Check out the limited edition bottle wrap by Jean-Paul Gaultier for Piper Heidsieck – just a bit sexy! This would make a nice little addition to the Christmas present list for anyone wanting to impress a loved – or simply admired – one. The design was inspired by the fishnet stockings of Can Can dancers, and also features a little red mask round the neck. … Continue reading Can Can I have one, please?
Top to bottom: Michael Dearth from The Grove; the Venison Curry from Monsoon Poon; Ash Visvanathan from Monsoon Poon; Masterchefs Nadia Lim and Brett MacGregor in the Regal Salmon kitchen; Makoto Tokuyama from Cocoro. The annual Taste of New Zealand festival in Victoria Park was the first one I have made it to thus far – 2008 I was in Thailand, and last year I was … Continue reading Taste of New Zealand festival
I’ve been noticing a lot of recipes recently for summery green vegetable ‘stews’. A Stew of Mixed Summer Vegetables – Menestra – in Rick Stein’s Spain is a real looker, and I made my own version of it (which isn’t much to look at, but tasted great) the other night, just with what’s in season/in the fridge. Rick’s version uses globe artichokes which I’d like … Continue reading Green Credentials
Photo homage to the delights of Little & Friday, housed inside Martha’s Furnishing Fabrics in Newmarket. The baking gets brought over from their flagship shop in Belmont throughout the day, which kind of warrants visiting morning, noon and afternoon to make sure you don’t miss out on anything, right? I love the old milk bottles, complete with their holder, filled with iced water and … Continue reading Little & Friday
Our lovely friends celebrated the start of crayfish season by hauling crays out of their holding pot in Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island, and inviting a bunch of friends for dinner. Everyone brought a salad of some sort, so as well as the generous helping of delectable crayfish there was an impressive spread of salads, and Bruno’s insanely good octopus stew (the octopus also … Continue reading Goodness Crayfish
Cucumber sandwiches get a lot of attention with their oh-so-English afternoon tea-ness, but I love nothing more than a few slices of cucumber on a piece of toasted white toast spread with butter. Grind over a little rock salt and black pepper (or fancy peppers are pretty good in this instance, too). Go crazy and add tomato or halloumi if you must, it will … Continue reading Simple pleasures
Local gourmet-leaning food retailer Nosh announced yesterday announced new and exclusive partnership with UK supermarket Waitrose. Nosh will be stocking a range of Waitrose products, plus cheeses sourced through Waitrose. I miss the huge cheese counter of the Finchley Rd Waitrose in London, and I’m thinking that the partnership might mean, among other things, a wider selection of English cheddar at a better price – … Continue reading Wait for it…
Sashimi cravings are a frequent occurrence in our household and must be satisfied immediately, lest hours and then days subsequently be spent dreaming about the glorious taste of fresh, raw fish. While I love going out for sashimi, I have to say I’ve had some pretty disappointing raw fish experiences in Auckland and I almost always find salmon sashimi, at least, fresher-tasting when prepared at home. … Continue reading Sashimi Donburi
