Mar 10, 2020 What's On

Welcome to yet another edition of Your week in food. This week, the Auckland food scene gives us a Greek Market Day to attend, and there’s a couple of alcohol-related events on the horizon.

Deadshot Garden Party

One of Metro’s favourite cocktail bars in Auckland has a brand-new courtyard and a brand-new menu (for those of us that don’t know – there never used to be one). To celebrate, they’re putting on a two-week long vintage Garden Party, complete with live music on the weekends and a chance to sip some cocktail slushies under the stars.
Till Saturday 14 March | Deadshot

World on the Street: East & South East Asia?

Yet another instalment of Silo Park’s World on the Street. This time the streets will be awash with East and South-East Asian food. If you don’t know your geography, this means China and Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. There will be drinks, DJ and (hopefully) some sun.
Saturday 14 March | Silo Park

The Big Beer Jerk Beer Quiz?

If you think you know about beer, here’s your chance to shine. Beer and brewing trivia, tasting challenges, fun activities etc. Register your team ASAP.
Saturday 14 March | The Fridge and Flagon

Greek Market Day

Moussaka, spanakopita, stuffed tomatoes, cheese pies, dolmades. Baklava, galatobouriko, kourabiathes. Souvlakia, loukoumades, fresh Greek coffee. It’s all here! It’s all happening! Come along for a taste of Greek food and culture, a cuisine which we don’t have enough of here in Auckland.
Saturday 14 March | Greek Community and Orthodox Parish of Auckland and Districts

La Fuente Dinner Collab Project

Every Saturday during March, Yeshi Desta will be cooking homestyle Ethiopian food at central city bar La Fuente. She is the second chef in La Fuente’s evolving dinner collab project, a informal dining series which showcases a line-up of guest chefs. $40pp, or $70 with wine matches. Contact bookings@lafunete.co.nz for a table.
Every Saturday in March | La Fuente

Garage Sunday Presents: Proper IPA Launch Party

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been seeing Proper Crisps all over my social media lately; their influencer game is pretty high at the moment. Garage Project have brewed up a Proper IPA (India Potato Ale), with a dash of Proper’s own potatoes in the mix. Get it here.
Sunday 15 March | Garage Project Kingsland

Everybody Meets

There’s potential for a meet-cute here. You accidentally spill a glass of Astrolabe wine into the lap of the person next to you. You reach for the same napkin. Your heads bump. You eat three-courses of food together, provided by Everybody Eats. You get married.

Wow, sounds good, huh! If you’re between the ages of 25-35ish, grab a $55 ticket and see what happens. There’s a special call-out for men, and all the proceeds go to Everybody Eats.
Friday 20 March | Everybody Eats, Onehunga

Le Dîner en Blanc

Le Dîner en Blanc is a pop-up picnic dinner where everyone wears white. It’s from France, it’s fancy and you can only go if you have an invite. We checked it out last year to see what it’s all about but it’s the kind of thing that you have to see it for yourself to ‘get’ why it’s such a worldwide sensation.
Saturday 21st March|Secret location to be announced

Peroni open-air bar in Takutai Square

Peroni is putting on an Italian themed show at Takutai Square, with (of course) Peroni beers and complimentary Apertivo. They’ll be celebrating Italy by screening the classic film Happy as Lazzaro – that is sold out, but the open-air bar is still open (lol) from 4-6:30. From 12-2 on the other hand, the bar will be serving free, alcohol-free Peroni Libera. This event was planned well before Italy went into lockdown in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, but it’s good timing for New Zealanders to support their Italian friends.
Wednesday 11th March to Saturday 14th March| Takutai Square, CBD

What we ate this week

Jean Teng and Alex Blackwood

Beau , Wine Bar
I really dig Beau, Wine Bar (comma deliberate). It’s chill, it’s laid-back, it’s exactly what you want when winding down on a mid weekday, with simple food that can cater for comfort (fried chicken or mac and cheese available; Beau, is opened by the owners of FREAKY) and the fresh, interesting dishes you see on wine bar menus: ceviche, heirloom tomatoes, tartare.

It was just their first week, so things are a work in progress. But I had a tasty pan-fried snapper dish that sat in a hollandaise sauce that was, essentially, just butter. But isn’t butter great? Fun, loose and pretty expansive by-the-glass wine list. Even better, some options that won’t cost an arm and a leg. – JT
265 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby

The cauliflower and pan-fried snapper at Beau, Wine Bar. Photo: Jean Teng

Good Dog Bad Dog pop-up
David Lee and Oliver Simon’s hot-dog pop-up will soon become a permanent reality at Commerical Bay. But they’ve planted the seeds for some decent hype with these Camper pop-ups, and I was into the chilli-cheese hot dog, with moreish chilli mince slathered with cheese sauce. If anything I’d go harder on the chilli, but as it is, it’s pretty delicious. – JT

Olaf’s Pastel de Nata
If you stand in line for coffee next to the tart and danish cabinet at Olaf’s, you physically cannot walk away pastryless. The pastel de nata was an utter dream – creamy soft caramelised and just a teeny bit burnt, for flavour. And the pastry it was encased in shattered at the touch of a tooth. – AB
1 Stokes Rd, Mount Eden

KangChon
I’ve written about the samseon jjampong a million times already, so won’t labour over this too long except to say: I stand by this. – JT
546 East Coast Rd, Windsor Park

Fettucine Amatriciana from Dante’s
Not only was the pasta firm and in a moreish bacon and chili sauce, Enis Bacova (the business partner of Kevin Morris) enthused about the pasta as he cooked (unprompted: He just really loves talking about pasta) so we got a history and cooking lesson with our meal which made it all the more fun. – AB
Ponsonby Central, 136 Ponsonby Rd

KK Malaysian Cuisine
It really beats me why KK Malaysian needs to be on Zomato Gold; the business is always pumping, and was on Sunday night in the midst of this period of downturn. What I had: boxing chicken, homemade mince tofu, butter prawns. All sufficiently yummy, and a meal that made me appreciate that salty, umami goop that Cantonese and Malaysian-Chinese food is frequently tossed in. All hail goop. – JT
463A Manukau Rd, Epsom

Coffee ribs from KK Malaysian
Somehow it looks like jean and I have managed to both go to KK Malaysian within a week of each other without having said anything about it. If you’ve heard of Dr. Pepper ribs, Coca Cola ribs or Pepsi ribs, this won’t be that much of a surprise to you. The ribs are marinated in a concoction that involves the beverage for a sweet, sticky result. In the case of these coffee ribs (which are apparently a fairly recent Singaporean invention), the taste isn’t outright espresso so much as the occasional whisper of it. Instead, there’s a rich, caramel taste. – AB
463A Manukau Rd, Epsom