Murder Burger

92 days to go until my departure! Sounds like forever. Again, my blog on the Mecca eateries will be delayed until the next update. Once I procrastinate on writing about one place, the procrastination never ends. Heh. Actually, I just recently got an iPhone, therefore I am super excited that I don't have to carry a camera with me to take photos when I'm out and about. Some people look at me strangely when I'm taking photos of food and the flash pops up (...although some people look at my strangely, regardless of that fact). This update is dedicated to Murder Burger, a gourmet burger joint located on Ponsonby Road. With a name like that, it's bound to either frighten or entice you (or maybe neither?).

Murder Burger

128A Ponsonby Road, Auckland (located next to Mecca Cosmetics)

If you often look at "deal" websites, then you must've heard of Murder Burger. They have promoted the "$15 for 2 burger" deals at quite a few places. But this was actually my second visit to Murder Burger. The last time I ventured there was last year, in which I had ordered a seemingly normal sounding burger, which ended up being average. At the time, I didn't really have the guts to try out any of their "cult" burgers (sirloin steak angus, double beef and wild boar bacon, and venison). This time around I was more game (excuse the pun), though I was quite disappointed to see that they had removed the ostrich burger from the menu. That was the one that I really wanted to try, since it sounded pretty unorthodox.

In addition to the typical beef or chicken burgers you could order (they have an extensive menu with regards to beef or chicken burgers by the way), they have a couple of fish burgers, a couple of vegetarian burgers, the cult burgers that I mentioned above, and a breakfast burger available. They also had a new greek lamb burger on the menu, but it could have been a "special" burger (available for a limited time). They also had "Monkey Fist" burgers, which a smaller burgers catered towards the kids, and chicken wraps.

I ordered the gourmet venison burger ($14.90) and the steak fries – just a fancy term for thick cut chips, heh... ($3.20 for a regular size, $4.40 for a large size). You also receive a side dip of ketchup, with the cost of the dip integrated into the above prices I assume. I received the garlic mayo though, which was okay. That didn't really bother me. Although, I recall from my first visit last year that you could actually choose what sauce you wanted for your fries.

To make a comparison, the burger bun is similar in size compared to the bigger burgers at Burgerfuel. Okay maybe a wee bit smaller, but it's still a pretty big burger. Although for some weird reason, the whole venison burger was easier to eat in comparison to the big Burgerfuel ones. I somehow feel full after eating three-quarters of a Ford Freakout at Burgerfuel. But I think it could be due to the fact that Burgerfuel gives you an overloaded amount of lettuce, tomato and onion. The burger was tasty and fresh, yet it would have tasted even better if the bun was toasted (toasted sesame burger buns mmmm). I also think they could've added a tiny bit more sauce as well. The venison patty was delicious, didn't taste that gamey – excuse my eloquence – but was a bit on the thin side. Hmm. That could actually be the reason why I could eat it all, as opposed to the salad excuse (or maybe both?).

The steak fries were really good. I'm glad that they didn't overload the fries with lots and lots of salt (ahem, Burgerfuel I'm looking at you). My favourite kind of fry is the slightly chunkier/thicker version, which is what they provide.

My second visit was much improved compared to my first ever visit last year. In terms of gourmet burger joints in Auckland, it is a pretty good one. A few minor things that could be improved on, though. I really hope to try one of the other cult burgers before I go and see if my third visit is even better! Overall: service is pretty efficient, the menu has variety, and the food tastes good. Check it out.

On a final note... the cat slightly scares me.

Not one of my best blogs I'm afraid (....sorry). I tried to write it while I was trying to think of answers for this questionnaire that I have submit to the law school...sigh. My mind has been blank for the last hour.

If you don't like Tanuki's Cave, then there's something wrong with you.....

....unless you've been ordering the wrong dishes!

I was initially going to write a blog dedicated my birthday brunch at Mecca Nuffield Street, but I went to Tanuki's Cave on Thursday and couldn't resist doing a blog on my time there! On Friday, I graduated for the second time and went out to Mecca Chancery for breakfast, so I will try to combine both Mecca events into the one blog. :)

Tanuki's Cave

319b Queen Street, Auckland City (pretty much to the left of the Town Hall)

For some people, their guilty pleasure is chocolate. Mine strangely enough is Tanuki's Cave. Some of the dishes – okay, mainly the kushiage dishes – aren't so healthy; therefore I do feel guilty about going there sometimes. Also, it is not exactly cheap. But I hadn't gone to Tanuki's Cave for about six months, so I wasn't feeling guilty about it this time around! I was craving their yakitori skewers and had expressed my sudden cravings on Facebook (....as you do). My friend Mrs Chopstick* responded to my calling, and we eventually made plans to go! Yay.

Tanuki's Cave is a yakitori and kushiage skewers bar – one basically being grilled, the other being dipped in breadcrumbs and fried. The menu isn't just limited to skewers – there are salads and other sides, donburi, and dessert available as well. You get two skewers per dish, but if you're at a table for three you can always ask them to serve you three skewers, instead of ordering the same dish twice.

A few things to talk about before mentioning the food. For one, they do not take reservations. Every night is a busy night at Tanuki's. Four of my friends and I arrived on a Friday at ten to seven and had to wait for a table for about twenty minutes. You can have a drink while you wait, which is what we did. On Monday to Thursday they are open from 5:30pm, other days from 5pm. Going to Tanuki's before 6pm is ideal if you want to avoid the risk of waiting. Sometimes you can be really lucky and coincidentally get the last table available between 6-8pm though. When they get incredibly busy, sometimes the quality of service slips as well. Although on Friday night, I had a glass of sav blanc on the table (which had a bit left in the glass) and the waiter accidently dropped my drink to the floor. He kindly brought me another glass on the house, even though I didn't really want another one! My face gets incredibly warm and red after one glass! So sad. But I did drink it anyway.

Another thing is that the place is rather dark. Hence the "cave" part of Tanuki's Cave. Heh. The lack of light is a bit startling for some people when they first try it out. I remember the first time I went to Tanuki's, I went with Mr Chopsticks and Mrs Chopsticks (bad pseudonyms I know and I apologise), Mr Chopsticks said, "I can't even read the menu!" Heh. We were placed at one of the tables that had really bad light unfortunately.

Last of all, the waiters always ask your table if you're in hurry and have to catch a show or movie soon (and what time you need to leave in order to go to the show or movie). I'm not saying you should lie – because lying is terrible of course – but I was so hungry on Friday night and I did actually have to leave early, that I fibbed a weeeee bit since we didn't have a show or movie to attend afterwards. It really depends on how busy they are because even if you're not in hurry, the food can be delivered to your table really quickly. Actually, the main difference is that they like to give you a bit of time between serving dishes if you're not in a hurry. But the time between dishes isn't that long to be honest.

One of my favourite dishes is the Plate of Cabbage with Salt and Japanese Mayo ($4.50). I was feeling a tad frustrated when taking this photo because the light was ruining my ability (or inability I guess) to take a good photo. The huge slobber of mayo is on the other side of the dish by the way, heh. The first time I ordered this dish for Mr and Mrs Chopstick, The (real) Scholar, and That Guy, they all gave me dubious looks. Mrs Chopstick in particular was like, "Uhhhh, why is Jess acting so weird by ordering a goddamn cabbage?" (No, she didn't say that. But it was all in the look she gave me). But whenever we go to Tanuki's now, we order it! That Guy – who doesn't even like raw cabbage – even likes the dish... (if he doesn't, then why does he keep eating it?)

The first time I went to Tanuki's, I ordered the yakitori set for convenience and to eliminate my normally indecisive behaviour. I now tend to not order the set menu, but still order the Tender Chicken and Leek Yakitori ($5.20) which is one of the yakitori skewers on the set menu. I'm not even a huge fan of leek, and yet I like this dish. The chicken is incredibly juicy with the sauce and tender as the name of the dish suggests.

This is the Scotch Fillet Steak with Butter and Soy Sauce Yakitori ($5.60). The yakitori version of this dish is much better than the kushiage version (also $5.60), but the latter version is still good. Mmmmm. You'd think that with the butter and soy sauce, the steak would be rather salty, but the flavours aren't exactly a deterrent.

The Chicken Tenderloin with Cheese Kushiage ($5.20) is probably my favourite dish at Tanuki's Cave. It isn't exactly healthy, I know. I like to add the kushiage sauce that they have available in a bottle (like a condiment) to the chicken tenderloin. I add a little bit of sauce before the first bite, and once you can see that the cheese is oozing in the middle, I add more sauce on top!

Mrs Chopstick ordered the Capsicum Yakitori stuffed with Chicken Mince ($6.20). I can only eat capsicums when they're chopped up... as opposed to just being halved. So I don't know if I could ever eat the whole dish (if I ever ordered it). But my friend really likes it. She usually orders this dish and/or the Mushroom version of this dish.

All four of my friends ordered the Yakitori Set – 5 sticks ($17). The set menu includes a small Spinach and Bacon Salad, Tender Chicken Thigh Meat, Chicken Wing, Tender Chicken and Leek, Chicken Mince Ball, and Pork Belly. I really like the salad, but you have to really mix the whole salad up yourself before eating it. The first time I ate it I made the mistake of not doing that. If you don't, the top half of the salad will be rather dry in the mouth, and the bottom half will be extremely soggy!** They're not stingy on the bacon (bless 'em), but are a tad stingy with the tomato....although I guess that's why they don't call it a Spinach, Tomato and Bacon Salad! Heh. The yakitori set isn't too bad, but I think some of their best yakitori dishes are not included in the set (so I choose not to order it). The chicken mince ball is my least favourite, but I really like the chicken wing (despite the bones) and the chicken & leek.

This is the yakitori version of the Chicken Tenderloin with Cheese dish ($5.60), which The (Real) Scholar ordered. I forgot to ask her whether she liked it or not, but from looks alone it does not look appealing at all.

Mr Chopsticks ordered the Shiitake Mushroom Kushiage stuffed with Chicken Mince ($6.20). I think this is tastier than the yakitori version due to different textures. If you've been following this blog, you'd know that I looooove mushrooms. Yet, I'm not actually a big fan of this dish (in yakitori form, not the kushiage). With the fried version, you have different textures – the crispy, crunchy breadcrumb outside and the chicken mince that will be texturally soft inside. Whereas with the yakitori, there is no crispy texture.

Another notable dish is the Mashed Kumara Kushiage coated with Crispy Almond Chips ($5.50). The (Real) Scholar ordered it once, and I was so surprised by how good it was! It is a bit sweet. This dinetube video briefly shows viewers how they make this particular dish. The takoyaki is not too bad either.

I really like pork belly, but I must admit that I'm not a fan of their pork belly dishes in both the yakitori and kushiage form. The fat content from the pork belly that they cook with is too much for me. The Grilled Deep-Fried Tofu with Yakitori Sauce dish isn't that exciting to eat, and neither is the Vienna Sausage dish. For my next visit, I'm really tempted to try the Scallops with Soy Sauce Yakitori (sounds weird, but I'm curious) and the Garlic Flavoured Chicken Wing Kushiage.

Not all of their dishes are standouts, but it's a really good place to go to for dinner or even for a quick snack before a show or movie. There must be a reason why people always come back to Tanuki's Cave. You could always try different dishes each time you go, or you could even stick to the tried and true dishes that you already know are good! I'm going to miss the place when I leave for London in September! :(

* There's always a reason to my madness. I don't make up random pseudonyms for nothing, you know...

**The term "soggy" is such an ugly sounding word.

A crepe? Maybe pasta or bruschetta? Let's go to Elliott Stables.

If I said that I had forgotten about this blog, I would be lying. Heh. No excuses really. To be quite frank, I've been taking photos of places here and there, but for a while I sort of lost the will to write. Ironically, I was more onto it when I had less time on my hands....

But I'm back. And hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently! On a random note, this weather we're having in Auckland is terrible. To whom it may concern, please don't rain on my graduation day!

Elliott Stables Epicurean Village

www.elliott-stables.co.nz

One of my favourite places to go to (to eat) is at Elliott Stables. Located right next to Atrium on Elliott, Elliott Stables has a mix of eateries and specialty food/drink stores (oh... and a florist). Each eatery is quite different, and the same can be said for its specialty stores. I think it has become one of my favourite places to go to, as the feel and atmosphere is quite different from most places you can find in Auckland. It could almost be described as a luxurious food court, but it isn't quite a food court.

You can order from any of the eateries in the village and choose to either eat inside the chosen eatery, or outside in the Village Common. It is a pretty ideal place when you're out with a group of people and everyone wants to eat from different places. The menus can be found outside each eatery; so you can have a browse, make an order, sit at your table, and wait for your food to be delivered to you.

I haven't tried every place – I hope to accomplish that before I leave NZ in September. The one downside to Elliott Stables is that it's not exactly the cheapest place to go to for a feed (hence "luxurious" and the fact that it is located in the city). But it is a nice place to go to for a quick feed before or after a movie at the cinemas!

The first thing I had ever ordered was actually a glass of wine from Bruschetteria (heh) and a galette from Torchon French Creperie. If I'm feeling rather indecisive, I tend to eventually decide on Torchon as if it's like a default since I know its gonna be good.

The chicken and mushroom galette with a cream and white wine sauce ($13.50 without chicken, $15.50 with chicken) is my go-to crepe, but there's always an inconsistency with regards to the sauce. Sometimes they're quite generous (re: see above), sometimes they're not (thus becoming a bit dry...). The egg, ham, and cheese galette is tasty, but the amount of cheese makes it rather rich. Their dessert crepes are really good as well. You can't go wrong with an apple and cinnamon crepe!

If you want Italian food, you can go right next door to DeNiro Ristorante. I must admit that I've only ever ordered pasta, but that's because they offer a lunch special of $10 pasta. :)

I tend to go for the Chicken Fettuccine or the Fettuccine Alfredo, since I normally don't eat pasta sauces with a cheese content if I eat pasta at home. Their serving size is pretty reasonable and it tastes good too! They could probably try and cut down the amount of sauce that they give you (not the mushrooms or bacon/chicken though), because white sauces can be rather rich sometimes. Oh, and more mushrooms for mushroom-addicts like myself, please? (Yes, I have a problem).

Feel like Spanish food? To the left of DeNiro is El Faro Restaurant + Tapas Bar. I recently tried their tapas menu and it was pretty good! The tapas that I tried (below) were the chicken wings and beef with green olives. If you're really keen on robust flavours, then you should give it a try. Next time, I'll definitely try the other tapas that they have on their menu. Meat tapas are usually $8 and vegetarian tapas are $6, but you can opt to order two tapas of your choice with a soft drink for $12.

Another dish that I've had from El Faro was the Churros con Chocolate ($8), which was their only dessert option on the menu. If you've never heard of it before, they're essentially spanish doughnuts which can be dipped in hot melted chocolate (and sprinkled cinnamon on top!) Drool....*RU#*U$@#(#. It is extremely rich and I would recommend sharing it with others, like I did (well mainly because Military Man bought it for all of us to share, heh). I did feel guilty about eating one doughnut though...

On the left side of Elliott Stables there is Frankies Wurstbude, a European gourmet sausage house. I went there once last year with Rapper T, and I'm still angry about my mustard choice! I selected English Mustard for one of my sauces and it felt like it was karma one way or another for something bad that I had probably done....I now know that I was actually wanting American Mustard....sheesh. I opted for a sausage in a fresh bread roll ($10.50). You can choose the type of sausage and the type of bread roll, and can choose as many toppings and sauces as you want. I think the English Mustard ruined my experience (sorry, tongue) even though the French Toulouse sausage was pretty good. However, I wish the whole thing hadn't been as lukewarm as it was – a warm bread roll never hurt anyone! I also tried their chips ($4 for a side, $6 for a basket) and they were pretty good. You can never go wrong with chicken salt! At least I think it was chicken salt...

For a Japanese fix, you can go to Samurai Sushi. I haven't tried their food yet, mainly because the prices slightly scare me... There is Bruschetteria (more Italian), Reslau (café), Besos Latinos (Latin American food, as the name slightly suggests), and Brasilicum (just opened recently, and apparently specialise in vegan food).

The Kapiti Store is right next to the left entrance of Elliott Stables, and they have some of the best ice-cream around. My favourite ice cream flavour is their Spicy Apple Crumble ice cream (ooooooh my god), while the Black Doris Plum and Créme Fraiche, and Blueberry Muffin flavours are a close second and third. The first time I had their plum ice cream was actually on an Air New Zealand flight from Melbourne to Auckland. No screaming babies on my flight could upset me that day....

Next update: birthday blog! Brunch at Mecca (Nuffield St) and cake (Gateau House). Mmmmm....

Putting the 'can' in Canton Cafe (I totally failed there, I know).

Canton Cafe

477 New North Road, Kingsland (pretty close to the train station)

I can't count the number of times I've been here. I have no recollection of my first visit either...maybe it was eight years ago or so? Meh, I don't know. I went out to celebrate my First Class Honours (whoop!) with my parents, my brothers, my sister-in-law, and my brother's girlfriend (too lazy to think of suitable pseudonyms for them).* I probably come to Canton about three or four times a year with my parents, mainly due to the fact that my parents are extremely picky about eating out, so Canton's kind of an automatic choice. When we first ate here, the food was pretty cheap and the portions were large. But prices have gone up since then, and now it's verging on a fine line between reasonable and not (despite the large portions).

Let me tell you a few things....or seven.

• Do not go to Canton if you're on a date. Wrong atmosphere for that, people. Also, don't bring children along. It gets pretty crowded...every night. It is best if you go with a group of people (but not too large).
• When going out with a group, don't order individual dishes. Order a bunch of dishes to share with each other, along with rice ($1 per bowl). The dishes are huge, and it doesn't really feel right eating a whole plate of prawns by yourself, you know?
• It's BYO. Corkage fee is pretty reasonable in comparison to most restaurants in Auckland (it used to be free).
• While the food comes out to your table pretty quickly, service is only good if you've been eating there for eight years. (Translation: It's not going to be the best service you're gonna get).
• If you don't like loud noises, then don't go to Canton. Or if you really do want to go, then ask to go upstairs. But they're busy all the time, so it might not be possible. (Correction: Are you a lucky person? No? Well then, that's too bad).
• On the day that you're planning to go to Canton, don't wash your hair. I went to get a haircut in town on the day we went, and I foolishly forgot about Canton. Your hair smells as a result of the sizzling dishes, and um yeah. Wash it once you go back home.
• Don't order the standard noodle or rice dishes. Please.

My camera died, so the photos below are thanks to my brother (not the same brother that took the photos from the previous blog entry). Thanks brother!

Sizzling Beef with Black Pepper ($22). There's also a chicken version and a venison version available on the menu. I actually prefer the venison dish, partly because I never really get the opportunity to eat venison that much.

Stir fried snow peas with garlic. On the menu you can order it with either beef or chicken ($22 for either option), but we asked for it to be without meat. The dish also had chinese mushrooms and celery in it, but I'm pretty sure that they aren't included if you order the snow peas with beef/chicken. Also, sometimes they don't have snow peas available and use sugar snaps instead. Both are pretty good. Yum!

Sweet & Sour Pork ($22). There's also a sweet and sour chicken or hapuka (fish) version available as well. The hapuka is $1 more though. I really don't like eating sweet and sour. I don't even like my mother's. But Canton's sweet and sour is the exception to the rule. Somehow the batter seems to retain its crunch, and that's the main reason as to why I enjoy it so much. More often than not you'll have a lot of food leftover, and you can doggy bagall of it for free. This dish isn't quite the same the next day. The pork ends up being soggy (eventually) and it feels like you've just ordered it from a food hall.

My brother forgot to take a photo of it at the beginning. So we (or he) did some improvisation. Oh yeah, this is supposed to be the Peking Duck course with the pancakes, hoisin sauce, spring onions and cucumbers (1/2 duck, one course, $26). I specifically ordered this dish since peking duck is my favourite (although Empress Garden does it better).

Hot and Spicy King Prawns - Shell Off ($28). There is the option for shell on, but that just seems weird. It's not really that hot...or spicy, but there is an adequate amount of heat involved, and it is really tasty. They do a lot of hot & spicy dishes, and this one is personally my favourite. We also ordered the hot and spicy hapuka ($23), but no photo was taken (whoops). Sometime we order the hot and spicy squid instead of the hapuka, but all of them are pretty good regardless.

Eggplant Hot Pot. This wasn't on the menu. I also don't know how much it cost. I'm pretty sure there was pork in the hot pot (correct me if I'm wrong, family), but someone told me there was salted fish and I couldn't taste any of that at all. So I'm pretty confused. I personally find this dish a bit slimy on my palette, and it doesn't help that I'm not a big fan of eggplant as well. Meh.

The decor isn't great, and a lot of the tables are covered with material that's similar to plastic bags (I don't really know the proper name for it so who cares). But it is the type of restaurant where you know you shouldn't expect that, if that makes sense.

Next blog: I don't knoooooooow.

* I was thinking about using the character names from Twilight since I'm watching the movie, but nah. Who's going to be Edward?

A Typical Night at Jessica's House (Not Really).

Soooo I've been extremely slack with updating my blog. It seems weird that I update this blog more often whenever I have little time. Hopefully that will change soon. I've been taking photos of food here and there – it's not like I haven't been out and about! Today's update is going to be a bit different. No review today.

While I appreciate going out to eat and trying out different places and different cuisines, there's nothing like eating food that has been prepared and cooked by my mother. I'm sure that it's the same for most people...that is, if your parents can effectively use a stove and an oven. Sometimes (okay, maybe often) I take my mother's cooking for granted. I'm pretty sure that when I leave in September for the UK, I'll be complaining incessantly on the phone to my mother about how I miss her food. Since I returned back home from my trip, I've been asking my mother lots about how she prepares and cooks certain dishes so I can attempt to cook them in the UK. (It's a pain in the ass to recreate any of her dishes though, since she doesn't measure anything. Sigh).

A couple of days before New Years, my parents hosted a dinner. When guests come over to my house, my mother likes to showcase her best food and it suddenly becomes an overindulgent banquet of sorts (...and I mean that in the best way). My brother took some photos for me – thanks brother! – and I thought showing these photos would provide a nice illustration as to how goooood home-cooked (Thai) food can be.

"Som Dum" - Traditionally it's just a green papaya salad. But my mother likes to incorporate carrots if she doesn't have any papaya in her fridge. Sometimes she likes to mix it up and put both in the salad. The salad also has tomatoes and green beans.

"Haw Mok" - Steamed Fish Curry. It doesn't look very nice in the photo. But that's because it was partially eaten by the time the photo had been taken. Whoops.

"Gai Yaang" - My Mother's BBQ Chicken. There's only a few on the plate...again taken while we were eating. My mother's marinade for the chicken is pretty odd, yet brilliant. She makes up this weird concoction, in which she uses a mortar and pestle to grind garlic, peppercorns, salt, and coriander root into a thick doughy paste.

"Moo Satay" - Pork Satay. My mother makes the best satay sauce. Fact. I love eating satay in Thailand, although sometimes the sauce can be a bit too sweet. My mother doesn't make it that often, so whenever we have dinner parties, she makes an excess amount of it (so I can eat it the following day for lunch and dinner). We also serve it with toast and a pickled cucumber dish. Obviously you can do it with chicken...and apparently prawns work as well (we experimented with it on the night).

Mussaman Curry with Beef.

Thai Stir-fried Vegetables. The prawns are kind of in the way in the photo.

(Half-eaten) Steamed Fish with lots of chili and garlic.

Spring Rolls. Yum. The filling is sooo good. Lots of cabbage, mushroom, carrots, garlic. Usually we have pork mince in them, but we swapped it with prawns in the photo above (like you can even tell the difference, heh). We dip the rolls in my mother's homemade Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. Sooo good. My mother's sauce is 100 times better than the stuff in the supermarkets. You can taste the sweetness and the chili (rather than just the sweetness).

Thai Bean Salad - Wing beans are used in Thailand, but my mother likes to use french beans instead.

Next update: Hopefully soon. Canton Cafe in Kingsland. Can't wait, it's a family favourite!

I'm back// Airplane Food

Happy holidays everyone! Hope everyone had a good Christmas :)

I am finally back from my one month trip! (Actually, I returned two weeks ago but that's not important). Ever so glad to be back in my own bed, and to be able to use my own shower. Unfortunately, I keep waking up at midday and going to bed at, like, 4 am. Today's post is sort of dedicated to my travels. While I briefly documented the food that I ate in Japan, Thailand, and Singapore, I also documented the food that I ate on the plane. I used to hate airplane food, but as I have gotten older, I've now gotten used to it. I used to eat nothing on my tray when I was younger; yet these days you'll find me eating nearly all of it. Airplane food isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Despite this, I still hate flying. Someone's laptop bag fell from the overhead above me, and I was the victim of it (fucking sore back) as a result of sitting in the aisle seat. Sigh. I wanted to curse soooooo much and so badly, but was unable to with my parents right beside me. Double sigh. [/rambling]

From my experiences, I feel that Emirates serve the best airplane food. Singapore Airlines is a close second, especially when you're given the option of two different menus - the International Menu and the Japanese Menu - if you're flying from or to Japan. The Japanese Menu actually provides more food, but I never ordered it. They are extremely generous when it is time for a snack....there is a variety of snacks you can choose from - sandwiches, fruit, chocolates, cookies/brownies, potato chips, etc - and they don't give you limits as to how many different snacks you can take. Thai Airways however, is a completely different story (I have a grudge against them as a result of rude behaviour and a three hour delay in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, ugh).

Missing from some of the photos below is icecream. Mmmm icecream! Not all of the meals that I ate are pictured below. One of the worst meals I had actually isn't pictured below. It was the worst flight experience I have had in a long time (...the three hour delay didn't help). It was an incredibly salty pork dish, and just thinking about it wants to make me hurl vomit.

All I remember from this meal was that the icecream was yuuuuum. Last meal from Singapore to Auckland.

The veal sausage was pretty good (for a sausage-served-on-an-airplane). The scrambled eggs scared me at first - it looked incredibly weird - but it tasted alright.

Laaaaaaamb. I was surprised that they served the dessert pictured above. It is a Thai sticky rice dessert, and it wasn't that great. My mother makes a better one. I was mainly surprised since I don't really think its for the Western palette (or anyone elses for that matter, other than for Thai people).

That cheese wedge was weird. It tasted like that cheese crap that you would eat at primary school. Very generous with the beef.

Pancakes! Yay. I find it rather strange that some airlines give you both a bread roll (or crossiant) and a muffin for breakfast. [/random]

That cake was effin' disgusting.

Don't remember anything spectacular, except for the large serving of chicken (which was appreciated).

Random observations:

• It pretty much seems certain that if you're going to be served breakfast on your flight, one of the options will be scrambled eggs. I also find it rather amusing that they just randomly stick a cherry tomato there in the dish. So random. Why not two?
• This isn't really an astute observation, but it is so much better to receive your bread roll warm and eat it immediately when its warm. Most often than not, the roll is already cold by the time it arrives to you (sigh). If by some chance the roll is warm -- eat it straight away. I made the mistake (once) of eating it later, and it tasted dry and crappy. No thank you.
• The majority of salads are ugggggggh. Crappy. No thank you. Same goes for dessert (unless its icecream, because, then its like yaaaaay icecream).
• Carrots are often included in meals. Heh.

Degree Gastrobar

Its obviously been awhile since my last post. Sorry! No, I have not forgotten about the blog! A combination of things really. I have a backlog of places that I want to talk about, but haven't had the opportunity to talk about them due to my heavy university workload. In addition to uni work, I've also been rather unwell. Handing in my last research paper in particular was a nightmare. Attempting to write a paper of good quality is impossible when all you want to do is sleep! But after sacrificing many nights of sanity and sleep, I eventually tackled through and now all my papers are handed in complete!

Welcome back life, I've missed you.

In 13 days, I'll be off on my one-month trip to Japan/Singapore/Thailand! I'm so excited. I can't wait to let you guys know about my food travels - whether in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, or even on the airplane! Mmmm food.

Degree Gastrobar
204 Quay Street, Viaduct Harbour, Auckland 1010

The last time I went to Degree was approximately four years ago. Prior to yesterday's visit, I had only been to Degree for lunch a few times and the experiences that I had were pretty reasonable. Yesterday, Rapper T -- who has requested for a new pseudonym, but will not get one -- and I went out to dinner last night to celebrate the end of his exams ("How was the exam?" "Well, it's over." How vague). Thanks to GrabOne, we decided to venture to Degree as a result of the voucher I purchased.

The menu. Goodness gracious, the menu is huge. To be honest, having a large menu can actually be a disservice. Degree specialises in stonegrill dining, which is when your food is presented upon a hot volcanic rock, and the actual cooking process happens at the table (sizzle, sizzle). Degree has a range of specials everyday. For example, on Thursday's it is pizza night, and mojitos are $9.50 (as opposed to their normal price of $15).

Rapper T and I both decided to forego the specials, and we started off with a sweet onion and mozzarella pizza bread ($8.50). The pizza bread is the only thing that I remember from four years ago, and it did not disappoint! The onions weren't overly sweet, and the combination with the mozzarella was great (but then again, anything with cheese is a winner in my opinion).

Both of us ordered the surf and turf main off the stonegrill menu, consisting of a 200gm rib eye steak, 2 scallops, 1 king prawn, with green leaf salad, sage butter potatoes and aioli ($29.50 ea). The photo above is crap (and I apologize), but it was impossible to take a picture of the whole dish since the dish was too wide! That and I was lazy. The photo was taken about 30 seconds after the waiter placed it on the table.

I quite enjoyed the interactiveness of the dish, but the dish isn't really designed for people that cannot cook or do not know how to cook meat/seafood (Rapper T, I'm looking at you). Scallops in particular have an extremely short cooking time, and if you overcook them, they are a disaster to eat. Who wants to eat a rubbery scallop? Not me.

The dish was okay, but the actual design of the dish had major flaws. First of all, the sides of the dish (the potatoes, aioli and salad) should be on a separate dish from the actual stonegrill. The heat extracted from the volcanic rock caused the salad on the side to wilt, thus losing the crunch of the salad. Before the salad wilted, it was actually rather tasty. Post-wilt = ruined. Also, once you've finally seared your steak and cooked your seafood, it would be more appropriate to move it onto another dish, to stop the cooking process. I didn't want to leave it on the rock, so I shoved my meat to the side of my potatoes, but there wasn't enough space.

Secondly, more utensils should be provided to prevent eating from the same utensils that were used to cook with. A spatula or mini tongs would've been nice.

Last of all, the sage butter potatoes were extremely bland. I couldn't taste the butter or the sage. The potatoes were crushed (as you might vagely be able to see in the photo above; not from my plate, but from Rapper T's plate). Rapper T thought that they tasted as if they had come out of a microwave.

Overall thoughts on the dish from myself was that it was okay, but could've been better. Rapper T gave the dish a 6/10.

As for dessert, we ordered the Chocolate Tasting Plate for Two ($18.50). I asked the waiter what was on the tasting plate, and he struggled to tell me. I let him off with that since he was attentive and polite. He finally concluded on, "Lots and lots of chocolate." The tasting plate included chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate tart, chocolate brownies, chocolate eclairs, chocolate...something, and biscotti. Biscotti on the plate was rather weird since I normally attribute biscotti with coffee (and we didn't have any coffee). The mini chocolate eclairs were unanimously the best treat on the plate. Mmmm. Excluding the biscotti, the tasting plate was pretty good.

Overall verdict: Food was mostly good, not overly fantastic, and the main could've been a lot better. Food wasn't cheap, but I don't think it was that expensive (considering the portion sizes, the prices were the norm). Service was surprisingly really good. All the waiters/waitresses were extremely polite and attentive. Athough it was a busy night, all of the food arrived promptly to our table.