Dear Taste Flutter, I have neglected you! But, I will share a very happy mid week break. See not to get all soft on you, and don’t be jealous, but I just celebrated my two year anniversary with a very special someone, and you couldn’t come with us. It started with just a simple breakfast on a sunny morning.
Then we spoiled ourselves with lunch at St. Hellier’s Bay Bistro. I have been dying to go here, and I took some great photos to launch another desire I have for this space: to write about local eats.
St. Helier’s Bay Bistro
It was very, very loud inside and a little hard to choose a table. The window seats are mostly taken and perching on the end of our four seater was a little exposed. Still fantastic ambience, and no one can complain that I have a shot of the ocean and Rangitoto Island through the large bay windows. The man needed some friendly encouragement from the sommelier Alex to choose the special, which was Pork Chop, on a salad of watercress, radish, confit apple, with red currant sauce & parsnip puree.
It was like a taste flutter party on my tastebuds. I surprised even myself with Ceasar Salad, a little risk-ay as they can be epic or flat. Mine was crisp cos lettuce, with sea salty anchovies and soft chicken fillets abound. I was craving some extra crispy bacon to make up for my lack of croutons, damn gluten. Glass of Misha’s Dress Circle Pinot Gris may have been open a couple of days, but I couldn’t bear spoil the moment.
Port Waikato
This little seaside town sits at the mouth of the largest river in the country, the Waikato. Honestly you wouldn’t pick that this would be our romantic get-away, above Waiheke, Mungawhai… but despite the humble little shack, atop of the sand dunes behind our section was the most breathtaking vast beach view I have seen in a very long time.
Watching the sun go down, deck chairs and blankets… I exclaimed that we couldn’t have done much better than this. We skipped over our normal Cattier Champagne to get Morton Estate Vintage 2004, which was divine with our Jamon Iberico – 18 month old Spanish Ham to melt in your mouth. Port Waikato itself was a nice enough little town, locals waving. Fish and Chips and a Dairy is all there is too it so be sure to get all you need in Tuakau, the nearest town which is 23 minutes away.
Nikau Caves & Limestone Quarry
Day Two at our cosy batch: Gluten-Free Pancakes, Sugar-coated fried bananas, passionfruit and maple syrup. My last gluten-free pancakes were a disaster, so thank you! Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pancake Mix. We had decided to go to Raglan despite the long drive back to Auckland that night. Heading South to Nikau Caves was a 30km very, very bumpy ride… but the views were spectacular. Rolling green Pastures with every animal from spring lambs, piglets and swanlings, a multitude of cabbage trees and magnificent limestone outcrops. We drove past the quarry, not so pretty, before stopping for a coffee at Nikau Caves. We skipped the cave tour for lack of appointment of guide. Glow worms and stalagmites looks like fun though, the coffee was good too, which they roast onsite.
Raglan
My first time here, and after hearing so much, it didn’t disappoint. I loved the clothes and craft shops that made me wish I had a spare hundy. We found out from the locals that the best fish and chips “Raglan Fish” was down by a wharf out of the township: the fish comes fresh right off the trawler metres away from the shop. There is a nice spot overlooking the river opposite Orca Café (and some over friendly locals kindly disregarding the liquor ban). Time to head out to the see the views overlooking Whale Bay, where we sip the last of our Chardonnay on a blanket in the sun. Surfers are all in on the same rip, they bob up and down on the wake. Last we make it back to the township to have icecream at Roll Up, where they sport good service, and my fave maple and walnut flavour as well as fresh fruit icecream.
Home & Thai Takeaway
That sounds like a very lame excuse for my heading, but really, our local Home Thai Takeaway in Glendowie is delish. Being a Wellingtonian, the hub of fast, delicious take out, it is so great to finally find something accessible, affordable, and super tasty in Auckland suburbia. Especially keen on their Mussaman Beef Curry, the crinkle cut potato halves are like, soaked in butter, with melt-in-the-mouth beef cheek and peanut sauce goodness? Thai Basil Chicken Stirfry and Tom Yum Prawns are also beautiful.
Sometimes a bit of a break is all you need to wind down and rejuvenate. It will be all go here the next week, we are moving on out, to new and exciting ventures. Apologies, once again I blame my lack of skills in photoshop to post my article about Claudia Weersing from Pyramid Valley, but I assure you it is coming home soon. Here’s to next week where I hope to revamp my Taste Flutter page again.
Cheers to that!
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