Elephant Hill Restaurant (Te Awanga, Hawke's Bay) is outstanding

Jane & I had a magnificent meal out at the restaurant at Elephant Hill​ this evening. If you are after a top class fine dining experience with magnificent food and wine and superb service then this is hard to beat. We have eaten at a number of excellent restaurants this year and this comes out at the top of the list for both of us for fine dining.

After a nice amuse bouche of apple with a rosemary foam and a cumin seed roll thereafter we were ready to get started. For entree I had the "Smoked venison tartare, beetroot meringue, horseradish sorbet, walnut" and Jane had the "Cured kingfish, lime pearls, dill, cucumber granita, crème fraîche, wakame dressing". Both were superb dishes that were magnificently presented, packed with flavour and intrigue and flavours that all complemented each other well.

For our mains, I had the "Smoked lamb loin, gremolata, goats curd, eggplant, artichoke heart, puffed black rice" and Jane had the "Glazed duck, soft shell crab, pomegranate, cucumber, coriander, vanilla lime dressing". Both were yet again superb, but my taste of Jane's dish was absolutely divine. We accompanied the mains with a nice "green leaf, walnut, pear, white balsamic" salad. I had the 2013 Elephant Hill Reserve Syrah and this was superb.

By dessert I couldn't fit much in so decided to have the "Petit Fours" which were four different chocolates and delightful. Jane had the "Dark chocolate crema catalana, milk chocolate mousse, jaffa curd, crème fraîche sorbet" and the crema catalana and jaffa curd were particularly good.

The service was outstanding as is the setting (looking out past the reflection pond to the vines and with the sea in the distance). We will very happily return.

Food Truck Garage, Auckland.... Disappointing

I recently went to the Food Truck Garage for dinner in Wellesley Street. I had previously had an excellent meal from the truck so was looking forward to another excellent meal.

The garage itself looks like an upmarket garage and had a nice vibe. I had a Beefroot burger and the baked chips. The burger itself was quite bland and nothing special at all. The chips were okay and included potato, swede, beetroot and some lime.

Maybe I ordered badly, but I won't be rushing back and am hopeful to see some better meals emerging from the truck.

Mt Difficulty Wines & Restaurant

Located about 45mins drive from Queenstown, Mt Difficulty Wines in Bannockburn is one of my favourite vineyards and after sampling some of their wines today we enjoyed a lovely lunch as we looked out over the valley with snow on the hills.

In terms of the wines, I really enjoyed the fresh well-balanced light citrus flavoured Mt Difficulty Dry Riesling 2009. The peach and pear flavoured Mt Difficulty Pinot Gris 2010 was equally good as was their estate Mt Difficulty Pinot Noir 2009; this is a medium-bodied Pinot with cherry and plum characteristics and whilst drinking well now should be superb in another year or two. The Mt Difficulty Pipeclay Terrace Pinot Noir 2009 was magnificent, it had more body and was very smooth; although at $89.95 so it should be.

For lunch I had the Duck, slow-roasted in Pinot Noir with raspberry & cassis sauce. This was served with a nicely seasoned lettuce salad, courgettes, pumpkin and pine-nuts. It was a lovely dish with a decent quantity of beautifully tender crispy duck.

My friend, Logan had the Venison rack with scallops which he thoroughly enjoyed, although the quantity of venison did seem a little on the light side.

We would both be very happy to return for both the food and the wine. It is worth noting that we were very lucky to get a table and booking is recommended.

Passage Rock Wines Cafe, Waiheke

In addition to having some superb wines (the Reds and Reserve Syrah in particular), we had an excellent lunch at the Passage Rock Wines cafe today on Waiheke Island.

We arrived without a booking, but the staff were very accommodating and setup a table for us inside (unfortunately none were available out).  The restaurant was busy and there was a good vibe of activity, contributed to by the relaxed but efficient and professional staff.

We ordered a pizza and Salmon Nicoise Salad to share.  Both were nicely presented, packed with flavour and arrived in a very timely manner.  The high quality of the ingredients used was evident and the food tasted like it was prepared with care.  The wood-fired pizza base was very thin but still a nice firmness and a delight to eat.

We will very happily return.

Cardrona Speights Ale House, Mt Eden

We had a very disappointing meal out at Cardrona Speights Ale House in Mt Eden last night.  We have been here in previous years and had good meals, but last night we were there with friends as part of the quiz and it was definitely not flash.

I started with a Porter to drink which I thoroughly enjoyed.  For my main I had the Drunken Steak which I requested to be rare.  The majority of the steak was in fact medium-well and the sauce wasn’t anything special.  Jane had the Pig Hunter, which is a huge pork loin; she enjoyed the dish.  Others at the table had the salmon (described as the most tasteless salmon they had ever had) and a beef salad, that had more kumara than anything.

For dessert I decided to have the Chocolate Mud Cake and Jane had the Cromwell Crumble.  45 minutes after placing our order I went and asked if they were far away and then proceeded to cancel the orders about another 10 minutes later.  We got our refund but they did insist of bringing the desserts anyway and were very apologetic (which was good).  The Mud Cake however came without the fudge sauce but the Crumble was good.

So, all in all not a great night of food and we won’t be back in a hurry.

Coffee, Olives, Cheese, Food & Wine in the Hunter Valley

We started the day with a coffee and loaf at the Bliss Coffee Roasters in the Hunter Valley Gardens.  One thing I continually forget is that skinny lattes (as they’re known here as opposed to trim lattes in NZ) are usually a single shot of coffee and not the double shot I have been accustomed to in Auckland.

The Hunter Olive Centre was packed with people when we arrived, and for good reason, since they have an excellent range of oils, tapenades, vinegars and jams to taste.

Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese (yes, that’s its official name) was our next stop.  This is located in a magnificent complex with Tempus Two and another winery or two.  Here, we enjoyed some more excellent cheeses.

Tempus Two has a very upmarket cellar door presence and some lovely wines to taste.  I particularly enjoyed the Pinot Gris which had a nice passionfruit flavour.  The Chardonnay (50% Hunter Valley Grapes) is big and oaky and whilst it is quite drinkable now I fear it will become too oaky over time for my palate.  Their Shiraz is a very light style that I can imagine being a nice and easy drink on a hot summers day.

We popped into Adina Olives and tasted their small selection on offer.  The Green Olive tapenade was my pick before I was also tempted to taste some of their wines.  Of Adina Vineyard’s wines, I particularly liked their light and crisp Semillon, and found the Verdelho to be nice and dry with lots of flavour.  Jane’s pick was the Dessert Semillon (an ice wine)  that she found was more viscous than a table wine but not as sticky as many dessert wines.

Leaves & Fishes is a beautiful restaurant located nestled back into the trees on Lovedale Road overlooking their pond.  It is a lovely setting, has nice ambience and great service.  I had a beautiful sesame-crusted fish fillet that was done in a Thai style with coriander, fish sauce and a very light chilli, and micro-greens.  Jane had crispy pork belly with a magnificent side salad comprising caper-berries, gherkins, olives, sweet garlic, feta, fennel, pea sprouts, coriander and various lettuces.  We would happily return although the prices are certainly premium.

The Hunter Valley Chocolate Factory was our next stop, and we tasted a number of lovely chocolates and fudges.  Great friendly service.

After a detour via a geocache we had a cheese tasting at Benorrie Dairy.  The Herb & Garlic Fromage Frais is lovely.  I enjoyed the Valencay (white mould goat cheese), although this was too strong for Jane.  The Marinated Fetta Gold Medal was exquisite and very smooth.  The Labna had a nice garlic/rosemary flavour and lots of exciting complexity.  The Brie was a bit mild for me, but the Washed Rind was more to my liking.  The Duetto is a dessert style cheese that they do and I quite enjoyed the sweeter flavour however Jane was not keen on this one (which is not surprising given that it contained gorgonzola).  The Apple & Rosemary paste was also really good.  We were also appreciative of the friendly service of the woman in the store.

In the same complex as the Benorrie Dairy is Arrowfield Estate.  Once I finally got some service I decided to try their Riesling.  This is a citrus-dominated Riesling that is enjoyable.  I also enjoyed their Cabernet Merlot.

San Martino Restaurant, Pokolbin, Australia

We had a nice meal on Friday night at San Martino Restaurant at the Hunter Resort on Hermitage Road in Pokolbin.  I had a lovely fillet of beef that was very tender and cooked rare (as requested).  Jane had a spatchcock of chicken that was supposedly marinated, however I suspect it only got its marinade seconds before hitting the pan and it could have been a little more moist.  The amount of vegetables with the spatchcock was very stingy, and no vegetables or salads were available to be ordered as sides.

The main meal took approximately 45mins to arrive after ordering, but other than that the service was friendly and good.  The ambience in the restaurant was also good, although we did notice that the cd was obviously on repeat.

We finished with a Chocolate Torte and Macadamia Tart, both of which were good although the Macadamia Tart was easily my pick of the two of them.

We would return, but would make sure we had plenty of time.

Night Noodles at Hyde Park, followed by Wine & Cheese in the Hunter Valley

After a great night out at the Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Market with friends (and a zillion other people, with huge lines to boot, but an excellent experience none-the-less) on Thursday night, we headed up to Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley wine region on Friday (via one cache on the way).  Approximately two hours drive from Sydney, the Hunter Valley comprises myriad vineyards and surprisingly (to me at least) lots of cheese dairies.

The Hunter Valley Cheese Factory was the first dairy we visited and we found a very high calibre of cheese.  I particularly liked their washed rind cheese (which had a nice bite to it) and their blue cheese (that was very light in blue flavour but lovely and creamy).

After checking in at our accommodation on Hermitage Road we headed along the road to Emerson’s at Pokolbin  for lunch. They have only been open for 3 weeks (according to the chef/owner) and are doing tapas style meals.  The duck liver pate was divine and one of the best we have had.  We also had garlic prawns and calamari, both of which were okay although lacked a wow factor.  We were impressed however that the chef/owner came out and asked us what we thought of the meals and took a genuine interest in our feedback.

We then ventured on to Piggs Peake for our first wine tasting and they were okay but nothing noteworthy.  They were very friendly and gave generous tastings.  I do wonder though whether since they were the first vineyard for the day and our first for this region whether I was being overly critical.

DenMar was our second vineyard and there was yet again nothing jumping out at me.  I also found that their Pinot Noirs weren’t to my palate, but I think that may be more so due to me being more in-tune with NZ Pinot Noirs.

Tintilla Estate was my pick of the vineyards on Friday, also helped by the exuberance of the wine salesman.  He was a member of the family and consequently knew lots about their huge selection of wines and was very open to all feedback.  I particularly enjoyed their Semillon 2010  and their Sangiovese 2009.  I also really enjoyed tasting their selection of fortified wines.

We then quickly grabbed a lovely cheddar cheese from Binnorie Dairy before they closed and had a taste of their washed rind cheese (which I enjoyed).  We will return tomorrow for a proper tasting.

Another glorious day in Sydney (but beware the seagulls)

We had another glorious day in Sydney today and started with a train trip out to Single Origin Roasters, which is a very busy little cafe hidden away in a side street in Surry Hills, where we had a lovely breakfast and superb coffee; Jane however wasn’t too fussed with her Chai Latte.  We would happily return.

We then walked along to Harmony Park and found a geocache before jumping onto the free bus that goes around the city and getting off at Circular Quay.  We spent some time people watching and enjoying the lovely day around by the Opera House before heading around to the Rocks.

The Rocks is one of those areas of Sydney I enjoy walking around the streets and looking at the old buildings.  It has a nice feeling, all-be-it quite touristy.

Our stomaches were craving some food so after deciding that most of the restaurants on the waters edge by The Rocks would be a bit too heavy on our wallet for lunch we went to Cruise Bar at the Circular Quay end of the The Rocks promenade and had a lovely lunch, whilst fending away the seagulls and narrowly missing being shat on.  We then were engulfed by hundreds of firemen/women who were preceded by a band.  We have no idea what they were doing there, but it provided a nice buzz.

They keep children in cages in Sydney (and other things we found out today)

After a nice bite to eat (and a good coffee) across the road from our hotel at Bluestone in O’Connell Street we ventured to George Street where Jane noticed that there was brail next to the button to cross the road.  Something so simple, I imagine can be extremely useful.

As were were finding our first geocache for the trip in Lang’s Lawn we even found that they cage children here.  We were however pleased to see that we weren’t the only people looking on very curiously.

We then wandered along to a board game store called The Tin Soldier at 40 York Street that is down in the basement of the building and has an excellent range, where we bought a card game (Backpacker) but may yet return to buy something else.

We then wandeWe then ventured along to the glorious Queen Victoria Building before it was time for Jane to spend ages and ages in a costume jewellery store; she eventually emerged with a couple of items.

Walking through an underground corridor we emerged at Myers and then wandered across to David Jones where the array of ladies shoes was mind-boggling.  After investing in some shoes for Jane we then watched a very serious chess match over at Hyde Park.  After 5 minutes we still hadn’t seen a move taken and the concentration was very intense.  I do like the idea of the outdoor chess set.

After a nice salad for lunch in the lovely Strand Arcade at Strand Expresso we then headed back to the hotel for a bit of R&R before I got bored and wandered along to Custom House (by Circular Quay) where there was a pipe art form just begging for photos to be taken.

I then proceeded from here along to the Opera House and got a bit trigger happy with the camera (as I’m sure most people do) and took the obligatory shots.

I don’t know where we’ll head to for dinner tonight.  We had an excellent meal at the Bavarian Bier Cafe in O’Connell Street last night, with a schnitzel that was ridiculously large finished off with schnapps (a cow bell was even rung as the schnapps arrived, which is apparently tradition).  Perhaps we’ll go to the Japanese restaurant the concierge has recommended.

Restaurant Review: Eight Point Two, Birkenhead

For the first time in at least two years we decided to give Eight Point Two a go this evening.  We had not been impressed previously with the food, service or the general vibe but tonight was quite a different experience.

We were met by a very cheerful waitress and seated shortly thereafter.  There was an excellent vibe in the restaurant and it was almost full.  We had excellent professional & friendly service throughout the evening, and our water glasses were continually refilled in a timely manner; we also received good, knowledgeable advice about wine matches.

The menu is not extensive and a little more variety would have been nice, the wine list however has a nice variety.  We started with the “Ciabatta, roast garlic butter” which was as simple as it sounds.  I then followed this with the “Hapuka, cauliflower, blood orange and sherry vinaigrette” which was nice however it didn’t have a wow factor; the hapuka was perfectly cooked and a decent sized portion but it lacked anything special whatsoever.  Jane had the “Pork Involtini, prosciutto, Sicilian stuffing, courgettes, pinenuts” that she found was a little on the tough side, but enjoyed none-the-less.  We accompanied our meals with a “Mixed Green Salad, whitlof, rocket” which was simple but good.

For dessert, I thoroughly enjoyed the “Chocolate Terrine, orange, cognac raisins, candied zest”; it was rich with chocolate without being too rich.  Jane also enjoyed her dessert, “Caramelised Muscato Tart, whipped cream”; it had flavours akin to an apple strudel and a creme brulee.

All in all we had a nice evening, and despite our main meals not excelling we will look to return at some point.

Two Fifteen Bistro and Wine bar, Mt Eden

On the back of being Runner-up for the best local restaurant from Metro 2010 we decided to try out Two Fifteen last night.

We had a group of six and the restaurant was busy with a really nice vibe in a classy bistro setting.  The wait staff were all very professional, knew the menu and wines and were very attentive.

I had the “confit duck leg | kumara mash | spinach | spiced apple compote | jus” and thought this was lovely and a suitable portion size.  The duck was very moist and the accompaniments worked well.  Jane had the “free range chicken schnitzel | coleslaw | fresh lemon | aioli” and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The “sticky date pudding | vanilla ice cream | toffee sauce” for dessert was excellent as were the “Italian fritoles | lemon curd | vanilla ice cream”.

We will happily return.

A comparison of fish (from an eating perspective)

We decided that we would do a side-by-side comparison of three different fish today, prepared in exactly the same way (a fillet of each, fried in unsalted butter).  We didn’t put any seasonings whatsoever on them while they were cooking so that we could assess the fish in its most basic cooked state.  We did however try them in a variety of different ways once plated (plain, lightly salted, with lemon and with accompanying white bread).  We even did a blind test.

Gurnard	This is a meaty fish that we found to have little flavour.  With salt however, more flavour was released and it then tasted like standard fish from the Fish & Chip shop (funnily enough).  Within a plain white bread sandwich no flavour was present.
Snapper	The Snapper fillet we had was blander than we expected.  We have Snapper a bit, so suspect this fillet may have been sitting around a bit long.  Salt did however bring out more flavour.  This was slightly more meaty than the Gurnard, and like the Gurnard lacked flavour in the sandwich.  It did however have a nicer texture than the Gurnard.
John Dory	This was the softest fish of the three, but not flaky.  It has a very sea/fishy taste, and Jane thought it lacked substance and tasted like it was watered down.  This was the best fish in a sandwich, with the fishy taste noticeable.  We would also look to use this in Fish Tacos.  The bread in fact enhanced the flavour.

From this little taste test, we determined that salt is very important for bringing out the flavour, that we should do a test like this again with whole fish, and that John Dory is our friend when it comes to a sandwich.

Photo credits: Flickr Creative Commons, click photo for link to photo on Flickr.

Clooney (Freemans Bay) is still good

We went back to Clooney again tonight for dinner and can report that it is still up to its fine standards.  I thoroughly enjoyed the “Firstlight Farm Raised Venison with preserved cherries, cocoa mille-feuille, black pudding & licorice” again.

The “Palm Sugar Crème Caramel with spiced quince, fresh fig and pain d’épice” was absolutely divine and is right up there with being one of my top desserts ever.

The other people all enjoyed their meals too.

It’s not a cheap outing, but it is a good experience.

Jervois Steak House & Saloon, Herne Bay

Having had some after work drinks with some of Jane’s colleagues at Dida’s Wine & Tapas Lounge, Jane & I decided to get a bite to eat a couple of doors along at the Jervois Steak House & Saloon.

We wandered in around 9:30pm on a Friday night with no booking and the staff were very accommodating and seated us at the bar whilst they got a table ready for us.  We had a chat with the bartender who was very friendly and before long were whisked away to a table.

We decided to go straight for a main course and decided on a Medium-rare “Steak Fiorentina for two” after querying our waiter (who was very knowledgeable about the menu) as to how it was prepared.  This is a grass-fed 1kg T-bone from the Turihau station in Gisborne, that is cooked at about 320 degrees Celcius (or something like that) and carved for you at the table.  This was one big T-bone and it was very flavoursome, ridiculously tender and was cooked to perfection.  If anything it was probably more on the rare side of Medium-rare but this suited us fine.

We accompanied the T-bone with the “Saporoso balsamic butter” and “Texas BBQ” sauces.  Of these the balsamic butter was our clear preference.  We also had sides of “Rocket lettuce salad with aged manchego cheese” and “Candied kumara baked New Orleans style with pecans” that were both excellent, although Jane found the kumara a little sweet.

I finished up with the Chocolate pudding and Jane had the Honey parfait “sandwich”.  The Chocolate pudding was very flavoursome and rich, and Jane enjoyed the parfait that she describes as a nice, simple and homely dessert.

The environment was excellent, the service was notably outstanding and the meals great.  We will happily return.

Pure, Herne Bay

Last night we dined at Pure in Herne Bay for the first time.

This is not a large restaurant and for a Friday evening they were reasonably quiet (although admittedly the weather was awful).

I had a lovely “Beef fillet and braised cheeks with potato mash and confit vegetables”, and Jane had “Home-made potato gnocchi with roasted beetroot, peas and goats cheese” that she thoroughly enjoyed.

I accompanied my main with the recommended wine for the dish, a Shiraz that was excellent.

We had excellent service, the food was nicely presented, the restaurant had a lovely atmosphere, the food was reasonably priced and we would happily return.

Whangaripo Buffalo Cheese Company’s Marin Blue is Nom nom nom

In the weekend we popped up to the Matakana Farmers Market and Whangaripo Buffalo Cheese Company had a stall there.

We tasted their selection of cheeses and ended up purchasing the Marin Blue and the Fresca.  They also had a beautiful brie with the aged one beginning to get engulfed by ammonia.

The Fresca is a bit like a soft cottage cheese with a hint of lemon, however the blue was my highlight and I had a decent taste of it again this evening.  It is nice and creamy, not too strong on the blue and has lots of complexity.  It reminds me of a sheep cheese we purchased in the south of France at Carcassonne that was not blue at all, but the layered flavours of this bring back vivid memories.

Next time we’re at the market I will be buying more.

Nuvolari Restaurant, Rotorua

Novolari is a well-priced restaurant located in the heart of Rotorua that we went to for the first time this evening.  Being Easter I think they were however a bit overwhelmed with the number of people around.

We started with a couple of Tapas; pizza bread that was overpowered by garlic and a collection of olives that were ok but not great.

I then had an (intentionally) very basic Pasta for an entree that was slightly overcooked but ok, and Jane had Arancini (Risotto Balls) that were were also ok.

For our mains, I had a Pepperoni Pizza that was nice, although the base was a little soft; I would however have it again.  Jane had a Fettuccini Farina that was ok.

Jane and I shared a trio of Ice creams for dessert that were good.

The service was quite slow and not polished, however our waitress was polite and corrected a couple of mishaps throughout the evening, such as us almost having our mains arrive whilst we were eating our entrees.

Pairing Chocolate Brownie with Wine: My Verdict

I wanted a wine to accompany a pre-dinner snack of a Chocolate Brownie.  The brownie contained walnuts, so it consisted of strong chocolate and walnut flavours.

I decided to try the brownie with 3 different wines:

• Framingham Marlborough Classic Riesling 2006
• Sandeman Founders Reserve Port
• Tuatara Pinot Noir 2003

The Brownie is good in its own right as are all of the wines, with the exclusion of the Pinot Noir (it was already open and even when I had it yesterday (or was it the day before?) it was tasting that it was a smidgen past it).

The Port overpowered the brownie and really accentuated the alcohol.  This was not a good match.

The Pinot Noir just didn't have the right balance, although to be fair it may be due to the state of this one being below par.

The Riesling and brownie were the best match although there was a very slight bitterness that came with the match.  In terms of a a superb fit, it wasn't quite there, and a Sticky would probably be better.

So, it wasn’t exactly a comprehensive analysis and obviously more brownie and wine is required!

Little Mexico Cantina & Tequila Bar, Auckland CBD

For a late dinner we decided to give the Little Mexico Cantina & Tequila Bar a go this evening (31 Wellesley Street, Auckland CBD) and had an excellent meal in a relaxed, but authentic, environment with attentive service.

We started with the Salsa Dip Platter which consisted of a fresh salsa, guacamole, salsa verde (we think), sour cream, a light chilli sauce and corn chips.  This was packed with flavour and for $10 great value.

I then had Beef Enchiladas that were flavoursome and accompanied by refried beans, guacamole, a small salad and salsa and sour cream.  Very enjoyable.

Jane had a Chicken Burrito that she thoroughly enjoyed.

All up it was a well priced casual meal out we thoroughly enjoyed and we will happily return.