The Ass Of The World – Well, Sorta…

I never thought I would have ever said this. But I’ve been to the ass of the earth. And I liked it.

Okay, let’s give some insight, because to some people that sounds pretty gross, and well If it’s your thing then you might want to find a different blog to read. El Culo Del Mundo is one of Wellington’s newest food hubs located right next to The Chippery on Roxborough Street, and basically, its name translates to ‘the ass of the earth’ – I don’t know if this was planned or not, but either way, it cracks me up (YES PUN).

So, knowing that the name meant ass, I had to see if their fare also translated to ass. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. We decided to hit this joint on a sunny Sunday afternoon, carelessly leaving the kids me and my boyfriend were babysitting to fend and cook for themselves (probably bad in hindsight, but they survived) and met up with some good mates to test-drive this new whip.

Vegans and plant-based protestors – you can rejoice. Because this place is getting on the old protein replacement band-wagon. How you say? Crickets. These little critters have stirred up a storm in the food industry recently, with their super high protein properties, and FINALLY a restaurant in Wellington is serving them up with spice. Naturally, we tried this right away, and hand-on-heart, I was nervous. But as soon as I popped that crunchy cricket in my mouth, the fear went and the flavor kicked in – absolutely delicious, and even better served on a nacho chip with a little guac.

Next, we glazed over their mains to see what else would tickle our fancy. Bougie-as dishes like ox tongue tacos, bone marrow tortillas, and tiger prawns jumped out at us – however for the menu that we got served, we felt like the veggie options were a little lacking. Maybe rejoice a bit less vegan friends. However, for what they lacked in veggie options, they sure made up for in flavor. Those tiger prawns – AMAZING. The creamy guac and home-made salted nachos – INSPIRED. The ox tongue taco – MELT IN THE MOUTH. So, you could say their food was pretty dope.

So all in all, a pretty cool place that serves up some fine ass fare has just opened up a stone’s throw away from Courtenay place, and is a great addition to the Wellington food and drink scene. The only criticisms I got for this place are as listed (clears throat); Have more veggie options, have the same menu online as in the restaurant (I wanted to try the cauliflower, but couldn’t order it!) AND increase the portion size or lower the price of meals, because if you’re running on a low tank and need a feed, you deffo gotta order multiple meals to satisfy the hunger – I paid $15 for 3 tiger prawns.

Apart from that, I’m gonna give this place a 7.5/10 on the ol’ CCL (cafecrawlerlucy) scale. Great people, tasty noms, and a good selection of beers and drinks. A few little criticisms here and there, but hey, for a place that’s JUST opened its doors – I reckon it’s doing pretty good!

Hamilton: I expected punters – but instead I got ‘The Punnet’

Last weekend was my very first trip to Hamilton since I was 6 years old – and to be honest I wasn’t expecting much (this was SOLELY from other people’s opinions, I promise!). BUT I speak to everyone, especially you Hamilton homies (sorry for the lingo, I can’t pass on an alliteration), Hamilton WAAAAAAY exceeded my expectations – no matter how low they were!

I stayed at the Narrows Landing, which if you’re a Hamilton local, you know it’s literally one of THE best places to stay in, I would say New Zealand, let alone just the North Island (big-ups to the boyfriend’s parents for splashing out – loved every minute!). But we ain’t a travel blog here, we all about that foodie doodie goodness. So, let’s talk about The Punnet.

‘The Punnet’ is one of Hamilton’s true gems. I mean, I haven’t been to any other cafes there, but I can’t imagine it gets much better than this! You got the café, which serves up food with flavor profiles OFF THE CHARTS, they have a farm shop with everything that a middle-class mum would sell their soul for, they have a playground that even I, as a semi self-respecting 21-year-old, had to have a play on, AND you can pick strawberries. Pretty flipping dope place if you ask me.

Feeling very dusty after a BEAUTIFUL wedding and reception (shout-out to the gorgeous couple Nick & Sarah), around 50 of us filled the place and sat down for what I call a feast for the eyes, tummy, and soul. The menu was jam-packed with waaaaay too many mouth-watering meals, and in my hungover state, it was almost too much for my little head to handle. But, eventually, I made my own little eggs-avocado-spinach-salmon-toast situation. The eggs – poached to perfection, the avocado – soft, green, and with a little surprise sesame crunch, the salmon – crispy skinned and melt-in-the-mouth, the toast – well, toasty? They sadly forgot my spinach, which to be honest, I forgot I’d even ordered until I’d demolished the whole thing.

If I come back to Hamilton anytime soon – I KNOW I’m going to have to stop in here for breakfast, brunch, lunch, morning tea, afternoon tea – you name an occasion to eat, and I’ll come here for it. The cabinet had the most decadent pastries, cakes and sweets perfect for a snack, and stocked little savoury items like scones, paninis and bagels for those slightly-peckish-but-not-too-hungry-people. I think I’m going to have to award this people pleasing place a 9.5/10. ½ off top score solely for not being closer to Wellington. It is what it is, I don’t make the rules around here!

If you’re reading this – next time you go to Hamilton, you know where to go (I’m talking about The Punnet if it wasn’t clear enough yeah?).

Karacking Food With The Fam

Every student knows that the best feeling isn’t when you get an A, or when you smash that Kendrick rap verse – It’s when your parents come up for the weekend and pay for ya food. This weekend I was blessed with the parents visiting, and I had free reign of deciding where to go for lunch, dinner and brunch (F*ck yes.). Let’s start off with Saturday lunch eh? After having to grab an Uber from the airport for my parents because they refuse to download the app themselves (classic gen Y iPhone users), they treated us to a beautiful lunch at Karaka Café – which I guess you could say makes up for the whole Uber kerfuffle.

Karaka café is famous in wellington for being the peak summer location to sit back on a bean bag, drink in hand, soaking up the sun and beautiful surroundings. In winter this place can become a little sparse as it is mainly associated with the whole outdoor seating situation, but lemme tell you – they do not let the lull in customers or the slightly depressing wellington winter weather affect the quality of their food. No way hosé. This place is perfect for large groups as they have heaps of massive tables both inside and outside to park yourself at – which was lucky for us because our family is quite literally a small army. After being seated, we were tended to straight away. My drinks order was straightforward – coffee no.2 of the day to try and finally beat the overbearing hangover and shame from the night before (I’m sorry mum, I got a little too white girl wasted), however the food orders was a bloody ordeal and a half. They serve their brunch until 3pm which is dope as eggs is the hangover saviour, but their lunch mains also sounded like my migraine lord and saviour – so you can imagine I was in quite a pickle. In the end, the inner brit took over and I ordered their fish of the day serves with slaw, tartare sauce, and a MOUNTAIN of chips (again, F*ck yes.).

when the mains started coming out, food envy anxiety took over as my boyfriend had ordered the seafood chowder, and If you know me, you know seafood chowder is my weakness – no matter how fishy my breath will smell afterwards. But when my mass of a meal was placed in front of me, all envy was washed away, and I was one smug somebody indeed. The fish was lightly battered and crispy (yas), the chips copious and crunchy (yaaaassss!), the slaw fresh and flavourful (YASSS!), and the homemade tartare sauce tangy and tart (YAAAASSSS QUEEN!!!). Overall – a bloody brilliant plate of fish and chips that tickled my taste buds, stuffed my stomach, and put a smile on my dial. The rest of the food was equally as beautiful and yummy – seafood chowder, chicken pizza, chicken burger, calamari – everything was SUBLIME.

For my first time properly dining at Karaka and not just getting slowly sloshed outside on their beanbags, I am super-duper impressed. So, I think I would be an idiot to give them anything less than an 8.5/10 on the CCL scale. Their food was super yum and had heaps of variety, their service was tip top, location on point, and the cherry on the cake was that their menu followed their homage to Maori culture, with everything being in Maori with English translations – something that I feel many more cafes and public places should get on the bandwagon for! If you are looking to get your food fix with a big group of mates, or even if it’s just the two of you, definitely don’t overlook Karaka Café, as it may just have the perfect plate to fix your hunger cravings.

Cuisine Française à Gisborne?

Gisborne doing cuisine other than all sauces? I am shocked to say that it turns out Gisborne does have a little international culture! My little tiki tour trip to Gizzy happened to coincide with the famous French Bastille day – which I’ve never personally celebrated before, but apparently the people from Gisborne are all for it! The Marina Restaurant is Gisborne’s only French restaurant, and every year they hold a HUGE degustation dinner full of famous French dishes to celebrate Bastille day. My bf’s parents ended up buying us tickets – and who would turn down an opportunity to drink and taste some of the best French food, whilst also in French dress-up? Certainly not me, that’s for sure! So, we donned our berets and off we went to have a super dope degustation dinner.

As we walked in to the beautiful Marina restaurant, my eyes were instantly drawn to the MASSIVE croquembouche in the middle of the room, and I could tell this was going to be one hella good foodie night. The set menu was laid out on the table, with drink suggestions paired with each dish. A few of us on the table were vegetarian or vegan, and it was awesome to see that the chefs had created special versions of the set menu just for our dietary requirements.

After buying a few bottles of fancy French wine (which my bf and I probably drank waaay to much of), we were presented with our first course: escargot. I have never tried snails before, and the idea of trying it is a little off-putting, however these were paired with a super good basil pesto and toasted bruschetta which made them taste fabulous! The next course was a delicious French onion soup (very fitting) with toasted cheesy croutons which made the dish go from a 10 to a solid 11/10. After that we had a few more bottles of wine – which were also downed very fast by my boyfriend and I – and a cheeky little palette cleanser of a gin and quince sorbet which was superbly refreshing and tasty, and prepared our taste buds for the main course event. The set menu had duck confit as their main, however my boyfriend and I are pescatarian, so they whipped up a lush poached fish dish that was to die for – the fish was perfectly flaky, paired with a tangy lemon sauce and crunchy seasonal veg, you can’t fault it! For the dessert they served up a little buffet with apple Tarte Tatin, opera cake, and of course the prized Croquembouche. The Tatin was fruity and sweet, the Opera cake rich and moreish, and the Choux buns from the Croquembouche crunchy on the outside and filled with a delicious crème patisserie – each dish executed perfectly.

The evening was definitely one that I won’t forget – and I’m kind of surprised I still remember it after all the wine I had! Both the chefs and the FOH at the Marina really put on a show for bastille day, and because of their fantastical food, perfectly paired drinks and the pièce de résistance croquembouche – I have to award them an 8/10 on the CCL scale. I experienced this place when they were all putting on their best fare, however I am sure that on any normal day or evening the food, service and ambience would still boast that true classic continental charm.

Bin There, Done That

Date night without the date? Sounds like a fab excuse to go wining and dining – even if I am third-wheeling! GrabOne once again saved our undecisive and cheap asses when it came to choosing where to eat, and we ended up getting a super spicy deal; $120 worth of food for ONLY $60 at Welly waterfronts famous Bin 44 restaurant.

As we ambled up to the restaurant, I realised that I actually have been here before – so this review is not original content (sorry not sorry) – but you can go checkout that review on my insta if you want OG material. From my memories of this place, the food is mean and the drinks that they pair with the courses are delicious and complement the flavours perfectly, so that made me even more hungry to try their delicious fare. We were met with super friendly staff, who gave us recommendations on drinks and which meals to try (again helping out our indecisive asses), and thus began our quest to find the food that fixes our hunger pains.

I managed to suss a mate to come to dinner with us so I wasn’t third wheeling too hard, and we all decided to get things that we could all share (#cutecouplethings) – which MAY have ended up being a mistake. We ended up getting their prawn pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, burger, calamari, sticky ribs, and garlic ciabatta. It definitely fed us up good – but the meals lacked a little lustre for me. I was excited for their pizzas as they had such a variety of flavours, however when trying them they reminded me of something you could buy for $7 at the supermarket. Their calamari was super tasty and not AT ALL rubbery; but again it could’ve used some paprika or chilli seasoning just to pack that extra spicy punch. The rest of the food was pretty standard – nothing too ground-breaking – but it did the job and filled our bellies!

I have to say after the first time coming here, I had set some higher standards, however they were definitely not met this time coming here. Piling all aspects of our evening here, I rate Bin 44 a 6/10 on the CCL scale. Their staff were really lovely, but sadly that doesn’t make up for the mediocre food that we were served – minus the calamari as that boosted their rating. I feel like if I had chosen their main meals I might’ve experienced better food as I have had their mains before and LOVED them – however they should be consistent across the board and make their starters and share plates just as mouth-watering. I’m glad that we used a voucher when paying for the meals here, because I would not pay full price for the average pizza that we got! I think I would like to go back for a third time (third time lucky amirite?) and try their lunch or brunch options – gotta give them the benefit of the doubt, right? I think this place does have potential, and if you do go dining there PLEASE save yourself the disappointment and choose a main meal. I would totally recommend checking out GrabOne for dinner ideas – everybody wants to save some pocket but also live the boujee lifestyle, and with heaps of restaurants and spicy vouchers, GrabOne finally lets you be that little bit extra!

Date Night At Dockside

Hello everyone, how are we?? It has been a god damn MINUTE since I’ve made a blog post, but Uni is over for this trimester and I no longer have to feel bad about choosing blogging over assignments! It’s been a blooming busy time, and I have been to so many places that I’ve been dying to blog about – but we gotta prioritise the places I’ve been, and holy moly did I have some incredible eats last Thursday that I NEED to tell you about. So, everybody knows that GrabOne can come up crops with their deals once in a while, and whilst doing my usual trawl, a voucher for Dockside worth $70 of food for only $35 popped up on my screen. The deal was way too good to miss; so being the loving girlfriend I am, I sneakily bought it as a surprise date for my boyfriend and me.

The surprise worked! He totally didn’t guess it but was super stoked when we waltzed up to the doors, because we both knew we were in for a good feed (even better that it was half price!). We were seated right by the window looking out onto Wellingtons beautiful city and docks, which created the perfect date night ambience – cheers dockside staff! Feeling a little bit fancy, we both decided to ditch the beer bottles and treat ourselves to a glass of wine to have with our meal – who says students can’t be classy? It was now time to choose our main courses and I’m not joking when I say I think I left a bit of drool on the menu… each dish made my mouth water! After a long hard struggle, I went for their salmon, mussel and potato chowder served with house-made ciabatta, and my boyfriend chose the pan-seared salmon with broccoli and tempura prawns.

Oh man the FLAVOURS. Kudos to the chefs at Dockside because they know their combinations! My chowder was tantalisingly creamy, filled to the brim with perfectly cooked seafood, and dark crunchy ciabatta to dunk right in to soak up every last drop. My boyfriend’s salmon was also seared to perfection, alongside crunchy veg and crispy prawns – all tied together with a curve-ball of a satay sauce – it made for an absolutely gorgeous feast. Even though the desserts sounded to-die-for, we decided to save a bit of pocket and head to enigma for a cup of tea and a huge portion of their yummy apple and berry slice – which I also highly recommend!

If you’re a GrabOne go-getter like me, or always down for a discount – I totally recommend getting your hands on these vouchers before they are all snatched up, so you can taste for yourself their fabulous food! I’m giving Dockside a well-deserved 9/10 for my experience there. Their food was beautiful, their drinks list abundant, their location is stunning, and their staff are all friendly and professional. All this made for a date night that I’ll never forget – and one that I’m pretty sure my boyfriend will find hard to top!

Hula at The Lula

I don’t know if you heard, but Ed Sheeran arrived in New Zealand a few weeks ago to conclude his ‘Divide’ tour, and as proud fans of this ginger guitar guru my Mum, my sister and I all flew up to the big smoke, Auckland, to admire his craft in the flesh. Of course, when you travel to a new city, there are three main must-do’s; explore the area, drop tonnes of money on shopping, and most importantly check out their food scene. Auckland has an incredible number of cafes, restaurants and bars that are all influenced by a variety of different cultures and cuisines – which made choosing a place to wine and dine for our Friday night dinner immensely difficult! After about an hour of trawling Zomato and other foodie platforms, we all came to an agreement to check out one of Auckland harbours hot-spots; The Lula Inn.

We didn’t really know what to expect with this place, after a few scrolls through their menu, gallery and tags on Instagram we managed to gage a vague idea of the vibe at The Lula Inn, however we completely underestimated the sheer buzz of this place. The restaurant is split into various little sections; with a dance floor and stage as you enter, an epic bar stacked with various alcohol, and then their dining area with indoor and outdoor tables. During the day I could imagine this place is a hip little lunch spot, but at night it transforms into a bustling social scene. This place gives off a South-Pacific style ambience with its botanical décor, dim mood lighting, and loud hip music; it’s a tropical dining paradise!

Since it was a girl’s night out (and mum was paying), cocktails were a must. Every time I have a cocktail, I like to try new flavours and combinations that I wouldn’t usually go for – however the possibility of getting a cocktail that I don’t like frightens me a little! All concerns aside, I crossed my fingers and ordered their ‘Golden Ivy’ rum-based tropical cocktail. A massive weight was lifted off my shoulders as I sipped this concoction, as it was mind-blowingly delicious and punchy, with a perfect mix of sweet passionfruit and sour limes – all topped off with a warm touch of white rum. Deciding on my dinner was less risky due to all the options sounding delectable, and as we had done so much pre-dining research I already had an idea of what my tummy was craving – their prawn and scampi spaghetti. I will always choose seafood above anything else on a menu, and the chef at The Lula Inn certainly did not disappoint my fishy taste buds by serving perfectly Aldante pasta smothered in a rich garlic burnt butter sauce that was laced with beautiful freshly caught prawns and scampi. This dish made my tummy and tongue want to sing ‘under the sea’ with how utterly gorgeous it tasted!

The first night in the big city with my mother and sister was made perfect by coming to this harbour-side haven. The ambiance was vibrant and loud which created the perfect environment to enjoy punchy cocktails and drool-worthy dinners. Putting my criteria to the test, I can confidently rate The Lula Inn a solid 8.8/10. With an endless drinks menu, tantalizing food menu, and a live DJ followed by a local band performing, this place created not only a cheerful and poppy atmosphere, but some exceptional dining memories. I had high hopes for the hospitality industry of Auckland from reading fellow foodie blog posts and social media updates – and my expectations were more than exceeded with the service I was given at The Lula Inn.

A Fiftieth Foxglove Feast

Birthdays are a joyous occasion to throw away a little cash with friends and family and celebrate, however it’s not every day you turn 50, so to commemorate my Dad’s 50^th, we pulled out all the stops! My parents had traipsed up to Wellington for Dad’s birthday as my siblings and I all live here, therefore us kids were restlessly researching places to take our dad to properly toast the big 5-0. We wanted somewhere with a drool-worthy menu, a classy ambiance, and one with great views and good reviews. After pretty much trawling through the whole internet, we all decided that the place that best met our tough criteria was; Foxglove.

Toad-ally Delicious

Motueka is a bustling little town that really draws in the people, especially in the summer season. The town has only got even more popular over the years, and to cope with the constant demands for fresh beautiful food and treats, there has been a crazy increase in the number of cafes and restaurants. One of the original players in Motueka’s hospitality game is Toad Hall, which was the perfect place for me to take my two wellington visitors experiencing a slice of South Island life.

Wine and Dine on the Water

We were met with a little mid-week surprise last week – our family friends from Scotland who told us they were coming at the end of February decided to arrive a month early! Naturally, when guests come over you must show them the local hot-spots and hidden hideaways that makes our beautiful Tasman region an even more desirable place to come visit or live. For our guests’ last night of their stay in Nelson, we took them out to a restaurant that we hold very dear to our hearts and tummies; The Boat Shed.