recall that the restaurant had a somewhat cheap and cheerful “fast food feel” to it. It does certainly market itself that way, based on the name “Express”. Casual and family-friendly, I suspected that much of its clientele end up there just the way that I did – for a feed/drink before or after a movie, or possibly to refuel after a day’s shopping. The decor is bright and clean but unremarkable and there was certainly no authenticly “Thai” feel to it. There was no way for me to fairly question the authenticity of the food itself on that first visit, but I wasn’t terribly curious and I never thought I would return. I don’t live close to Botany and when choosing to dine in East Auckland this type of place is usually the last thing on my mind.
But the day came when I wanted to hang out with a couple of girlfriends and I thought having a casual lunch at Botany Town Centre would be the way to go as we could take a stroll through the uncovered mall afterwards to enjoy the last of the lazy summer afternoons. One friend had a 16-month old and the other was a pescatarian so after some discussion and voting we decided on Thai.
Upon arrival one of the first things I noticed was that none of the wait staff were Thai (they were all Indian). They were friendly enough but didn’t prove to be very attentive to our needs. We had to wait for quite awhile after we were ready to order. Once the order was placed the food arrived fairly promptly.
SaNook has a fairly large menu (but not so much by Asian standards) with mains ranging from about $9 to $12 at lunch and slightly more for dinner. Each dish has a chilli rating from 1 to 3 and some even include little tidbits of information such as history or anecdotes. The menu also boasts a reasonable selection of Laksa and claims that the serving of Laksa is rare in restaurants due to the difficulty of preparation. This seems like nonsense to me – while not many Thai establishments offer Laksa (it’s not traditionally a Thai dish!) most Malaysian restaurants or even food courts do, and some make it rather well within a reasonable preparation time. To give SaNook credit, however, I have seen a few pretty good reviews on the quality of their Laksa floating around the internet, and if I should ever somehow end up there again I will be sampling one of them.
It took us awhile to make our selection on this occasion partly due to the wealth of information. I felt like fried noodles but didn’t want to overdo the white flour intake and was sick of Pad Thai, so I ordered a main of prawns with stir-fried “glass noodles” (usually made of sweet potato) at $11.50. It included egg as well, and was served with a crushed peanuts, a wedge of lemon, a slice of tomato and garnished with coriander. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the Thai name of the dish and the restaurant doesn’t have a website I can look it up on!
SaNook Thai Express - Chicken Green Curry
Although the noodles were supposed to be slightly chilli I could barely taste this at all, but being Asian cuisine I didn’t think it would be offensive to add some of the chilli oil which was readily available on every table. I would have liked to try the (apparently fiery hot) “Drunken Noodles” but they weren’t served with glass noodles. I wish I had ordered that and asked for a noodle-switch! There was a basic sweetness and nuttiness to the dish I did have, akin to Pad Thai, and in all honesty I found the taste rather similar overall but the clear glass noodles were a welcome switch-up. Even without the added chilli oil, it wasn’t bland – but it was nothing special or different. So, not fantastic or near amongst the best Thai I’ve had, but even average Thai can be somewhat enjoyable. The portion size was perfect.
To drink, I ordered this time a “Thai Pina Colada”, which was described as pineapple juice with coconut ice cream and “pineapple cubes”. Even if this had been really good (it wasn’t) it would have been overpriced at $5.90. A friend ordered an equally dear fruit juice of some description which she said was too syrupy and wasn’t able to finish it. As for mine, the ice cream was terrible – over-frozen with icicles and the juice could have been of the supermarket variety. Strangely, I have had worse so-called pina coladas.
SaNook Thai Express - Yellow Curry
Lunch Buddy #1 mulled over the Laksas and various other options, in the end settling for a Green Chicken Curry (Kaeng Khierw Wan Ga) while Lunch Buddy #2, my pescatarian friend, ordered a Yellow Seafood Curry. They both looked reasonable but I didn’t bother to taste-test. No comments following the meal from either of them so I could conclude that, like mine, their meals weren’t remarkable in neither a positive nor negative way.
Well, SaNook had no surprises for me on my second visit – the food wasn’t any better or worse than I would have expected for a restaurant of its kind. The beverage was worse – better in my first experience. This place does fine for a quick meal before a movie or for a casual lunch where company is the focus, as there are choices for everyone.
Menu Selection & Prices
Stirfried Glass Noodles with Prawns and Egg (Lunch)
11.50 NZD
Kaeng Khierw Wan Ga (Chicken Green Curry) (Lunch)
11.50 NZD
Thai Pina Colada
5.90 NZD
Address:
Botany Town Centre, 1 Sunset Terrace, Botany Downs, Auckland, New Zealand
8.8
(+1 rating, 1 votes) 
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