Fluid

The process of restoring all the photos on this blog is, as expected, tedious. Nevertheless, I will endeavour to restore them all before the end of the year. 

In the meantime, if you're in the mood for sandwiches, go to Fluid. There, in the humble opinion of a sandwich disbeliever, you will find the best of them. Pictured above is the Bacon & Brie - lovely chewy bread filled with beautifully fresh lettuce, delicious, savoury grilled bacon and mild, creamy brie, rounded off with a sweet, fruity spread/chutney. The mouth-watering, intoxicating aroma of bacon and bread that permeates the plastic wrap alone almost makes it worth it, but rest assured, it tastes just as fantastic as it smells. I really want to try all the other sandwiches, rolls, etc there, but I succumb to my weakness for the Bacon and Brie every time. The Chicken in Lemon Aioli is also good, but does not pack the same punch.

Fluid

138 Union Street East

Dunedin 9016

Shahi Tandoor

Chicken Tikka

'Twas a dark, cold, rainy evening. We were wet, hungry and just wanted to get indoors, get dinner and get home. It was one of those "Fine, we're sick of all the usual restaurants, so lets just try this new place" moments. I have to admit, I was skeptical when we stepped into Shahi Tandoor that first time, but I am glad that that's where we ended up because that first dinner was, and every meal since has been, pleasant and enjoyable.

The first surprise was that we were offered hot towels while we perused the menu. Next, I noticed that their mains were priced about $5 - $10 less than their counterparts at other Dunedin Indian restaurants. At this point, the cynic in me (who rules most of the time) was primed to expect the food to be mediocre because it (the cynic) cannot believe that you can effortlessly hit the trifecta, out of the blue like this, on George Street, in little ol' Dunedin. But hit it it did - the food was excellent, the prices were very, very reasonable and the waitstaff were friendly and helpful. The one thing that was distinctly different was the juiciness of the proteins in the curries. Now, this isn't usually a sticking point when it comes to curries since the amount of sauce more than compensates for any apparently overcooked meat or fish. The pieces of fish and meat in these curries, however, were immediately noticeably far tenderer, tastier and juicier than the protein contents of any other Indian curry that I've had in town. Clearly, I didn't know what I had been missing.

I've since recommended Shahi Tandoor to anyone who asked and returned with friends (only so I can take pictures of their food and taste more dishes in one sitting!) and they too have raved about the food. 

Vegetable Shahi Kebab

Mix Vegetarian Platter for Two: Liked the crispy, but still tender and moist, onion bhaji (with discernable chunks of onion). Don't remember much of the samosa, vegetable seekh kebab or potato pakoda, but the mint sauce was bland and watery.

Chicken Tikka: Beautifully charred, juicy chicken covered in a lovely, tasty, mild spice paste. Delicious and one of the best chicken tikkas I've had anywhere.

Vegetable Shahi Kebab: I think the others liked it, but it wasn't memorable for me.

Goan Fish Curry

Garlic Prawn: Great, complex, garlic flavoured curry. Incredibly tasty. Only gripe would be that if you are going to leave the tails on the prawns, they have to be larger prawns (at least two inches long). 

Goan Fish Curry: Excellent curry with lovely depth and beautifully cooked, tender juicy pieces of fish. 

Kadhai Paneer: Absolutely delicious. As good as the best kadhai curry that I've had. This was someone else's dish and as I am not always in the mood for cheese, I didn't try any paneer.

Lamb Vindaloo & Khadai Paneer

Lamb Vindaloo: I never liked vindaloo before, but this was exceptionally good and has changed my mind. Like the other aforementioned curries, this too had the complexity and depth that its counterparts have lacked.

Chicken Saagwala & Palak Paneer: Both were delicious, thick, beautifully flavoured spinach curries. The chicken was so perfectly cooked that there were still little streams of clear juice dribbling through the chicken as you bit or cut into them.

Chicken Patiala: A spinach based chicken curry wrapped in an omelette and covered in another tomato based (I think) curry. Very unusual but scrumptious nonetheless. It was such a large dish that I could barely finish it, even with help. This is probably unrelated but 'Patiala' sounds a little like 'Pattaya' which is the name of another Asian dish where fried rice is served wrapped in an omelette. 

Garlic Naan: Deliciously loaded with chopped garlic for that great, nutty, irresistible garlicky goodness. Perfect naan texture, weight and feel. This may sound silly but I love the texture and feeling of tearing a good piece of naan with my hands. Curiously, the surface and weight of a naan's reminds me of the feel of leather, but of course naan is soft, tender and good to eat and leather is not.

Chicken Saagwala

Shahi Tandoor
351 George Street
Dunedin 9016

No. 7 Balmac

No. 7 Balmac's rustic, casual-chic charm reminds me of Riverstone Kitchen. After patronising most of the fine dining establishments in Dunedin over the last nine years, I've decided that I much prefer this relatively relaxed ambience over the sometimes overly stuffy and haughty character conveyed at certain other posh restaurants - particularly since the food at some of these more relaxed places is comparable to the the food at the 'posh' places. I use the terms 'fine dining' and 'posh' very loosely when referring to restaurants here - in Dunedin they simply mean restaurants where the mains cost about $35 or more and are not pure bars or cafes. While places like No. 7 Balmac are nice, upmarket restaurants, you wouldn't exactly call them 'posh'. The food at No. 7 Balmac, however, ranks second in Dunedin on my list, and I have a far more enjoyable time there - after all that's all that matters.

NB: Before we begin, I must apologise for the quality of the dessert photos - we usually lose the light by the time desserts arrive and 'cosy' restaurant lighting isn't conducive to food 'photography', particularly when you know next to nothing about photography.

In October, we celebrated P's birthday there with his friends. Everyone order the same main, except S. It was a really good night. The food was great and after dinner we introduced Cranium to the guys and everyone had riotous time. P-the-Creative-Cat-fiend, especially, loved it.

Bruschetta: Very, very good, but not quite as amazing as the first time I had it (perhaps earlier in 2011). Then, it was made with buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil and the combination of beautiful, fresh, natural flavours was exceptional. This time, instead of basil, I think it was rocket? - sorry, I can't remember and can't say for certain from the photo.

Hereford Prime dry-aged scotch fillet: This was the main that everyone but S had. A very nice, tasty, rustic meal. Especially loved the hand cut chips and the deliciously bright chimichurri sauce. 

Coq au vin: S's main. She loved it. I had a bite but I don't remember much about it except that it was subtly flavoured. 

Flourless warm Belgium chocolate pudding, vanilla bean ice-cream & hazelnut praline: It had an incredibly light, soft, texture but was still lovely, sumptuous and chocolatey. Mmmmm. Divine. I loved this so much that I ordered it again when we revisited in November. 

Steamed currant pudding?: I am not 100% certain of what this was called but S enjoyed it.

Warm real chocolate brownie with ice-cream: Most of the guys had this. A large chunk of warm, chewy, chocolately brownie, topped with ice cream. One of the guys ordered the chocolate pudding, had a bite of the brownie and wanted the brownie instead. I preferred the pudding but I think the guys were partial to more weight, chew and bite to their chocolate thing.

Fast forward to November - no particular occasion other than to have a good meal with friends.

Nicoise salad: Forgettable.

Twice baked three cheese souffle: Like the airiest, cheesey omelette imaginable. So delightfully good that M was compelled to create a version of it the next day.

Roast Cardrona merino lamb: S's main, which she didn't like. Apparently the lamb was gristly and the accompaniments did not complement. 

Twice cooked BBQ belly pork: M's main that night. He thoroughly enjoyed it and the bite that S tried was enough to persuade her to order it when she returned some weeks later - she loved it too.

Fish of the day: The fish was cooked well - juicy, tender flesh with nice salty, fried skin. But the salted fish in the mash was overkill and that spoilt an otherwise enjoyable dish.

Poached pear, macaron, lemon curd ice-cream & pistachio: The poached pear and ice-cream were good but I did not enjoy the macaron with the flavoured cream cheese filling at all. 

No. 7 Balmac
No. 7 Balmacewen Road
Maori Hill
Dunedin

Zucchini Bros Pizzas

As promised, since my last review, my friends and I have managed to try five different pizzas from Zucchini Bros (dining-in and taking-away twice respectively). We could have actually tried more than just five of their pizzas, but as always, we discovered a few favourites very early on, couldn't get enough of them and then just kept ordering the same thing!

The thing that sets their pizzas apart from the rest is that their ingredients are more finely minced or chopped and in smaller pieces than other pizzas. Not only does this allow the flavours and textures to be more evenly distributed throughout the pizza, but it also alleviates the problem of toppings slipping off the slice - which often occurs with pizzas topped with large pieces of ham, pepperoni, etc. Ah, gone are the days of slices with just half a disc of pepperoni on either side and a couple of pieces of olives here and there. Now I can enjoy the taste of every single ingredient that is meant to be on the pizza, on every slice! Very clever Zucchini Bros.

#3 - Mexican beef, bacon, capsicum, jalapeno and oregano: Tried this one first with C and S and it was an immediate hit. Spicy and incredibly tasty. I love the almost earthy, spicy flavour of the minced beef and the sharp saltiness of the bacon.

#7 -  4 Cheese – mozzarella, blue, parmesan, cream cheese and oregano: D-the-cheese-fiend's favourite. Very cheesey, rich and tasty. I can only have one slice, but turophiles like S and D will probably have no problem polishing it off.

#8 - Bacon, anchovy, mushroom, black olive and oregano: Again, love the saltiness of the bacon and anchovies, balanced out by the mellow flavours of the mushrooms. Delicious.

#12 - Salami, ham, mushroom, tomato and oregano (sorry no photo): One of the lighter, cleaner tasting pizzas. Milder, but still tasty. 

#18 - Smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomato, red pepper and oregano (sorry no photo): A bit too rich and cheesey for me. The textures of the ingredients were also a bit too similar, i.e. soft, mushy. OK, but not one of my favourites.

I should also mention that our favourite ZB pasta is on the 'specials' menu and is served with prawns, spinach/asparagus and peas in lemon butter. It is the same one I wrote about in the first review, but when asparaguses are not in season, they substitute it with spinach and the freshness and sweetness that the spinach brings to the dish is just divine. Don't know why it's not on the main menu even though I've seen it on their specials menu since Dec 2010.

Zucchini Bros.

292 Highgate

Roslyn

Dunedin

Ironic

It irks me when the dining experience at a place that I intend to review is neither good nor bad. It's just uninspiring. I find it difficult to get motivated to write about it and then when I force myself, it inevitably turns out to be a dull exercise with boring results. That is why I am only writing about Ironic now, when the brunches that I will be talking about actually happened months ago. I just want to get it out of the way, so this is going to be quick and dirty.

Fresh pancakes with bacon, banana & maple syrup (sorry, no pic): Nice hearty serving of pancakes drenched in maple syrup, with lots of banana and bacon. Nothing extraordinary, but good nonetheless.

Garlic Loaf: Nice and buttery and garlicky. Very tasty, but I am not crazy about hard breads, so this was a tad too hard and dense for me.

Ironic handmade prime lamb burger, smoked cheese, spicy tomato relish & aioli in toasted olive & rosemary bread with hand cut fries: The juicy, succulent patty covered with melted cheese, accompanied with lettuce, fresh slices of tomato, bright tasting relish and tasty aioli was excellent. The over toasted, rock hard bun was definitely not and marred what would have been a thoroughly good burger. An awful let down. The fries (on this occasion) were decent.

Pappadelle chicken pasta with spinach, served in a stunning tomato cream sauce finished with roasted pine nuts & freshly shaved parmesan cheese: S's comments - "Good, liked the flavours of the chicken and the pine nuts. Sauce was just okay." ...and not so stunning after all.

Mushroom Soup (of the day) - This was S's dish and I don't remember her saying anything memorable about this. I am sure that if I am mistaken, she will correct me when she reads this.

Fish of the day in a light speights beer batter served with hand cut fries & salad: The fish was unremarkable and the pieces were way too small for $25.00. The salad was somewhat soggy, but the fries were the absolute worst. Under seasoned, undercooked, dense and chalky. Shockingly bad and categorically the worst fries that I've had in a long, long time. 

Ironic Cafe and Bar 
9 Anzac Avenue 
Dunedin

Port Chalmers Seafood Festival - Saturday, 1st October 2011

It was a mild day - perfect food-festival weather. As S and I made our way to the Port Chalmers Seafood Festival that Saturday, I had my doubts about how enjoyable the event was going to be. My prejudice was based on my experience at a very popular annual food festival that several of us travelled a few hours south for a few months ago. Certain key aspects of that event, in my opinion, were poorly conceived and could have been organised better. These failures became especially apparent in my mind when we saw how well organised the Port Chalmers Seafood Festival was, and what a difference it had on my perception and feeling of what were two almost conceptually identical events. 

So before I talk about the food, let me pay my compliments to the organisers again (already did once before on their Facebook page). Despite being aware of the various modes of free transportation that had been arranged for ticket holders, S and I decided not to be green (naughty!) and drove there. As soon as we arrived in Port Chalmers, there were clearly visible volunteers in bright red t-shirts directing people to available car parks. They had maps of the neighbourhood and told us exactly where to go and where there would be plenty of parking. From there, it was just a short walk through town to the venue, which was easy to find as there were volunteers stationed along the route as well as arrows/footprints to follow on the sidewalk. 

We go there at about noon, which is when one would expect it to be at its busiest. There were a lot of people (reportedly about 6500), yet unlike in festivals before, we never felt overcrowded or swamped. There was plenty of room for people to move about reasonably freely and the place was set up so that traffic could flow through the shed, outdoors and out of the venue without any congestion. That for me, was the difference between being uncomfortable and wanting to just get through it and leave, and leisurely trying all the different things on offer and just sitting down and enjoying the good food. The volunteers who were continually cleaning up and ensuring that the venue was always tidy were great and definitely deserve to be mentioned. I was also delightfully surprised to find that the portable sinks provided provided lovely warm water. It was very pleasant not to be shocked with icy cold water when attempting to wash one's hands, which is what I've come to expect at these types of events. The only significant oversight was the lack of overhead signage for each stall. Unless you asked for one of the venue maps at the entrance, which were strangely not automatically offered, you would not have been able to tell what each stall offered at a glance as most of the signs and prices were at table level or below and there were always people standing in front of stalls, blocking the signs.

First we had the Thai fish cakes in a steamed bun - the fish cakes were OK but the steamed bun was completely unnecessary and smothered the flavour of the fish cakes. Right next to the fish cakes stall, there was a very long queue, which we eventually discovered was for Harbour Fish's crayfish and other fares, so we quickly became part of that queue. Fifteen minutes later, we had a couple of skewers of grilled prawns, a whitebait patty sandwich and two crayfish halves and found ourselves a corner to nosh our nosh. The whitebait sandwich was bland but the grilled prawns and the crayfish were absolutely delicious! So delicious that we ended the day with ANOTHER two skewers of tasty, tasty grilled prawns and 2 crayfish halves, EACH. They were easily the best crayfish that I've ever had - succulent, firm, delectable chunks of sweet flesh, topped with a little creamy sauce. Bliss!

In between our two visits to the Harbour Fish stall, we thought that the long queue for the seafood paella was indicative of something good. It was not. It was actually one of the worst dishes I've ever tasted. Seriously. I paid $10 for a tiny scoop of rice and a few bits of seafood, then we each had one bite and threw it away. Luckily after that we had some pretty good donuts and bacon wrapped mussels from Top Nosh, and of course finished off with those lip-smackin', finger lickin' crayfishes and prawns.

All in all it was a fantastic afternoon and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Everyone behaved very well, except for those idiots who smirked at of those of us who were queueing up properly for the crayfish and proudly told the people in front of us, "Are you guys seriously lining up? We just went straight to the front and got what we wanted". Pathetic. And those who followed their example were even worse. Have some dignity for goodness sake. We all got our food after a few minutes anyway.

Zucchini Bros.

Pasta with prawns, asparagus & peas in lemon butter

I first visited Zucchini Bros. with CP, in December last year. I had always heard good things about it but my not having a car means that the promptness of my trying a new restaurant and the frequency to which I return to a restaurant is somewhat restricted if it is not located in the city centre. I rely heavily on the goodwill of my 'vehicular-ly' blessed, fellow nosh-hound friends, such as S and CP, when it comes to sniffing out exciting new prospects outside the city.

Ravioli in tomato sauce - I didn't taste this so I can't comment

You will notice the stark difference in the photos from the first visit with CP in December, and the second visit with S, which was only a few weeks ago. This is the thing that I find most annoying about trying to review a place during the winter - if we dine at night, most restaurants are usually too dark for me  to get any decent photos. So, my apologies as usual.

Garlic bread

I may be jumping the gun a little here but I have a feeling that this is going to be my favourite place here for Italian food, even though I haven't tried any of their pizzas yet. The pasta with prawns, asparagus and peas in lemon butter that I had in December was absolutely delicious - bright, subtle and delightfully light and refreshing, which isn't how you would normally describe pasta dishes. CP had the ravioli with tomato sauce, which she said was tasty and just the right portion. We also had the lemony meringue and hot apple cake for dessert - CP wasn't impressed with the former, but I really liked my hot apple cake.

Mussels with tomato, mushrooms, garlic and white wine on conchiglie

It took a few months, but I finally managed to revisit Zucchini Bros. with S a few weeks ago. It was a rainy Wednesday night but by the time we left, the place was completely full (usually a good indicator). We started with the nicest, tastiest, fluffiest garlic bread that I've had in a long while. It had just the right texture - slightly crispy crust, but otherwise soft and fluffy - and had a generous spreading of lovely melted garlicky butter. MMMMMMM!

Chilli, tomato and mint pesto with red pepper and pine nuts on capelli

Our pastas weren't quite as exciting as the garlic bread or the pasta with prawns, asparagus and peas in lemon butter that I had in December, but they were decent. S had the mussels with tomato, mushroom, garlic and white wine on conchiglie, which was tasty, but according to S, wasn't quite developed/complex enough, flavour-wise. I had the chilli, tomato and mint pesto with red pepper and pine nuts on capelli (with chicken) and thought that it was interesting, but the combination of ingredients resulted in a sort of a (for lack of a better word), 'smooshy' pasta dish, which wasn't texturally ideal. The flavour was pretty good, but I have to concur with S's verdict on her dish, in that it too wasn't quite complex enough to sustain one's initial enthusiasm throughout the meal.

Hot apple cake with caramel sauce and hokey pokey ice cream

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our meal enough that we stayed for dessert and S, influenced by my positive comments about the hot apple cake, decided that we should stick with the tried and true. And it was better than I remembered. The cake was warm and moist, the caramel sauce was seductively rich (not a fan of caramel usually) and the hokey pokey ice cream (which neither of us normally like) was like soft, cool, mild, pleasant interludes between bites of rich, sweet, comforting caramel slathered hot apple cake. Bellisima!

Will be trying their pizzas next. Stay tuned.

Zucchini Bros.

292 Highgate
Roslyn
Dunedin

Gaslight & S's Birthday Operation FI3

[*Updated 7:50 am, 16 May 2011]

Twice baked goat cheese souffle with ratatouille

S had a big birthday about a month ago. Since I am such an abusive slave driver (you know, always throwing recipes at her and making her cook, etc), and it was a milestone birthday, I knew that the usual dinner party and cake just wouldn't do. Being slightly neurotic, I began planning about two months before her birthday. 'Operation FI3' (can anyone who wasn't involved guess what that stands for?) came together with the help of a few 'agents' and a lot of secretive emailing. 

Butternut salad, arugula, pumpkin seeds, feta

On D-day, I was surprised at how (almost) seamlessly the plan was executed. Basically, we planned something akin to the 'Amazing Race', except that she wasn't racing against anyone. She was given clues and tasks that she had to successfully complete in order to get her next clue and progress to the next destination. S actually solved some tasks more quickly that we had anticipated, but she finished the entire mission more or less on schedule. Thanks P for playing paparazzi!

Steak frites with sauce borderlaise

J started it off by surprising her with the rules and her first task at 11:00 am. She had to decipher five clues to figure out which five items she had to bring on the mission as 'toll payment', e.g. "An _____ a day keeps the doctor away". After that, she had to solve another clue to figure out where I was waiting for her (at the basketball courts). There, she had to make either five free throw shots or one three point shot. Then she had to find the next agent, who made her play a taiko drill by stamping her feet - the video of them doing this is brilliant and a definite keepsake. Following that, she was supposed to recall missing lines from at least one of two Malay 'pantuns' (poems) that another agent had prepared - poems that we all learnt as kids. She failed at this - the penalty for failure to complete a task was a tequila shot per offence, to be paid at her party that night. Her last task was to find a spot to photograph the hospital so that the entire building would be in the shot. This had to be done to P's satisfaction - P's an excellent photographer and was following S throughout her mission to photograph the action. Finally, she had to use the first letters of the five items she had collected at the beginning of the mission and five other letters we had given her for completing each task to work out what the final destination was - Gaslight. 

Gnocchi with fume, lardons and fungi (spicy bacon and mushroom)

So, at about 1:00 pm, everyone showed up at Gaslight for a much needed feed. I had dined there once before and thought that the simple, decent food and comfortable, casual, aesthetically pleasing ambience would be perfect for an occasion like this. It's quite new and of course, as with anything new, had a few teething issues, but for me, the overall experience of dining there twice was positive. 

Fettuccini with fungi

I have a lot of photos of what everyone else ordered, but obviously can only really comment on what I tasted:

Fettuccini with fungi: I had this the first time I had dinner there. Initially I thought that the pasta was a little bland. But as I ate, I realised that the mushrooms were so well seasoned that you just had to make sure you had a mixture of mushroom and pasta with each bite to get the nice, subtle, earthy flavours of the mushrooms. Simple, rustic and quite tasty.

Gnocchi with fume, lardons and fungi: Had a tiny bite of this from B's plate. Thought the bacon was a little tough.

Fettuccini Marinara

*Fettuccini Marinara (southern littleneck clam in a rich chive cream): I didn't taste this, but thought it was really odd that their 'marinara' was a white cream sauce. People often think that 'marina' means seafood (I did too when I was a kid) but marina sauce is actually a specific style of tomato based sauce. This is the first time I've seen a cream based 'Marina' sauce in a restaurant and I don't know if it's just a misnomer, or intentional.

Pan-fried fresh fish, caper butter, wet polenta with feta and spinach

Pan-fried fresh fish, caper butter, wet polenta with feta and spinach: The fish was tasty, albeit a little over-seasoned. I really didn't like the wet polenta - it's just not my thing and had a strange texture. Otherwise, OK.

Chocolate croissant pudding

Chocolate croissant pudding: I think this really should have been served warm, instead of stone cold. It would have been pretty nice if it was warmed. I liked the crispiness of the top crust, and the thick layers of chocolate running through it, but bottom half was too stodgy and cold. Disappointing.

Chocolate mousse pots with white chocolate mascarpone: Absolutely delicious. Thick and luxurious with little surprising chunks of chocolate (or honeycomb?) throughout the pot. Wanted to order it again at S's birthday lunch, but they had run out. The mousse was rich and sweet enough on it's own without requiring the additional white chocolate mascarpone. 

I am keen to re-visit Gaslight to try more of their pasta and French dishes. Their prices are reasonable and as a whole, it looks promising. When they iron out whatever needs to be addressed and hit their stride, I think it could be a favourite Dunedin haunt.

Gaslight Cafe

73 St Andrew Street

Dunedin 9016

Pier 24 - etc

It's no secret that I think that Pier 24 is the best, and my favourite, fine dining restaurant in Dunedin. As I often use just about any excuse to go there, my collection of pictures and thoughts about their various dishes is becoming somewhat scattered. Before it gets completely out of hand, here's a post about some random dishes from different visits, as far back as July/August 2010:

  

This was a amuse bouche made with thai green curry paste and spicy kumara (I think?). It had lovely depth, richness complexity. It's nine months later, and I can still remember the taste.

Vanilla and five spice panna cotta, red wine poached pear, raspberry ice-cream and tuille biscuit - This was absolutely stunning. The perfectly balanced flavours and textures with the slightly acidic, tender, grainy flesh of the wine soaked pear, the pleasantly sourish, smooth ice-cream and the sweet, silky, creamy, luscious, delicate, wobbly, clingy panna cotta, topped with the crunchy, sticky sugar glass shard.....it was so incredibly good, that (after 20 minutes) I can't even think of a suitable way to end this sentence.  

Salt and pepper crisp fried squid - This was my favourite reason to visit St Clair for a delicious afternoon snack and to just relax and enjoy the view. It initially caught my eye as a starter on the evening menu but there were always other irresistible starters that edged the squid out, like the pork belly. Eventually, I realised that they had it on the bar menu, and then I couldn't get enough of it. It doesn't get much better than enjoying hot, freshly fried, tasty, lightly battered and crispy squid, with cool ginger beer and and view of the ocean and the blue, blue New Zealand sky. There was also a hint of a spice in the squid (maybe fennel?) that gave it that extra punch. Delicious. 

Unfortunately, the last few times I visited, the salt and pepper squid was not on either menu and the other squid dishes that I've tried since (Crisp fried gremolata crumbed squid starter from the dinner menu and squid rings from the bar menu) have been good, but not as good as the salt and pepper squid. But I've just checked the menus on their site and it looks like it's back on the bar menu!!! 

Grilled farmed venison noisettes with Parma ham, potato & kumara rosti, avocado hummus, red wine and candied onion pan jus - This is their new venison item, which is good, but the sharp saltiness of the Parma ham is a bit jarring and doesn't seem to quite fit with the rest of the plate. As I have highlighted before, I particularly enjoyed how the sweetish accompaniments enhanced the flavour of the meat in the old venison dish (which was such a favourite that even though I always went with the intention to try something else, I would inevitably order the venison) and have been craving it for a while now. Alas.........perhaps I can hope for it to make a comeback like the salt and pepper squid.

Eat

NB: Apologies for not posting anything in the last two weeks. The internet service where I live has been disrupted because of the earthquake in Christchurch. Apparently the servers are in a currently cordoned off area and service may be restored…next month. So until then, posting may not be as regular as I would like. Sorry.

If there is one word I would use to describe the food at Eat it would be 'pretty'. I know that for the majority of us, prettiness is not the first thing we look for in our food, but nonetheless, presentation is important. Everything about Eat is visually pleasing - from the display of freshly baked goods, tiers of friands, the simple, classic wooden chairs and tables, down to each artistic plate of food - it appears as though attention, thought and care has been poured into every last detail. Even the two (differently flavoured) pain au chocolates that we ordered were served on individually decorated plates, when they could have just served them both on a single plate.

Perhaps at this point some of you might be a little concerned that I have yet to say anything about how the food actually tastes. Rest assured, the food is as good as it looks. It isn't quite the best of its kind, but the combination of the beautiful plating, the comfortable, casual-chic, well-spaced dining area, and the excellent, warm service makes eating at Eat a treat for the senses and a large part of its appeal.

The meal that I am writing about is a brunch that we had in October last year, so as one would expect, my memory of the finer details is a little fuzzy. My feelings about an experience, however, is something that I can remember quite clearly, for a very long time. And that afternoon, I remember that we really enjoyed the food, the ambience and the great service. My pancakes, with beautifully charred bacon and grilled bananas, was very tasty and the unexpected strawberries, papaya, passionfruit and grapes accompaniment not only brightened the plate, but also my palate. It is these little surprising extras that definitely heighten one's experience. S was also delighted with her prosciutto (I think?) croissant. The pain au chocolates were both filled with decadent, dark, rich chocolate with elegant flavour twists - one with hints of some berry and the other with hazelnut (I think?) undertones.

I left Eat feeling like I had just been spoilt and pampered - something akin to how you feel when you leave a spa. I think that it must be the same soothing of the senses and special attention that you get that leaves you feeling happy, relaxed and with that elevated hum about you for the rest of the day. Whimsical, I know, but that's what Eat is like.

Eat
4 Dowling Street
Dunedin 9016

Paasha and Yilmaz

 Critic Issue 27 – Food Column

Shaslik

  

Hummus

When I am in the mood for a little treat, Paasha Turkish Cafe (31 St Andrew Street) is one of my preferred places to go to for a nice meal. The service is always friendly and attentive and the overall ambience is pleasant and comfortable for relaxing and catching up with friends. The primary draw, of course, is the good food. Being a creature of habit, I tried a few things on the menu, struck gold one after one or two visits and have been ordering the same thing ever since – the hummus starter and the Shaslik main. The hummus (chickpea and tahini paste, infused with lemon juice, garlic and oil) deserves a special mention because it is really tasty, goes with everything on the menu and is the best hummus that I’ve had thus far. There is something incredibly satisfying about stuffing yourself with big mouthfuls of the excellent hummus and hot pita bread. My favourite main, the Shaslik, consists of two skewers of beautifully char-grilled, marinated lamb cubes, bell peppers and onions, accompanied with cous cous, pasta salad, salad, hummus, hot pita bread and sauces of your choice (I always ask for the Paasha’s Special, Garlic and Halep sauces). The cubes of lambs are tasty and the fresh, tangy sauces complement them particularly well. My only gripe is that the meat is a little tougher than I would prefer, but the overall experience is such an enjoyable one that it’s one of those things you can just ignore.

Chicken on Rice

Beef Roll

I know that this next place is actually already pretty well known for their pizzas and kebabs but I only visited it for the first time this week. I was pleased that they lived up to their reputation, even though I did not get to try their pizzas. Yilmaz (906 George Street) is a quaint little place with a lot of character and heart. Customers are greeted with big, warm smiles, the portions are large, the prices reasonable and best of all, they keep student hours, i.e. 11am – 10:30pm, seven days a week! What better way to warm up on the way home from the library than tucking into a good ol’ beef kebab (a.k.a roll)? I tried the Chicken on Rice, which is marinated chicken served with rice, fresh mixed salad, hummus and your choice of sauces. Unfortunately, on my plate, the hummus was MIA, so I couldn’t, as originally intended, compare it to Paasha’s. The chicken was a little fibrous because they used lean chicken breast, but it and all its accompaniments still made very a good meal. About halfway through it, I didn’t even mind the leanness anymore. I have no complaints, however about the Beef Roll. The roll was large, well filled with salad, hummus, tender, deliciously flavoured meat, and sauces and well toasted. Absolutely scrumptious, and at $9.50, a really good bang for your buck. I’ve also heard good things about the garlic bread and already have a plan of attack for their pizzas.