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Friday, August 28, 2009

The Weta Cave and Cafe Polo, Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand



Precioussss...... my precioussss

It's hard to think about New Zealand without remembering the dramatic scenery from The Lord of the Rings. And whilst downtown Wellington is perfectly compact and flat for the tourist on foot, you will need wheels to take in the more dramatic ocean views and ascend the steep hills around the city.


The Plate-mobile

Enter the Plate-mobile. After completing the behind-the-scenes tour of Floriditas Bakery, I met up with Brad from Positively Wellington Tourism for a scenic drive in the company car temporarily embellished with Wellington on a Plate stickers. It was only a few minutes on the road before we hit crystal clear stretches of water, steep cliffs, lush green hills and pretty pastel cottages along the beach.

And along the way Brad pointed out the coolest thing I saw in Wellington...


Personal cable cars!

Yes personal cable cars! Because many houses sit on top of steep hills and downtown Wellington is in the valley below, some people have installed their own cable car which is used to get themselves and their shopping bags home without a car.

Apparently some people will share a cable car with their neighbour if they're closeby, but the maintenance is quite expensive, and they need to be serviced at least once a year. We passed at least a dozen sets of cable car tracks, but I think the biggest track is this one:


Giant cable car track

Imagine the friends you'd make at school with your own cable car ride!


Weta Cave

Our travels took us the Weta Cave in Miramar, the free mini-museum that features props, costumes, weapons and merchandise from the movies Weta has worked on over the years. Its project history is impressive, most notably the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Samurai, Master & Commander, Hell Boy, Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners and the soon-to-be-released Avatar (in production).


The Samaritan - Hellboy's Gun from Hell Boy 2004

A free 20-minute behind-the-scenes video screens every half hour in the theatrette. It's a fascinating look at the range and depth of skills and expertise found within the Weta Workshop. The company is involved with conceptual design, costuming, props, weapons, make-up and special effects. There are specialists in bronze casting, prosthetics (using foam latex, gelatin and silicon), sculpting, miniature model making, 3D printing, painting, hammered armour and chainmaille.

The deliberately low-budget video is charming in its humility, presented by Weta co-founders Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger and Jamie Selkirk but featuring plenty of footage of genuinely happy and laughing staff.


Lord of the Rings Collectibles

More than 185 different Lord of the Rings collectable sculptures were produced - they are now completely sold out.


Peregrin Took, Bilbo Baggins and Meriadoc Brandybuck collectable sculptures


Gimli puppet - used as a double for Gimli in
Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring
when he is in the boat going down the River Anduin


Gollum

We stop for lunch at Cafe Polo, only a few streets away. It's a buzzy cafe that's overflowing with couples and families. Brad gets the Wellington on a Plate $25 set-menu (two courses with a glass of wine and tea/coffee) whilst I order from the lunch menu.


Cream of cauliflower soup with Olivo porcini-infused
extra virgin olive oil (from Martinborough)

The cream of cauliflower soup is silky smooth with a deliciously nutty flavour. There's a lovely sense of richness without it being too overly heavy.


Homemade potato gnocchi with blue cheese,
roast portobello mushrom and baby spinach

Homemade potato gnocchi nubs have been boiled and then pan-fried to a golden caramelised edge. The dab of blue cheese nestled on top is not overly strong, and disappointingly not swirled throughout the sauce. A giant roasted portobello mushroom adds a fragrant earthiness to the dish.


Porkpie Ploughman's Platter $16

I've gone for the Ploughman's Platter with a homemade pork pie. The pork pies are made by co-owner Valentina Dias' other company, Pudding Lane.


Inside the pork pie

The cold pork pie is a rich parcel of thick pastry encasing cooked pork set with pork jelly. I'm not normally used to eating such a large portion of pork pie - usually a wedge or two is all I can manage. I can only eat a quarter, although my rather large breakfast from that morning may have also had something to do with it.

I do dig into the locally-made Kapiti Tuteremoana mature cheddar which has a lovely crumbly texture and bite. It goes well with the thick slices of homemade bread, pickled onions, dill pickle and the sweet tang of onion relish.


Chocolate coconut rough

I'm impressed by the biscuits and slices in the window, all of which look homemade. "Oh yes, we make them all in our kitchen," co-owner and chef David Thurlow confirms.

"We don't get that in Sydney," I lament to Brad. Too often, it seems, Sydney cafes are filled with the same drudgery of desserts trucked in en-masse. It's something I find increasingly endearing about Wellington - that everyone seems to take such pride in everything they do, from the locally-sourced food to the homemade desserts to the hand-picked quirky furnishings in so many cafes, bistros and restaurants.


Lemon slice (halved)

We grab dessert to takeaway, sharing a lemon slice and nabbing a chocolate afghan each. At Floriditas, we were told that chocolate afghans are their biggest selling line by far. The rest of the tour attendees, all Kiwis, nodded in agreement. "Err... what's a chocolate afghan again?" I'd asked Julie.


Chocolate afghan

Chocolate afghans, it becomes apparent, are the national biscuit of New Zealand. Aussies have Anzac biscuits; the Kiwis have chocolate afghans. I make sure I get my hands on a homemade Chocolate Afghan to try one for myself.

It's a soft chunky chocolate biscuit with surprise pockets of crunch from the cornflakes mixed throughout. A dollop of chocolate icing and a walnut is apparently essential. The icing adds sweetness, tempered by the slight bitterness of the walnut.

I also quite like the lemon slice, the lemon topping like a tangy cooked lemon curd on a light biscuit base.

Time to dig out the trusty Edmonds Cookery Book and whip up my own chocolate afghans soon!


Wellington on a Plate runs from 17-30 August 2009. Next year's festival dates have already been confirmed as 14-29 August 2010.

Grab Your Fork dined at Cafe Polo as a guest of Positively Wellington Tourism for Wellington on a Plate. For more information on Wellington, check out http://www.wellingtonnz.com.




View Larger Map
Cafe Polo on Urbanspoon

Cafe Polo
84 Rotherham Terrace, Miramar
(corner of Para Street)
Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: +64 (04) 380 7273

Opening hours:
Breakfast and lunch
Monday + Wednesday to Saturday from 8am
Sunday from 9am

Dinner
Wednesday to Saturday from 5.30pm

Closed on Tuesdays


View The Weta Group in a larger map

The Weta Cave
2 Weka Street
(corner of Camperdown Rd and Weka St)
Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Open seven days a week, 9am - 5.30pm

Go back to Wellington on a Plate Day OneRead the next Wellington on a Plate entry
Read about my Wellington eats in 2007
11 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 8/28/2009 12:57:00 am


11 Comments:

  • At 8/28/2009 9:52 am, Anonymous chocolatesuze said…

    that gollum statue freaks me out. its his eyes. look at his eyes! almost as freaky as the eyes on the eating world logo...

     
  • At 8/28/2009 10:15 am, Anonymous Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said…

    That opening photo is a touch frightening! :P Afghans are absolutely delicious but I have heard from trusted sources (i.e. NZ bloggers) that the Ladies a Plate recipe is better than the hallowed Edmonds cookbook one. I made them on the blog using the Ladies A Plate recipe a few months ago and I have to say they were scoffed down within seconds and the whole lot disappeared before I could have more! :(

     
  • At 8/28/2009 10:22 am, Blogger Stephcookie said…

    Ooh I love afghan cookies! How fantastic that they were all made in-house, I wish they did that more in Sydney :( I totally want my own personal cable car, how cool is that?!

     
  • At 8/28/2009 12:42 pm, Blogger RedsGirl said…

    NZers have ANZACS too you know, hence the NZ part, but yes Afghans you don't see in too many other places (belgian biscuits are the other fav). I'd agree that the Edmonds recipe needs some tweaking - my Mum says it doesn't have enough butter in it. I love Wellington, I lived there quite a bit growing up (including Miramar) and it is so different now to what it was then but it's a city with so much character. Am very much enjoying your Wellington on a Plate series!

     
  • At 8/28/2009 1:12 pm, Anonymous clekitty said…

    Ah, it is a NZ tradition (well amongst my circle..) that the Edmonds cookbook will be given to anyone who decides to go flatting. I made a mental note to bring mine over when I moved here to Sydney. It just reminds me of "home". Afghans are yummy aren't they? Reading this blog post makes me feel like baking some when I get home tonight!! I don't know if your a fan of McDonalds but you should try their McBagels for breakfast. I miss them! Also, have you tried the Pacific Rose apples? They are NZ apples and they are sooo yummy. You've got me missing home so much now!! :P

     
  • At 8/28/2009 4:33 pm, Blogger dmb said…

    Cafe Polo is a fantastic wee gem of a place - definitely worth the trip to Miramar! The owners and staff do seem to take pride in the place and put a lot of effort into providing good quality food. They haven't been opened that long really and they have already featured in a number of foodie mags including vogue entertaining! Not bad for a local cafe eh?!

    By the way - the pork pies and the choc afghans are AWESOME!!!!!!

     
  • At 8/28/2009 10:31 pm, Blogger A cupcake or two said…

    The roast portobello mushrom look so delicious. I'm not a big fan of blue cheese but I would certainly try that dish.

     
  • At 8/29/2009 1:08 am, Anonymous Trisha said…

    So many amazing things in New Zealand! Have only been to Auckland but would love to visit the South Island as well. Oh and yes am big fan of Lord of the Rings so got really fascinated with the sight of Gollum on the first photo!! On the topic of food, I'm now very curious about the afghan. It looks delicious and I'm always a big fan of moreish choc cookies!

     
  • At 8/29/2009 7:30 am, Anonymous Simon said…

    WETA studios is in Wellington. I've always wanted to go there just to visit and catch up with some friends. The museum would be so interesting!

    The personal cable car is an interesting thing to. I've seen one of those in Sydney.

     
  • At 8/29/2009 1:36 pm, Anonymous Howard said…

    I love a good ploughman's lunch, the platter looks good!

    The homemade cakes are a nice touch, your right about most things here in Syd being mass produced. With all the surrounding cafes near my office in the CBD, all the muffins and banana breads etc all taste the same!

     
  • At 8/30/2009 1:28 am, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi chocolatesuze - lol. They were freaky. The eyes seemed to follow you around in the museum!

    Hi Lorraine - Thanks for the tip. Will have to check out both recipes!

    Hi Stephcookie - Yes I want my own cable car too! I wish we had more homemade cafe cakes in Sydney too...

    Hi RedsGirl - Oh yes of course Kiwis are part of the Anzac tradition, but it seemed as though afghans were more the national biscuit. I did notice Belgian biscuits too and was intrigued. Glad you're enjoying the series - still plenty more to come!

    Hi clekitty - I hope I didn't make you too homesick! Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to try the Pacific Rose apples which is a shame.

    Hi dangermouse71 - Great to see that Cafe Polo has a fan in you! I think that Wellington has amazing cafes everywhere - you guys really are spoilt for choice!

    Hi A Cupcake or Two - Blue cheese is definitely an acquired taste, but once you get the taste for it, you can't stop! I always tell people to start with a blue brie, then move onto Blue Costello. The mushroom was fantastic.

    Hi Trisha - There a quite a few afghan recipe on the web (I've already looked!). It's funny that I've only been to NZ twice and both times it's been Wellington only!

    Hi Simon - Weta looks like an amazing company to work for. The museum is quite tiny but the video was interesting and it was all free. Yay! I'm sure your friends would be able to get you a true behind-the-scenes tour!

    Hi Howard - I agree, a ploughman's lunch can be a great feed! I do get sad when I start to recognise the same cakes and slices everywhere :(

     

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