The Preservatory, Fendalton

The Preservatory, as many of you will know, has recently reopened on  Holmwood Rd, Fendalton, in a brand new building housing a florist, a Cookshop, Boulangerie and dairy. What bothers me, however, is that it may have lost its Mojo; there is a sense of despair at the seemingly unfinished fit-out of the interior, the lack of any point of difference, a sort of pervasive soullessness that leaves you wondering.

I realize that this place is now the number two location for this business, with the Preservatory’s catering now being undertaken on Sir William Pickering Drive out near the airport and, no doubt, their café a step up from what we can see in Fendalton. They are clearly not at all interested in ‘catering’ for the locals anymore and this is evidenced, in my view, by the early closing times, the lack of trading on Sunday and the minimal fare on offer. As the one and only café in the suburb of Fendalton a little more effort could have gone into this enterprise. It has about as much charm as a factory cafeteria. Even the dairy next door has invested in a grunty new espresso machine because, I suspect, so many people are disappointed to find the P closed more often than not.

For all of this you must know that it is still eminently possible to find good food and stimulating, flesh-tingling coffee a la Scala in this establishment.

A mushroom, asparagus and strawberry salad drew me in and favoured me with  cooling flavours;  a subsequent cabinet concoction, bacon & cheese panini not quite so fulfilling or in any way as inspiring. The hope is that some of the fabulous fare that the Preservatory used to have in its old store will return to tempt local palates. After all, it’s at least a 10 minute fast walk to the nearest competitor.

Ocean Cafe & bar, Sumner Waterfront, Christchurch

Looking for love? You might find it on the beach in Sumner but don’t get your hopes up. It seems that online dating is all the rage nowadays!

However, the chances of finding real-life, tangible food-related happiness when promenading along the Sumner waterfront have increased immeasurably since the changing of the guard at the little café by the clocktower.  Scarborough fare, as it was previously known,  underperformed notably for a number of years but new owners have renamed it Ocean Café & Bar.

The difference in service was immediately apparent to me as I laid claim to an outside table, expecting then to have to line up at the counter inside to select from the menu and pay for my choices before returning to sit down.

I believe the new owner is a lady named Jules ; she exuded confidence and possessed a natural, friendly disposition, making me feel very welcome. She took my order at the table and advised that the ordering procedure was one of the first changes she made on taking over in November. I was, of course, as  pleased as punch… paying up front before receiving a product, especially a consumable one,  has never excited me.

A pot of English Breakfast tea was just the ticket in the mid morning sunshine, and delivered with a smile and some conversation – this lady was a natural and is the type of individual who should be in this business, he boldly states after such a brief encounter. She had success written all over her…

The menu is simple and easy, with the usual café fare but that’s ok as that is all some of us want after a brisk walk around the bay; the five star fare can wait until later in the day.

Eggs Benedict with salmon and spinach, the last mentioned a side or addition because I love the stuff so much. Do you blame me? Of course not, it’s an exceptional vegetable by all accounts.

I’m always on the lookout for some point or points of difference when dining at a new place and although I have mentioned, nay laboured, the proprietor’s bedside manner above I do need to advise that the salmon portion in my breakfast was tantamount to an act of exceptional benevolence on the part of the restaurant. A beautiful chunk of the  Omega-3 superstar graced my plate and what a change from the packet slices of salmon so often used in cafes.

As I watched the cyclists glide by, their muscular minutiae overtly visible for all to see underneath their hard-packed spray-on lycra skins, the surfers out in the cold southern waters and the hoi poloi on hoof along the walkway,   I luxuriated (yes, it’s true, I love the word and use it often for that reason)in the great lake of gratitude for being in such a paradisiacal place in the world. Be there or be square.

Terrific Tomi's Tantilising Jap Restaurant

Smack me with a wet fish! Now that I have your attention I can tell you about  Edgeware’s newest restaurant. Tomi’s Japanese is at the carpark end of the micro mall known as Edgeware Mall, opposite the famously successful Sema’s Thai Restaurant and next door to the equally well respected Corianders.

I was screaming along Sherborne en route to Placemakers Cranford when I espied this urban newbie, where once stood a café or two,  each as unsuccessful as the other. It is never a comfort to any of us who love food and the people who cook it for us, to see an eatery fail but so many do.

Tomi’s may be different and I hope it is to be so. This newly fitted restaurant is run by “Joe”, his wife and his father-in-law, all Japanese – thank God for that – and the essential point of difference is that Joe is a person passionate about wine and in possession of more than a modicum of knowledge and commonsense with respect to that liquid. His FIL can do the business on the plates, so to speak, and if my brief early evening encounter is of any value as a judgement, they have, collectively, hit the spot.

My food was beautifully complemented by Joe’s recommendations (even though I am, I must admit, a trained sommelier in my own right) and although the portions were small in size they suited my need to lose weight and lead a healthier life! Damn it man, I’m revealing too much!

You are assured of a warm welcome at this place. There’s three staff only, all owners! The décor is smart, polished wood, clean as a whistle, light and bright. If you’re a lone diner, and I suspect there will be many from the plethora of motels along Sherborne, you can sit along the ‘bar’ with a most excellent view of the chef plying his trade.

A sauvignon blanc wasn’t out of place to begin my meal on this 29 degree day and the seaweed salad with a sprinkling of corn, cucumber slices, radish slivers, lettuce and a luxurious sesame dressing gambolled about the plate without a care in the world. No fiscal cliff worries here….

With near perfect timing Joe appeared with some fried pork and cabbage dumplings and an elegant glass dispenser filled with soy vinegar sauce; at this point I must advise that the plate held more than just the dumplings – there was colour added in the guise of lettuce and more – a nice touch! The dumpling s themselves were fine – I’m not a committed fan of fried dumplings as I much prefer steamed or boiled but these were very good nonetheless and I am sure you won’t complain if you order them.

What I was holding out for, of course, was the sashimi as this dish is one of my favourites. The essence of natural presentation, freshness, palate pampering taste and exudation of core flavours is hard to beat anywhere on a table. In this instance there were twelve pieces, each arranged in its category and type, succulent in play and proud of the moment, ready for to make the ultimate sacrifice to satisfy the predator…me.

With artistry and aplomb on the plate the sashimi was offered, its allure as intoxicating as its physical presence and the eating as fine as the palate can imagine.

I can see myself returning for more in the coming weeks and months. It seems to me that Joe ‘s interest in wine is such that should suggestions be made by discerning customers about extending the wine list ( which already has representation from Germany, France, Sicily, Australia and New Zealand..and more)he may well agree.

It’s early days yet, of course, but the quality of restaurant fare available in inner St Albans (Edgeware) has been immeasurably improved by the opening of Tomi’s.

As always, don’t take my word for it, try it for yourselves! I might see you there.

St Asaph St Kitchen & Stray Dog Bar

I’m the ultimate stray dog! Believe it or not I wander, sometimes aimlessly, from one café to another, leaving dirty dishes and clogged up cutlery in my wake. I’m sure many a waitress has mouthed obscenities at my back and wished to administer a sound larruping to my person as I have hurriedly scoffed down the day’s offerings and scurried out the door in search of the next bowl of ‘scraps’.
The St Asaph St Kitchen & Stray Dog Bar doesn’t exactly jump out at you like a barking dog; it’s tucked away on all fours, set back off the road just before the intersection of St Asaph and Manchester at a point where motorists are likely to be focused on the traffic lights. However, if you’re lucky you’ll find a parking space nearby and be able to pop in for a fine time…
This, my second lunch at this establishment, was marked with disarmingly charming service from my table attendant and swift delivery of my simple, more than adequate repast. A pot of English Breakfast Tea is not to be sneezed at and should be taken with a relaxed demeanour, a thirsty throat and, preferably, at least one friend.
Follow this up with one of a number of gullet-gratifying gems and you will immediately relegate the deep-seated pain, suffering and thought of Boxing day sales, car park chaos and trolley-filled trinkets to another dimension.
Smoked salmon on scrambled eggs with a couple of carefully cut squares of toasted Turkish bread might not fill your belly after the excruciating stomach stretching of Christmas Day gluttony, but this little portion, this mere scrap you might say, was just enough to help me along the way to the much desired post-festive stomach shrinkage….
Beautiful scrambled eggs, delicate slivers of rolled up salmon and the aforementioned tidbits of toast were well suited accompaniments to the pot of tea – and all for little more than $20.00.
Woof, woof.

Bacon, Bread and More at Brigitte's of Merivale

There’s no doubt that the well known lines “we seek him here, we seek him there” apply to the quest for good coffee in Christchurch as so many of us seek to rescue ourselves from the guillotine of caffeine deficiency most mornings of the week. May I suggest that we in Christchurch are blessed with more than anyone’s fair share of excellent coffee houses, constant supplies of superb coffee beans and some of the world’s best baristas. It is, however, a constant dilemma as to just where to take one’s coffee on any given morning and the perfect espresso has thus far eluded capture. Choices, choices!
As luck would have it I found myself on an insanely early Papanui Rd perambulation a few mornings ago and was more than surprised to find nothing in the way of open eateries. Why should there be? Everyone in the area has a kitchen and a coffee maker…of the highest quality! However, I kept walking and as we all should know – time solves all of mans’ problems – and by 9am I was back in Merivale passing the doors of Brigittes in Aikmans Rd. Voila! The doors were open, the espresso machine whirring, spluttering, hissing and spitting and customers were filing in. After the pleasure of ambling through the quiet, manicured streets of St Albans, Fendalton and Merivale I was counting on Brigittes to deliver to my table nothing less than a supremely drinkable coffee and a shockingly unhealthy breakfast to complement my bad habits.
And so it was…..
The long black with its thick, luxurious crema beckoned with aromatic confidence, its taste comfortably within the zone of satisfying acceptability; the full breakfast, astonishingly, set my heart racing as, after the night before (you all know the feeling) I was in the market for fatty Kransky snags, cheap, packaged hash browns and the more uplifting spectacle of beautifully poached eggs, quality bacon rashes, large, red, grilled tomatoes, earthy, charcoal-coloured flat mushrooms(flats) and a side of fresh spinach.
Not quite reeling with ecstacy but nonetheless rather relaxed and happy, I tucked in to my hearty portions, enjoying it all on what was a beautiful, clear, warm and sunny Christchurch morning in Brigitte’s sheltered courtyard. There’s something about these big breakfasts that always seems to appeal on a weekend morning. Maybe it’s the sensation of all the textures and flavours – meats, fungus, greens, eggs, bread, fruit. It seems to work for me….
For all of that let’s not wax too lyrically about something as culinarily challenged as a basic big breakfast as there’s nothing inherently special about throwing all the aforementioned ingredients onto a plate. However, tis the combination that makes it what it is and it is essential to ensure the eggs are poached with skill, the tomatoes grilled just right, the mushrooms moist and retentive of flavour, the sausages fatty and oozing and we won’t mention the hash browns…or should that be ‘harsh browns’. Brigittes did a good job.
Now, where to tomorrow?

Dux Dine - Christchurch

Like everyone else I am partial to a cold glass of beer on a hot day, avec barbeque, or without. The intense guttural relief of beer in gullet cannot be explained in mere words, rather by promidial, Stone Age grunts, deeply expressive  sighs of satisfaction and the mangled, highly spiritual notes of   post-deglutitious  paeans.

A romantic notion perhaps, but isn’t that what drives us all to seek out the pleasures of the flesh, in particular those delights offered by way of food and wine…or cold beer?

Richard Sinke and his team may very well have understood these sentiments when deciding to  revive something of the spirit of the legendary Dux by sniffing out an old villa in Riccarton just ripe for renovation. With the careful addition, into the culinary cauldron, of  a spoonful of style,  considered use of indoor space, welcome parking, ample outdoor dining spaces and a menu that works, the owners have managed to draw the crowds and invite favourable comment thus far.

As  with most cafes and restaurants of note in the west at the present time you need to call in advance, book, make a reservation, all six of one and half a dozen of the other to forewarn the management that you and your curmudgeonly lot are wanting to impose your blessed selves on the other diners. Seating, morning, noon and night, is at a premium.

Reminiscent of former times you still must queue to place your order from the blackboard menus, pay and retreat to your table. The waitress who brought our drinks over stayed with us, so to speak, throughout the meal, accepting reorders of drinks and additional food. It worked well and exempted us from having to jostle for position in the long queue which would have been an irritating inconvenience and possibly even  a huge disincentive to return. We were not singled out for preferential treatment as a flock of costumed  waitresses  attended to the random food and drink  needs of all the tables, as much as I could see.

A cold Dux Lager was a fine start to my dining experience and, “because I’m worth it”, I championed the cause by having a second; after all it was a hot afternoon.

While others at my table picked away at Semolina flat bread, Caesar salads and fried calamari I gently spooned in luxurious mouthfuls of seafood chowder, scooping out the delicacy of the two small clams floating on top and savouring the rich consistency of the broth.  

Glasses of Coopers Creek Syrah, with  hints of spice and modesty of body, were enjoyed by all and certainly complemented the Massaman Curry I had for a main, providing a pleasurable flow to the afternoon and loosening up the tongues of my four scintillatingly charming guests. The curry itself, resplendent with spiced tofu, baby carrots, cucumber, bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and more, sat comfortably with those of us who had it, notwithstanding the heat of the day.

Whether you’re in shorts or a skirt, this smart/casual restaurant is a place to consider if you’re looking to dine with colleagues or friends. Like so many of the former inner city eating houses that are reopening in slightly changed form, Dux Dine and its operators bring to your table years of experience, tried and tested food options and a relaxed sense of style. It works…

 

 

Sarhad Food Kitchen & Restaurant, Attari- Wagah, India

After immersing oneself in and enjoying the almost comical entertainment and eccentric showmanship with 10,000 others, of the spectacularly uniformed Indian Army officers who carry out the carefully rehearsed Wagah-Attari border flag lowering ceremony, there is no better way to end the evening than to retreat to Sarhad, a mere 1.5km back along the road to Amritsar.
Easiest access is to drive against the traffic on the wrong side of the multi-laned road for the final 300 metres as otherwise you will have to go a long way indeed to find a break in the median strip. Fortunately this is not an uncommon procedure in India, where it seems anything goes on the roads. Oncoming traffic will simply move to the side of the carriageway to let you through – very polite behaviour I must say.
Sarhad was highly recommended to me by an Indian man in Singapore; he insisted that if I dined anywhere in Northern India it had to be at this restaurant. The restaurant celebrates the Amritsar – Lahore connection, dating back to the pre-partition days of Punjab, suggesting in its menu that it offers customers a “unique fusion of Indo-Pak food and culture. You can now enjoy Lahore food without going to Lahore!”
My driver and I knew we had to allow several hours out of our frenetic schedule to dwell on the blissful culinary offerings, bask in the fascinating architecture, appreciate the duplicated Golden Temple style floor and patio tiles and reflect on this intriguing part of the world so close to the only gateway from India into Pakistan. It wasn’t hard to do as the day’s sunshine had warmed the patio tiles to a pleasant temperature underfoot, the still night air was beautiful and balmy and the restaurant staff were ready, willing and able to serve us well.
It was a chilled, salted Lassi to start followed soon after by Lahori Mutton Chops and Lahori Chapli Kebabs, both dishes giving up their tenderness and succulence, sizzling with spices to maximise their appeal and coat the deserving tastebuds with the influences of the region. A special moment.
Nihari Gosht, yet another Lahori special according to the restaurant manager, wasted little time in jostling with the Papads (poppadoms), Lahori Naan, Mixed Vege Raita and Vege Biryani for pride of place before us. What interested me about food throughout the Punjab was the ability to detect individual flavours in a dish that, at first glance, looked just like an Indian curry on a plate. The skilful addition of ingredients at the right time in the cooking process and the timely sprinkling & blending of spices and herbs essential to ensuring the integrity of taste is maintained are quintessential procedures guaranteeing palatal satisfaction. It is no wonder that Punjabis have been successful purveyors of food around the world for many decades. Theirs is a masterful combination of culinary history, passed down through the generations, access to an exceptional, enviable array of herbs and spices and an innate ability to extract the best out of what they have to work with.

Soiled Seats in Sector 35

In Sector 35 of Chandigarh City there are more than enough nondescript eating houses and, quite frankly, many more beyond even thinking about. Appearances in South-East Asia can be deceptive and what often looks like a restaurant worthy of one’s custom turns out to be the stuff of nightmares. Fortunately Shangri-la Plus at No. 324, Sector 35-B wasn’t at the seriously horrendous end of the scale but did leave much to be desired.
The seating was plush, in an Indian kind of way, the decor ornamental, tablecloths white and starched with red overcovers, the lighting subdued and we had the place to ourselves. Little did I know at the time but there was a large downstairs area in the basement, similarly fitted out and full of evening diners. Nevertheless, the apparent lack of fellow diners in our part was of little concern.
I used the torch facility on my cellphone to read the menu and the periphal light glanced upon the upholstery of my seat and that adjoining to reveal what can only be referred to as filthy discolouration. This was offputting but this is such a common thing in India (and indeed in parts of China) that you just have to put up with it as every seat is equally as scummy! The months and years of food, oil and other spillages on these seats leaves them in a very soiled state and, of course, we Westerners who like things to be just right for us when we’re paying to dine, find it hard to comprehend why a restaurant wanting to attract customers would refrain from picking up some spray-on upholstery cleaner and cleaning up. Or better still call in a contractor who, in probably less than three hours, would do all the upholstery and leave everything looking rather delightful!
The filthy state of both the interior and exterior of most of the buildings in Chandigarh, especially the stairwells and lobbies, was explained to me by a client I visited in the first days of my time in India. He told me that building and business owners won’t spend money on such things as painting, cleaning etc as they don’t need to. Customers will not stop coming to their premises just because they’re disgustingly filthy. Work that one out for me please? It is especially interesting given that the cost of labour is so outrageously low in India that you could employ 20 people to work for days scrubbing and painting for no more than a handful of coins. Remarkable state of affairs.
Back to the Shangri-la Plus – notwithstanding that it was considered winter the temperatures were still in the mid to high 20s and a Southern Man like myself has no choice but to keep his cool by indulging in ice cold beer, Kingfisher beer of the very strong and potent variety. Somewhere between 5.25% and 8.25% according to the bottle.
The entree of pork dumplings was enough of a meal in itself and suitably well presented but regrettably the casings tasted like, and were the consistency of, warm cardboard. Who knows what the provenance of the filling was....
Up next was a Lamb and Onion Chilli dish which was straightforward, spicy, just a little on the greasy side, a tad chewy but altogether passable. Finally, an enormous bowl of Chicken Fried Rice which, as you will see in the photograph, was bursting with variety. The rice was not at all gluggy, not too dry, very adequately cooked and a more than reasonable representation of this dish.
Oddly enough my Indian dining companion ordered me a Diet Coke to finish off with – after I’d had several of the aforementioned Kingfishers. I noticed on the bill later that this was described as a Diet Cock....and on that fowl note here endeth the tale...

Mao's Family Kitchen, Beijing

It is no secret that I tend to see China through rose-coloured glasses and, for this reason, seem always to find fantastic reinforcement of these views.

My business partners had booked me into a basic, no frills hotel, part of the Orange Hotel group, in the south-west, close to the third ring in Beijing and so naturally I had to explore the area as my previous experiences had  been in Chaoyang and Sanlitun.

It was a chilly late November evening and my cheap, market jacket was an absolute blessing! Not more than 200 metres from my hotel I saw an impressive stone building with what looked suspiciously like a restaurant on the first floor – I could see diners through the upstairs windows and also what looked like elaborate chandeliers. In I strode.

As is so often the case I was met by three beautifully dressed, beautiful Chinese girls who greeted me with exceptional smiles. One escorted me upstairs to the wide open space of the restaurant and the Maitre d’ took over to usher me to my table in this great dining hall. A glance about indicated a mezzanine type internal balcony that ran around three sides above with many private dining rooms leading off. The décor was stunning, very oriental and in a perfect state of maintenance.

The menu arrived, a large, bound book of colourful photographs, dishes described in Chinese as well as English and a ‘beverage’ list, the latter featuring Chinese wines, beer and an impressive selection of exotic cocktails and spirits as well as mocktails and many other non-alcoholic drinks.

Strangely enough I chose a Coconut juice and followed this up later with local beer. There are fundamental risks in drinking Chinese wines as the industry is awash with contaminated wine as well as fake wines so better to avoid completely!

Being confronted with an extensive menu boasting both exotica and universally well-known dishes makes the selection process difficult. It’s true, I was dining alone on this occasion but I didn’t want this to impair my wide-ranging tasting experience so I lashed out, ordering far too many items from the menu, much to the concern…or was it amusement….of the waiter and the other floor staff. However, I pressed on with my intentions and began with Pork and Scallion(spring onion) dumplings, a filling meal on its own, suitably whetting my appetite for boiled, shredded bean curd in chicken soup, a delicate, soft expression of melting taste, the bean curd noodles so absorbent and smooth, soaking up the chicken fat infused liquid of the soup. All this complementing the sprinkling of greens and the firm texture of the prawns.

A plate of BBQ pork in honey sauce tossed me back to meaty heaven  again, so sweet in its honey coating, so tender and beautifully cooked, artfully presented and so much appreciated.

Vegetables (and seafood) always feature prominently in Chinese dining and the selection in restaurants is invariably a salivating lineup of highly desirable delights. One of my all time favourites is Garlic beans – the green string bean variety – these are seen everywhere and are simply addictive. For me though, at Mao’s Family Kitchen, it was to be Iced celery and three other dishes,  organic Ginseng Leaf with sesame, “Signature baked pumpkin” and “Hot & Spicy Mandarin Fish”. Of course, I merely sampled each of these as even my stomach has limits on its ability to hold more than an average amount of food in one sitting. Nevertheless, I managed to experience what I believe was the closest thing to a non-sexual orgasm, my senses singing with utmost joy the praises of food prepared by people from a culture so ancient and so well practiced in the art of culinary excellence. These foods celebrated their individual flavours, they boasted unselfconsciously their heritage and made their culinary statements with dignity and poise. Jumping across the table from a chopstick of iced celery to the other end of the ‘musical’ scale, hotly spiced fish, was exhilarating, each conveying its taste with certainty and confidence. The fish was as fine as any I have tasted in China, its inner flesh so thoroughly agreeable to the palate.

“Sauteed flank beef with baby cabbage”, as you can see in the accompanying photograph was also creatively plated and the skill and care extended through to the taste – 15 evenly cut pieces of succulent beef, bite-sized and exuding a sweet yet powerful grandiloquence so seductively enhanced by the soft bed of greens below.

My salute to one of my favourite cities was to order the BBQ pork puff, Hong Kong style. Finger-sized bites of bliss, sweet Eastern sensations with tantalizing black and white sesame seed coated pastry jackets, small tidbits of pork within and enough to add pleasure aplenty to an already exceptionally joyful evening.

I finished with more Chinese beer (usually only 2.5 to 3.5% ABV) as coffee was unavailable.

For your edification and information I list below a few other items from the vast menu; you may like to try these when you are in Beijing and can find this restaurant.

Tasty jellyfish head; Signature smoked duck tongue; stewed live sea-cucumber with Aweto; braised Yajian shark’s fin with brown sauce; live sea cucumber in clear soup; diced foie gras with lettuce; stewed Dalian abalone with yellow fungus and cashew; Signature original duck blood; grilled pork intestine; braised yak meat with paste; Signature donkey shank; bullfrog in stone pot; simmered turtle; baked fish head; pork heart, liver, sausage & streaky pork West Hunan style; catfish in white soup; beef tripe and shrimp in hot chilli oil; shredded eel with sizzling oil and yellow pepper; Australian lobster (seen a lot in China); Australia Wagyu beef