Fashionable Fried Foods

I eat far too many chips, glorious hot chips.  Also known as fries, they are one of those delights I can't (or refuse to) make at home. I don't want to indulge myself too often, and well, deep frying just gets messy, quite frankly.  I mean, what are you supposed to do with all that spent oil? Much better to leave it as someone else's problem, I say.

You can get a whole raft of other fried delicacies at restaurants these days too. The deep-fried icecream balls I enjoyed at as a child in the older (Westernised) Chinese restaurants don't seem to be around much anymore, but I keep getting excited about something new, only to find that it's suddenly available in multiple places.  Is this simply because I start paying more attention to the existence of this novelty, or do fried foods come in fads?

It's still possible to order deep fried ice cream at Sam Woo Vietnamese Cafe in Otahuhu, among other places

Jazzed up Potato Chips

Ever since Burgerfuel brought chips with aioli into the mainstream, it doesn't seem quite right anymore to eat them simply on their own.  Other places make their chips more interesting by covering them in beer batter or seasoning, but I'm fnding that you can buy them in all shapes and sizes too.

If you argue over whether thick or thin chips are better, what about the ones which are rectangular in cross section, short on one side and longer on the other?  I've had super-chunky chips at Finc in Wellington, measuring maybe 3cm on two sides and deliciously crispy and golden; our capital also offers fried potato in cubes, as in the Wagyu Fat Potatoes with Habanero Mayonnaise available at Logan Brown.

You can choose between fatties or skinnies chips (as well as wedges) at Velvet Burger

Then there are the chips you would need special implements to cut, like curly fries and crisscut fries. I've only seen these sold in seasoned and battered form.

Curly fries at Vinyl Coffee Shop

Crisscut fries at Carl's Jr. in Takanini

Of course, wedges are made of deep-fried potato too.  For some reason, we never call them "chips", maybe because most places will serve both at the same time.

Wedges served with bacon, cheese and sour cream

I won't go into the various ways you can serve chips, though I have to say that I was surprised to see a "French Fries Sandwich" on offer at Holy Land, a new restaurant (347 Karangahape Road) for Arabic and Western cuisine. From the picture on the menu, it looked like a pita pocket filled with chips.

Exotic Chips

Remember when kumara chips were exciting and new? They never seem to attain the same level of crunchiness that chips made from potato do, but I am often tempted to order them just for variety.  I've already shared my non-potato chip discoveries in previous posts, involving pumpkin chips coated in salty egg yolk at Fung, and polenta chips at Coco's Cantina (I also saw some polenta chips for sale at La Zeppa and 1885, but never got around to trying them and they don't seem to be on the menu anymore).

Pumpkin chips coated in salty egg yolk from Fung

Today, I came across a little mobile vendor selling "South American Street Food" on Queen's Wharf.  Top of the list on Maldito Mendez Cantina Latina's menu was "mandioca chips with smoked garlic aioli", which on further questioning are made from cassava.  They tasted good, but were relatively dry and hard compared to potato chips.  I'm keen to try the cassava chips at Bellota too.

Cassava (a.k.a. mandioca or yuca) chips with smoked garlic aioli from Maldito Mendez

Churros

My first experience of churros in Auckland was at the Teed St Larder in Newmarket. Unlike the straight dough sticks I had dipped into hot chocolate in Spain, the ones at the Larder were twisted into a knot.  They were reheated rather than freshly made, but still managed to remain crispy and ready for dipping into chocolate sauce or dulce de leche.

Churros from the Teed St Larder

Beautifully delicate churros can be had at Serafin, and they even added a bit of alcohol to our chocolate the last couple of times we were there.

Fortunately, you can also have churros without going to a cafe or restaurant.  Toro Churro sells these delicious sticks from mobile carts, which can be found by AUT on weekdays, as well as at various places like the Auckland Night Market at Pakuranga at other times. They even have caramel-filled ones!

Churros from Toro Churro

Beignets

Recently, I came across beignets (pronounced "ben-YAY"), which basically seem to be doughnut balls.  I've seen the term applied to both sweet and savoury ones, shaped as big spheres or little pillows, but for me, the definition of beignets will always be the sweet morsels I first sampled at Sweet Mother's Kitchen.

Delicious beignets from Sweet Mother's Kitchen,Wellington

Corn beignets from Okra in Kingsland

Beignets with passionfruit curd, only available for breakfast at Depot, opposite the Auckland Sky Tower

***
Just the other day, a friend told me about deep-fried poached eggs, coated in breadcrumbs.  I'd hardly say that it is a dish sweeping through restaurants around Auckland, but it does sound worth a try.  What other new offerings have you come across, and did you suddenly start noticing it at other restaurants?

Review: Fung Bar & Restaurant *CLOSED*

[Added 10 January 2013: I wondered if this place was just closed over the holidays, but it looks like it is well and truly closed.]

When we first came across Fung several months ago, we weren't too sure what to expect.  It had the same interior as its predecessor Jimmy Wong's, and while we'd never actually eaten there, we had the impression that it was expensive and maybe more Asian inspired than actually Asian.   Would this new restaurant be much the same?

Smart interior at Fung

The menu at the door had nothing obviously terrible.  Actually, it looked pretty interesting, especially that Special Menu which no longer seems to be available.  Although the main menu contained Chinese dishes that were more than I would normally want to pay for lunch, the lunch menu offered individual servings that were very reasonable.

We were tempted by the Crispy Pumpkin with Salty Buttered Yolk special, which at $14 must be the most expensive chips I have ever had.  I am glad we opted to try them, however, even though they cost nearly one and a half times the price of a lunch main, because we have not seen them offered again, and they were certainly unique and tasty.  I can't imagine how many Chinese salted eggs they would have needed to go through to make all the "breadcrumbs" for this dish.

Crispy Pumpkin with Salty Buttered Yolk

We also ordered off the lunch menu, and were suitably impressed by the taste, size and presentation of rice bowls, though we did have to send a bowl back because the vegetarian Ma-Poh Tofu came with mince.  A vegetarian replacement arrived quickly, however, so the incident did little to dent our opinion of the restaurant.

Ma-Poh Tofu on rice

The lunch bowls are great value and make delicious and balanced meals, but if you are prepared to splash out a little, there are more interesting items located in the many pages of the main menu.  It makes sense to get a group together to share these dishes, not just for the greater variety, but also because in true Asian style, nothing arrives at the same time.

Don't be afraid to assert yourselves either, because it's not unknown for the waiters to walk straight past you in the busy lunch hour unless you are waving your arms around.  Well, that just makes it more Asian, doesn't it?

Panda Recommends

There are so many dishes here to try!  You're on your own with this one, I'm afraid (their main/dinner menu is available for lunch also).  If there are no more than a couple of you, you probably want to stick to the individual servings from the lunch menu.  If you have a proper group, you could eat the Chinese way and order several dishes from the more extensive (and expensive) main menu to share, but this does feel pretty pricey for what you get.

[Added 17 May 2012: Apparently, the lunch bowls with the fresh vegetables (which were their main point of difference for me) aren't really there anymore.  You could probably do better elsewhere.]

Vegie Pandas
Vegetarian items are clearly marked on the menu, but some dishes are vegetarian without being marked, such as the Beancurd Leaf Rolls.  If ordering the Ma-Poh Tofu on rice, make sure you stress the fact that you want the vegetarian version, as there is also a version with mince.

Lunch Menu - page 1

Lunch Menu - page 2

Special Menu - we haven't seen this one for a while

Restaurant Details

Fung Bar & Restaurant
5B Lorne Street, Auckland Central
(09) 300 6381

Opening hours:
Wednesdays to Mondays 11am - 9pm
Tuesdays closed

Fung is on a bustling part of Lorne St, nestled between the fancy La Couronne Cake Boutique and the upmarket Korean BBQ restaurant Faro

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Review: Vinyl Coffee Shop

Whenever I return to Auckland from Wellington, I am thankful for the range and quality of the Asian food available in New Zealand's largest city, but somewhat disappointed by the lack of cafes which match the calibre of those the capital.

Well, one little gem goes somewhat towards alleviating that void: Vinyl Coffee Shop, with its posters on the wall, handwritten chalkboard signs and offerings for both meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans, has exactly that feel I associate with arty types and students. There's a bit of bare brickwork on one wall, naked lightblubs, giant Jaffas in a jar on the counter, and little knick-knacks on the tables: a bear-shaped glass here, a mini air hockey table there.

Vinyl is a little place with a laid-back, hipster feel

This little place only has eight tables (three small ones and three larger ones inside, and two tiny circular tables outside), so it's not surprising that it's often full, especially since that wee kitchen somehow manages to create some good food.

This morning, we had the cheese burger with curly fries, served in ciabatta bread because they'd run out of hamburger buns.  The lamb pattie was perfectly cooked, soft and juicy in the middle.  There were rocket leaves in the burger and we even found a lemon pip as evidence that they made their own mayonnaise.  The fries were also delicious, golden and crispy.

Cheese burger, with lamb pattie, tomato, avocado, rocket, homemade mayonnaise and curly fries

You get to feel good too.  Apart from catering to vegans with tofu and vegetable options, Vinyl uses free range eggs and free range streaky bacon.  We'll overlook the fact that their curly fries are imported from Canada.

My main complaint is that they close too early---don't come here if you are looking for a late lunch, as the kitchen is only open till 2pm in the weekends.  Also, eggs don't really belong in a burrito, and it would be nice if they offered a side salad.  Otherwise, we love this place!

Panda Recommends

Mains: Cheese Burger ($14, or $16 with curly fries) [Added 29 June 2013: you can also ask for this medium-rare]
Sides: Curly Fries with Mayo ($5)
Avoid items with scrambled eggs, such as the Spanish eggs, or the breakfast burrito - somehow it ends up bland and rubbery.

Vegie Pandas
Vegetarians and vegans alike can rejoice.  From the Tofu Scramble to the Vege Stack, this cafe has definitely got something for you.

Menu - page 1

Menu - page 2

Restaurant Details

[Added 10 January 2016: Vinyl has now moved into the same space as its sister restaurant Ralph's, around the corner with the entrance on Walters Road, where Serafin used to be.]

Vinyl Coffee Shop
218 Dominion Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
(09) 623 3821
vinylcoffeeshop@gmail.com

Opening hours:
Mondays to Fridays 7am - 3:30pm
Saturdays to Sundays 9am - 3pm

Vinyl is a little cafe on Dominion Road

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Serendipity

Every time you go out to eat, you are in search of a wonderful meal.  But sometimes, just sometimes, you come across something that you have not seen anywhere else before, something different and exciting.  Below are some foods that I have been surprised by, mainly pleasantly.

Polenta Chips

I love eating hot potato chips, so when I saw polenta chips on the menu at Coco's Cantina, I had to order some for comparison, even if it meant downgrading to an entrée for dinner.  I was not disappointed.  The long chunky chips were fragranced with rosemary, and stayed crisp and hot for much longer than you would expect.  They were absolutely delicious with or without the accompanying aioli. Just be careful you don't burn your tongue!

Polenta chips with aioli

Available for $8.50 at
Coco's Cantina
376 Karangahape Road, Newton, Auckland
(09) 300 7582
Turesdays to Saturdays 5pm - late

Feijoa Cider

Just up the road at the Wine Cellar, a basement bar in St. Kevins Arcade on K'Rd, I tasted feijoa cider for the first time when a friend played a gig there nearly a year ago.  Not only was it a proper cider rather than feijoa mixed with wine, it also came on tap.  It was fruity and intoxicating, and absolutely the best cider I have ever had.  Made from organic feijoas from Purangi, it tasted different every time I returned.  It was not always available, and it was never as good as I remembered again (sometimes it had a bitter aftertaste, more like beer) but I still go back once in a while to see if I can taste the most fantastic cider again.

Available (call first to make sure) for $7 a glass or $9 a pint at
Wine Cellar
St. Kevins Arcade, 183 Karangahape Road, Newton, Auckland
(09) 377 8293

Chirimoya Juice

I had never even heard of chirimoya before seeing its juice offered at Mexican Specialties.  This South American fruit (I bought a whole one to admire, and the chef picked out a ripe one for me that was ready to be eaten that very day) is related to the custard-apple, and looked green and scaly.  The juice was sweet, with a tropical flavour.  It wasn't available last time I visited the restaurant, so I am guessing it is out of season (I had it a couple of years ago, around October), but with other items on the drink menu such as cold chocolate, tamarind juice, pineapple and coconut, and lemon and lime, I wasn't about to complain.

Mexican Specialties
92 Marua Road, Ellerslie, Auckland
(09) 580 2497
Thursdays and Fridays 11am - 3pm
Saturdays 10am - 4pm

Sweet Masala Pan

Having studied Latin throughout high school, I could only associate the word pan with bread.  In India, this word means nothing of the sort.  Pan, or paan, refers to the betel leaf, which is commonly used to wrap a an assortment of fillings.  The sweet variety does not contain tobacco, and the lady at Ras Vatika assured me that this would be refreshing and good for the digestion.  As I was feeling full from dinner and wanted to find out more about this novelty (I hesistate to call it a dessert, even though it is sweet and eaten after dinner), I took one of these little green packets home.

As I was completely clueless about sweet masala pan, I decided to do some web research.  Were you supposed to eat the packet whole, leaf and all?  Were you supposed to chew and spit, or actually swallow the thing?  What is this betel business anyway?  What I discovered put me off altogether.  Apparently, the areca nut, commonly known as betel nut, which was listed as one of the fillings of my pan, can cause oral cancer.  Now, I know that there are a gazillion things in the world which can give you cancer, including burnt toast, but that doesn't mean I want to take my chances.

By the time I plucked up the courage to try some meetha pan, I had left the thing in the fridge so long that the leaf was shrivelled up and more unappetising than ever.  Cautiously, I opened up the leaf wrapper, to investigate the contents.  It smelt of mint and rose, and I saw dessicated coconut, fennel seeds, unidentified coloured candies, a reddish brownish sauce and some bark-like sheets that I assumed was the areca nut.  I admit that I only had the tiniest ever little pinch of the filling, but it tasted as it smelt, of menthol and flowers.  I may give it a proper go some day, but I suspect this is one of those things that may be an acquired taste.

Sweet masala pan, with the betel leaf opened up

Ras Vatika
596 Dominion Road, Balmoral, Auckland
(09) 623 2145
Mondays closed.
Tuesdays to Sundays 11:30am - 10pm