A group of eight of us went to Yum Cha on Saturday at Regal, above SMK on Courtenay Place, because I had a massive craving for chive pancakes. Spoiler alert: we didn’t get any chive pancakes. In fact, the whole thing was kind of lame.
Although we were pretty near the door to the kitchen, we were at the end of the food service, so almost every plate that managed to make its way to us was cold. We waited long times between tea refills, and often servers totally skipped us, taking good-looking food back into the kitchen without bothering to offer it to us. My dining companions suggested it was because our table was empty of dishes that they thought we didn’t want anything else. Actually, our table was empty because we weren’t offered very much! For a table full of white people, the fried dumplings that we craved were in very short supply. We begged for roast pork when the table next to us snaffled the last plate (the server ignored our "OMG PLEASE COME HERE!" looks), but were told there was no more. We got on to a second rotation of dishes without being full because of the delays between getting plates. Only the coconut buns were truly amazing. And there were no chive pancakes! That combinded with Macaroni-Gate later that night at Monterey (they’d run out of mac’n cheese! OH GOD THE PAIN) was almost enough to make a girl cry.
So, what I want to know is, where should we go next time for Yum Cha, where the food will be served hot, it’ll be plentiful, there’ll be lots of fried stuff for my Whitey McWhite tastes, and I can get my chive pancake on?
There are always new apartment buildings springing up, but this Apartment is very different. It’s very definitely not a studio shoebox, with vast open-plan living space and a high-raftered ceiling, and despite having a bedroom, bathrooms, dining room and balcony, it is in fact better than a home: it’s a bar.
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Many years ago there was an Apartment Bar under the Hannahs Factory in Leeds St, but The Apartment is an apparently unrelated place that has just opened in Allen St. The varying spaces promise to allow for different moods, from louche lounging to formalish dining to standing and shouting. The proximity to Courtenay Place threatens all but the last mode of drinking, but given a highly creditable Martini and some tasty snacks (chilly chilli roast almonds plus cheddar & caraway bread), this barfly thinks it could be just the place to set up home.
Earlier this month we read about an octopus off the South Coast that mugged an innocent diver and took his valuable new camera. The news flashed around the world and everyone had a bit of a chuckle at the diver’s expense.
Not so fast, laughing boys (and girls).
It turns out that this is but the latest episode in a long history of criminal behaviour by the city’s cephalopod citizenry.
We need only look at another, earlier encounter between a Wellingtonian and a rogue octopus to prove the point. An encounter that, just like our earlier story made world headlines… but back in 1888.
Read on, after the jump.
We’ve all heard the stories about how there was a tank at Wellington Airport with an octopus in it and another tank with fishes in it, and the fish started disappearing and no one knew why until one night security cameras filmed the octopus climbing out of its tank and into the fish tank and eating the fish. Now we have yet more evidence shot off the South Coast that OCTOPUSES ARE EVIL AND THEY ARE GOING TO KILL US ALL IN OUR BEDS WHILE WE SLEEP. Consider yourself warned.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5DyBkYKqnM]As well as taking out the top prize at the ONYAs, apparently some of the people at Xero seem to think that they are gods at jam-making. Sum In Horto disagreed, and now a challenge has been laid down. The result?
So, the ‘jam off’ is happening at 11.30am, Tuesday 2 March at the wonderful Mojo in the Old Bank Arcade – follow them on @mojooldbank
We also have the stunningly gorgeous Megan, a Radio NZ journalist no less, MC’ing the event.
We promise this will be a fun-filled jam-tasting session. See you there!
And now, because I am of the opinion that sharing an earworm gets rid of it, here’s MJ’s ‘Jam’:
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWcaqQKtJk4]Annoyingly, Osteria Del Toro doesn’t appear to have a website. However, what they do have is an awesome alternative to yum cha on Sundays (and I think it’s only Sunday afternoons) called La Famigia.
For $29, you can experience their menu highlights "family-style". What this means is that you can help yourself to the lush antipasto table, piled high with salads, olives, salami and amazing foccacia, and then the very nice staff will start bringing food to your table, and they won’t stop until you ask them to. You get pizzas from their woodfired oven, paella, pasta and roast chicken with crispy skin. It really is a carb-lover’s paradise.
One kind of pasta has meatballs, and the other is pesto, and we got both vegetarian and meaty pizza. The paella had both chorizo and seafood in it, so it might not be the most cost-effective & welcoming option for vegetarians (and vegans – forget about it!). We were all people who love us some gluten, so we didn’t ask if it was possible to get their gluten-free pizza bases instead, so I can’t advise you about that. I can, however, assure you that their white wine sangria made with apricot brandy and ginger beer is a perfect accompaniment (their PDF menu says it features a "Make your own Bloody Mary bar" but I didn’t see that!), and that you probably DON’T need to order churros afterwards, but perhaps you will anyway!
So today the Dom Post has a story about how Verboom Badges in Left Bank is in trouble with MacDonalds for using its Georgie Pie brand. This story perplexes me for many reasons, but mostly because I’m wondering why the hell anyone would want to bring back Georgie Pie in the first place. Aren’t there enough good pies in Wellington for you lot already?
Three bucks fifty to eat lunch at Logan Brown!
That got your attention right? Well, the fine print is you have get educated about climate change first and click on a few links, then you will be in the draw to win one of 40 lunches for two (for only three fiddy) at Logan Brown.
Click through to the 350 Aotearoa site to find out how the Wellywing of 350 Aotearoa is part of a global movement pushing for action on climate change and enter the competition. They have undertaken a bunch of stuff since December 2008 and are ramping up for an international day of climate change action on the 24th of October.
Wellington being Wellington it is *the* place to come to make some noise politically and try to directly influence decision-makers. Some choose the traditional ways with a hikoi, some placards and a loud hailer; others use their purchasing power or womanly charms to push things gently in the direction they would like to see the world go. A good source of contacts and ideas for those interested in sustainability is the social network Intersect, they have a meet up for Wellingtonians on the last Tuesday of every month at Mon Ami. Expect a report back soon from this Wellingtonisa about what it is like to "Intersect" in person with these sustainability types.
There are still some places available for the February 18 Cellar-Vate winemaker’s dinner featuring the wines from Hunter’s in Marlborough. You pay $40 and you get to try yummy wine and food matches. Here’s the menu:
Hunter’s Sauvignon Blanc 2008
On arrival
Hunter’s “Miru-Miru” Brut
Smoked salmon canapés on rye with preserved lemon and cream cheese spread
Hunter’s “Kaho Roa” winemaker’s selection Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Chicken, Mediterranean vegetables and cream in filo
Hunter’s Pinot Noir 2006
Medium-rare lamb loin on mushroom and sun-dried tomato risotto with pesto oil drizzle
Hunter’s “The Chase” Merlot, Pinot Noir, cabernet 2005
Asian pork in broth with bok choy and noodles
Hunter’s “Hukapapa” dessert Riesling 2006
Radiccio, shaved parmesan and pear salad
If you want to book yourself a place (and we really recommend that you do, give Becs a call or flick her an email – becs@cellar-vate.co.nz.
I can’t claim to speak for all the Wellingtonista, but I have to say it: Sevens weekend is horrible. There’s a lot of gushy talk in the main media outlets about how colourful and vibrant and alive the city becomes, but one could say the same about a nasty fungal rash. Many of us who live in the central city can attest to how colourful and vibrant and alive the city is most of the time, and in an appealing, organic and independent way, but we found the CBD close to unbearable during the weekend.
What is it that appals us so much about this spectacle?