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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Wellington on a Plate 2011:Chocolate Festival

Two years ago I went on holiday to Tonga and missed most of the inaugural Wellington on a Plate (except for this fine, fine lunch at Logan Brown). Last year I made up for it by getting in as many Dine Wellington set lunches as possible, attending the Cibo Arte event at La Bella Italia in Petone, the WLG pop-up restaurant... I'm feeling full just thinking about it all.

This year I haven't been on a Pacific Island holiday but I have been away for two of the three Wellington on a Plate weekends (having a lovely time up the mountain and in Auckland and Waiheke, I might add) and my weekdays have filled up with meetings and appointments and a general sense of oh-my-god-so-busy that I haven't even gotten to a fraction of the things on my list.

Still, I've managed to fit in a bit, including the opening of the New Zealand Chocolate Festival last weekend, where I met up with fellow food bloggers Rosa, Shirleen & Emma and wandered around tasting chocolate for a while before I (sadly) had to head back to work.

I have to admit I'm not a chocolate-mad person. I don't go weak at the knees at the mention of truffles or ganache or devil's food cupcakes. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like chocolate - but I feel the same way about it as I do about all food: if it's done well, it's the best thing in the world; if done half-heartedly, I can take it or leave it.

So the best thing about the Chocolate Festival was seeing so many of New Zealand's artisan chocolatiers in one place, seeing so many people so passionate about what they do. I was definitely wowed by several of the stallholders. I won't list them all, but here are a few highlights:

She Chocolat are one of my favourite chocolate-makers... I was won over by their Decadent Dates years ago and have been out to their shop & cafe in Governor's Bay, Christchurch a couple of times. Here they were tasting nutty and rich dark-chocolate covered cacao beans.

Schoc is a Wellington favourite (made in Greytown) and they had a table full of their usual range of chocolate bars, but the most exciting thing was the little display of some new flavours: curry & pappadom dark chocolate and "Tropical Heat" white chocolate, with hints of coconut, pineapple & curry. I didn't buy any but I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these flavours - they were unique but I can see them becoming pretty addictive. 

RQute is a relative newcomer on the chocolate scene. Rochelle roasts and grinds the cacao beans herself in the back of Ernesto on Cuba St before making adorably colourful, almost cartoon-like chocolate creations, including a range of chocolate lollipops and chocolate puzzles (which would make great gifts).

Criollo chocolates were down from Auckland selling a range of exquisite-looking moulded chocolates. The highlight for me, though, were these pralines. Light and crunchy and sweet but not overwhelming. I nearly bought a box until I realised I'd probably eat them all before I got back to work.

I couldn't not include Esque - the very lovely Annette is at the City Market most Sundays (I posted about it here) and makes the most special chocolate, exquisitely flavoured and elegantly wrapped in paper and ribbon. I took a block of her "buzz" chocolate - dark chocolate with manuka honey brittle - back to work in the hopes it'd soften the fact I was gone for so long on a Friday morning. It may have worked: it disappeared in a flash! 

I'm glad I was able to attend the chocolate festival, even if I did miss out on some of the demonstrations because I had to run back to work. Other highlights included the tasting session run by Swiss chocolatier Rene Fellman (it makes sense, but I never stopped to think that slowing down and breathing in could bring out so many layers of flavour) and the warm, gooey pain au chocolate I messily ate while the opening formalities took place (and quickly ran away to wash the melted chocolate off my hands as soon as I could... oops!).

The organisers said they're hoping to make the NZ Chocolate Festival a regular event, and it might move around the country... here's hoping it's in Wellington again soon!

On Tuesday morning I had started a blog post that I was going to finish during my lunch hour. Needless to say, events of the day kind of pushed that off the radar for now. In the meantime, here's this post - which also appears on my other blog. 

At lunchtime on Tuesday a big earthquake hit Christchurch.  Having spent quite a bit of time in Christchurch, and because a lot of my family lives there, it felt like a personal blow. I'm sure it did for so many people, not just me.

Being up here in Wellington, the worst and most pervasive feeling of all is feeling utterly helpless. At times it's felt like all we can do is sit and watch the footage on TV, refresh the news websites over and over, until we're overwhelmed with tears or numb with disbelief and it all seems hopeless and we feel helpless and don't know what to do anymore.

But we can do something.

There are so many people who are out there doing awesome work, using whatever skills they have to help out in any way they can. It's been so heartening and awesome to see people all over NZ and the world band together. (Actually, this is true in so many disaster-type situations; it just feels a lot closer to home now, I guess.)

There are some great lists floating around the internet of awesome things people are doing to raise funds for the Christchurch earthquake appeal. The Wellingtonista has one here and Wellington Tourism has put together a list as well. Because it's late and I need to sleep (!!) I won't list specifics of all the events but definitely check out the links; I will be surely going to as many of those as I can (for sure Hashigo Zake on Saturday night and the City Market and L'Affare on Sunday) and getting as involved as I can.

And tomorrow morning I will be getting up bright and early to do some baking to take down to Grow From Here garden store at the top of Cuba St. Laura from Hungry and Frozen will be there as well as many others selling donated "white elephant" type items, and local businesses have donated goodies as well. Kaye from Grow From Here says it'll be running all week and is open to anyone to buy and sell! All proceeds will go to the Red Cross Earthquake Appeal.

More info here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=201237359902001&index=1 - Please share!

Hope to return to normal blog posts soon.

Love you Christchurch.

Cibo Arte - Food & Art at La Bella Italia

Florence: Last Saturday, Millie and I were generously invited by Antonio of La Bella Italia to the booked out Wellington on a Plate CiboArte – a night of food and art with soprano Julia Booth. We arrived and were seated with an interesting couple, a lady from southern Italy and an English man who had met on the internet before immigrating to New Zealand. Such was the conversation between guests seated among La Bella's shelves laden with artisanal supplies. Antonio and his gorgeous wife along with their attentive staff ensured guests were seated, comfortable and furnished with a glass of red (The Siren Martinborough Merlot Cabernet) or white (Melody Chardonnay).

Millie: We'd been to La Bella Italia before (and to their cafe on the Terrace), but never for this kind of event. I was especially excited because I've been trying to get to as many Wellington on a Plate events as I can (and since I left the planning too late most of my top choices were sold out) and this one sounded fabulous. Anticipation levels were high as guests streamed through the entrance and soon the cavernous warehouse-like space was filled with Italian food and Italian food aficionados alike.

Florence: Antonio introduced the evening's fare and entertainment - his passion for food positively oozing out of his every pore. The entrée was polenta on ragout di costine di maiale e funghi (soft polenta with wild mushrooms and pork ribs ragout).

Florence: The polenta was soft and creamy, the perfect base to mop up the simple but perfectly matched flavours of the melt-in-your-mouth pork and mushroom ragout. Appetite sufficiently whetted, the gorgeous and talented Booth took to the stage accompanied by Mark Dorrell, for her opening piece “O mio babbino” (Puccini), her voice swelling and filling the rafters of La Bella.

Florence: In between courses and the opera, Millie and I were able to nip up through the closely nestled tables to take a few snaps of the well-oiled (no doubt olive) machine of the kitchen. The main course was noce di agnello arrosto con fagioli al fiasco e cavolo nero (roasted lamb rump with borlotti beans and cavolo nero casserole).

Millie: It was fun to see the kitchen staff expertly dishing up the meals, and seeing the finishing touches being added, we took our seats and readied ourselves for the next course. Sure enough, the lamb followed shortly thereafter (in quite generous portions, I may add!) and we dug in.

Florence: The lamb was succulent and cooked perfectly, still pink and juicy in the centre, and was lightly crusted with fragrant dried rosemary. The borlotti beans were tender and the casserole was rustic and simple – perfect with the merlot cabernet and good conversation. I'm partial to cavolo nero when it still has a bit of bite to it, however one can't expect bitey cavolo nero in a casserole, and I am certainly not going to argue with the Italians!

Millie: This dish felt so indulgent, but really was quite simple, hearty, healthy(ish) food (despite - or maybe because of - all the olive oil) - protein and seasonal greens, root vegetables and legumes. I've been really into this rustic style of cooking this winter, so this was definitely a welcome treat.

Florence: Bracket two of Julia Booth's performance was just as sterling as the first, holding the audience in raptures and soon the dessert, zabaglione al marsala con savoiardi (Marsala wine sabayon with ladyfinger biscuits), was being served. The sabayon was light (I wondered if perhaps there were egg whites in it as well as the usual yolks), and not overly sweet with top notes of the marsala wine, all pleasantly scooped up with the sugary crunchy ladyfinger. It was all over too soon.

Millie: As with the previous courses, I was struck by the elegant simplicity of this dish. Nothing too pretentious or out-of-this-world, just a delicate lingering sweetness on the tongue. It was light and indulgent at the same time and was a fitting finale to the evening's meal.

Florence: Julia Booth's final pieces were odes to love - “Song to the Moon” (Dvorak), “The Man I Love” (Gershwin) and a comic and expertly performed piece “Girl in 14G” (Jennifer Tesori) that had the audience giggling into their desserts. Antonio finished off the evening extolling the virtues of art and food, with him an aficionado of both (and warning the attendees that if anyone ordered a cappuccino he would cry).

Millie: I'm no expert on opera, but Julia's performance was superb, and her last set really highlighted the versatility of her vocal talents. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for her name in the future.

Florence: Millie and I happily rounded off the evening with a limoncello, and a browse round the inspiring grocery aisles. The limoncello is a much more brightly coloured and opaque version of the translucent New Zealand limoncello I am used to. The Italian lady from our table enlightened us as to the difference, noting that this limoncello is made using unripe lemons, giving it a much brighter appearance and opacity. The digestif was sour (but not lip puckeringly so) and was much smoother with less of an alcohol burn than the limoncellos I am used to.

Millie: I was really tempted to buy myself a bottle of that limoncello, but managed to talk myself out of it (I'm moving on the weekend!). Overall I was quite impressed with this event; the food was superb, the performance spellbinding and we were in great company. Although this event was organised as part of Wellington on a Plate, La Bella Italia regularly put on various special dinners, cooking classes and other events, which can be found here.

A wonderful evening at a Wellington favourite.

La Bella Italia 

10 Nevis St

Petone

(04) 566 9303

www.labellaitalia.co.nz

Millie and Florence attended CiboArte as guests of La Bella Italia.

Matterhorn - Wellington on a Plate Food Bloggers' Lunch

Last Saturday I had lunch at Matterhorn with a fantastic bunch of visiting (and not-so-visiting) food bloggers, hosted by the lovely ladies from Positively Wellington Tourism and Wellington on a Plate. It was the first day of Wellington's favourite new food festival and I arrived with my stomach empty and my heart full of anticipation. Not only was I excited to meet everyone, but I also had never had a full meal at Matterhorn before, though I've long been a fan of their drinks and bar snacks menu, the cool-yet-casual vibe, the airy courtyard and the live music that's often played on weekends. 

We were there for the $35 set lunch that Matterhorn is offering as part of Dine Wellington 2010 for Wellington on a Plate. The concept behind Dine is that each restaurant offers a set lunch (and/or, in many cases, dinner) where you choose two courses plus a glass of Wairarapa wine and tea or coffee. Very exciting stuff, and I perused the menu whilst waiting for everyone to arrive. Soon all nine of us had gathered, introductions were made, coffees arrived at the table and we fell into conversation, naturally, about food, photography and blogging.

While we chatted away, exchanging business cards and food-blogger stories, we nibbled on a few starters from Matterhorn's regular lunch menu. The white bean and lemon dip with crispy pitas and spring onion relish ($8) was a treat; I especially loved the crunchy, lightly seasoned pita chips.

I'm a lover of olives, so I was thrilled to see this olive selection with reggiano shortbread ($7). I loved the big, juicy green olives and the little, almond-sized ones (I only wish I knew what the different varieties were!), and I snuck a piece of the shortbread - it was light and buttery with a hint of sharp, salty reggiano cheese.

When the entrees arrived, the table became a flurry of photographic activity, everyone concentrating on getting the best shot. It was definitely a new and different experience for me not being the only one at the table surreptitiously fiddling with my camera and whipping it out whenever food arrives, but I'd like to think I learned a bit about food photography after watching these guys in action.*

I decided to choose a main and a dessert as my two courses, but I was lucky enough to get to try some of this carpaccio of yellow tail kingfish with rhubarb, grapefruit and ginger buckwheat. The fish was light and fresh-tasting with a hint of citrusy flavour.

As a main I had the crayfish basmati in risotto style with prawns, fennel and lemon.  The rich, savoury crayfish flavour permeated the rice; it would almost have been too rich for me had it not been balanced by the succulent prawns and the delicate shaved fennel, cool and crisp with a hint of aniseed flavour. On the whole, all the elements came together beautifully - this is definitely something I could eat again and again.

Most of our group chose the wagyu skirt steak with red wine onions, celeriac remoulade and parsley salad. Peter generously gave me a piece of his steak - it was tender and juicy, and the remoulade was cool, creamy and crunchy. 

Most of the others in our group left before dessert as they were scheduled to go to another Wellington on a Plate event, but a few of us stayed on as we still had two desserts coming. And I'm glad I did - this vanilla roast pineapple with coconut panna cotta, passion fruit sorbet & nut biscuit was by far my favourite part of the meal (I can't help it, I have such a sweet tooth!). The pineapple was mellow and syrupy, providing a sharp contrast to the tangy sorbet, the crisp, airy biscuit, and the smooth, delicate panna cotta. If I had to pick favourites I'd have to choose the panna cotta: the coconut added a subtly different dimension and I thought I detected a hint of something cardamom-y in there, though it could have just been my imagination. Superb. 

All up, it was a fantastic lunch and a wonderful start to Wellington on a Plate. The atmosphere was great, the food well-presented and the company was delightful. The wines included in the $35 set menu paired well with the meal; pictured above is the Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay 2008 and the other choice, the Ata Rangi Celebre 2007, seemed to have been enjoyed as well. 

I'll definitely return to Matterhorn soon, not just for my usual pursuit of awesome cocktails and bar snacks but also for their lunch and dinner menu - great for a special occasion! Hmm, I do have a few of those coming up... 

Matterhorn

106 Cuba St (in between Rex Royale and the comic shop, down a long corridor)

Wellington

(04) 384 3359

www.matterhorn.co.nz

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Millie dined as a guest of Positively Wellington Tourism and Wellington on a Plate. Thanks!!

*if you're not familiar with the following blogs, you should definitely check them out - they have stunning photography and never fail to make me hungry!

A Table For Two (Sydney)

So D'Lish (Auckland)

Grab Your Fork (Sydney)

He Needs Food (Sydney)

Hungry and Frozen (Wellington)

Souvlaki for the Soul (Sydney)

Wellington on a Plate - procrastinator's picks

My, how time flies! In the last month or so I've started a new job, found a new flat, had friends and family visit, kept up with extramural study... I've been painfully conscious that amid all the chaos this blog has been languishing in some dusty corner somewhere, but I have some posts planned, so thanks for all your patience!

I can't believe it's mid-August already and the first day of Visa Wellington on a Plate 2010. If you're from Wellington I'm sure you've read lots about this food festival by now, seen the flags flying on the lamp-posts, or even made some bookings yourselves. For whatever reason (indecisiveness, procrastination, sheer busy-ness), and despite my total excitement for this event, I was a bit late in the game and by the time I went to make bookings a couple weeks ago, many of the events had sold out. Luckily, there's still plenty to choose from - here are just a few of my picks:

Moore Wilson's Wellington Food Heroes Day - Moore Wilson's carpark, Sunday 22 August, 9-2pm, free.  Too easy! It's free, no bookings required, I'd most likely be at Moore Wilson's anyway (after all, it's just down the road from my house), AND there are going to be stalls run by the likes of Ruth Pretty, Laurent Loudeac, Bohemein Chocolates, La Cloche, and Wairarapa wines - just to name a few.


Pizza, Pig & Profiteroles - Lunch with Ruth Pretty, Kapiti Coast, Sunday 29 August 12-4pm, $95. If I didn't have to move that weekend I'd be at this for sure - lunch at Ruth Pretty's personal dining room in Te Horo including wood-fired pizza, spit-roasted suckling pig and (you guessed it!) profiteroles. Delightful.


White, White, Baby!  - GT Nissan Showroom, 38 Kent Terrace, Saturday 21 August 7:30pm, $150. Boulcott St Bistro will be serving up a menu of all-white food - this sounds really intriguing. The idea behind it is to explore what happens when we "neutralise a sense" by taking away the visual/colour element of food.

Beervana - Wellington Town Hall, Friday 27 and Saturday 28 August, $30.  I missed last year's Beervana so hopefully I'll be able to attend this one! Lately it seems that the craft beer movement has been picking up around these parts and Beervana will be showcasing over 160 beers. I can't wait - Beervana's website is here.

Dine 2010 - Last year some 30- or 40-odd restaurants and cafes participated in this event, offering set lunch deals (such as Logan Brown's $35 lunch I had last year) and special dinner menus. This year's event has taken off - there's around 90 eateries participating. I'll definitely be partaking in a few lunches over the next couple weeks, though it's so hard to choose! I've already got Matterhorn lined up, and there are so many more to choose from.

Burger Wellington - this is a new event for this year's festival and another one I'm so excited about. Like Dine 2010, there's no set time or place but rather 30 or so restaurants are offering special burgers - check out Mrs Cake's post on St Johns Bar's wild game burger. I'm also keen to try Duke Carvell's Ali Baa Baa (lamb) burger and Osteria Del Toro's Movida Burger (calamari on a Spanish roll).

If you're like me and haven't made any bookings yet, fear not. There's still plenty to choose from over the next two weeks. Stay tuned for the write-ups!

Ladies, an Evening

It's a shame it wasn't 11am and about the right time for morning tea and warm scones, however tucked inside the lovely L'affare on a wintry evening armed with a wine, a sesame seed dipped club sandwich and an audience with Alexa Johnston – the author of the gorgeous “Ladies, a Plate” and “A Second Helping”, was a pretty close second. Millie and I (yes after a very long blogging respite on my behalf!) recently attended the evening with the award-winning custodian of kiwi home baking, Alexa Johnston, run by the Book Council of New Zealand.

It was truly a pleasure to talk baking with the grandmas, aunties, mothers, daughters, granddaughters of Wellington, and of course Alexa – whose exuberance and flair made the evening a lovely homage to the accomplished bakers of yesteryear.

Bespectacled and perched on a bar stool, Alexa told stories about her childhood kitchen experiments,her earlier years flatting with Ray McVinnie and their masterpieces, her love of trawling through second hand bookshops for her much loved community cookbooks, her treasured recipes and their creators, and her obsession with old fashioned kitchen utensils. Alexa had the audience giggling away, and recalling their favourite traditional pud' recipes for her up and coming book “What's for pudding” due to be released in 2011.

The books themselves are collections of traditional kiwi home baking – the kind of fare that graces the tins of your granny, your great aunt and your mum, and the tables of community get-togethers. The photographs are a beautiful portrait of what Alexa describes as an “honourable tradition”, and were all lovingly taken by Alexa in her home kitchen – complete with embroidered tablecloths, floral china and doilies. The recipes are all referenced to the lovely ladies who once contributed them to some community cookbook or other throughout New Zealand history.


Our appetites thoroughly whetted, Millie and I raced back to Millie's for homebaked cookies and tea. A lovely evening – if you ever have a chance to hear Alexa speak, she is really engaging and along with her books, is highly recommended!

A well thought-out evening. And who doesn't like being around people obsessed with food?!!

Upcoming Events: Wellington on a Plate

You might have already heard of this but there's a new food festival in Wellington this month. Unfortunately I'll be overseas for most of it, but it definitely seems worth checking out (go to wellingtononaplate.com or pick up one of the brochures that seem to be floating around town). There are plenty of events planned, like food tours, tasting sessions, special meals on at various restaurants - it seems as though the same people behind the Harbourside Market and the new City Market are involved. Prices vary from free or cheap (coffee tasting sessions (free), market tours ($15)) to prohibitively expensive ($399! for the Martinborough Chef's Tour which includes a helicopter flight, meals and accommodation at the Bolton Hotel - I guess it'd be worth it if you can afford it).

Glad to see Wellington embracing its culinary culture!