Gusty Gourmet in 2011 and beyond

It's true that I haven't posted here for a while.

It's not that I haven't been eating or blogging (oh, I have), but I have cut back quite a bit on eating out this year. I guess the main reason for this is I've been wanting to spend a bit less money so that I can travel a bit more (my New Year's resolution for 2011, which I'll be reusing for 2012, was to leave Wellington at least once a month, even if it was just going somewhere an hour away). And in 2011 I did travel, to new places (Pakiri, Taranaki, Mexico, Melbourne) and old (Auckland, Singapore, Christchurch, Sydney, Chicago, Tokyo, Taupo, Gisborne). Now that I list it all I'm a bit astonished that I actually did all that. Also feeling incredibly fortunate that I was able to. But anyway.

Most of my travels, rather unsurprisingly, had a heavy food focus, from markets to street food to cafes, restaurants and bars. But it's something I haven't really written about, mostly because food and travel writing doesn't fit neatly into my other blog, and I wasn't really sure whether Singaporean hawker centres and Mexican street food belong in a blog about the Wellington food scene. 


But you know what (besides "this is my blog, I can do what I want")? I like to think that eating new things when you travel informs how you eat at home. And maybe part of the reason why the culture of food is so strong in far-from-everywhere places like Wellington is because there are people who have shared what they've experienced somewhere on the other side of the world, whether it's a place from which they've come or just a place they've spent time in. And maybe that idea-sharing leads to innovation, and new and exciting and delicious things.

Maybe. It's one possible way of looking at it. Or maybe it's my long-winded way of saying: in the future, you might see some posts about food in places I've visited.

But what else has 2011 meant for me, and for Gusty Gourmet?

• Finally, a blog post about the Larder, quite possibly my favourite cafe in Wellington
• I discovered the best strawberry milkshake ever, and drank it often
• Wellington on a Plate set menus and a chocolate festival
• Lunch with a celebrity chef
• I reviewed some cafes for the Dominion Post
• A food bloggers' conference (mentioned here)
• Meeting lots more cool people in the world of food

And, a couple of events I haven't shared with you yet:

FAST, FRESH & TASTY APP LAUNCH PARTY

Yes, I know. This app came out in October, and many of you may already have it. But in case you don't, here's a quick recap: Fast, Fresh & Tasty is a recipe app for the iPhone and iPad. It's different from the other recipe apps out there in that it's (hooray!) made for New Zealanders, featuring local ingredients (I love that it features New Zealand fish, for example) and with seasonal updates for Southern Hemisphere seasons. 

Plus it's relevant to this blog in that it was developed by the Wellington-based interactive media company Click Suite. And it's always cool to see Wellingtonians doing cool things, especially food-related.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch of Fast, Fresh & Tasty held at Bettys back in October and finally meet the lovely folks behind the app after months of Twitter conversations. The best part was getting to sample some of the things you can make using the app. (I apologise for the photos taken from my phone - but it was an iPhone app-launch, after all!)

The venison meatballs with tzatziki sauce were flavoursome and made for great finger food. The recipe looks simple, too - one I'd like to try at home.

The somewhat blurry photo above is of salt and pepper squid with garlic aioli and caramelised limes. This was so good, and one I'll definitely be making this summer: the squid was delightfully tender and well-seasoned and I couldn't help but go back for more and more.

BEES BLESSING LAUNCH PARTY

The other exciting event I was lucky enough to attend recently was back in November - the Bees Blessing launch party at the Empire in Petone. Bees Blessing have actually been around for a few years now, and are a mainstay at the Harbourside Market on Sundays (along with other local markets on other days, it seems). But this event was a celebration of their new (gorgeously adorable) branding for their range of natural, honey-sweetened cordials.

I'd tried a few Bees Blessing cordials before but always as cordial, just mixed with sparkling water. The coolest thing about the launch was seeing all the different possibilities of using these cordials, from cocktails to ice cream to marinades to salad dressings and more. 

In one corner there was a cooking demonstration by Adam, a wwoofer at Ian and Jo (the forces behind Bees Blessing)'s farm who just happens to be a chef (and now has his own blog!). Naturally I hardly left this corner, and got to sample Adam's creations.

This was a favourite: an apple, fennel and radish salad (I love radishes!) dressed with a vinaigrette made from Bees Blessing Cider Vinegar & Honey cordial (easily my favourite cordial anyway - so versatile), served with halloumi. Very crisp and refreshing. 

And I couldn't get enough of this ice cream, made with Bees Blessing Lemon, Honey & Ginger cordial. It was so smooth and delicious - I'd love to try making some at home. 

Wellingtonians doing cool, food-related things! I love it. 

*if you are reading this before Christmas there are still a few opportunities for you to get your hands on some Bees Blessing cordials: they'll be at the Kapiti evening market from 3-8pm on Wednesday, 21 December, at the Hutt Night Market on Thursday, 22 December from 4:30-9pm, and at the Paraparaumu Beach Market on Saturday, 24 December. (These details from Bees Blessing's facebook page). Plus I believe you can get these cordials at Moore Wilson's. Leave a comment if you've seen their products anywhere else!

Kayu Manis: Lunch with Chef Wan

If you haven't heard of Chef Wan, look him up now. He's a Malaysian celebrity chef who has a number of cookbooks and cooking shows and has travelled around the world showing off the best of Malaysian cuisine. In 2009 he won "Best Celebrity Television Chef" from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and was appointed as a Culinary Ambassador by Tourism Malaysia in 2010. In 2011 (er, last week) he came to Wellington to cook at the Wellington Fisher & Paykel Masterclass along with local favourites Martin Bosley, Al Brown, Desmond Harris and Alexa Johnston. So: a pretty big deal.

On Saturday, less than 24 hours after a very full day of eating and a breakfast of miso soup with spinach leaves (appropriate considering the food eaten all weekend)  I rolled myself down the hill to Kayu Manis on Cuba St where I met up with a munch of food bloggers (yep, I'm just going to slip that one in there), some of the lovely people behind the Malaysia Kitchen NZ initiative, and (!!!!!) the super-enthusiastic and personable Datuk Chef Wan. I was so lucky to be able to get up close and personal with Chef Wan (not to mention spend time in the company of some very lovely ladies), and after seeing him mobbed by fans at the Malaysia Kitchen Night Market the following night I truly understood just what a special lunch we had.

I'm glad I went on an empty stomach. Chef Rajah of Kayu Manis certainly put on a feast for us, with Chef Wan explaining each dish as it arrived. 

Chicken & beef satay skewers were first up, served with peanut sauce, cucumber and bite-sized pieces of compressed rice. These were fantastic, well-marinated and full of flavour. Chef Wan explained a good satay sauce will coat the meat when you dip into it, rather than run off, and gave his seal of approval for this sauce: not too runny, not too thick, a lovely spicy peanutty flavour. 

Next up were the fattest spring rolls I've seen. Okay, so you may be thinking spring rolls aren't that exciting. But these were delicious: the wrapper fried to a perfect crisp, the filling a lovely combination of flavours and textures. 

The mussels in coconut curry that arrived next were incredible. When they arrived, Chef Wan started out by saying how he preferred the smaller French mussels over New Zealand green-lipped ones, which he said were tougher in texture. And then he tried one, and changed his mind: "these are fresh", he said, which were far different to the pre-packed ones he said he'd had in the past.

Chef Wan explained this type of curry is more often prepared with freshwater fish in Malaysia, and is made with turmeric (which explains the vibrant, yellow-green colour) and coconut milk. The sauce was creamy, coconutty, with a hint of spice, and we didn't let it go to waste.

Not long after we polished off the mussels we were served cucur udang, Malaysian prawn fritters. They were incredible: simultaneously light and substantial, crisp and fluffy, the batter well-seasoned and the prawns juicy and tender. According to Chef Wan, these fritters are made using all sorts of ingredients, including sweet versions (made with banana or coconut - I must try this!!) and are a popular snack or breakfast food for kids to eat before school. The sweet chilli sauce they arrived with was good, but we followed Chef Wan's lead and dipped them in the leftover coconut curry sauce from the mussels - wouldn't want it to go to waste!

We all got up to watch Chef Rajah from Kayu Manis make the roti: of the swarm of Malaysian restaurants all over Wellington, Kayu Manis is one of a handful of places that makes their roti fresh. Having spent time in Singapore and Malaysia, where fresh roti is everywhere, I certainly appreciate this - and even if you haven't been to either place, you can definitely taste the difference. 

We all got up to take photos, and Chef Wan got right amongst the action. I think we were all impressed by Chef Rajah's expert roti-flipping skills. 

And the finished product: fresh, hot, fluffy, chewy roti: nothing at all like the rubbery pre-made ones you mostly get around these parts. 

Along with the roti and plenty of rice, we were served several main dishes. The first was fish sambal: pieces of fried fish coated in an invigorating tangy-hot sambal sauce. Chef Wan explained how sambal plays an important role in the Malaysian diet, typically eaten at least 2 to 3 times a week with all sorts of things like fish, chicken liver, eggs... As far as condiments go it's pretty versatile and one of my favourite kinds of chilli sauce.

The beef rendang was, I thought, spectacular: tender beef in a rich, dark coconutty sauce full of spices. As far as rendang goes, this was one of the drier ones I've had - many Malaysian restaurants in Wellington make it with much more sauce. Chef Wan said both wet and dry are authentic; the dry version is made to be easily transportable and keeps longer.

One of the biggest crowd-pleasers was the lamb kuzi. Don't let its pale, bland-looking appearance fool you - it was packed with flavour. This dish originates from the southern part of the Malaysian state of Johor, where Arab traders left a culinary legacy in the form of the raisins and spices in this dish. There was quite a strong cardamom flavour, balanced out by the sweetness of the raisins and other spices and the meatiness of the lamb. According to Chef Wan, this dish is often also made with duck and gets a lot of its flavour not only from the spices but also caramelised shallot. Beautiful.

photo supplied by PEAD PR who are the lovely folks behind Malaysia Kitchen NZ

Aside from the wealth of information Chef Wan shared about Malaysian food, we also talked about everything from Facebook (Chef Wan's "fan club" is here, with frequent, candid updates) to cheesecake (Chef Wan spent several years in the States and apparently has even published a cheesecake cookbook). He was chatty and friendly and a walking encyclopaedia of Malaysian cuisine. I think Laura summed it up perfectly when she said it was "SO FUN and SO DELICIOUS" - five days later, I'm still on a cloud.

Kayu Manis

201 Cuba St

Te Aro

Wellington

(04) 382 8627

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Milliemirepoix dined at Kayu Manis as a guest of the Malaysia Kitchen programme.

PS. You can read Rosa's version of events here, and look at Laura's photos here!

Wellington on a Plate 2011: DINE Wellington roundup

As I said last time, I haven't gotten as much Wellington on a Plate action this year. I had such high hopes, plotting out which set lunches and dinners I wanted to try on the little calendar I keep at my desk. And then, bam! It was suddenly the last week of Wellington on a Plate and I hadn't made any lunch or dinner reservations as planned, and time was running out.

Luckily I had a couple of lunch dates last week as well as a food bloggers' dinner at Fratelli on Friday night (I have to apologise for the grainy photos, some of which were taken on my phone... I was more focused on eating this time around!):


Burger Wellington: Smith the Grocer


A friend and I ended up at Smith the Grocer after our first Burger Wellington choice for a quick & informal Lambton-area lunch, Astoria, was sold out of their burger* (it wasn't even 1pm!). Some hasty phone research and quick eliminations ("do you think we would've needed a booking?", "hmm, their burger sounds pretty standard") led us to Old Bank Arcade where there was plenty of room for us to sit and burgers were coming out of the kitchen left and right.

Smith the Grocer's offering for Burger Wellington was a Moroccan lamb burger ($17.90): a spiced Wairarapa lamb patty with the usual lettuce, tomato & cheese, in a Pandoro bun. Though there were a few things that could've been better (I wished the cheese was on top of the patty rather than underneath, the patty could've been juicier, the bread was a little on the dry side), it satisfied my burger craving and eased the initial panic that set in after we couldn't get a burger at Astoria ("where else around here does burgers?" "...BK?"). The tzatziki that came on the side good and we both ended up smearing some inside the burger. And although the fries weren't crinkle cut (as per the menu) they were nice and crispy and I was perfectly happy finishing them off (er, almost!).

*my friend went back the next day and said Astoria's burger was worth going back again for. Sadly, I missed out on it this time. But you can read about it on Delaney's burger blog here. 


Smith the Grocer
Old Bank Arcade
233-237 Lambton Quay
Wellington CBD
0800 764 843

Open Mon-Fri 7:30am-5pm; Sat 10am-4pm; Sun 10am-3pm


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Burger Wellington: Bisque on Bolton


A couple days later I was back on the burgers, this time at Bisque on Bolton in the Bolton Hotel, conveniently located across the street from my work (no rushing back down Lambton Quay on a full stomach that day!). Aside from the location, I was really excited to try Bisque's burger: the promise of paua fritter and crayfish mayonnaise was great.

"Pāuā for the People" ($22), a paua fritter with crayfish mayonnaise and salad greens, was good but there were a few things that detracted from its potential awesomeness. The fritter was tasty but was almost drowned out by the bap it arrived in (a bit dry) and the robust salad greens and tomato (a bit slippery). The crayfish mayonnaise was delicious, but most of it seemed to have soaked into the bread. I probably would've been happier deconstructing this one and eating the paua fritter with some of that crayfish mayo slathered on top. In fact, I'd happily pop back over the road if that was ever on offer at lunchtime.

The other thing I'd totally go back for were the kumara fries that came with the burger. Not your all-too-common soggy, greasy kumara fries, these. These were gloriously crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy and kumara-sweet on the inside. Some people don't like kumara fries. I am not one of those people. But I don't think it's just because I have a soft spot for kumara fries that I thought these were fantastic. If only these appeared on Bisque's regular menu... I can keep dreaming, though. 


Bisque on Bolton
Bolton Hotel
Corner of Bolton & Mowbray Streets
Wellington CBD
(04) 462 3770

Open for breakfast: Mon-Fri 6:30-10am / weekends and public holidays 7-11am; lunch: Mon-Fri 12-2pm; dinner: 7 days 6-9:30pm



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DINE Wellington: Fratelli


On Friday evening a lovely group of food bloggers and other food-type people met up for dinner at Fratelli. It was pretty funny seeing this come together: Andrea suggested it on Twitter as she was going to be in town, there was much to-ing and fro-ing on venue choice, lighting, a Twitter hashtag (#woapfbd) was born, and eventually Rosa took charge and booked us in at Fratelli.

I'd never been there before (for reasons perhaps not entirely logical or fair, I always seem to overlook the bars and restaurants on Blair and Allen streets) but was pretty excited about the $70 three-course set menu (with matching wines, of course) they had on offer. Not to mention spending an evening with the likes of these lovely ladies.

For my entree, I chose the Wairarapa beef cheek ravioli in Napolitana sauce with basil & Kapiti parmesan. I don't want to say it tasted predictable, but it tasted exactly as it should: the beef was tender, the pasta perfectly cooked, the tomato sauce just the right thickness and just enough cheese sprinkled on top to add a bit of a nutty bite. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The pan-fried fish* with celeriac puree, sauteed prawns, shaved fennel & cavolo nero was stunning (and a much more manageable portion than poor Andrea's** enormous veal shank!). The fish was perfectly seasoned, perhaps a shade overcooked for my liking but otherwise I couldn't fault the dish; it was gone in no time. I especially loved the contrast of the meaty fish, the robust cavolo nero (by far one of my favourite greens) and the smooth celeriac puree. I'll be cooking something like this at home soon.

For dessert I chose the trio of gelati and completely neglected to photograph it. To be honest, I was far more interested in tasting each of the flavours: pistachio, passionfruit & salted caramel. Each one was beautiful but I'd have to say my favourite was the pistachio, with little bits of nut (salted caramel was a close second, though!). Amazing.

Overall it was a very enjoyable dinner, and the company was just as good as the food (if not better!). The rest of the menu looked good too: I'll definitely be back.


*and here I show my total lack of attention at what fish they were using that day: I was too swept up in the conversation and in how absolutely delicious this was.

**she had come from a full day of the Fisher & Paykel Masterclass... a marathon day of food, to say the least!


Fratelli
15 Blair St
Wellington CBD
(04) 801 6615

Open for dinner Mon-Sat, 5:30pm onward.



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