I hate it when the supermarket runs out of the larger 350g Pesto containers – particularly when they charge $2.57 per 100g vs $5.11 per 100g depending which size container is purchased…
PESTOGATE!
Incidentally the above pictured Genoese-brand pesto is the most delicious thing that has ever graced the shelves of the supermarket, I will literally scoop this stuff into my mouth with my hands at times.
It’s been a bit of a gap since my last post, unfortunately a large project (think 80 hr week) took away my spare blogging time, so now I’m playing catchup game, with blog_* folders all over my desktop of content to be posted.
Firstly, a couple pictures missed from day 2:
Trying some local brew picked up from a dodgy bottle store along the side of some highway.
Unimpressed kitty cat is unimpressed!
Day 3 in Christchurch was the big day of Lisa’s friend’s wedding, so I decided to excuse myself from the family madness taking place and went for a walk into the CBD to enjoy a coffee before attending the wedding with Lisa.
Hagley Park
Bit small for a river, bit large for a stream?
One thing I really noticed heaps whilst in Christchurch was the insanely annoyingly low angle of the winter sun – I guess New Zealand’s South Island is getting pretty close to the bottom of the planet so winter angles are going to be a bit low, but I think it would drive me insane trying to live there with the sun always hitting me in the eyes. :-/
Whilst I'm naturally good looking and tool, the sun is amplifying the effect a bit here.
Aside from the sun however, the weather is amazing, with cool, crisp mornings – setting up on the container having a coffee in the chill air is just an amazing feeling, kind of like being back in Wellington again. :-)
Sitting on top of a shipping container, having a coffee, looking out to a giant demolition zone.... Christchurch is WEIRD.
Even the coffee here needs to get a little shaken first. ;-)
I ended up walking back to the motel in Riccarton – I can get around Christchurch pretty quickly on foot, it’s pretty much all flat so easy to go fast and not even work up a sweat.
I see why the bridge was closed now...
I'm a train!! :-D
More shipping container stores in a random suburb.
Thou shalt not pass!
I spent the evening with Lisa, her family and the soon-to-be-wed couple and their friends in the private function space of a pub, enjoying some amazing food and good times.
Lisa scrubs up pretty well :-P
Amazingly good Sumac and Mushroom soup at the wedding. I must find a way to recreate this.
Whilst it's meaty horribleness, I have to like the presentation style.
The tree of light!
Narcissist Jethro loves reflective skylights!
All up a pretty good and laid back day, skipping all the family business and rushing around pre-wedding was quite a good plan, I greatly prefer the company of a fine laptop and a fine coffee than chaos. :-)
As much as I love a visit to a fine dining establishment such as Ti Kouka, sometimes it’s nice to just have somewhere you can go for a hearty laid back feed, coffee, beer and just enjoy some solid yet tasty food without hurting the budget too much.
Expressoholic has been open for around 24 years, although not always in the same location – first starting off on Willis St, before moving to Courtney Place for 18 years, until a rental dispute forced them to move to Cuba St.
I only became acquainted with Expressoholic after the Cuba St move, which put it right inbetween work and home for both my best mate and myself, making it an ideal option for our brunch and coffee needs.
I feel obligated to point out that for a cafe with a label of “Expressoholic”, their coffee is pretty standard Wellington fare – it’s a decent brew, but nothing that stands above other options in Wellington (in 2012 anyway – when they opened, I expect it would have been a bit of a game changer).
However any concerns about the coffee are forgiven as long as they continue to serve up delicious, well sized and affordable meals with lots of vegetarian options. :-)
Pancakes with berry and marzipan.
Deluxe Nachoes - the ratio of topping to cornchips is very heavily stacked towards the topping, great lunch or dinner option.
Tofu Burger - one of my favourite options, but it's a big meal! Their fries are cooked perfectly too, the exact right crunch.
Depending who's making them, the milkshakes can be average or amazing. Either way, never disappointed.
I rate the food here highly, all the meals are always well prepared to a consistent standard, served promptly and with the range on the menu, there’s always an option regardless of what you fancy that day.
The service is also excellent, with friendly and effective staff including the owner who’s often serving tables and clearing up afterwards.
For added points; unlike many Wellington Cafes, Expressoholic is open into the evenings and has a liquor license, so if you want to enjoy a beer whilst chomping down a hearty plate of nachoes, this is the place to go.
Whilst I’m not a huge fan of their black & white decor, the table art is pretty neat and they recently expanded into the shop next door adding a number of additional tables, since the expansion there’s been a table every time on 99% of our visits – be smart and avoid the typical weekend lunch rush hour though, it is a popular location.
Mirrors showing off your dreamy blogger who you know and love/hate. Note pre-coffee hair.
Expressoholic is located at 136 Cuba St, just a block up from the bucket fountain, well worth a stop whenever in Wellington.
Whilst plotting my visit to Wellington this weekend, I naturally had to place Ti Kouka Cafe high up on the list (sadly they’ll be closed for the public holiday weekend, so I only have a short window to get my visit in).
Situated upstairs on 76 Willis St, Ti Kouka now occupies the space once taken by my much loved and much missed favorite Katipo Cafe, once the local for Tom and I during #geekflat and Amberdms startup days.
After Katipo suddenly closed, it underwent a bit of refurbishment and an entirely new cafe emerged – Ti Kouka.
Rather than focusing on the counter-culture feel and cheerful hearty feeds that Katipo had, Ti Kouka is an entirely new venture with an entirely different approach, focusing on top quality food, presentation and dining experience.
With one of the founders and main chef being ex-Logan Brown, the food is excellent and tends to be a little more varied than the usual fare found in most cafes.
I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy both their breakfast and lunch menu. Whilst the vegetarian selection for lunch isn’t huge, there are a few good options – a couple more would be a nice touch.
Ti Kouka don’t do the stereotypical huge breakfast with everything on the plate, rather choose a base meal and select a few delicious sides to go with it, or mix things up and go with a couple smaller options.
Breakfast, with a delicious pile of their famous chips. Also a bowl of their excellent mushrooms.
Ti Kouka is also where I’ve had the best pancakes/hotcakes of my life – rather than cream, it’s been served with ricotta cheese and buttery maple syrup, which must be real maple, since it tastes far more amazing than any I’ve had before.
Even dedicated pancake parlors don’t come close to this….I normally tend to go for savory meals as the cafe breakfast option due to many pancakes being served a bit too dry & plain, but this is certainly not the case at Ti Kouka and well worth trying.
This is the most delicious pancake I've ever had. Ever.
If you end up at Ti Kouka for dinner or drinks, it is highly recommend to try a side of their chips, which are nothing short of the most amazing potato based creation known to mankind thanks to a triple-frying process.
The coffee is pretty excellent too, I’ve never had a bad coffee there – even managed to order a soy latte without the nasty burnt rubbery taste that too many cafes fail with when making it.
Living in Auckland, I miss this delicious coffee, so, so much. :'(
Whilst the meals never appear huge, they are always very well executed with excellent flavor, well thought combinations, consistently good standards and I’ve always been pleased and full at the end of my meal, without leaving tonnes on the plate like I end up having to do at some establishments.
My only real complaint is that my favorite lunch time meal option of the Grilled Haloumi has been changed from when it was originally introduced with beetroot & dukkah to a new more salad focused option, which whilst good, isn’t quite as good as my original favorite from them. :-(
Sadly this menu item has changed a bit, but still good.
Ti Kouka has quickly established itself as one of my favorite places, although it does tend to be somewhere I go when I specifically want a delicious meal and relaxed dining experience, if I’m craving a big breakfast after a late night and in a hurry, better off looking at other options like Expressoholic- you want to take the time to enjoy the Ti Kouka experience.
I’ve found that it’s an ideal location for dates, business meetings or an evening with friends for tapas and drinks (Thr-Fri only), the venue is spacious, quiet and has various table options including being able to look down onto Willis St, or one of the more private booths ideal for secluded dates.
Take a look at some of the other reviews on Gusty Gourmet, Foodie Gems of Wellie, and (as much as it pains me to link to them) Fairfax/Stuff, they all proclaim the excellence of the food and there’s a few pictures of some of their nifty meal offerings.
Because I’m getting nowhere near as much exercise as I previously did in Wellington, I’m trying to get out and do regular walks in Auckland.
My currently frequent circuit is around Takapuna and along the beach which is always enjoyable and certainly very popular with other walkers, joggers, swimmers and other water sports.
Very tempted to go for a swim in the beach in the near future when there’s a nice hot weekend day, it’s certainly popular for that and with the very gradual beach it looks like it’s quite shallow for some way.
Takapuna beach in the evening. I do love coming down here late at night when the beach is almost pitch black and wandering along the beach with only a few other weirdo night owls walking dogs as company.
At the boat ramp end of the beach there is the Takapuna Beach Cafe which offers brunch options including a number of vegetarian options and seems quite popular with the locals, being packed whenever I go there.
I personally don’t rate their food that highly, I think it’s somewhat average and should be better for the premium they charge, although I can’t fault the location and views from there.
Vege brunch at Takapuna Beach Cafe. Looks promising, but didn't really do anything for me, not a huge tomato fan, the hash cake thing was a bit bland and the toast just a bit plain.
View out over Takapuna Beach. Although TBH I prefer the view of all the fine ladies when walking along the beach. ;-)
On the plus side, the beach cafe *does* offer some excellent gelato and the gelato takeaway portion of the cafe is open till late in the evenings even on weekends. It’s better priced and better tasting than the Movenpick along Hurstmare Rd as well.
Always nice stopping for a gelato on the walk, although that’s probably not helping with the whole getting less fat plan. ;-)
I’ve got a pretty good loop circuit from our apartment block, down the highway to Hauraki, along the full length of Takapuna Beach and then back through Takapuna’s shopping district.
The area near Esmonde Rd has a marshy swamp area that’s always interesting, with a seemingly large population of Pukekos living there and wandering out onto the pedestrian area and sometimes even Akaranga bus terminal to say hello.
Pukekos are lurking....
All up it’s a 5.89km walk that takes about an hour (average walking speed of 6.74 km/h) and is reasonably varied, although lacking of any hills. :-(
You can view this map in full size on Google Maps.
Been a busy week – I flew up to Auckland first thing on Monday morning and just arrived back tonight on Sunday. There’s a bigger update here on how things are going with the move and plans, this post is mostly just a dump of a few pictures from my future home-to-be.
Auckland skytower in the distance obscured by rain
Standing on the Northcote Rd motorway bridge, looking out towards the Smales Farm busway (where the very excellent North Express (NEX) runs to/from)
Driving along the Auckland Harbour Bridge
Donuts. One of the delicious perks of being in Auckland. (there is essentially no donut shops in Wellington. TBH, that's probably a good thing for my waistline)
Noooo.... broke my only bag halfway during the week... was a real PITA finding alternative ways to carry stuff :-( Vinyl just isn't that great for hard wearing joins like that.
Maybe I should carry around less things.....
Sal's Pizza, part of the staple Aucklander diet. Some chick I managed to pickup with my studly ways in the background.
Lake Pupuke in Takapuna, North Shore, Auckland at night. (see wikipedia)
It's the moon! Either clouds or smog :-P (ok prob not, but let's all mock Aucklander's addiction to cars some more)