Aug 18, 2023 Metro Eats
Hello,
I’ve been to Eden Park more times in the last month than I ever have in my life (prior to this FIFA Women’s World Cup I had only been once, to the Women’s Rugby World Cup final) and have therefore been experiencing, for the first time, “stadium food”. What a world that has been opened to me! Not a world that I necessarily want to experience on the regular, but a world nonetheless.
It is an incredibly stressful endeavour, with people going downstream and upstream and sidestream, and there’s no map for what vendors there are (that I could see) so you can’t go in there with a plan, which distresses me greatly because I love having a plan. Then, there are so many options, with lines that all move at different paces, and the line that you end up in always ends up to be the wrong line – but then when you go check out the shorter line it turns out that the reason that line is so short is that it only serves vegan food, and who wants to eat vegan food while watching the beautiful game?
Then, if you want to restock (e.g. get hot cinnamon donuts after you’ve eaten your hot dog that you got pre-kick off), you have to be really strategic about the timing, in order to not be stuck in a line so long that you lose the will to live. Go 5 minutes after half time? No dice, everyone else has had that thought. 10 minutes before half time? Ditto.
And yet, I have discovered you must persist in the line because the food is integral to the game-watching experience. It serves as a way for your mind to make memories and connections, and secures the night as much more of an event – like buying popcorn and lollies at the movie theatre. In this cast, the good-ness of the food is a non-factor, which can be in many ways my favourite type of food (as I’ve talked about numerous times in this newsletter, I am easy to please in that fulfilling the simple equation of hungry = food is often enough for me and in fact I’m relieved that there is no burden of “good”).
The games have finished up in Eden Park now, so I don’t see myself eating there in the near future. But I’m glad to have had a little foray into the beautiful world of stadium food, via the beautiful game.
– Jean
P.S. I know nothing about football and do not want to give anyone the false impression that I’m now, like, Jock Barbie.
Webbs x Metro:
A brief interlude from our friends at Webb’s:
On Sunday 27 August, Webb’s holds their next 605 ">Collectors’ Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia live auction. Amongst many iconic vehicles, one particular stand-out is the 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage.
Introduced in 1965 as the successor to the iconic DB5, the DB6 marked the end of the renowned David Brown ‘DB’ line of Aston Martins — often regarded as the final embodiment of the authentic Aston Martin experience. Not only is the car a rare classic to begin with (exemplifying ‘quiet luxury’ before we knew the term), it has also undergone a complete ‘open chequebook’ restoration so meticulous we simply don’t have room to detail it all here. You can, however, find all the information on the Webb’s website.
Aston Martins are widely recognised as resilient investments, akin to blue-chip assets, and this DB6 exemplifies that trend. A pleasure to drive and a special privilege to own.
What’s happening
Boutique Connection is throwing a little ‘Meet the Makers’ event at La Fuente on Tuesday 22 August, joined by the winemakers behind The Huntress, On Giant Shoulders, Equilibrium and more. 2pm, hospo and trade, 5pm, public.
Acho’s is turning 10 years old and is having a 2-day party to celebrate on the 18-19 August. DJs and stuff! Have a look at Instagram for more details.
If you’re looking for a Father’s Day treat, you should consider the Filipino Fiesta Buffet at Nanam , which looks very good – starting at $65pp, it includes lechon (pork belly) and palabok, plus a few desserts.
I was invited to try out Fold’s new high tea offering, which it’s launching over a few weekends in September and October, starting on September 2. I’d been once before, but there were new additions, including the laksa pie (like a creamy seafood pie, but laksa flavoured) and Milo dome. I think it’s definitely one to take your Asian mum or mother figure, who will be delighted to taste such familiar flavours presented in this format that may be more associated with the food of the west.
What’s good
We finally made it to Roses Dining Room last week and it so happened to be the first day of a menu change. The hasselback carrots, of which I’ve seen a lot on social media, were a delicious curry leaf-topped number, with the carrots soft and with plenty of flavour packed into it. Everyone really enjoyed the dessert: a macadamia cream hiding dollops of marmalade, with a few dried chips of jerusalem artichoke laid atop.
I had a little sojourn in the exotic town of Devonport this weekend and ate at a couple of the local restaurants (as you do when you’re on vacation), including Dulcie Eatery, which is a new(ish) cafe by the water. I was struck by how big it is (my friend joked it was because older people linger, and you don’t exactly want to kick them out of their seats). I had a fancy English muffin, which looked like a McMuffin, and had a rich and indulgent beef patty in between. It was like eating a socially acceptable burger for breakfast.
After I mentioned it in the last newsletter, Sunday the Bakery very nicely dropped off a cake and a couple of cookie sandwiches, both of which were excellent. The citrus and guava cake was light, moist and just the right side of sweet, and the shortbread cookie sandwiches were the highlight for me: orange zest shortbread, crumbly and soft to bite, with a dark chocolate ganache in between. It’s definitely a “brighten someone’s day” sort of delivery.
I finally got to try out Iiko Sando in Takapuna and had both the fried chicken sando and the egg sando. These are smaller, with less in-your-face flavour than its counterpart at Eden Terrace’s Mizu Bread , and I enjoyed the more delicate treatment, especially in the egg sando.
What’s new
The new Everyday Wine bar (previously Alta , and before that, Clay) opened its doors yesterday on Karangahape Rd. The turnaround was quick as. Now called Flor, they’ve kept the mosaic floor and much of the old fit-out and has a couple of ex-Pasture chefs pumping out the snacks. The real drawcard, of course, is the vast array of wine on offer that you can then purchase up the road.
Daily Bread ’s new flagship has just opened down in Britomart, and it’s a very generous, airy space, framed in by brick and with a bustling, downtown vibe that has already injected some more life into that area of the city. It’s running a hot food menu as well as all its usual cabinet goods. Free coffee, croissants and Almighty today, btw.
I feel like the hospitality group behind outfits like Pikuniku and Slowlane are expanding rapidly, with another one on the way, this time “where the taste and beauty of Spain and Korea converge”, at Bonita.
By the Bottle is open today! At its new retail shop at 811 Mount Eden Rd.
Paradise in the city! (Sort of!)
There is a new Thai stall in the Lim Chhour supermarket, on the corner next to the Chinese spot. Its specialty seemed to be the khao man gai, the Thai version of Hainanese chicken rice, so of course I had to try it. The poached chicken, all thigh meat, was pretty nice, but the actual rice is what made it. Dissimilar to Hainanese chicken rice is the bolder, more striking chilli soy sauce it came with.
