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

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!