Open Streets + Japan Day 2015

Auckland was definitely feeling vibrant last weekend, with two events side by side downtown: the Open Streets initiative organised by Auckland Transport saw part of Quay Street closed to traffic (well, one side of the road anyway), and Japan Day brought the crowds to the Queens Wharf area, between The Cloud and Shed 10.

Neither event would have been as good on its own, and while both could be improved (closing off more of the road and having more food stalls would help), we still enjoyed the atmosphere.

Open Streets

I didn't take too many photos of the Open Streets activities (this is a food blog after all), but it was great to see the little kids on their bikes on the road. There was plenty of entertainment too, from clowns to accordion players, to games and rollerskating, to stunt riders on BMX bikes, to a samba band performance.

A fireman's bike was displayed at one exhibit.

Japan Day

We were mainly checking out the food for Japan Day, but inadvertently came across aikido, kendo and some dance and music performances as well. Some attendees definitely made more of an effort, with kimonos and cosplay in evidence.

A busy stall near the ferry building.

There were far more people than the stalls could handle, with queues of an hour. Some things were sold out by the early afternoon, and even the Taiwanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and non-Asian stalls were full of hungry people.

Although we only dashed around quickly (as much as the crowds would allow), we still saw some things that looked interesting. For instance, there was a demonstration of how to make mochi.

Making mochi.

You could buy freshly cooked cakey things like dorayaki and baby castella.

Making baby castella.

For those after more savoury street foods, you could buy dango (marinated rice balls on a stick), yakitori skewers, and marinated cucumbers.

Marinated cucumbers.

We filled ourselves up on teppanyaki fried noodles, but there were plenty of other Japanese foods to eat, including takoyaki, okonomiyaki and udon.

Fried noodles from one of a number of stalls.

There were some beautiful pastries for sale, as well as green tea ice cream, black sesame pudding, banana rolls, and (as I discovered later) crepe cones.

Next time, we would make sure to arrive early, so the queues are hopefully shorter!

Fish-shaped wind socks.

A is for Ajitsuke Tamago

This post is part of my Dishing Around Auckland: A - Z Challenge.

It's been a good few months since I decided I would set myself an A - Z Challenge for eating various dishes. I've been busy, of course, but A is not exactly an easy letter of the alphabet to start with either. The only dishes starting with A I could think of, which were not desserts, were things borrowed from other countries. I haven't yet tried an arepa in South America, so I am in no position to judge what I find here in Auckland. Instead, I have picked ajitsuke tamago, which is not really a dish, but an important component of one.

Ajitsuke tamago.

For those of you who have not come across the term before, it refers to the marinated egg which is often served with ramen. As I mentioned in my previous post on Japanese eggs, the yolk should be just beginning to set: a gooey centre which is translucent, but not runny. No matter how good the ramen might actually be, I am always a little disappointed if it is served with a fully boiled egg with a powdery yolk!

1) Tanpopo Ramen

At Tanpopo Ramen, you don't automatically get egg with your noodles. You have to order it as an extra, and it arrives as a whole egg, still chilled from the refrigerator. But do it, because it is good, as is their piping hot soup base, I might add!

Miso ramen with extra egg.

Presumably named after the 1985 movie "Tampopo", a Japanese comedy featuring ramen, this basic little store now also has a branch in Howick. Owner Michio trained the young couple running Little Ramen Bar in Melbourne as well.

2) Ramen Do

When Ramen Do opened in 2012, they made exactly the kind of fully boiled egg I complain about. You can still see pictures of them on their website. By the time I blogged about the eatery, however, they had learnt to make beautiful eggs, and were at the top of their game for the ramen too. Since then, I have heard consistently bad reviews for their short-lived city branch, and on our latest visit to their original Eden Terrace branch, the soup and noodles were unfortunately also disappointing.Their business card and street signage have been changed, so perhaps there are new owners?

Egg a little too underdone.

The eggs erred on the side of liquid yolks, but this is preferable to overcooked egg. I also liked the fact that you get half an egg by default with every ramen.

3) Ramen Takara

Ramen Takara is a bit further from the central city than the other places mentioned here: all the way in Browns Bay, but with the bonus of being near the beach.

Despite being more beautifully fitted out, and having plenty of choices in the menu (thick or thin noodles, unusual combinations like spicy black sesame, clearly marked gluten free and vegetarian alternatives), the egg we ordered was slightly overcooked, pale and powdery at the edges.

Spicy black tan-tan ramen, with extra egg.

Still, the centre of the egg was a beautiful vibrant orange. And we haven't eaten here enough times to know whether this was an anomaly.

4) Maruten Ramen

Maruten Ramen is only a little stall in the Mercury Plaza food court, but it has some restaurant level touches. For example:

• there's a choice of thick or thin homemade noodles for your ramen; you can also ask for the noodles to be cooked firmer or softer as you prefer
• they have smooth, round bamboo chopsticks, rather than the pull-apart disposable ones (never mind that even some high-end Japanese restaurants like Masu use pull-apart disposable chopsticks)
• the moyashi (bean sprout) ramen we ordered came with an unseasoned chicken broth, in case we needed to thin out the thick and salty soup base; they also gave us some vinegar to adjust the flavour to taste
• they gave us complimentary dessert (not sure if this is standard practice)!
• when we asked for a takeaway container, the chef said we could ask for more bean sprouts and less noodle next time
• they had Japanese comic books you can borrow, which we saw people reading on a couple of tables
• when we walked past on the way out of the food court, they saw us and called out to us

So what about the eggs? Some ramen varieties already come with half an egg, while others do not. However, you can always ask for an egg as an extra topping. In my previous meal, there was a bit of inconsistency with the doneness of the eggs. This time, the eggs were a bit too cooked at the edges. Not quite perfect, but much better than the fully boiled eggs at most other ramen eateries here.

Syo-yu ramen with extra egg.

---

Have you come across any other ramen shops with ajitsuke tamago? Or do you not care about the state of the egg if the rest of the dish is good?

[Added 10 June 2016: The newish Ramen Lab also has some good looking eggs]

Review: Ramen Do, Eden Terrace

Ramen Do is the one of the best, if not the very best, ramen place we have sampled in Auckland , so I am not sure how I took two and a half years to write this post, after previously only giving it a quick mention. Since we first visited, this Japanese eatery not only has a new website, rearranged their furniture, and learnt to make perfect eggs with a translucent centre (originally they were simply hard-boiled), but they have also opened a new branch in the central city [Added 7 November 2014: this didn't do well and has closed]!

Small venue on Symonds St made larger by a mirror and high ceilings.

As they proudly proclaim on an embroidery on the wall, their flavourful soup bases take two days to produce, and they also make their own noodles in-store.

Wall hanging with a message for the customer.

The signature dish is the Hokkaido Miso Ramen, which contains slices of BBQ pork and pork belly, a ball of minced pork, and half a beautifully boiled marinated egg, in addition to the noodles, broth and garnishes. We particularly appreciated being given a small suribachi and surikogi set for grinding whole sesame seeds, which released a strong and fragrant aroma.

Hokkaido Miso Ramen.

Another dish we keep having over and over again is the Tsukemen, which consists of firm, cold noodles in a separate dish from a concentrated and rich soup for dipping. The first time we ordered this, we had no idea what to do, and poured the sauce over the noodles! The soup comes with pork slices and half a marinated egg, as well as a teapot of what appeared to be the noodle-cooking water, so you can thin the salty liquid and turn it into a tasty broth after your meal. A great choice if you prefer a bit of bite to your noodles, as you control how long they sit in water, though everything does tend to be more luke-warm than hot.

Many components of tsukemen.

If you stray away from the restaurant's main focus, the food you get will not be as tasty. For instance, the vegetable ramen felt thin and watery, though the vegetable toppings themselves were fine..

Vegetable ramen.

The takoyaki we tried were somewhat undercooked in the middle.

Takoyaki, a bit soft and undercooked in the middle.

The edible wild plants inari were very enjoyable, though not amazing the way the top ramen were.

Edible wild plants inari.

Moral of the story? Stick to Ramen Do's consistently excellent specialities!

Panda Recommends

We love the Hakkaido miso ramen ($13) and the Tsukemen ($15).

Vegie Pandas
There are a couple of vegetable ramen options, with plenty of vegetables in them, but the soup base is obviously less flavourful and interesting than the meaty versions.

Menu - ramen

Menu - other

Restaurant Details

Ramen Do
167 Symonds St, Eden Terrace, Auckland
(09) 377 1313

Opening hours:
Mondays to Fridays 11:30am - 3pm, 5:30 - 9pm
Saturdays to Sundays 12 - 9pm

Ramen is a little shop on Upper Symonds Street.

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Review: Lunch @ Morita

The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question How can we eat? the second by the question Why do we eat? and the third by the question Where shall we have lunch?

                            -- Douglas Adams, Chapter 35, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I can tell you about a sophisticated place you could go for lunch.  You've probably even heard of it already, if you follow the Metro Restaurant of the Year awards, since the French-Japanese fusion restaurant Morita made it into the Top 50 shortly after opening in 2011 (and again this year).

Tucked away in a corner of a dead end street, I would never have stumbled across this hidden gem by myself.  Now, I don't make a habit of visiting award-winning restaurants for lunch, but a curiosity as to what French-Japanese food might taste like, coupled with the persuasion of a very reasonably priced lunch menu (complete with photos on the restaurant website), made me go out of my way to find this basement venue.

Dark yet elegant interior.

For food court prices, you can have lunch in one of the city's best restaurants, where even tap water is served in a wine glass from a classy bottle.  I also love it that the mains always come with a salad, so you feel that you are getting a balanced meal.

I generally order the less Western sounding options, which are definitely not pure Japanese.  The omurice pots, for instance, are basically tomato risotto with an omelette on top.

Tomato and egg omurice pot, served with a side of salad.

The donburi sets, which are extremely good value and not featured on their website, are just a little different from what you might expect, though it's hard to put a finger on why that is.

Teriyaki chicken donburi set, served with (clockwise from top right) fish nanban, salad, pickles and miso soup.

I should probably give their less interesting sounding items (like pasta) a go as well, but I struggle to forego the tried and true in this case.  Whatever you order though, I am sure you will enjoy it.

Panda Recommends

You can spend up to $70 on a lunch at Morita (four course business lunch with wagyu steak), but I stick to the more affordable items.  The hayashi rice ($11.00) is fantastic, and the donburi sets ($9.90) and omurice pots ($10.00 - $16.00) are all delightful and great value for money.

Vegie Pandas
I thought the Vegetable Kakiage Don ($9.90) would involve a mix of tempura vegetables, but it was all onion, which I guess fits in with the French theme.  The tomato and cheese omurice pot ($10.00) is a good choice.

Lunch menu outside the restaurant.

Special lunch menu (not on the restaurant website).

Normal lunch menu

Restaurant Details

Morita
12 Swanson Street, Auckland Central
(09) 337 0506

Opening hours:
Mondays to Fridays, 12 - 2pm, 6 - 9pm
Saturdays 6 - 9pm

Morita has a corner basement location.

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Review: Cocoro

Do you have a bucket list of things to eat?  We've only had dinner at Cocoro twice, and it's already crossed two items off ours (freshly grated wasabi root and restaurant-cooked wagyu beef).  It's also given us an opportunity to try things we had not even considered (such as the piko piko and "mountain caviar" in my previous post), as well as other delicious dishes (high quality seafood and noodles, including the fatty cut of toro).

A 50kg 100% farmed sustainable Bluefin tuna, flown in from Japan.

Tucked away into a quiet little side street off Ponsonby Road, we would probably never have found this "new style Japanese" restaurant, had it not immediately gained fame by winning the Best Specialist Restaurant award in Cuisine NZ Restaurant of The Year 2011 (it has also just been announced today as being on the Metro/Audi Restaurant of the Year Top 50 list for2012, though we don't agree with everything on the list).  This little space was not as full as it deserves to be when we turned up one weeknight, and we wondered if it was because you cannot book unless you are planning to have the degustation.

The degustation menu changes regularly, and is great value at $80 for 6 courses (far too much food, especially if you go for the optional soba course).  It's definitely a good choice for that special ocassion, not just for the variety of highlights, but also because of the delightful presentation of the dishes.  However, it also leaves you too full to try anything off the specials menu, which we just had to come back for.

We were happy to see seasonal ingredients being offered.  The man at Depot was right: Bluff oysters are not as delicate as Tio Point oysters, but we enjoyed eating them all the same.  We also had fresh bamboo shoots, which we have not seen at a restaurant before, and they were tender and flavourful.

New season bluff oysters.

Charcoal-grilled new season bamboo shoots.

The pleasure of eating beautiful fish with freshly grated wasabi root does not come cheap, but we have been meaning to try this ever since discovering that most "wasabi" served with your sushi is actually horseradish and mustard with green food colouring.  Real wasabi definitely has a distinctive taste, what you could call lighter and sweeter than its cheaper substitute.  You have to grate it at the table, because it loses flavour in 15 minutes.

Farmed bluefin tuna - akami and toro sashimi with fresh wasabi root.

Contrary to what we've read about cooking wagyu at least medium to ensure the fat in the meat fully melts, the wagyu at Cocoro still looked well pink inside, though it arrived on a sizzling plate at the table, on a bed of
at least five different kinds of marinated fungi, including snow fungus, shiitake mushrooms, enokitake or golden needles mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and white button mushrooms.

Charcoal finished premium grain-fed wagyu, with at least five different types of fungi.

While special dishes like these can seem pricey, they are justified by the gourmet ingredients, and other items on the menu seem downright inexpensive.  The noodle side dishes are only $6 or $7. We particularly liked the udon, though the cold soba noodles were also nice.

A side of soba, with soup for dipping.  Large sushi platter in the background.

The desserts were delicious and very reasonably priced as well.  We had the black sesame creme brulee and were surprised you could actually taste the sesame flavour in it.  This came with a shortbread biscuit and a selection of fruit for only $7.

Black sesame creme brulee, with a sesame shortbread and fresh fruit.

You can certainly spend a lot of money at Cocoro if you want to, but you will be guaranteed a great experience, with unique dishes, expert kitchen creations, and attentive service.  Oh, and they even give you a hot handtowel and bowl of lotus root chips to begin.  No need to book, just turn up and you can choose off all the menus.

Panda Recommends

The degustation is great for a special ocassion, but we like to pick and choose.  We prefer the more traditional dishes than the more fusion ones.

Small Plates: Charcoal grilled new season bamboo shoots ($12), Farmed blue fin tuna sushi or sashimi ($8-$10/piece)
Sides: Udon warm broth noodles ($6), "Zaru soba" chilled buckwheat noodles ($7), South Island fresh wasabi ($4)

Vegie Pandas
The shiki-tofu (made using water from Mount Fuji) is delicious and silky smooth.  They will also make a vegetarian version of the chawanmushi.  In fact, you can have a whole degustation's worth of vegie dishes.  Just advise the chef not to use fish stock, as this is one ingredient that often makes visibly vegetarian dishes non-vegetarian.

Restaurant Details

Cocoro
56a Brown Street, Ponsonby, Auckland
(09) 360 0927

Opening hours:
Tuesdays to Saturdays 12 - 2pm, 5:30 - 10pm

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A Week in Hong Kong: Upmarket ramen @ Mist (創作麵工房)

(See closest Auckland equivalents)

You know how we said Hong Kong was a great place for cheap food, and you could have a filling meal for less than 30 HKD, or around 5 NZD?  Well, that's obviously the low end of the scale, and prices can go a lot higher.  We wanted to try out the other extreme with a 3-Michelin-star restaurant, but unfortunately it was booked out.  Instead, we picked a nearby ramen restaurant, one with one Michelin star.

Tucked away in a quieter part of Causeway Bay, Mist (創作麵工房) was full when we turned up for lunch, so we left our name and number and went for a walk while we waited for a table.  We barely had time to shop, as the call came surprisingly quickly.  We were seated at a bench overlooking the kitchen and presented with a beautiful hard-cover menu listing 5 or 6 choices, which you could have alone or as a set (i.e. with drinks and dessert).  There was also a recommended special, the abura soba, over which everyone had food envy.

We were seated at a bench looking right into the kitchen.

I'll tell you right now: these were probably the most expensive noodles we have ever had, at around 150 HKD a set, or about 25 NZD.  They were also probably the most delicious ramen and soba noodles we have ever had.  You get asked what extra toppings you would like, and you absolutely want to be upsold the BBQ Pork (which you can see a chef flaming with a blowtorch) and the boiled egg (which is so much more delectable than the name suggests).

The abura soba special was the first to arrive.  These were thin, dry noodles topped with meat slices, with broth on the side, as well as two little jugs of sauce for you to add to taste.  If I remember correctly, one was an oily soy based sauce, and the other was a light vinegar.  We tried not to drool as the waiter showed where the cutlery was stored, in a personal drawer underneath the table.

The abura soba (red bowl) was served with broth (black bowl) and sauces (white jugs).  We also ordered an egg and BBQ pork as extra toppings.

The ume shio ramen is recommended in the TimeOut guide, and was served with a preserved plum as well as a shiso or perilla leaf.

Ume shio ramen

We were particularly impressed by the "boiled egg", which was not quite hard boiled and not quite soft boiled, but something in between.  The yolk was neither runny nor powdery, but just set, and the white was coloured by a soy marinade.

Get the optional "boiled egg" - it's delicious.

The next day, we came across a picture of a similar egg for sale at a roadside eatery in Sham Shui Po, where it cost 4 HKD—a fifth of the price of the egg at Mist.  It was labelled 溫泉蛋, meaning "hot spring egg", so for a while there, I thought we had been eating what the Japanese call onsen tamago (温泉玉子), with the egg cooked for the best part of an hour at a low 65 degrees C.

A similar looking egg for sale at a fifth of the price in Sham Shui Po.

After further research though, I discovered our eggs did not look like onsen tamago (温泉玉子, "hot spring egg"), which are more like soft poached eggs.  No, what we so enjoyed must have been ajitsuke tamago (味付け玉子, "seasoned egg") or hanjuku tamago (半熟玉子, "half-boiled egg"), marinated "half-boiled" eggs which hold their shape, which are apparently often served with ramen, though we've never seen one before (we'll definitely have to make it to Japan one day.)

All in all, we had a fantastic meal at Mist, with high quality noodles, broth and toppings all working together.  The food is well presented in a stylish dining room, and the smartly dressed wait staff complete the picture.  Just remember to request a drink and a mouthful of dessert if you order a set though, because for some reason, only those ask will receive.  It seems strange that a restaurant of this calibre will happily charge you 20 HKD extra for nothing more than having said the word "set", but this is only a small thing and the meals are well worth the money.

Closest Auckland Equivalents

There are many places where you can get ramen in Auckland, but not to the same level of excellence.  I have also yet to see hanjuku tamago offered here, though perhaps I need to try adding a boiled egg to my noodles more often.

* Ramen Do
167 Symonds Street, Eden Terrace
(09) 377 1313

The sign outside with "Japanse Noodle Bar" in some bubbly comic font doesn't inspire confidence, but this little eatery probably serves the best ramen in Auckland.  The glossy menu with coloured pictures calls them Hokkaido ramen noodles and they are very well cooked and beautifully presented, with half a hard-boiled egg in each generous bowl.

* Ramen Daikoku
Tyler Street (next to Britomart Station), Auckland Central
(09) 309 2200

Part of the Daikoku family of restaurants, Ramen Daikoku offers a good range of ramen in addition to other dishes such as donburi.

* Mentatz
28 Lorne Street, Auckland Central
(09) 357 0960

Popular with students due to its proximity to the university as well as affordable prices, Mentatz turns out tasty meals, though service can be hit and miss.

Restaurant Details

Mist
4 Sun Wui Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (香港銅鑼灣新會道四號地下)
+852 2881 5006

Opening hours:
Mondays - Fridays 12 - 3pm, 6 - 11pm
Saturdays 12 - 11pm
Sundays 12 - 10:30pm

Review: Industry Zen

Industry Zen - what a great name.  If you are thinking a factory floor sort of space, a large room with rough wooden beams and metal piping, you'd be right.  If you are thinking precision and perfection, dim lights and dark colours, you would also be right.  But if the name brings to you a picture of calm and peacefulness, inner reflection and understated beauty, nothing could be further from the truth.

The interior decor matches the restaurant's name

This restaurant serves food as art, for sure.  But it is a bustling, busy venue, not one you would head to for a quiet meal.  The dishes, in particular the lunch sets, are nothing short of spectacular, in a showy over-the-top way.  Some might call it kitsch; others, a pleasant surprise.  In any case, you are getting your value for money.

In most places, a Japanese lunch box consists of a tray, partitioned into many rectangular containers of food. Industry Zen takes it to a whole new level, with boxes stacked on top of each other in a rickshaw, for instance.  My photos below don't begin to do justice to these sources of wonderment.

Lunch Box - vegetarian tempura-ju.  The shigi-ju (teriyaki chicken lunch box) came with three layers in the rickshaw.

Chef's Special Sashimi & Teriyaki Chicken Set

Sashimi Boat Set

Rikka Combo - Sushi & Teriyaki Chicken - comes with circular shelving that almost hides you from the person sitting opposite

You could easily be mistaken, from seeing all those tiny plates above, that they comprise the whole lunch set.  In fact, before those main trays came out, we also received miso soup and appetisers, including lotus root chips and little salads.  And at the end of the meal, we were served a thankfully small and barely sweetened portion of dessert.

Miso soup and appetisers included in the lunch sets

Although I would recommend the lunch sets when they are available, you can also order off the main menu at any time.  With certain dishes, you are offered a selection of Himalayan rock salts (pink, black or crystal), the difference between which my palate is too unrefined to tell. At lunchtime, you are just given a tray with the salts in granule form, while at dinner, someone would actually grate the salt over your meal from a large salt ball.

But let me tell you about my one dinner experience from the beginning...  We had made a booking for 8:30pm during the Rugby World Cup.  Fortunately, we decided we were too hungry and turned up half an hour early, because at 8:15pm someone started banging on the drums and a waitress came over to ask the name of the birthday boy (yes, it was a special occasion).  The chefs stood in a row behind a pane of glass in the show kitchen (as opposed to the hidden one out the back where most of the work gets done) and were formally introduced.  More drums, then all the birthday celebrants were announced (there were four that night).  You get the idea.

Formal introduction of our chefs

I thought the main dishes were less jaw-dropping than the lunch sets, but that didn't stop the oysters from being served in what looked like a toolbox, with a bonsai tree.  There was also a lot more staff involvement, in the form of waiters grating salt for some dishes, blowtorching others, cooking items on hot plates in front of you, and even (as happened at the next table) chanting and clapping around you while the birthday girl downed a giant bowl of what may or may not have been sake.  Either she was drinking slowly, or there was a serious amount of liquid in there too, because that encouraging noise they were making seemed to go on forever.

Sushi , one of the more minimally presented dishes

Overall, I would say the food is tasty, but not outstanding in its own right.  There are plenty of fantastic Japanese restaurants out there.  Together with the presentation of the dishes and the atmosphere of the establishment, though, Industry Zen will make your meal a fun and delightful experience.  Sit back and enjoy.

Panda Recommends

Mains: the lunch sets ($19-$24). Sounds expensive, but worth it for the experience of seeing your friends' eyes bulge. You get a good amount of delicious food too.

Vegie Pandas
You can get a vegetarian tempura lunch box, or order off the bigger selection in the main menu.

Lunch menu

Main menu - page 1

Main menu - page 2

Restaurant Details

Industry Zen
104D Customs Street West, Auckland Central
(09) 3070936

Opening hours:
Mondays to Sundays 12pm - 11pm

Industry Zen is just behind the Tepid Baths which are currently under redevelopment

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