A week of surprises

It's been an exciting week for me, being able to try a number of different items I've never had before. Who knew Auckland had so much to offer?

One third of the third course: Courgette filo tempura, Worcestersire sauce, egg tartare, belvedere fruit or "mountain caviar".While Cocoro is a Japanese restaurant, the chef also uses plenty of New Zealand ingredients, from the karengo seaweed sprinkles to the whitebait in the chawanmushi. For the first time ever, I was also able to try eating a piko piko frond. This Maori fern shoot tasted like a bitter green bean or asparagus.

From the vegetarian degustation menu: Summer vegetable tempura of courgette flower, piko piko, eggplant and baby carrot with micro mizuna, karengo and cauliflower in white vinegar dressing.

6-course degustation dinner ($80) at
Cocoro
56a Brown Street, Ponsonby
(09) 360 0927
Sundays and Mondays closed.
Tuesdays to Saturdays 12 - 2pm and 5:30 - 10pm

Greengages, fresh fig and cape gooseberries from Bhana Brothers.Other fruits on the shelf which I was impressed to see, but less excited by, included pomelos, kiwiberries and horned melons (or kiwanos), as well as fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Not your average dairy, that's for sure!

[Added 3 March 2012: Found cape gooseberries and greengages slightly cheaper at a grocer called Kumeu Produce Market (407 State Highway 16, Kuneu) as well today.]

Bhana Brothers
129 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby
(09) 376 5329
Mondays to Sundays 8am - 7p

Two of many varieties of goats cheese for sale at Crescent Dairy Goats.They offer a tour of the farm for $15 (minimum of 10 people required), where you get to meet the goats, have a tour of the milking and cheese making areas, then sit down for a taste of at least ten of their cheeses with tasting notes and commentary from the cheesemaker. I haven't got around to it yet, but I am definitely planning to round some people up for this!

Crescent Dairy Goats
177A Taupaki Road, Kumeu
(09) 412 2074
Mondays closed.
Tuesdays to Sundays 10am - 5pm

Preparing the nitro toffee & coffee mousse.

Mousse ball ripped apart.

Yes, it's gimmicky, but the flavours are right up there, and it's nice to try something like this at least once.

In related news, the first issue of the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science is out (you can download the electronic versions of the articles for free), and celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal has been asked to cook the first synthetic meat burger later this year.

FISH
Hilton Auckland, Princes Wharf, 147 Quay Street, Auckland Central
(09) 978 2020
Mondays to Saturdays 12 - 11pm
Sundays 12 - 10pm

source : http://hipwee.com, http://solopos.com, http://nomnompanda.blogspot.com