food geek

Restaurants, recipes, rants.

>Roxy’s

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

>Roxy’s, 203 Cuba Street, Wellington

Well this must be about the only place to eat in Cuba Street that doesn’t have a Cuba name. Roxy’s is the unofficial cafe of our hotel next door, where you can charge your bill back to your room. Serving breakfasts, and Eurpoean and Asian foos the rest of the day, it was quiet when we arrived mid-morning on New Year’s Eve.

My porridge was served with full-fat milk on the side and plenty of chopped fruit on top. It was well cooked and a generous serving. Orlando’s standard holiday breakfast of eggs, smoked salmon and bacon was done well. Nothing spectacular in either case, just good value tasty fare.

>Floridita’s

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>Floridita’s, 161 Cuba Street, Wellington

Continuing the Hemingway theme (El Floridita was the name of Hemingway’s favourite bar) we ate breakfast here on our second morning in NZ. It is a bright and airy place with high ceilings and tiled walls. The menu is short and simple, focusing on fresh ingredients served well.

My home-made toasted muesli with fresh yoghurt was sensational. Just the right mix of fruit and seeds and nuts, perfectly toasted. Endless pots of tea accompanied our meal. Orlando was a little disappointed in his breakfast as the eggs were a bit too runny for him, and the bacon rind wasn’t cooked enough.

The staff were unobstrusive and efficient, and the lunches being served at adjacent tables looked good.

>Ernesto’s

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>Ernesto’s, 132 Cuba Street, Wellington

Our first breakfast in Wellington was a great introduction to the bohemian Cuba Street. Everything on this street is an homage to Cuba and all things Havana (including its famous ex-pat son Ernest Hemingway) and this is no exception. The venue has seen a number of incarnations in the past few years, and our local expert Claire reckoned this was the best so far.

Light and airy, with big looky-out windows and friendly staff, Ernesto’s had interesting little touches like flavouring their jugs of water with mint, cucumber and strawberries so it tasted a little like an alcohol-free Pimms.

The eggs were excellent (Orlando tells me) and my breakfast burrito was sensational (scrambled eggs and chilli beans wrapped in a tortilla). A glass of chilled bubbly went down well and the coffee and tea was good quality and properly served.

Definitely a great place to return to.

>Monsoon Poon

~ maireaddoyle ~ 1 Comment

>Monsoon Poon, 12 Blair Street, off Courtenay Place, Wellington
www.monsoonpoon.co.nz

Our first dinner out in Wellington was a bit of a disappointment. Whilst Monsoon Poon is a lively, sociable place to eat, with friendly staff and colourful decor (including signed plates on the wall from its celebrity diners), the food was a disappointment.

The shared start platter wasn’t half bad, with chicken wings, vegetable pakoras, spicy calamari and spicy minced chicken, but the main courses underwhelmed us. Helen’s pumpkin korma was so rich she could not finish more than a few mouthfuls, Orlando’s “two types of chicken tikka” was one type and a very small portion at that, and my South Indian fish curry was fine but not at all flavourful enough. Claire’s mushu chicken was OK, but Garry’s nasi goerng was pitiful. He soldiered on but left most of it.

Not a place to return to.

>Moons Espresso Bar Lorne

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

>We stopped here in Lorne for breakfast at the weekend, having passed by the usual fry-up joints in search of some good granola. We found the granola, but at a price.

After waiting (being ignored?) at the front desk for about five minutes, we finally ordered and sat down. The place was pretty busy I admit, but there were at least six staff members visible to me at the time. Not too sure why the service was so slow in the end.

My weak Earl Grey tea finally arrived. It was strong – too strong to drink, especially as I had specifically ordered weak tea. So was the green tea we ordered: presumably they were prepared and then left sitting for ages to stew. We sent them back. The long black we also ordered was too bitter to finish. I am rarely a fan of Genovese coffee.

It took an inordinately long time for the granola to arrive, but I will say that when it did, it was sublime. The yoghurt was simple and creamy, and the granola was made of the very best ingredients, toasted. Unfortunately the third person in our group had ordered eggs, smoked salmon and bacon, and this did not turn up until we had finished eating. So much for sharing a meal.

All in all, it was not an experience I would repeat. For the price – $54 for three – the service was appalling and it detracted seriously from the food, which was pretty good. Again, given the number of staff on show, I was expecting so much more.

katharine’s Lentil Soup

~ maireaddoyle ~ Leave a comment

>Ingredients
225g split red lentils
25g butter
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely diced
2 carrots, scrubbed and finely diced
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1150ml light vegetable stock
Salt and pepper

Method
1. Pick over the lentils and remove any stones. Rinse well.
2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the diced celery and carrots and let the vegetables sweat for 5-10 minutes.
4. Stir in the lentils, add the lemon rind, stock and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
6. Roughly blend the soup in a liquidiser or food processor. It should not be too smooth.
7. Check the seasoning and reheat gently.

Enjoy!