Gusty Gourmet's Top Five Picks: Visa Wellington on a Plate Events

Yesterday I patiently sat at my desk all through lunchtime so I could leave work an hour early, get myself over to the St James Theatre and join a throng of food-loving Wellingtonians (okay, and some from further afield, too) to celebrate the launch of the fourth annual Wellington on a Plate food festival. It was great: a big, long table heaving with cheese and bread and other nibbles from Ruth Pretty Catering was centrestage, there was plenty of local beer and wine on offer, and the atmosphere was one of pure enthusiasm.
And, really, what better way to spend a rainy Monday evening than on a dramatically lit stage, sharing wine and cheese and pretty damn tasty nibbles with a bunch of food and media types? The excitement was palpable, the room was buzzing, I had a fantastic time and I don't think it was just the wine. It's nearly here, folks, the fourth year of what has quickly become one of Wellington's defining events, and anticipation is high.

If you're as indecisive as I am, you'll know how hard it is to whittle down a huge programme into a Top Five, but I've done my best. These picks reflect my personal tastes, and there are bound to be heaps more that you might like better, so I'd recommend a good read through the programme (online at http://www.wellingtononaplate.com/, and hard copies should be making their way around town soon) to find your own must-eats. And there are a lot to choose from - 111 events this year! And 109 restaurants participating in Dine Wellington, and 64 Burger Wellington entries. Yep, it's big. It's exciting. It's better than Christmas. Get scheming!

Gusty Gourmet's Top Five Visa Wellington on a Plate Events:
1. The Oyster Saloon 
Daily (except Monday 13 August) 5-8pm. 

If you're a fan of oysters, if you're on the fence, or heck, even if you think you don't like oysters (just as long as you're not allergic - if so, I'm sorry!), this is a must in my book. When I saw that there's going to be a pop-up oyster bar run by Yellow Brick Road throughout the duration of the festival I was already sold. Rachel Taulelei of Yellow Brick Road is already my favourite fishmonger/oyster-shucker and it's pretty fair to say if I manage to get myself out of the house on a Sunday morning it's usually to the City Market where I'll slurp down a freshly shucked oyster with lemon and hot sauce before I can do anything else. So, okay, this is my kind of event. There was no way it wasn't going to be number one. 

I've always been a firm believer in having oysters freshly shucked - none of this plastic pottle business - and I know Rachel shares that ethos, so I'm really excited about an event that's accessible to the public (no booking required!) that is all about the oyster. From the sounds of the programme, there might be fried oysters and chowder, too - all things I can get on board with. The Oyster Saloon will be open from 5 to 8 pm most evenings in the Wilson carpark on Cuba St, right by Floriditas. I have no idea how it's going to be set up - will there be covered seating in case of snow? - but I don't really care.

Plus, it's not a one-night-only event with limited places, so if you're at all like me (the indecisive late bird who gets no worms) this is one Wellington on a Plate event you shouldn't miss. As of today, the Oyster Saloon has got a Twitter account and a spanking new Facebook page already full of tantalising photos of oysters. What a tease. But until then, I'll be getting my usual oyster fix from Yellow Brick Road at the City Market every Sunday... here, I'll tease you with a shot of my most recent oyster from the other day:

2. The Larder Parks Up at the Garage
Tuesday 14 August, 6:30pm. $100.

Second on my list is this collaboration between one of my favourite cafes in town, the Larder, and one of my favourite new Wellington craft breweries, Garage Project. Garage Project have been pretty active in the beer scene over the last year or so - I think I first noticed them with their 24/24 (24 beers in 24 weeks, brewed in super-small batches and launched every Tuesday at Hashigo Zake. Since then they've done a whole bunch of other exciting things like a collaboration with Norwegian brewers Nøgne Ø, a slew of further limited-release beers, and, just recently, got a proper brewery set up in their headquarters in - where else - an old garage on Aro St.

And the Larder? It's firmly within my top five favourite Wellington cafes, and a favourite brunch spot (you may recall I blogged about my Larder love back in 2011) - their hot smoked salmon with scrambled eggs is to die for. Plus, head chef Jacob Brown's food philosophy is one I fully agree with - local, seasonal, not too complicated.

So imagine my excitement at hearing about this event, which is going to be held in Garage Project's brewery on a Tuesday night. It's a six-course dinner: three courses of food matched to existing Garage Project beers, three courses of beers brewed especially to match Jacob Brown's dishes. $100 well spent. YES. 

3. Logan Brown Wild Game & Seafood Degustation Dinners
Wild Game: Monday 13 / Tuesday 14 August. Seafood: Monday 20 / Tuesday 21 August. 6:30pm. $185.

At $185 a pop, I know I can't afford to go to both these dinners - in fact, with everything else I want to do during the festival I don't even know if I'll be able to afford one! But as far as degustations go, both of these sound excellent - starting off with champagne and freshly shucked oysters (and you know how I feel about that), then a five-course sit-down dinner. The wild game dinner features wild rabbit, hare (it'd be interesting to compare the two), boar, thar and pudding matched with Ata Rangi wines; the seafood dinner's got whitebait, paua, scallops, sea bass and pudding with Palliser Estate wines. Actually, with wines and all those courses and oysters AND champagnes that $185 is starting to look like a steal... hmmm. 

4.  Beef Wellington 
Saturday 11 August, 12-2pm. $75.

It's not every day you get to see exactly where your meat comes from, so this event caught my attention when it mentioned a master butcher would be demonstrating the art of butchering a 300kg cattle beast. Wowee! Plus there's a hands-on component - you get to try your hand at boning and butterflying a leg of lamb to take home. And then, tasting of different beef cuts cooked by Rex Morgan (of Boulcott St Bistro fame)? Plus some Pinot Noir? Yum. Sorry, vegetarians.*

5. Six Feet Under
Tuesday 21 August, 6:30pm. $70.

I know, I've already mentioned the Larder once before on this list. But really, this looks like a great event - six courses of animal feet! Stop cringing, guys, it's going to be good! I've eaten chicken feet plenty at yum cha, and snails, but not yet some of the other feet mentioned in the programme: pigs' trotters, calves' foot. But there's a first time for everything, and I have a pretty high level of trust that whatever it is, the Larder will do it well. Feeling a bit squeamish? Willing to push your personal boundaries a bit? If so, I might see you there. 

Honourable Mentions:

• A handful of big events are on in conjunction with Wellington on a Plate, and the main reason they're not in my top five list above is because I wanted to highlight some of the smaller individual events. However, totally deserving of a mention are Beervana (I've somehow missed this every time, but am determined not to this year), the New Zealand Chocolate Festival (which I didn't miss last year - you can read about it here), and the Fisher & Paykel Masterclass with an amazing lineup of chefs, the likes of which include Rex Morgan, Shaun Cloustoun, Johnny Schwass, Ruth Pretty, Michael Meredith, and heaps more. Awesome. 

*I've just realised none of my picks are very vegetarian-friendly! Sorry! But I do know Matterhorn is doing a vegetarian degustation for Dine Wellington this year, and I'll be doing my Dine picks in another post... will keep you guys in mind then. 

Visa Wellington on a Plate runs from 10-26 August 2012. Bookings open at 9am Thursday 21 June for Visa cardholder pre-sales, and 5pm Friday 22 June for everyone else. 

Samurai Bowl, Christchurch

I try to hit up Samurai Bowl at least once every time I visit Christchurch. My love of this place goes back years and years, to early on in my student days in when I was first exploring Christchurch eateries on my own, with a car, beyond the fish and chip shop near my grandma's house in Riccarton or the Chinese restaurant just up the road. 

Back then, Japanese food in Wellington was still pretty limited (it still is, in many ways) and I was really, really excited to find a place serving cheap, authentic gyudon and ramen. Back then, it was just a dark and tiny hole in the wall on Gloucester St, walls covered in printed A4 sheets advertising menu items and specials. But it was good. (And did I mention it was cheap? Important during my student days.)

Over the years they expanded, taking over a bigger space next door to the original shop on Gloucester St, but continued to serve decent, authentic, affordable Japanese rice bowls, noodle soups and other bits and pieces. And every time I visited Christchurch I'd make sure to call in for some ramen or gyudon. 

And then, and I almost don't even need to say this because you'll already know because it's in Christchurch, the earthquakes. If I'm not mistaken, I seem to recall Samurai Bowl was closed after the September 2010 earthquake and remained closed after the February 2011 ones which saw the old Samurai Bowl building eventually torn down. (I could be confusing this with Burgers and Beers, which was also closed from September 2010, but in any case the old Gloucester St Samurai Bowl is long gone.)

Finally, in September 2011, old Samurai Bowl reopened in a new spot on Colombo St, right near the South City shopping centre. I didn't find out, though, until I was down in Christchurch for Christmas, when I was driving along Colombo St and had to pull over when I saw the familiar old flags flapping out the front. You know that kind of emotional surprise-relief you get when you find something really dear to you that you thought you'd lost forever? Yeah, that. 

The following is just a small selection of what's on offer at Samurai Bowl; what I've eaten during my last two visits to Christchurch. It's all been good. If you're in Christchurch, I highly recommend it for cheap Japanese eats, pretty close to how you'd get in Japan.

First of all: tonkotsu ramen. There is nowhere in Wellington that serves ramen like this: a deeply rich, salty, milky-thick pork bone broth with chewy, al dente noodles, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, pickled ginger and pork belly. The egg, boiled just so that the yolk's not quite solid, and soaked in a soy-based seasoning (I believe), is a dollar extra. Definitely worth it. For those who aren't so keen on the super-rich tonkotsu broth, there are other flavours: shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso, spicy miso, curry, and their signature samurai ramen (tonkotsu and shoyu). All up, it'll cost you around ten bucks, more if you add extra toppings like the egg. 

Not on the official menu, but really awesome and definitely worth trying if you're into ramen: tsukemen. If you've read the ramen issue (Issue 1) of David Chang's new-ish food quarterly, Lucky Peach, you'll know what I'm talking about. For everyone else, here's a quick rundown. 

Ramen is usually served like the tonkotsu ramen above: noodles and toppings swimming in broth. If you break ramen down into all its parts, though, it consists of the noodles, the toppings, a concentrated flavour base (tare) and the broth. Tsukemen is where you get the noodles and toppings separately, and dip them into a bowl filled with the tare, which is super salty and intense - definitely a sauce for dipping, not something you'd drink. Apparently, though I've never been able to do this (too full by the time I've finished the noodles!) you can ask for the tare to be topped up with the broth once you've finished eating the noodles. Not sure if Samurai Bowl does this, but if you make it through the noodles, it's worth a shot. 

Anyway, this is good. Really good. And quite possibly the only place in NZ that serves tsukemen. Let me know if I'm wrong...

In Japan, if you're at a typical ramen shop, you can almost guarantee they'll be serving gyoza too. Samurai Bowl's are great: with chewy, soft tops and crispy bottoms, they're cooked just the way I like them, the best of both the fried and steamed dumpling worlds.

And, what first made me fall in love with this place: gyudon. Your average gyudon consists of a bowl of rice topped with thinly sliced beef and onions simmered in a sweet soy sauce. It's pretty typical Japanese fast food, too; the Yoshinoya chain of gyudon shops is almost ubiquitous in Japan and is one of the few fast food chains I get excited about (hint: it's most excellent at 3am, and beats a greasy kebab/burger/slimy noodles hands down any day). 

This time I went for the ontama-kimchi gyudon: gyudon topped with an onsen-tamago (really slow-cooked egg that's only just set) and kimchi. It may not be for everyone; you may want to stick with plain gyudon. But for me, this combination of toppings (pretty common in Japan) brings back lots of memories of gyudon-eating in Japan. 

On a recent visit I took my dad and grandma along. Dad's choice: this vibrantly coloured avocado-maguro don. Perfect for summer, perfect for sushi-lovers: this was like a deconstructed sushi roll; the fish and avocado served atop sushi rice with nori, ginger and wasabi (add your own soy sauce to taste). 

I feel like Samurai Bowl's karaage has been pretty hit and miss in the past, but the last couple times I've been (coincidentally, since they've reopened in the new location), this Japanese fried chicken has been great: really crispy, really flavourful, just perfect dipped in some Kewpie mayo.

On the specials menu the last time we visited: soy sauce-seasoned grilled scallops, really tasty and tender and, at $5, an easy little nibble to add to your meal.

I'm really glad Samurai Bowl has reopened and seems to be going strong in its new location. It's cheap, casual (grab a menu yourself and order at the counter), food arrives pretty fast, with friendly staff, Japanese beer on tap and a BYO license. Plus they have the best ramen in the South Island, maybe even in all of NZ (though I haven't been to any of the ramen shops in Auckland so I can't say for sure!). 

Samurai Bowl

Shop 5, 174 Colombo St

Christchurch

(03) 379 6752

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Elements Cafe, Lyall Bay

You know how there's always that one cafe or restaurant you've always meant to go to but have never been? Where every time you walk/drive/cycle by you're all, "let's go there next time!" For the longest time, Elements was that kind of place. I even followed them on Twitter for ages, mostly so that I'd be reminded to go there every time they tweeted. And still I didn't go. 

I guess it was because I got into this routine over the last year or two: I'd head to Miramar for brunch and, on the way back, do a meandering drive back around the bays and sometimes drive through Lyall Bay on the way home. So each time I'd pass Elements, I'd already be full. 

But I've finally broken that habit and incorporated Elements into my rotation of weekend brunch spots. I'm so glad I did. The following is an amalgamation of food eaten there, by friends and me, over several visits over the last couple of months. 

On a visit with Sophie and Sophie, I snuck a bite of Sophie's twice-baked goat's cheese souffle. It was light yet substantial at the same time, airy with a whiff of that unmistakably tangy goat's cheese flavour. I quite liked it, enough so that I ended up ordering one for myself on another visit.

Sophie's beetroot, salad & halloumi open sandwich on olive toast seemed easier to eat as a salad than a sandwich, and she reckoned the olive toast was pretty salty and intense, but good. I'm a sucker for anything with halloumi on it so I was pretty happy to have a taste.

On a visit with Eric I got to try some of his macaroni and cheese. Elements' version is a huge, hearty bowl of big macaroni elbows baked in cheese sauce studded with chunks of shredded roast pork. Herbed breadcrumbs are a nice touch, too. This was filling and tasty, though the pork needed more flavour - perhaps we're just too used to bacon? 

I couldn't write this blog post without trying Elements' famed lambs fry & bacon. So many people have raved about it that I was a little worried my expectations would be too high, that it'd be okay but I'd be disappointed. I shouldn't have worried: holy crap it was good. It even looked good (if you've ever tried Google image searching lambs fry and bacon, you'll know what I mean), enough so that we could hear the elderly man at the next table commenting about the presentation, and when I had finished the last drop of gravy he leaned over to ask me if it was good, though I suspect he knew the answer.

And it's funny, because I thought it was going to be such a rich, heavy dish that I wouldn't be able to finish it, and there I was mopping up the last bits of gravy with the last of Sophie's side order of bread, totally satisfied but almost wanting more. It was the perfect balance: thick, minerally lambs' liver, meaty thick-cut mushrooms, crisp bacon, sourdough that soaked up all the gravy. And oh, the gravy. I think it was the best part, the underlying sweet tones from the caramelised onion softening up all that savoury richness. So, yeah. Get yourself to Elements. Get yourself this dish. It's seriously so good.



While we're on the topic of seriously good, can I just say I love golden syrup butter almost as much as I love maple butter (which featured on some crumpets at Cafe Polo a while back - sadly it looks as though they've disappeared off Polo's menu) and miso butter? So I couldn't not order these crumpets. They were hot and tasted fresh, albeit a little gummy in the centre - perhaps a bit underdone. Still, the golden syrup butter made up for any shortfalls in the crumpets (and frankly, I'd prefer a slightly-undercooked homemade crumpet to a supermarket version any day). Awesome.

Thought I'd quickly mention coffee - I ordered a flat white on each of my visits to Elements, and kept kicking myself afterwards for not asking for it in a tulip cup as I often do at cafes that I know serve flat whites in bigger sized cups. Is it just me, or have cafes started serving larger and milkier flat whites over the last few years? It's just my personal preference, but I do prefer them not to be too milky - I would order a latte if I wanted a lot of milk.

Anyway, little personal quirks aside, Elements does a pretty decent coffee. I'm having a brainfreeze moment and can't remember who they get their beans from, but when I remember I'll put it up here - or if you know, leave it in the comments!

So, that's it for now - Elements has firmly wedged itself among my favourite weekend suburban cafes and I'm all the happier for it. I can't wait to go for dinner sometime (though I've been saying that about Cafe Polo and the Larder for years) aaand they have cooking classes which look worthwhile. But for now, I recommend this: if you haven't been for brunch, get there quick smart and order yourself some lambs fry.

Elements Cafe
144 Onepu Rd
Lyall Bay
Wellington
(04) 939 1292


Open Mon-Sun 8:30am-5pm; Tue-Sat 6pm-late