Matakana: New Zealand's Hunter Valley?

View of Omaha and surrounds from OBV vineyard

Matakana....maybe it's even New Zealand's up and coming Sonoma county....  Ok, that might be a stretch, but wouldn't that be fabulous.

Matakana is only 42 minutes door to door from our Auckland home (according to the new GPS), so it was a no brainer to rent a bach at nearby Omaha Beach for the weekend with some friends as a quick winter getaway.

So......The ingredients of a worthy wine/food country region according to me:

Fresh, seasonal, locally grown produce:
High marks for Matakana.  It's compulsory to visit the Matakana Market on a Saturday Morning.  I got the most amazing winter carrots and root vegetables and some buffalo mozzarella, from which we made dinner that night.  There are also the roadside honesty boxes, which don't have a lot of press outside of New Zealand - it's a bit of a novelty to live in a place where people trustingly leave food and a box full of cash on the side of the road!

A view across Matakana Market from Matakana Market Kitchen

Food: 
The choices are starting to increase, but this is where a huge opportunity lies in my opinion.  Sonoma/Napa really does have the edge on this, but I guess they've been going a lot longer.  Will we ever have a French Laundry or Cyrus (or even Girl and the Fig)?  Who knows, but what we did have wasn't too bad.

Worth a visit: Matakana Market Kitchen. As the name suggests, it's right at the market, so it was the perfect place for brunch. The coffee is good and the menu has some non standard dishes.  I had the Welsh Rarebit which was made with a number of locavore ingredients.  Absolutely yummy.

Welsh Rarebit, Matakana Style

The coffee went down well......

OBV Vineyard for a lunch platter: Talk about a spectacular setting, overlooking Omaha and the coast.  The platter was interesting, but the scenery was really the main attraction.  A notable mention goes to the nice glass of their Montepulciano.  They are onto a winner here.

OBV Vinyard

Other places we didn't go to this time, but which deserve a mention:
Sawmill Cafe in Leigh - this is a bit of an institution which serves good pizza and nice bistro food.
Ransom Wines - great platters to go with some up and coming wines.  I particularly like their 'K Syrah'.
Plume:  Haven't been here but it's getting a lot of good reviews, so might need to put this on the list for the next visit.

Wine:
The wine needs a bit of work before it's at the level of some of New Zealand's other wine regions.  There are a few pockets of brilliant individual wines, but by and large, it's pretty average. Wineries worth keeping an eye on other than OBV and Ransom as above: I do like some of the Hyperion, Heron's flight and Ascension wines.  The big daddy is the Bordeaux blend of Providence. Their wines are in the +$200 range, so more of a special occasion wine and it really is a stunner.

Arts and Crafts:
Well, an honorable mention must go to Morris and James, who do the loveliest pottery.

But...
The piece de resistance for Matakana is its proximity to the coast.  Get your veggies, grab some food and then take a walk along some of New Zealand's most beautiful beaches.  Last weekend we even saw two whales.  I have not really done any whale watching to date, so this was a real treat for me.  It turned out to be a mum and her calf who were splashing around just of the coast.  Allister and I watched them for over an hour, it was just magical.  Attached is the link from the paper the following day.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10829911

Omaha Beach at Sunset

Sea Shells by the Sea Shore.... Omaha

 So I guess we'll watch this space on Matakana.  It certainly is nice to watch it develop and become the Auckland playground.

Dinner of locavore ingredients -
roast vegies and watercress from the market

The Chef's Table at Euro

The other night we had a real foodie highlight - a 10 course degustation at Euro at the Chef's Table.  This would definitely be a top 3 experiences for me to date - it was an awesome time.

Euro's Simon Gault is a household name in NZ as one of the judges on Masterchef but he is also known for his love for molecular gastronomy (think Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria, from whom a lot of his ingredients come) and The Chef's Table at Euro is his attempt at showcasing some unique and experimental dishes for 8 people at a time seated around a kitchen bar.

Apparently he started The Chef's Table a few years ago but for publicity he recently did a half price deal which we got a couple of seats for.  It sold out very quickly, but the chef told us to watch this space - they'll either do another 'grab one' deal or give details on their Facebook page.

So on with the show:  (it's referred to as 'entertastement' on the Euro web site!)

1. Spanish Bellota ham with creme fraiche and shaved fresh NZ truffles.  We were asked to roll this into a cigar and eat. Only 3 ingredients but honestly, this was a taste sensation and a true example of what can happen if you have the best ingredients.

2. Smoked Caprese Salad.  The first of the 'gastro' dishes.  An array of gastro ingredients such as olive oil which was in the form of little caviars, which was then subjected to smoke under a dome to infuse with the ingredients.

Adding smoke to the caprese salad

3. A deconstructed shrimp coctail.  Probably the most normal dish of the night.
4.  The risotto was to die for. Well, there was half a kilo of butter in the risotto alone, so 'to die for' has a dual meaning!  It was done with an anchovy butter (more heart attack material) and calamari rice.

5.  Favourite Dish: Fois Gras ice cream with sherry vinegar candy floss. The sherry vinegar was freeze dried in a powder form and sprinkled over a candy floss nest. The sweet and savory and textural combination was absolutely mind blowing.

6.  Ravioli.  Ok, in case you thought this was a healthy degustation, the ravioli was made with 300g of flour and SEVENTEEN egg yolks!  Your average home recipe calls for 1 egg / 1 yolk per 100g of flour, and of course this extreme amount of eggs is for the richness (read fat content) of the yolks. The Beurre Noisette had another 1/2 kg of butter....

Some 'crowd' participation

7. Wagyu beef with a venison jus and........  fries cooked in duck fat!  I could feel my arteries bracing themselves but this was certainly good.

8. Freeze dried mandarins and raspberries in liquid nitrogen.  As soon as you put it in your mouth the smoke comes out of your nose and mouth! (OK Curt, we may have to discuss the 'puff' thing!)
9. Deconstructed Pavlova, warm sauce, liquid nitro Pav and fizzy sherbet strawberries.
Hot, cold, fizz, crunch, yum.

The Chef making sorbet with liquid nitrogen

10. Grappa hot chocolate with a a chocolate fig truffle.  Oh my goodness.  I could have drunk a cup of this, not just the pipeful, but once again, an explosion in your mouth.  Definitely a grand finale.

Well,  this is not something we would do every weekend, but as far as foodie treats go, this certainly was worthwhile.  I will have to wait for the butter and duck fat to work their way through my system before the next time!

Olympics, Random Faves and Auckland Graffiti

GO Kiwi's!

So who hasn't been enjoying the Olympics for the last 2 weeks? It's been great to watch New Zealand bring home 5 golds and 13 medals.  Whilst I haven't lost nearly as much sleep over the last 2 weeks as Al, I still couldn't help watching my fair share.

Olympic Faves:

Non New Zealand
1. Michael Phelps in general - what a guy and loved it when he said he was having fun.  (also not quite so full of himself as fellow American swimmer, Ryan Lochte)
2. Usain Bolt in all his events. What a legend. Wasn't it cool when he gave that kid his beanie?
New Zealand
1. Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan mens double sculls - the ultimate 'never give up', come from behind and show 'em what real determination looks like.

GO Mahe!

2. Mahe Drysdale - Rower extrordinaire, who absolutely deserved to be the closing flag bearer after his Beijing comeback

3. Valerie Adams - wow, I shed a tear when she gave her silver medal interview. We'll never know how well she would have done if they actually properly entered her into her event...

Non Olympic Faves:

So other than the Olympics, I have been laying relatively low as I've managed to catch every cold and flu going this winter.  It's given me a chance to read some books, play on my iPad, and generally chill out.

Favourite new on line find 
I'm in love with Jerry Seinfeld's new online series:  ComediansInCarsGettingCoffee.com  If you're a Seinfeld fan like me, this is fabulous.  He picks up various comedians in one of his many vintage cars and gets coffee.  They are 10-15 minute clips and the latest episode I watched was when he picks up Ricky Gervais.  This is quintessential Seinfeld.

Favourite iPad Apps:
To say I love my iPad and iPhone is the understatement of the year.  How did I live my life fully without these?!  Cath was definitely the earliest adopter of us all and always found the coolest apps.  Here are a couple of random ones I am enjoying at the moment.

A Picture of pewter fruit bowl using MarbleCam

1. Kindle - Life before my Kindle Reader App.  hmmmm.....  ok - sure, it's not so easy to get sand out of your iPad if you're on the beach, but hey, I'm in Auckland in the middle of winter so no chance of that anytime soon. I am loving the instant access to great books at North American prices.
2. MarbleCam - takes some cool distorted artistic photos
3. Mashable and Flipboard - cool site for articles which are great for reading over lunch on my iPhone
4. Shazam - this is one I got off Cath for sure.  Let it listen to a clip of any song and it will identify it.

 Almost Favourite App:
Mixtape.co.nz - a New Zealand music collaboration site.  I got an invite from Moochi, one of my fave clothing brands, who put together a mixtape which is worth checking out.  One BIG prob - it requires flash at the moment, so no joy using this on my iPad or iPhone.  Apparently that's coming so I'll be watching this space. (and then it will definitely be a favourite app!)

Favourite Photographer:
And just because this blog seems a bit random, I thought I'd leave you with some random Grafitti shots which Al has captured in and around Auckland. (not just Melbourne has cool grafitti!)

On the wall going down the stairs in St Kevin's Arcade

Found in the middle of nowhere - behind the Caltex petrol station  on Fanshaw St

This is my fave of the Caltex shots.

Caltex 3 - interesting pen names

Mural painted on a wall in Tauranga by NZ artist Timo Rannali

City scape shot in Imperial Lane

Goodlife Weekend in Wellington

We got a great Air New Zealand deal to Wellington so decided to visit Irwin and Michelle last weekend. Despite it being about 5 degrees cooler than Auckland, the weather was beautiful and it was a good excuse to catch up over lots of coffees and be entertained by the mini-me's, Eva and Matilda.

Irwin and Michelle live near Petone which is a neat little suburb that reminds me of Ponsonby - lots of great cafes, neat little independent shops and old buildings. According to Michelle, Wellington has the most coffee roasters per capita in the world.  I'm not surprised as there are cafes and roasters everywhere through the city and the suburbs and the aromas are wafting everywhere. 

Cool stained glass at Caffiend Cafe, Petone

Cafes of particular interest in Petone are 'Caffiend' and 'Go Bang'.  We've been to both a few times now and there's always great coffee, great atmosphere and the cabinet food looks homemade and delicious. 

Fresh Water on tap in Petone

Petone also has the neatest little attraction - the fresh water spring, Te Puna Wai Ora, right in the middle of town.  People come from all over with their big drums to fill up on fresh water.
On Elle's recommendation we also got to the Dowse Gallery in Lower Hutt which is worth a look if your in that part of town. The Hairy McLarey children's book author, Lynley Dodd, was signing books, so there was a queue out the door.

On Saturday night we went into the city and checked out a few of Wellington's attractions.  To me, Wellington has a  real creative, artistic and cosmopolitan vibe that is hard to find elsewhere in New Zealand.  All roads (and good public transport) seem to lead to the city centre which gives it a heart. You can walk pretty much everywhere - people are walking down Cuba St Mall at all hours and it doesn't seem as overrun with hooligans as Auckland's Queen St at night.  


Here was our Saturday night line up: 
First off was 'Matterhorn' for a drink. A very cool bar with an amazing wine list. Wow - I wish this was around the corner from my work! The restaurant is meant to be great also, but that will have to wait for another time.
We then strolled down to 'le Metropolitain' for yummy French bistro fare.  Of course they had good duck confit so how could I not be happy with that?!  
We finished at 'Logan Brown', Al Brown's award winning restaurant, and my glass of Clearview Sea Red and some nice homemade chocolates was the perfect finish. Just the architecture is worth going in for the drink. What an amazing building. I think its an old bank. 


Well, maybe next time we go we'll leave it for a warmer time of year to go to Wellington but it was a great escape for the weekend. In the words of Dr Averil:  O for Awesome!

Irwin and Matilda at 'Go Bang' (so innocent!)

Michelle and Eva at 'Go Bang'

Al and Eva playing with phones in cars....

Matterhorn - very cool restaurant / bar in Cuba St

Al's artistic shot at Matterhorn

Give me dad's pancakes any day!

A picture of significance by a 'local' artist

Cool stainless steel installation on the wall at the Dowse Art Museum

This took up a whole wall at the Dowse

A couple of wind blown birds at Eastbourne 

Al's artistic pier shot at Eastbourne

Auckland: favourite cafes and beaches on a winter's day

Sentinel Beach with a view of the Harbour Bridge

Well, we are well and truly into winter now in Auckland with unpredictable weather and cold, fire worthy nights. This is the time of year when a nice sunny day is really appreciated.

A favourite weekend pastime for us on a sunny winter's day is to grab a hot coffee and a quick pastry and head down to one of the beautiful, secluded Herne Bay beaches to soak up some vitamin D. We started this tradition with our old Pooch, Sophie, who loved nothing more than to splash around the beach, and it's still one of our favourite things to do. The beach is remarkably close and I don't think people realise what a quick and uplifting escape this can be. Beaches are always a nice place to visit and not the domain of summer alone.

Living in Ponsonby means there is no shortage of great places to grab a coffee and a quick pastry. Here are my current top 5:

1. Agnes Curran on the corner of Ponsonby Rd and Franklin Rd, this place is an institution and probably one of my favourite cafe's in Auckland. It feels like you're walking into an old Auntie's for a cup of tea with lots of Antiques, quirky chairs, simple cabinet food, great service and of course great coffee.Even my parents became temporary fans when they were here from Canada last year, enjoying the nice rhubarb brioches and coffee.  Agnes Curran also displays local artist's work and we just recently bought a piece by a Ponsonby artist named Timothy Clark. Very cool.

A peak into Agnes Curran

Picked this up at Agnes: Ponsonby Post Office by Timothy Clark

2. Il Forno at 55 MacKelvie St, this Italian Bakery is another local Ponsonby institution. Their Almond Croissants are quite a regular feature on the beach trips as are their yummy Italian donuts.  I love the little complimentary Madeleines they often serve with each cup of coffee as well.  Nice touch!  We are often also likely to grab a fresh loaf of ciabatta from the bakery for later on.

3. La Boulange, an amazing little French Bakery at 214 Jervois Rd. They bake their pastries fresh on the premises in batches throughout the day in a relatively small oven. If you're lucky you'll arrive as something is just finished baking. Their Croissants and Pan au Raisin are just fabulous when fresh from the oven.

4.  Philippe's Chocolate and French Pastries has its factory shop on Great North Road, just before Bond St. Great French Pastries are available in the mornings. The coffee isn't bad, but we're more likely to grab a pastry and then head back to Agnes Curran for the coffee!

5. Farro Fresh, a new addition to the neighbourhood based at 34 Westmoreland St in Grey Lynn, has a nice selection of pastries - I'm not sure who makes them - probably Loaf, but I am a fan of the Chocolate Hazelnut Brioche.

There are plenty of beaches in the Herne Bay area.  If you're interested, just drive down Sarsfield St and at the end of most of the intersecting roads is a stairway down to the beach.  Also, a bit further along is Marine Parade which has a number of stairways to the beach as well.  One of our Faves is Herne Bay Beach.  Really, you are not far from the beach anywhere in Auckland and there are plenty of secluded spots to enjoy.

Allister manages to take some great photos so thought I'd share some from the other day at one of our more regular beaches, Sentinel Rd Beach in Herne Bay, with its lovely boat sheds and the Harbour Bridge in the background.

Happy coffee drinker

top of the steps leading down to the beach

Neat old boat sheds keeping an eye on the bridge