How has the year flown by so quickly? Before we wrap up another year, let me cover a few of the eventful things that have helped to bring us to the end of 2015 (including my current holiday).
Jon got a group of us F&P folk to dress up and go out to watch the latest James Bond film Spectre. Don't we look fancy?
Work had an environmental fair at lunchtime and in addition to the booth on how the company handles recycling, they also had a free sausage sizzle and brought a Mr. Whippy soft serve truck. Certainly brings back some fond memories of my small kid days!
Another November = another Movember. This year, I had a couple of teammates (Newton and Dugan) who helped me fundraise for Men's Health!
Speaking of mustache...my mo and I in front of Auckland's great cookie shop Mustache!
With Christine in town visiting from CA, the great food tour of NZ continues! Next on the list: Al Brown's Depot.
Obligatory Oysters. Three kinds, I can't remember which, but all came from different areas in NZ. Verdict: two excellent, one just a bit too briny for my taste.
I ordered this baked fish that had a pleasantly surprising spicy taste to it. Not pictured: Henry's Turbot sliders (yum) and Christine's squid ink pasta (double yum).
After dinner, I took the guests to try Giapo's for the extravagant gelato creations. Pictured: my awesome strawberries and cream gelato. It tasted unbelievably fresh!
Henry & Christine inside one of Rangitoto Island's Lava tubes! We carefully squeezed into the narrow entry before crawling into this much more open center section. Thanks to the friendly family who pointed us in to the right entrance!
Post-hike reward: Lunch @ Ortolana (my lemony crayfish pasta).
And our post-lunch indulgence: Dessert at Milse. Yet to be disappointed by this fantastic sweets shop.
For their last dinner in NZ, Christine chose Cocoro, a Japanese Restaurant in Ponsonby. I'm just gonna start out by saying it has taken the top spot as the best meal I've had in Auckland so far. Take a look at the dishes that made it so:
We started out with a sashimi sampler and a delicious oyster.
Then we got surprised by what might be the best dish of the night: "Sansho-Pepper miso" cured Salmon confit on top of asparagus with some hollandaise sauce and olive oil snow. Wow. Just couldn't get enough of this.
And then, Whitebait Chawanmushi. A kind of delicate, savory egg custard (traditional Japanese) with some tiny whitebait fish embedded within (more of a typically Kiwi ingredient). Very lovely combination.
And then a very cleverly constructed "fish & chips" adaptation using local Snapper cooked tempura style with a artichoke/potato puree and potato chips. Another excellent combination.
Next up, charcoal grilled NZ Beef on Asian veggies. A very proper, Kiwi "meat and veg" type of dish, but with some really nice, subtle flavors coming through from the two sauces: Japanese Cabbage & turnip puree and Manuka Honey garlic teriyaki.
Christine & I chose to include the optional nigiri platter which featured a fish I can't recall, Bluefin Tuna Toro and Shrimp (ebi). Definitely worth the addition.
With all the main courses complete, we moved onto dessert: Mint Green Tea ice cream (who knew that combination would work so well?!?!) and a truly awesome Green Tea cheesecake. Amazing.
And lastly, just a little sweet good bye in the form of some delicious ganache (dark chocolate, milk chocolate and salted caramel). Surprising and delighting all the way through to the last bite! Christine, I can't think of a better taste to leave NZ on and I hope you'll be back for another visit soon!
Onward to more food! In honor of the great American Tradition of Thanksgiving, I decided to share that with my family in NZ. I started with a "local" touch of Spam Musubi just because.
With some help from Liz, I procured a turkey (not the easiest to do as NZ doesn't typically bring them out in full force until Xmas) and cooked it as I've done for the past few years (including the same dry brine I used last year).
And voila! Turkey success!
Don't take my word for it, take a look at these happy faces! We had an excellent spread thanks to the other contributions of my family. Thanksgiving in NZ #1 in the books!
On that note, I bid NZ a fond farewell for 2015. See you in the new year!
Due to the midnight departure, I boarded the plane only half awake and had to fight off the urge to sleep until after the initial meal service: roast beef sammie and a really yummy caramel slice!
I had 2 window seats to myself and therefore got to spread out a bit and get a little rest. Subsequently, I had a bit more energy come breakfast time.
A view of the West coast of Oahu on approach. I'd be back on this side of the island in a few days...
Karissa & I finally got to do some indoor rock climbing in Hawaii! Hopefully we can climb outside next time!
And then straight over to Sushi Sasabune for lunch with Cat & Claudia. After hearing about the Eastern Menu (more shellfish centric), we all opted to try it out. Prepare yourselves for more food pictures:
Abalone 3-ways.
Miso cod? It almost goes without saying that it tasted delicious.
One local tuna (Big Island) and one foreign tuna (Mexico?).
I need to start taking notes, because I don't remember what fantastic tasting fish I ate.
More amazing fish. I can't remember these ones either.
Salmon (from Scotland) and Scallop (hotate from Japan).
Two delicious things (?) and an oyster (from the Pacific Northwest) with a sea water granita (nice touch).
More yummy fish which I can't recall.
The fish on the left had a lovely, homemade "Uni-sauce", crab (kani) nigiri in the middle and a forgotten seared fish with a slightly smokey flavor.
The real deal Uni (sea urchin gonads!) and tako (octopus).
More crab. Because you can't get enough crab.
Oh, still eating? Okay, have some tamago (omelet) and geoduck (huh, I didn't know you pronounced it "gooey-duck").
We finally tapped out on the negi-toro handroll. Yummy in my (full) tummy. This place still serves the best sushi I've had in my life so far.
I came home in order to witness (and participate in) Darren & Priscilla's wedding! The special day started with this amazing view out of the hotel room where much of the important pre-wedding prep work began at the crack of dawn.
And culminated in a wonderful ceremony out a Lanikuhonua (out in West Oahu, where my arriving flight flew over just a few days prior!). Congrats Darren & Priscilla!!!
We returned to town for the reception and partied the night away. Wedding Party Selfie! (PC: Jess).
The next day, I hiked up Diamond Head with Darren and Priscilla's family. What a lovely place to call home.
And then onto a plane and over to the Bay Area for the next stop on my whirlwind tour. Day 1: Sushirito lunch (yum, but possibly a bit overrated), chilling in Berkeley with Brent, Mary & Owen and dinner w/Mum at Fat Wong's (always good).
Day 2: Cali Burrito lunch and afternoon adventures w/Irene. We also dropped by to catch up with Angela!!! Also dropped by Prometheus for a WoD, had a beer with Amy and caught dinner with Nick & Jessie!
Day 3: Lunch at Backayard with Koji, Patricia & Delia, another WoD and dinner at Cusinett with Jason, Susanna, Ed & Imran. No pictures unfortunately :-(
Day 4: Brunch with Steph, hanging out in Mt View with Brent, Owen & Elise and AYCE Korean BBQ at Beque with Brad, Patty, Travis, Dorothy, Jason, Susanna and Kevin. No pictures here either :-( :-(
Day 5: Lunch with Chrysbe, Nicolette, Harman, Margie, Annie & Tim! Laulau making with Daniel, chilling with Daniel, Karen, Oli, Julie, Richard, Kaylee & Devin, Happy Hour with Santosh, Jacob, Tanya & Koji and dinner (and MJ) with the FB-day folks.
Complete with Cindy's amazing Ice Cream!
Day 6: Began with Brunch @ Town. Phil always manages to bring people together when he visits (coincidentally at the same time as me).
The day continued with a trip to the Village in Capitola where I helped to move a fridge and rode in the 3rd row of seats with a tired Buster.
And then the side trip to the Bay Area ended. Thanks so much to Troy, Lori, Thomas and Logan for letting me stay with you guys! And here, I'm on approach to HNL -- one of my favorite airports to land at, but not one of my favorites to spend time in (*cough* please renovate *cough*).
Plate lunch! Garlic chicken and spicy bbq pork.
Doing my part to support United's Flight attendant union's informative picket at HNL.
Plaza Club Holiday Party with Dad. Hamachi poke, ahi poke, tako poke and pipikaula!
Pearl's Korean BBQ: Meat jun (obligatory), kalbi & bbq chicken.
Fried chicken 2-ways (garlic and spicy) from Kakaako Kitchen.
At the top of Koko Head with Elise. We missed out on meeting President Obama by a mere few hours (He hiked earlier that day)!!!
Mele Kalikimaka from Hawaii!
Lunch at Agu Ramen with Phil. Delicious.
We had our Annual Family Holiday Dinner at Alan Wong's this year. As always, excellent food:
Seafood cakes and fried goat cheese salad.
Lobster agedashi and "Da bag" (kalua pig and clams with taro leaves in a light broth).
Excellent Japanese style salted salmon (with salmon bacon bits!) on rice.
Dessert! Coconut sorbet and chocolate "crunch" bar.
Christmas Dinner at the Fukunagas'. Plate 1 of too many.
Liz had a less than 24 hour layover in HNL so we had to eat as much as possible in that time:
Shoyu poke from Tamura's (my favorite from the day).
Spicy ahi poke from Ono's.
All gone!
Next stop on the poke tour: Yama's.
I've had too much food at this point, but I'm eating more because of Science.
Shoyu poke from Don Quixote.
A brief respite from the poke: Coco puffs from Liliha Bakery.
And then onto Safeway.
Finally: shoyu ahi poke from Foodland.
Hope you enjoyed the pics! Happy (belated) Xmas and roll on 2016!
Hi everyone. The last month and a half turned out to be as busy as I thought it might and therefore I didn't get around to doing too much (let alone document much to share with you all). With that said, I do have a few highlights that I'll run through quickly.
We'll start with a trip out of Auckland to do some twilight kayaking around Lake Karapiro and down the Pokaiwhenua Stream to see some amazing glow worms (very night sky-esque). Unfortunately, the low light didn't lend itself very well to any photo opportunities. I can show you the lovely dinner we stumbled upon in Cambridge at Alpino Cucina & Vino.
After 3 hours of kayaking, the body needed to be refueled. So Chris & I started off with this Pizza Diavola (spicy salami & capsicum).
Then onto this simple tagliatelle pasta with olive oil, rocket (aka arugula), tomatoes and cheese. Overall, an excellent dinner at a very nice restaurant that I'd be happy to revisit the next time I happen to stop in Cambridge. P.S. Pretty sure I saw All Blacks Assistant Coach Wayne Smith there having dinner too!
For Jess' B-Day, we went out to dinner at Orphan's Kitchen on Ponsonby Road. Very lovely meal here in a nice, cosy environment.
I picked, for my main, a delicious lamb shoulder dish with pickled cucumbers and a green (vaguely minty) sauce that paired well together. I completely cleaned off the plate when I finished.
And I accompanied the main with a side of roast yams with shaved pork belly. Double yum.
On a random Friday, Portland (yup, that little city in Oregon) decided to do a promotional pop up in downtown Auckland. While I sadly didn't see too much of the true hipster, Portlandia vibe, I did score a free pizza and beer!
I went for a lovely bike ride through Rosedale and Albany on a lovely Sunday (i.e. nice weather and no chores). Baaaaaaa.
We had another flat dinner out in Birkenhead for some Malaysian food. Please observe the "Before":
And the "After":
Pretty good job for 5 people I think. And the waitress initially scoffed at us ordering 10 roti. Well, no roti left behind Miss.
With the Rugby World Cup in full swing by this point, many mornings began with Rugby and breakfast. On this particular occasion, we had Loco Mocos at Liz & Ian's. Always awesome to have a taste of Hawaii!
Much to my grandma's chagrin, my Uncle has been feeding a couple ducks and they've begun to make a habit of coming round the house on a regular basis. Donald & Daisy, meet Dexter.
So that Uni course I took finished up and Liz delivered the last lecture on what it takes to release a medical device commercially. Best use of presentation images hands down (yup, Mario). She also included copious photos of animals wearing glasses. You know, because glasses = intelligence = credibility.
We had a nice cuzzie hot pot dinner at Liv & Jono's to kick off an awesome Labour Day weekend. Quality family time for sure! We even had time for this pic after Zach went to bed.
And we ended Labour Day weekend with a family BBQ at Uncle Phil & Aunty Annie's. My contribution: a Lemon Yoghurt Bundt cake. I'm not much of a baker, but I'm pretty relieved this turned out alright!
Now that the weather has started to warm up, it has made it much more enjoyable to spend time outside. That includes late afternoon runs before dinner along the Shore (with an awesome view of Rangitoto Island). So close to summer!
They did it!!! The All Blacks became the first nation to successfully win back-to-back Rugby World Cups. Hats off to Richie and the boys for an awesome tournament that saw them really find their form and composure at the business end of the tourney (when it matters most). You've made this little country of ours quite proud as always!
The most recent family picture including Uncle Michael & Aiden (visiting from Oz), Aunty Karen and Mum.
For Mum's B-day, we took her out to dinner at Takara Ramen for some yumminess. I opted to try their new Negi Spicy Pork ramen (in tonkotsu broth). I think this improved the flavour of the soup with a bit of spiciness and I would consider ordering it again. Tough choice between this one and the Black Tan Tan for next time...
We even dusted off the Magic cards for a bit of fun (including some probably tournament illegal card combos).
Remember, remember the 5th of November. Happy Guy Fawkes!!!
The aftermath of a tonne of explosives. Your Public Service Announcement for this year: if you buy poor quality Roman Candles (like those ginormous "Super Candles" in the picture) be careful when holding them in the air with your hands to fire off as the inner tube may shoot out of the bottom of the outer tube on to the ground and (before you can react) fire off a shot in the general direction of your family (and the other fireworks). Yup, just be aware.
We've entered the home stretch of 2015. Can you believe it? I certainly can't. I think we've also just passed the year mark for when I accepted this job. So far so good. I hope my next update won't be too long from now. Take care everyone!
The days keep ticking along. Work keeps getting busier and busier. Thankfully I've managed to find enjoyable ways to spend my non-work time. Check it out...
One of the teams I support at work spends 30 minutes every Friday afternoon eating cake provided by someone on the team (the schedule rotates). This "Jelly Tip" cake probably represents the best I've had so far. Raspberry jelly top, vanilla cheesecake on chocolate cheesecake on a crumbled Tim Tam base. Epic. Bruce spent a bit of time perfecting the recipe, but his finished product really hit the mark.
It still gets cold during the nights and so I usually spend a bit of time on the weekends chopping firewood (into kindling) for my grandparents to use for their evening fires. I started off really rusty, but seem to have figured out a good routine when I need to split several a few boxes worth in a reasonable amount of time.
Winter cooking adventures continue with this delicious braised lamb shoulder. So simple and delicious.
After a month back in the States, Jess finally returned. Mark and I, having enjoyed a nice and quiet July, welcomed her return as it meant a bit more excitement in our daily lives. Case in point: 5 minute ab workouts off Youtube in the living room.
We took Mark go-karting as a part of his b-day celebrations. We had a pretty fun time at this drift kart place out near Henderson. I spent a lot more time in a sideways position than I normally do while karting!
I had the fortune of getting a spare ticket to the All Blacks v Wallabies match at Eden Park. Pretty happy to continue my streak of ABs matches (twice in two years now!) and to see my first match against the hated Aussies. The ABs harnessed the pain from losing the match the week before in Oz and brought their best. They even performed the special, Kapa O Pango haka!
After a tight first half, the game opened up and we got to see a lot of scoring on our end of the field (including this try by Conrad Smith).
After a well deserved victory, the boys celebrated the likely final home match for a number of long-serving players including Ma'a, Tony, Conrad, Keven, Dan and Capt Fantastic Richie. It made it even more special that I could be there to witness their last match on home soil. Go the All Blacks and best of luck for the World Cup later this month!
The second time around with the Coq au Vin proved a winner as I applied the lessons I learned the previous time. Without the time constraints imposed by several hungry guests, I had the freedom to let this batch cook in the oven longer and it really thickened things up while adding more and more flavour. Incredible. I also added more mushrooms this time for a heartier dish. I'd go so far as to say this probably represents the best of my cooking to date with the cast iron casserole.
Another Friday night dinner with Jess & Sue. This hole-in-the-wall Ramen shop in the CBD probably served the best tonkotsu ramen I've had to date in NZ. Very nice and flavourful. Would return!
Another weekend, another visit to the go-kart track (though, it has been a different track each time). This time, we went with the F&P Social Club and got to race in 3-man teams.
We even got a little sausage sizzle snack.
Our team (Ali, Chris & I) finished a respectable 2nd. Better luck next time I suppose!
We went out to Matterhorn to celebrate Ngok's birthday and got treated to a 3 course meal (due to our large group size). I selected this tarakihi (fish) and fried chicken appetizer in an excellent consommé. So yum.
Next up, lamb two-ways (shoulder & rack) with pickled eggplant and kumara mash.
And lastly, caramelized apple on an almond tart. Excellent. I knew the drinks would be on point (from my experience back in June), but I didn't expect the food to be so good. I would recommend visiting for great food and very, very good cocktails.
I've spent six months in NZ so far and it has taken me this long to finally make my first batch of poke. I opted for salmon since it looked fresh and tasty at the Auckland Fish Market. Ono.
I made the poke as my contribution for a impromptu dinner party with friends from the office. The main dish we prepped: pierogi (Polish dumplings filled with potato). Yeah, we handmade a whole lot of them. It took a few hours from start to finish and, while my wrapping technique leaves something the be desired, the end result tasted pretty darn good.
The full spread including Canadian maple syrup glazed salmon and a kale salad.
Dinner at Richard & Ngok's. Homemade, slow-cooker laksa. In a giant bowl to boot. Freaking delicious!
I returned the favour by inviting them over for dinner at my flat: Eggplant parmesan. Well received if I may say so.
Had a bit of a mishap with my contacts during a meeting at work the other day. Ouchie. Can't say I've had this happen before...
The Mac Daddy (seasonal special) burger from Burger Burger: grass fed beef, chicken pate, carmelised leaks and bacon. Washed it all down with a peanut butter and chocolate thick shake. Pretty pleased with my first taste of Burger Burger I must say.
I wish I could say that work looks like it will get easier over the next few weeks, but it really won't. Additionally, I'll be starting a 6 week class on Med Device regulations that will include attending lectures and homework. I don't think I'm going to be very social until the end of October...until then, adieu!
So we've made it all the way through July and that means we creep ever closer to the summer (and the long, warm days that come with it). Have a look at some of what I got up to over the last month!
We start with another lovely meal that I cooked up in that amazing cast iron casserole: slow cooked beef cheeks. I found the recipe in a pamphlet at the butcher and it turned out to be quite tasty. Would absolutely cook again!
So the wonderful ice cream flavour, Jelly Tip (vanilla with raspberry jelly and chocolate) has become incarnated in a chocolate block form and a biscuit. Both tasted pretty great but, given the option, I would always take the ice cream...
So for Canada Day, we decided to try and whip up the quintessentially Quebec (and Canadian) dish Poutine. We substituted shredded cheese for cheese curds, so it didn't quite hit the ultimate levels of authenticity, but we did the best we could!
Then we went ice skating! Jess & Chelsea did their best figure skating pairs impression.
Later that week, I got a wonderful opportunity to see Bic Runga perform with Tiny Ruins at the Winter Garden in the Civic Theatre.
I didn't get any great pictures, but I heard some amazing music (a bit of new to go along with some of the old favourites). What a night.
AMERICA! They lit up the Sky Tower just in time for the 4th!
So they did this big foodie gathering at Shed 10 (a big empty warehouse) on the waterfront. We arrived (a little late) on the first night and it turned out to be a bit of an organizational nightmare. Ridiculously long queues, some places which ran out of food and just a mess. It took about an hour to get the burger you see above (kalbi flavoured). Tasty, but the people who ran this event should've done a better job. *Side note: in subsequent weeks, they did an even worse job as they raised the fee for vendors and charged an admission fee which caused attendance to tank bringing about the eventual demise of the event...
Being the hugely patriotic person that you all know me to be (U-S-A!!!), I organised a 4th of July party at the flat for a group of workmates. It turned out exceptionally well and we somehow crammed about 15 people into our tiny flat. Looking through my photos, I have absolutely no pictures of people...only pictures of food. So let's start with this bacon and jalapeño cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet. Yum.
And this Korean-influenced bbq sauce slathered beef roast. The marinade included gochujang, Hoisin, shoyu and honey to give it a sweet and spicy Asian kick. It turned out pretty fantastically. Hat tip to Noelle's mom for sharing a link to the recipe!
Another dinner thrown together during the week, this Italian-style meatball dish with tomato sauce turned out pretty well for something that I improvised from a couple different recipes. And thanks a bunch to Paul for loaning me the cast iron skillet! I did my best to find ways to put it to use!
Thanks to Chrysbe & co, I got used to elaborate lunchtime potlucks at work. I brought up the idea in conversation a few times with a few folks on my team, before I finally got a plan together and organised something. So here we have the beginnings of a bit of the AVSH Evalve culture at FPH. What on Earth am I doing with that sandwich press you may ask? Well, I'll give you a hint: Bastille Day.
We did a French potluck with a bunch of dishes including an Onion tart, roasted veggies, ham & cheese baguette and fries frites! And you can see a bowl of my improvised French onion soup there too (with toasted bread and melty cheese on top - courtesy of the sandwich press)!
One of the neighbourhoods in Auckland, Remuera, threw a little Bastille Day festival of their own during the weekend and I dropped by to see what might be going on. Unfortunately, a heavy rain drove away people and kinda dampened the celebration a bit. The sun eventually did come out and it kinda coincided with me finding a little crepe stand in an alley where I got a lovely banana & chocolate crepe. Très bien!
My first repeat dish that I've cooked since moving to NZ: another batch of Chicken 40 cloves. That garlic....so delicious.
Sue organised a Korean food outing with Irene, Jon, Liz and I, but due to extenuating circumstances, we ended up not at the place we intended but at this hole in the wall Korean place in Panmure (and with only a few of the original group). Nonetheless we made the best of the situation and got some KFC - Korean Fried Chicken!
I'm doing my best to get back into the swing of things. Some days turn out better than others, and I've got to rely more on self-motivation (rather than my fellow Prometheans), but it feels good to make a bit of progress.
Managed to get in and see the 2015 World Press Photo exhibition before it left the city. So many amazing photos out there all around the world capturing some pretty fantastic events. Seeing that OBJ photo never gets old as an NYG fan (bottom left), but so many of the other photos (particularly those related to Ukraine, Ebola and the Modernisation of China) really outshone it in terms of gravitas. We live in an awesome, horrible world and seeing these pictures captures that pretty well.
This past Saturday marked the 2015 FPH Annual Ball. I had heard mixed things from various friends about previous years' festivities and had originally decided against going before being peer pressured by my team. So, after scrounging up a serviceable "Film Noir" appropriate outfit, I arrived at Eden Park for the shindig.
I wish I got a better picture, but they had scenes from old noir films playing throughout the night on the stadium big screen. So cool. And, I will say, what a lovely pitch.
Some of the crazy, fun people I work with. Thanks for dragging me to this event. I had a great time!
And then the next morning I went back over to help clear out all that wood from the tree we chopped down months ago and move it over to my grandparents' property (finally). We'll stack it up for it to dry out through the spring and then chop it all up for firewood (to be consumed next winter). While we move one step closer, the work will continue...Also, well done Taran. Just think of this as cross-training for soccer.
What will August bring? Tune in next time!
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