Day 11 : What I’m eating and drinking

August 20, 2018

Over half way through the Welly On a Plate festival and I'm doing my best to make my way around Wellington and keep my tally of all the deliciousness up. It’s a tough job but it has to be done.

There's a real buzz around the city with lots of events packed out and some places having to close to restock for their burgers. Clearly the weather isn't stopping us! Get amongst it and don't forget to tag your posts #WellyOnaPlate, #VisaWOAP, #BurgerWelly, #CocktailWelly #DineWelly.

Highlights from my week include:

Burger Welly

Café Neo’s Stag Do (venison patty with bacon, jalapeño and blue cheese sauce, slow-roasted roma tomato and cos lettuce in an Arobake brioche bun, with roast vegetable crisps)

The Old Quarter’s Beef BAOger - Vietnamese beef patty with green papaya salad, pineapple, roasted peanuts, homemade BBQ sauce and mayo in a bao bun

Sterling’s Dip & Drip - roast lamb shoulder, ‘cauliflower cheese’ cheese, mint sauce and red onion in a house-made bun with gravy and root vegetable chips.

I got a double shot of Coffee Supreme and The Chocolate Bar’s Beans and Bars events this week. The “On-the-go” early morning event kickstarted my Wednesday with four exquisite coffee and chocolate pairings, and Sunday afternoon’s “Full Service” session made for a relaxing way to wind up the weekend. Luke from The Chocolate Bar introduced us to the broad range of craft chocolate available, including some New Zealand chocolate that’s doing big things on the international stage. Each bar was matched with a coffee, educational and delicious – you can’t get better than that.

Homegrown High Tea at Artisan Dining House was a celebration of local producers and ingredients with plenty of yummy savoury and sweet treats. The foraged mushroom arancini with basil mayonnaise were a standout, as were the citrus slice and Whittaker’s chocolate and coconut fudge.

What I’ve heard is good

My workmates have been firing off their reviews between meetings. Three that have been mentioned multiple times include Portlander’s The Gate Crasher (cold smoked scotch fillet with Fix & Fogg peanut butter); Dragonfly’s Shinjuku Burger (pork and shrimp tonkatsu with tsukemono slaw and togarashi); and The Spicy Winston from The Backbencher (Andouille-spiced beef patty, Creole tomato ketchup, green leaves and Swiss cheese).
A friend told me that the Astoria’s festival dish (braised beef cheek with beef croquette, beef rump, confit potato, cauliflower, red pepper and jus) was “exceptional”. He said it was and ambitious dish that was perfect for lunch – balanced with just the right amount of richness.
No cocktails for me last week (I’ll try and make up for it this week), but I’ve been told that Fortune Favours’ Gin and Beer It is “a winning combo” of Reid + Reid Gin and Fortune Favours’ very won Adventurer Pilsner. Fittingly it’s served with a tonic cheesecake. A photo of Coco at The Roxy’s cocktail popped up on my Instagram feed and it looks like they’ve pulled out all the stops for another epic Cocktail Welly entry. Hip Hop HooRAY features pina colada beer, coconut, ginger and mint, accompanied by a beef and pineapple rendang slider.

What’s coming up

After treating us to their take on yum cha last week, on Thursday Chow presents #ChowVeganTakeover featuring vegan versions of your favourite Chow dishes and some special creations just for the day.
The Gate to Plate Pop Up is at Visa Festival Hub at Prefab Hall from Tuesday to Thursday this week. A chance for those who cannot attend the Rimutaka Prison Gate to Plate dinners to experience the food produced by prison chefs.
Heretaunga College School of Hospitality and Upper Hutt brewery Kererū are teaming up this week for two special dinners. The Phoenix and the Kererū is a pop up pub at Heretaunga College featuring a selection of classic dishes matched with Kererū brews. Entertainment will be provided by musicians from the school.