Ti Kouka Cafe, Willis St

It's not exactly new anymore, but Ti Kouka Cafe on Willis St has fast won a place in my heart as one of my favourite new cafes. If I wasn't heading out to Miramar all the time I think I'd be here a lot more often: the food is good, they make the best damn strawberry milkshake of all time (I'm straining to think of a better strawberry shake I've had but getting nowhere), and on the couple of times I've been there the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed even though it was around noon on a Saturday: no big deal that it's peak weekend-brunch time or anything. 

And the strawberry milkshake ($6): like I said. So. Incredibly. Good. That's real strawberry you see there, no artificial pink stuff here. And those little black flecks of vanilla? Always a good sign. This shake is, true to its name, a milkshake rather than a thickshake: it's light and almost fluffy-tasting and doesn't weigh your stomach down like a brick if you drink the whole thing. Which I did almost immediately. And then had to restrain myself from ordering another one.

On my first visit to Ti Kouka I couldn't go past the smoked paprika & tomato baked eggs ($14, with chorizo). These were so, so satisfying.




The eggs were cooked beautifully, with runny yolk spilling out into the earthy, tomato-y sauce, and the shaved parmesan melted into everything: delicious. I ate this almost like a soup, taking big slurpy spoonfuls or eating it with the sourdough toast.

E had the grilled haloumi with apple, beetroot, bread & dukkah ($16). I was enamoured with the presentation, especially of the salad: wafer-thin slices of beetroot topped with little baby beetroot (it's hard to tell from the photo) and thin slivers of green apple.

The halloumi and salad were good, but I thought the real star of this dish was the dukkah: nutty, aromatic, beautifully spiced. I would take some home in a jar if I could. 

On another visit (and please excuse the bad photo, but I really, really want to share this) E had the pulled pork roll ($12). And I'm not sure if I was on a high after guzzling another one of those strawberry milkshakes, but after taking a bite of this sandwich I was ready to proclaim it the best sandwich in Wellington.

The pork was melt-in-your-mouth soft, contrasting with the crunch of the iceberg lettuce and paper-thin red onion. And the bun: substantial enough to hold together all this saucy goodness, but still light and almost fluffy*; I couldn't stop sneaking bites, even after I was bursting.

The sandwich came with feijoa chutney which appeared to be homemade, and again, if I could take it home in a jar, I would.

I had the sticky beef burger ($15). Rather than your everyday mince patty, this burger had a slab of slow-cooked, falling-apart beef, with usual burger accompaniments like tomato and beetroot, as well as the more unusual braised red cabbage (which was lovely, by the way).


The only things that could've been a bit better with this one: a bit more salt on the meat/sauce (which was easily fixed) and maybe toasting the bun to combat sogginess - the combination of the meat, tomato & beetroot juices soaked right through the bottom half - but otherwise this burger was delicious.



These big, chunky chips ($7.5) had been on my must-try list ever since reading Laura of Hungry and Frozen's comment on this post over at Mrs Cake's blog. They were definitely up there with other notable chunky chips I've had (comparable to the ones at the Larder) but made a bit more special by the fact that they came with homemade tomato sauce, aioli (which tasted homemade as well - bonus) and harissa.**

So if I can tear myself away from heading eastwards to Miramar for a Saturday brunch you can bet this is where I'll be. It's in a good spot for weekday lunches, too, though a bit too far from work for me (and I've been saving for an overseas trip so have cut back on bought lunches). I only wish they were open a bit earlier on weekdays (they open at 8) so I could get there for a pre-work breakfast, or that they closed a bit later than 6:30/7pm... though admittedly that end of town does become a bit dead after that time anyway.

TI KOUKA CAFE
76 Willis St (upstairs, where Katipo used to be)
Wellington
(04) 472 7682

www.tikouka-cafe.co.nz

8am-4pm Mon-Wed; 8am-7pm Thu-Fri; 9am-3pm Sat

*yes, I'm aware that's the second time I've used the word "fluffy" in this post...
**and if I could take these home in jars...? Yep.

The Larder, Miramar

Oh my god, Miramar. Since getting a car last year I've been slowly exploring the suburbs for new favourite cafes and food spots. Slowly, because most weekends I can't get past the urge to hop in the car, drive through the tunnel and past Evans Bay, out to Miramar. Between Cafe Polo and the Chocolate Frog and Marie and Nico's Patisserie and a couple of new places I'm very, very excited about* there's heaps to choose from in Miramar but just as often as not I find myself headed to The Larder. The following is a cobbled-together collection of some of my favourites from at least 3 recent visits. 

Usually on the weekends I'm after a cooked brunch but sometimes, when I'm really hungry, I'll get a little something from the gorgeously-stocked cabinet to nibble on before everything else arrives (at which point I usually groan that I've ordered way too much food, but hey). The date & cardamom scone ($3.50) is hard to pass up: it's got that perfect-scone lightness, sweet chunks of date, a hint of cardamom to make it stand out from the standard cafe date scone. So good warmed with a little butter.

On another super-hungry Sunday morning I got this fig & star anise scone ($3.50). Again, a delicious way to curb the hunger pangs while sipping a coffee and reading the paper while waiting for the rest of the food to arrive. Out of these scones, though, I preferred the first: this one was a bit dryer in texture and I wished there had been a bit more star anise flavour.

Invariably, whenever I go to the Larder it's almost impossible for me to not order what has become a firm contender for my Favourite Breakfast in Wellington: these scrambled eggs with hot smoked salmon and rocket on toasted sourdough ($17). I had them on my first visit here and have had them so many times since. The eggs are dreamy and soft, the toast chewy and well-buttered, the rocket wilted just so, but the best, best part of all is the salmon: substantially smoky and savoury, I think it's fair to say it's the most delicious hot smoked salmon I've had.

On one rare occasion where I actually managed to order something else, I had these portobello mushrooms on toast with aged balsamic and parmesan ($12). Too often we think brunch = eggs but these mushrooms needed no accompaniment besides the shaved parmesan on top. I can only say good things about this dish and if it weren't for the scrambled eggs and hot smoked salmon I'd be getting this more often.



I'm a firm believer that it's never too early for steak. E's sirloin steak with lemon and caper butter, onion rings and hand cut chips ($22) came out a glorious slab of meat, cooked medium rare (as requested), dripping with the tangy, salty lemon caper butter. I couldn't stop stealing bites. The onion rings, though unassuming in appearance, were deliciously soft and crispy at the same time (and how often do you see red onion rings?).



And those chips ($6, with aioli, if you order them separately): I swear each one contains a whole, perfectly cooked potato. Okay, maybe a rather small potato, but these are substantial chips, crispy on the outside and almost-fluffy on the inside. On occasion I've had a slightly undercooked chip or two but for the most part these are thick and heavenly.

One of the best things about this place is the menu changes according to what's seasonal and available, so although there's a core of staple offerings (the salmon and eggs being one for which I'm so grateful) it's always a bit of fun seeing what else is on offer. On our most recent visit E had this pappardelle with lamb meatballs and roasted tomato sauce ($17): perfect comfort food for the cooler months. I thought the pasta could have been cooked in saltier water, but that could have just been me, and anyway, the meatballs were so plump and tender, the roasted tomato sauce hearty, with flecks of mint adding a different but altogether complementary dimension. 

 

If you're like me and find it hard to pass up dessert when you're full (even after breakfast) you'll be glad these tiny brulee tarts exist. They're exquisite, and at only $2 or so, it's totally okay to pick up a couple for the ride home.

So there you have it, one of my favourite suburban spots. Actually, one of my favourite spots in general: relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, quality ingredients, an emphasis on local and seasonal produce, good coffee (they use Supreme), and perhaps due to its somewhat out-of-the-way location, never feels crazy-busy or rushed. If I lived in Miramar, I'd be there almost every day (well, I'd have to do a rotation among the other eateries mentioned at the start of this post).

The Larder

Cnr Darlington and Camperdown Rds

Miramar

Wellington

(04) 891 0354

www.thelarder.co.nz

Open Tues-Sun, dinner Thu-Sat.

*So very excited. Expect more 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.