A Meal in Brief: Mi *CLOSED*

[Added 24 February 2015: Mi is also listed in my more recent post B is for Bánh Mì]
[Added 10 June 2015: Unfortunately, this little shop has been unexpectedly forced to close]

We came here because this newly painted hole-in-the-wall caught our eye. It's so close to the Sky Tower and other great eateries too (in case you are wondering, Depot and the Federal Delicatessen just a few metres away are both closed until 13 January).

Mi opened on Monday this week, while the city was barely waking from the holidays.

The menu was brief and to the point: this place sells bánh mì (Vietnamese style baguette sandwiches). They come in two sizes ("mi" or "mini mi") and you can choose from 7 different fillings, along with various spreads and topping ingredients.

Simple menu at Mi.

The setting was well designed, clean and modern, but strictly takeaway only. There is no space for sitting in this little shop.

There is just enough room for the till here.

The service was friendly, though it seemed inefficient for the staff to tick every single checkbox on the order form for every base or topping option (you want to include everything you can, from the pickled carrot to the mint and coriander; we skipped the sauces though).

What we ate included:

• BBQ Pork Mi ($11) - we ordered this with both the chicken pate and mayo bases, as well as all the toppings. The flavours were great and there was plenty of everything, from bread to meat to pickled carrots, but the most amazing thing about this sandwich was the baguette, which was soft on the inside, but lightly crispy on the outside, and oh so fresh and fragrant!

BBQ Pork Mi.

• Miso Tofu Mi ($11) - this had the same delicious bread. The organic miso tofu was fine, but didn't go so well with the rest of the ingredients. We would try the egg filling for a vegetarian sandwich next time.

Miso Tofu Mi.

Overall, this was the best bánh mì we have had, in Auckland or anywhere else, in recent times. Each sandwich was very substantial, so we would consider going for the "mini mi" ($9) next time. The food was beautifully fresh, and we have been looking in vain till now for the perfection attained by this light and crackly bread! Go tomorrow (Thursday 8 January 2015) if you can, otherwise you will need to wait until they re-open on Monday 19 January.

Restaurant Details

I don't have the official address, but if you walk left from The Fed (86 Federal Street), you will see it tucked around the corner behind Gloria Jean's.

[Updated 18 January 2015: According to their newly created Facebook page, the address is 66 Victoria Street West, but the entrance is off Federal Street.]

A Meal in Brief: The Black Hoof *CLOSED*

[Added 7 August 2016: A new restaurant, Culprit, will be opening where The Black Hoof used to be]

We came here because The Black Hoof is not only the newest tapas bar to open in town, but is created by an experienced and passionate team formerly of Waiheke Island's Casita Miro. We were interested to see how they would transform the venue, which has housed a number of failed restaurants, including a Mexican one, an Asian fusion one, and very briefly, a place serving Uighur cuisine.

Modest entrance.

The menu was on one page, with sufficient Spanish words to make it exotic and exciting. The four main sections were Charcuteria, Queso, Tapas and Dulce. The dishes offered were varied, with meats, seafood, rice and vegetable options.

The setting was beautiful, with high ceilings, swinging chandeliers, polished wooden floors, and handmade tables. The brick walls also gave it an inviting warmth.

Legs of jamón ibérico above the bar area.

Dining area.

The service was friendly, and suited to the casual atmosphere. You help yourself to cutlery and serviettes from a flower pot on the table, which means a spoon for soup can get overlooked.

What we ate included:

• bread with extra virgin olive oil and romesco ($8) - the nutty red capsicum sauce was tasty, and the loaf proved very helpful for accompanying some of the other dishes we had.
• gazpacho verde ($6) - the green chilled soup was refreshing, but also rather tangy, so that it was difficult to have more than a little sip at a time.

Gazpacho verde, and bread and dips.

• Southland clams with jamon, farro and fino sherry ($14) - this came in quite a salty broth, which went well with the bread we had.

Clams.

• chicharrones: crunchy pork, fennel seeds, lemon & parsley ($16) - the flesh of the pork belly was amazingly tender and just barely clung to the crispy skin. A wedge of lemon helped to cut through the fat, but it was good to have some bread on hand too. This dish alone is worth visiting the eatery for.

Chicharrones.

• roasted cauliflower with kale, pine nuts, sherried raisins and anchovies ($9) - sweet and salty at the same time, this is a good way to eat your vegetables. 

Roasted cauliflower.

• copa de chocolate with PX prunes, cocoa crumbs, candied orange ($12) - excellent blend of flavours and textures, this is a smooth, creamy, chocolate dessert dressed up with sweet sherry, crunchy biscuit crumbs, chewy prunes and strips of intense orange flavour.

Copa de chocolate.

Overall, The Black Hoof is a great choice for a casual lunch or dinner. Some dishes did not inspire us, but other ones were magnificent. And we haven't even tried the namesake of the restaurant yet.

Restaurant Details

The Black Hoof
12 Wyndham Street, Auckland Central
(09) 366 1271

A Meal in Brief: Pocha

We came here because we had a craving for chicken and hof—Korean-style fried chicken and beer.

What does Pocha mean? Pocha is short for pojangmacha (포장마차), which literally means "covered wagon", and refers to a street food vendor.

The menu was large, but everything was bar food for sharing. Rather than individual Korean dishes with rice or noodles and a selection of side dishes, here you'll find platters of deep-fried things, meats (raw, grilled or fried), savoury pancakes, and soup. There was a distinct lack of vegetables, let alone anything vegetarian, unless you count the sweet fruit dishes, buttered corn, edamame, or the leaves in the beef tataki.

Menu with smoking cat.

The setting was suitable for a bar in the Chancery: dim with fairy lights. There is an outdoor area full of smokers, in line with the picture of a smoking cat which appears on the menu, and with the pictures of a smoker inside.

Pictures of a smoker.

The service was friendly but hands-off. After ordering, we were given a pile of spoons, disposable chopsticks, and serviettes, but no individual bowls, which made sharing the free spicy soup difficult. Also, we would have liked to have seen serving spoons arrive with each dish, and maybe a knife for the pancake.

Cutlery and free soup.

What we ate included:

• fried corn with butter sauce (콘버터, $12) - this was nice, no doubt due to copious amounts of butter and mayonnaise. Also, it was basically the only vegetables we had for the whole meal.

Fried corn with butter sauce.

• stir fried rice cake in spicy sauce with melted cheese on top (치즈떡볶이 chijeu tteokbokki, $28) - apart from the chewy rice tubes (떡 tteok) and chilli sauce (고추장  gochujang), this also had cabbage, instant noodles (라면 ramyeon), and rectangular pieces of fish cake (어묵 eomuk). You'll need to like spicy sauce to order this.

Stir fried rice cake in spicy sauce with melted cheese on top.

• deep fried chicken (후라이드 치킨, $30), half and half (반반 banban) of each type: plain salt and pepper, and marinated with sweet and spicy sauce (양념 yangnyeom). This came with pickled radish cubes, chilli slices, and salt and pepper. Not the best we have had, but it's still crispy fried chicken.

Fried chicken with pickled radish cubes, chillis and flavoured salt.

• chives pancake (부추전 buchujeon, $25) - apart from Asian chives, this had squid and onion, and came with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce. This was freshly-cooked, so warmly welcomed.

We had more than enough food for six people, and ended up taking a couple of boxes away.

Overall, Pocha is not really a foodie destination, but when you want a bit of Korean flavour while sharing something cheapish and greasy in the central city, this could fit the bill.

Restaurant Details

Pocha
50 Kitchener Street, Chancery Square, Auckland Central
(09) 309 2342

Review: Auckland Art Gallery Cafe, or Auckland is Finally Growing Up

[Added 16 October 2014: This blog post was about the Auckland Art Gallery Cafe run by Dawsons. The current cafe in the Art Gallery is now operated by Mojo.]

I love Auckland more each day.  The city is alive now in a way it has never been before, even as little as five or even two years ago.  I guess the Rugby World Cup brought about the biggest changes.  Even though I mocked the tram on its tiny loop in Wynyard Quarter, I have total respect for the work that has been done on North Wharf.  Go on a Friday night, when the Silo Market is on, along with a free open-air cinema session, and you will know what I mean.

Friday night Silo Park Market.

Then there are the changes in Federal Street, including the ever-popular Depot eatery, and the exciting little shops in Ponsonby Central.  The Auckland Night Market is expanding beyond the Pakuranga Saturday market and Glenfield Sunday market to include Friday nights at Hunter's Plaza in Papatoetoe and Thursday nights in Onehunga now too!  The Britomart area, which had once been "those dilapidated buildings opposite Showgirls with graffiti and broken windows", is now a pleasant place to be, both for the ambiance and the food options available.  Even the cheap Chinese eateries on Dominion Road have stepped up, with brand new signage highlighting their names in illuminated, colour-changing glory.

And there are promises of even more good things to come.  The City Works Depot has been revamped, and by the end of the year we will see a new Al Brown restaurant there, as well as Michael van de Elzen's Foodtruck Garage (I saw his Food Truck parked there already).  There is a beautiful complex being built in Osborne Lane, Newmarket, with brickwork buildings and paved walkways, where I hope to see more great eateries.

One of the brightest jewels in our city's crown, of which all Aucklanders should be proud, is the new(-ish) Auckland Art Gallery on Lorne Street.  And in this magnificent building, I will have you know, is one of the best cafes in Auckland, which, for some unknown reason, seems to have garnered some poor reviews, including in the Herald (never mind that the writers complain about the temperature of the coffee or the length of the queue rather than having anything concrete to say about the quality of the dishes offered).

The cafe is on the next floor up, behind the floating flowers.

The cafe is officially on the first floor of the art gallery, but you actually have to walk up two flights of steps from the main entrance, because there is an intervening floor called the Mezzanine.  That's the one where you have a superb view of the floating flowers that open and close, which you can even see from outside the museum.

Run by Dawsons Catering, the cafe changes its menu regularly, and also offers a special menu which is themed along the lines of the special exhibit which is running at the gallery.  For instance, for the Home AKL exhibit on Polynesian art last year, the special menu included a Samoan banquet fold over, ota ika raw fish salad, Fijian chicken curry, coconut rice pudding, and an "island passion" dessert with pineapple mousse, passionfruit gel, coconut dacquoise, and mango salsa.

The main menu gets updated too.  We were impressed to find the old-fashioned dish of lamb's fry (liver) on the menu last year, served with a potato rosti that looked like a glorious, deep-fried slice of cake.  That is no longer available, but other tempting menu items have taken its place.

Lambs fry, bacon, shallots, jus, potato rosti & watercress pesto.

A highlight of the current menu is the soufflé, which had a strong smokey note, and went well with the bitterness of the radicchio and the sweetness of the roast pear pieces.  The toasted hazelnuts boosted the flavour of the dish too, and it was more filling than it looked.

Soufflé twice baked, Mt Kyeburn smoked cheddar with radicchio, roast pear & hazelnut salad (partially eaten).

Although we have an aversion to sweet breakfasts, the banana walnut eggy bread (which we would have called "French toast") was also enjoyable, if somewhat less exciting.

Banana walnut eggy bread with maple syrup, strawberry compote, cinnamon mascarpone and free range bacon.

We have not yet tried the other items on the menu, but we liked the mix of traditional cafe breakfast dishes and a range of other choices. There are also counter options available, with the usual sandwiches, muffins and sweet treats, as well as salads.

Counter food.

With their great selection of delicious and beautifully presented dishes, and a modern airy environment, including seating on the deck overlooking the front entrance, what's not to like about the Auckland Art Gallery Cafe?  Oh, and did I mention that they only use free range eggs and bacon?

Seating on the balcony.

Notes

The cafe does not take reservations.

Panda Recommends

We prefer the more lunchy items to the more breakfasty items here.

Mains: Soufflé Twice Baked with Mt Kyeburn Smoked Cheddar ($16.50), Linguine Pasta with peppered pancetta, leeks, summer greens, parmesan shavings and pistachio pesto ($18.50), Banana Walnut Eggy Bread ($14.50)

Vegie Pandas
You can have the soufflé too, though no doubt the other dishes are also tasty.  The Green Vegetable Soup ($13.50) was under-seasoned though, when I tried it. Vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free items are clearly marked on the menu.

Menu - Feb 2013

Restaurant Details

Auckland Art Gallery Café
Corner of Kitchener and Wellesley Streets, Auckland Central
(09) 379 1349

Opening hours:
Mondays to Fridays 7:30am - 4:30pm (espresso bar 10am - 3:30pm)
Saturdays to Sundays 10am - 4:30pm (espresso bar 10am - 3:30pm)

Auckland Art Gallery from the outside.

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Review: Bonz Cajun Kitchen

The problem with any Cajun place that opens up in Auckland is that we will immediately be comparing it to Sweet Mother's Kitchen in Wellington.  Not surprisingly, when Bonz Cajun Kitchen appeared in Elliott Stables several months ago, our first thought after "Awesome, a Cajun place in Auckland!" was "But where are the po-boys, dirty rice, beignets and key lime pie?"

It's true that Bonz Cajun Kitchen has a limited menu, and as part of an upmarket foodcourt, it also lacks the quirky charm that Sweet Mother's Kitchen exudes.  The chefs do, however, cook their few dishes well, and the lunch deals are very reasonable with a number of items at $10 (though the portions will be on the small side for most people).

Gumbo and jambalaya with corn bread for lunch.  We ordered a coleslaw as a side.

Apart from the Cajun classics of gumbo and jambalaya, Bonz also offers other American dishes such as sliders (small burgers which I first came across at Depot), Southern fried chicken and BBQ babyback ribs.

Grilled marinated chicken sliders with avocado cream and tomato concasse, and culy fries

If you are going to be ordering one of the $10 lunch specials, we would recommend getting some starters or sides to share as well.  It's a good excuse for trying a few more items off the menu.

Hush puppies, and buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing.

This little eatery is small in many ways, but it is great to see it joining the ranks of places offering unique and tasty food around Auckland.

Panda Recommends

There aren't that many items on the menu, so just go for what you like.

Vegie Pandas
Unfortunately, none of the mains are vegetarian.  If you don't fancy coleslaw and cornbread or hushpuppies, you might need to try another stall at the food court.

Main menu.

Lunch specials.

Restaurant Details

Bonz Cajun Kitchen
Shop M11, Elliott Stables, 39-41 Elliott Street, Auckland Central
(09) 309 3025

Opening hours:
Mondays to Sundays 12 - 10pm

Bonz Cajun Kitchen is situated in Elliott Stables.

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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: Depot Eatery and Oyster Bar

I'm not the first blogger to write about Depot, and I am sure I will not be the last.  This newish eatery by NZ celebrity chef Al Brown (of Logan Brown fame) is one of our favourite spots to eat in Auckland, though we don't go as often as we would like, because the place is understandably almost always full, as it has been from day one (August last year), even now that the Rugby World Cup is over.

The quality of the food is way up there, but we also love the deliberate casualness of the place.  From the paper menus (which apparently you are allowed to keep) to the knick-knacks around the room to the cutlery left in tins, you just feel invited to drop in.  There are little hints of a nostalgia for a bygone era, with the signage above the front door lettered in gold leaf, the waiters wearing aprons which look like suspenders from the back, old pictures of New Zealand boys on the backs of the menus (eating fish and chips, gathering shellfish, or saying their prayers), and pseudo-historic labels on the sugar tins and cutlery holders.  But it is also modern, and if you are lucky, you can sit on bar stools overlooking one of the food prep areas.

Antique looking front doors, opening to a full restaurant.

Diners overlooking the main kitchen.

Sugar tin, as if from a bygone era.

Bar area next to where the oysters are prepared, unusually empty as we were there in the morning for a change.

While you are waiting for your meal, they bring out a complimentary plate of warmed pita bread for you to nibble on, most recently served with baba ghanoush, though I think I preferred the hummus with paprika oil they used to have.  You can also purchase Tuatara beer and a couple of wines on tap, from a small glass for the more restrained, to a jug to share.

Pita bread and baba ghanoush.  Jug of Tuatara beer.

One of the major selling points of Depot is its raw bar, where you can choose from a selection of oysters and clams, freshly shucked to order.  Where else have you seen such a thing in Auckland, I ask?

Orongo Bay oysters and Tio Point oysters, optionally with chardonnay vinegar & shallots, or bloody Mary ice.

Little neck clams, optionally with rock sugar ginger syrup.

Their cooked dishes are fantastic too.  We were sad to see that some items we really enjoyed were no longer on the menu:

Battered snapper tortillas with slaw, coriander and green tomato salsa (from old menu).

Skirt steak with tobacco onions and habenera mustard, which we scooped from a little glass jar (from old menu).

But their current menu offers much to drool over also!  The clam broth was full of buttery goodness, the turbot sliders were light and refreshing, the pork hock very skilfully cooked (though not something you can eat much of), and the potato skins were delicious with chevrego cheese and porcini salt (the flavour of which we mistook for truffle oil).  We haven't tried everything on the menu yet, but we are confident that they are all good.

Steamed Cloudy Bay tuatua clams with garlic herb broth and ciabatta.

Turbot sliders with preserved lemon and watercress.

Crisp pork hock with apple & horseradish salsa verde and parsnip puree.

Potato skins with chevrego and porcini salt.

To balance out your meal though, you really need to order some vegetables as well.  The courgette flowers dish was particularly superb, especially the juicy courgette strips, as parts of the flower with more tempura batter can be quite oily.  The chargrilled corn was also very tasty, with a delightful lime flavour in the dipping sauce.  The beets were interesting in that they tasted like your usual purple beetroot, but were yellow and orange.

Epicurean courgette flowers with Persian feta and Pinoli pinenuts.

Chargrilled corn with chilli and lime creme fraiche.

Clydes beets with kohlrabi sticks, Castlepoint feta and purple walnuts, garnished with baby watercress.

I would also highly recommend their desserts.  The sugar pie was not nearly as sweet as it sounds (especially as it is served with unsweetened whipped cream), and was soft and caramelly, and reminded me of American pumpkin pie.  The cherry tumbler was beautiful with sherry zabaglione and espresso crunch.  The other dessert special was nearly as good, hot honey glazed apricots with homemade vanilla icecream and amaretti.

Sugar pie with whipped cream.

Cherry tumbler with sabaglione and espresso crunch.

Grilled apricots with vanilla icecream and amaretti.

Most times we've visited, Al Brown has been there as well, sometimes helping take a dish out, sometimes chatting to customers.  The one time we had breakfast at Depot (you can have bacon butties or beignets dusted with icing sugar for a decadent start to the day), he sat at the next table, working on his laptop. It's great to see so much involvement from the owner, and the positive influence of this really shows.

Al hard at work in his own eatery.

Depot's unique offerings, high quality of food focussed on local seasonal ingredients, and its central location make it one of the top places to eat in Auckland.  Sometimes it can be slow, and one time our potato skins came out nearly burnt and rather soggy, but overall the standards here are excellent.  And it's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, great for those random times when you need a bite.  At conventional meal times, be prepared to have to wait, but hey, it's worth it.

Panda Recommends

Depot's menu is seasonal and regularly changing.  At the moment, though...

Raw Bar:  Tio Point oysters ($6.00 each)
Share Plates: Steamed Cloudy Bay Tuatua Clams with garlic herb broth and ciabatta ($22.00), Grilled Green Lipped Mussels with Akaroa chorizo, garlic and tarragon ($12.00), Epicurean Courgette Flowers with Persian feta and Pinoli pinenuts ($15.50)
Sides: Chargrilled Corn with chilli and lime creme fraiche ($6.00), Potato Skins with Ellersmere chevrego and porcini salt ($10.00) [Added 14 May 2012: corn is now off the menu, but the Brussels Sprouts with Salash Pancetta and Walnut Crumbs ($8.00) is well worth trying.]
Dessert: Sugar Pie with whipped cream ($9.00), Cherry Tumbler with sherry sabaglione and espresso crunch ($8.00) [Added 14 May 2012: the Tamarillo Bomb ($8) is like the Cherry Tumbler but nowhere near as good, as it doesn't really go with the coffee chunks; the Quince Tart ($22.00) is an unusual old-fashioned dessert, fantastic with the vanilla ice cream of which there is not quite enough, though they give you a large ball]

Vegie Pandas
There is generally only one of the smaller sharing plates which you can eat.  This used to be Falafel with Goat's Curd and Harissa ($14.00), which was fresh and not too salty, unlike the kebab shop variety.  In the latest menu, it is Epicurean Courgette Flowers with Persian feta and Pinoli pinenuts ($15.50), which were amazing.  You can also partake of practically all the side dishes.

Menu

Dessert menu

Note
Depot does not take bookings.  Turn up before the crowd hits, or leave your name and wait for a table.

Restaurant Details

Depot Eatery and Oyster Bar
86 Federal Street, Auckland Central
(09) 363 7048

Opening Hours:
Mondays to Sundays 7am - late

Depot is a casual eatery directly opposite the Auckland Sky Tower.

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