Nov 29, 2024 Metro Eats
Kia ora,
I adore Christmas — the tree decorating, the music, the food, the drink, the cheer — but I have a complicated relationship with the presents. Giving a gift to someone you care about can be a lovely thing; wrapping up something that you believe will make this person grin, that reflects something profound about the bond you share, that they very clearly need but, for one reason or another, haven’t yet got. My issue with gift giving at Christmas is that it’s so often the opposite of this: forced, expensive, stressful, obligatory, wasteful, time-consuming and too often, a burden for the person receiving it. This is where food-themed presents — which tend to be naturally imbued with a kind of sparkle and charm and whimsy, or at least practical qualities (think, kitchen equipment or edible things) — come in handy. And so, here are my favourite food-themed Christmas presents for this year:
Stocking stuffers, and by this I mean, things that are small and reasonably priced, are my favourite kind of Christmas gifts to give and receive. Edible items are an obvious, but excellent place to start. If your loved one has a taste for it, you can buy Menozzi de Rosa liquorice in various pasta shapes and packaged in beautiful fairytale-esque packaging from Farro, or pop into Safka for some not-for-the-faint-of-heart Swedish imports of the stuff. Not everyone likes black liquorice, so in these cases, go for chocolate, but make it interesting: Ao Cacao’s TE TAI TOKERAU OLIVE OIL DARK CHOCOLATE BLOCK or AUNTY TOMMY’S KOKO SAMOA DRINKING CHOCOLATE PODS are both superb. The boxed BIRD’S STRAWBERRY TRIFLE DESSERT KIT is as festive as it is kitschy. You can buy TEMPERO’s fantastic and surprisingly hot chilli oil by the jar for $25 from their Karangahape Rd restaurant and BESTIE is also selling a bunch of their pickles by the jar for $10. Or just head to a favourite cafe and see whether they’ll make out a $20 voucher for you to pass along.
More stocking stuffers, but of the non-edible variety: VEGETABLE PLAYING CARDS, A TINY JUG, AN OYSTER KNIFE, A FETCHING LATTICE-PATTERNED TEA TOWEL, A KIWIFRUIT SPATULA, HANGING HONEYCOMB FRUIT, A MUSHROOM BRUSH, A PACK OF HOT-PINK CANDLES FOR THE DINING-ROOM TABLE or Korean dish scrubbies (you can find these at Daiso and the $2 shop in the Royal Oak Shopping Mall). I also recently bought a butter spreader from Daiso that works like a retractable glue stick – unnecessary, but does make toast-making more joyous.
Most people could do with a beautiful tray for carting food and drinks outside over summer, but also for eating toast and coffee in bed on Sunday mornings. You’ll find these all over the place but I especially like this PINO SPAGNOLO FOR BIESSE specimen from Kiosk ($80), this CORK TRAY/PLACEMAT from Citta ($39.90) and this sleek number from EVERYDAY NEEDS ($49).
One gifting technique I often turn to is to buy the most expensive version of a category of food that doesn’t have an extremely high price ceiling. My favourite version of this is fancy salt – how about a jar of BLACK TRUFFLE SALT, or a box of sea salt FROM THE HAURAKI GULF, or KINA-SPIKED SEA SALT, or a stupidly big tub of Maldon (Bulk Food Savings on Dominion Rd sells these)?
For the especially sweet, you could put together a set of tools to make ice cream sundaes. The brief here is loose, but should probably include a couple of pretty glass sundae bowls to start (you can usually find something that will do the trick from an op shop). The rest is dependant on your appetite for abundance but could include: a scoop, magic shell topping, gummy bears, M&Ms, Marshmallow Fluff, toasted almond slivers, freeze-dried fruit powder, maraschino cherries, kinako powder, a tiny bottle of sherry or coffee liquor, sprinkles, doilies, paper umbrellas. Ice cream is a logistically difficult gift to give, so let them pick their own.
ATOMIC COFFEE, our newsletter sponsor, will deliver a bag of coffee to your loved one’s house every single week for three, six or twelve months.
Books! There’s a bunch of fabulous cookbooks that have been published recently which would make wonderful presents. Of these, my recommendations are BETHLEHEM: A CELEBRATION OF PALESTINIAN FOOD by Fadi Kattan, EASY WINS by Anna Jones, KAI FEAST by Christall Lowe. Also, RĒWENA AND RABBIT STEW by Katie Cooper is a fascinating look at the rural kitchens of Aotearoa’s past that anyone with even a passing interest in our local food history would enjoy.
For the high-rollers among us, why not give someone one of GREAT JOURNEYS NEW ZEALAND’S VARIOUS GIFT VOUCHERS (meaning the opportunity to eat fancy food and wine aboard a train)?
My knowledge of what children want is based on a very limited data set, however, I think one of those plastic ice block trays or a sushi-making kit is a nifty gift for children interested in food. Also, fun is the analogue ice-shaving machines used to make the Japanese iced dessert kakigōri which JAPAN MART sells for $33.20. For kids who are a little older, and who spend a good deal of time on TikTok, a sample of various ramen packets from a Korean supermarket would probably be appreciated.
When in doubt, buy the seafood lover in your life a pottle of kina or oysters.
I hate to be this blunt but local media is in dire straits at the moment (it is scary!) – so do consider giving subscriptions this Christmas. A METRO SUBSCRIPTION is a bargain ($59.80 for a full year) and because we’re a tangible item, your loved one will be reminded of you everytime a magazine arrives in their (physical) mailbox. Alternatively, I’d highly recommend a SPINOFF membership (which comes with a teatowel, a bunch of digital perks and the nice feeling of upholding a sturdy fourth estate – all for the price of a cheap glass of house wine each month) or a BFM BCARD (which includes a 15% discount at Mezze Bar among other discounts around town!).
Near and afar there are people who do not have enough food at the best of times, let alone at this time of the year. Consider donating to TE TĀPUI ATAWHAI AUCKLAND CITY MISSION or KIWI TRUST FOR PALESTINIAN CHILDREN RELIEF (which works to provide food and medical aid to children and families in Gaza) on someone else’s behalf.
Hei konā mai,
Charlotte Muru-Lanning
Comings and goings.
I wandered past SLOW KOI, a new manual coffee brew bar from the people behind Hi Toastie in The Strand Arcade, earlier this week and it looked very busy, and very cool. I’m also very excited to hear that they’re open till 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
The city has recently welcomed two new swish-looking sports bars. In Takapuna is COUSIN SCOTT’S which describes itself as a “family restaurant and sports bar serving up Nashville Fried Chicken and showcasing American Sport”. And Tyler St Sport, “the official home of the Auckland FC football team”, is new to the city centre.
The city’s fifth DOWNLOW BURGER outlet has just opened in Grafton (at the bridge end). And it looks like they’re planning to open a new spot in Mt Eden soon too.
Food City in Northcote has a new stall called TURKISH GEM. They’re open from 10am-9.30pm every day of the week with a whole lot of Turkish dishes: platters, doner kebabs, zucchini and feta fritters and more.
Maple and Marble is a new butchery in Ōrākei, specialising in minimal stress, traceable beef. TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR WEBSITE to get an idea of their offering.
JUNO EATERY is a new brunch spot in Milldale (a north Auckland suburb – I’d never heard of it till now, sorry!). Go for cutesy pastel interiors, pancake stacks and cocktails.
Voila Cafe in Sandringham closed earlier this month, with the space tipped to be filled by none other than local restaurant behemoth, Paradise . Paradise Cafe, perhaps? In the meantime, a new all day cafe and restaurant has opened in the next block called 507 BAR AND EATERY.
Where we’re going.
CAZADOR DELI is hosting a market day this Sunday (1 December). There will be stalls, samples, coffee, a one-day-only “Cazadogs” pop up and vintage bits and bobs from Gray’s. At 854 Dominion Rd from 10am-3pm.
There’s a spring Christmas market happening at FLORETS in Grey Lynn this Saturday (30 November) from 9am-2pm. There will be stalls from a bunch of local makers and shops – Common Garden, Lamp Light Books, Studio Lucy McMillan and more.
THAI FESTIVAL BY THE BAY is taking place at the Cloud on Queens Wharf across two days (Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 December) from 10am-5am. There will be cultural performances, muay Thai boxing, speciality food and more. Entry is free!
