Cafe Bastille, Wellington

Rustic salad of confit duck, pigs ears, apple,
bleu d'auvergne and toasted walnuts NZ$15.90

It takes me a while to realise that the super crunchy crispy garnish atop my rustic salad of duck, apple and walnuts is not crackling, but deep-fried pigs ears, and how good they are.

I end up at Cafe Bastille on a Thursday evening, pleased that not only will I be treated to an evening of free jazz, but I've also scored front row seats to it, the two musicians unpacking their instruments right in front of my table.

My entree doesn't take long to arrive, and it doesn't too long to finish either. Softly poached apples frame an autumnal salad of baby spinach leaves, crunchy walnuts, tufts of blue cheese and a nest of aforementioned pigs ears. The pigs ears have been deep-fried to a pleasing crunch, and although a little chewy, a delicious if a little rich.


Breast of duck with kumera soufflé, red wine sauce NZ$29.90

The duck theme continues with my main, tender slices of duck breast fanned beside a squat mound of kumera mash garnished with wafer thin slices of crisp pear. Plump red cranberries huddle at the base of the duck mountain, a stain of red wine and berry sauce balancing the richness of duck flesh, fat and skin.


Double baked citrus soufflé, berry coulis NZ$13.90

Dessert is a simple citrus souffle, generous with the use of peel and warm and moist from its second baking.

It's hard to describe the simple delight of the evening. I loved the decor, with its earthy coloured walls and vintage prints of food advertisements lining the walls. There was a raft of tantalising options on the menu, all plated with love and affection. I loved the jazz music as well as the supplementing soundtrack of jazz and swing. And the service was warm and friendly, with every diner treated just like a loyal local.



Cafe Bastille
16 Majoribanks Street, Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: +64 (04) 382 9559

Monday to Saturday 5.30pm - late





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Schoc Chocolates, Wellington

Chilli hot chocolate

Smoked paprika, sweet basil or olive?

I'm a bit like a kid in a candy store, except I'm in a chocolate store, and I'm in Schoc.

Schoc Chocolates do amazing things with chocolate, and this little cafe not far from Te Papa, was near the top of my list of Things To Do In Wellington.

It's a cosy little shop that greets me: silver counter cafe at the front, chocolate-filled cabinets out the back. My chilli hot chocolate is rich with cocoa, decadently creamy and has a potent chilli afterkick. The silver metal spoon is necessary for the dregs of chocolate at the bottom. It doubles as a funky straw as well.


Schoc chocolate tablets: sea salt bittersweet, olive, lime chilli,
strawberry and black pepper, schocbittersweet, and Earl Grey tea

And then there's the chocolate. I spend about ten minutes at the counter, deliberating over a whole smorgasboard of choices that run from sweet to savoury.

I come away with a bounty of chocolate tablets. The lime chilli is particularly spicy, sharp with the taste of lime and almost peppery hot in aftertaste. The sea salt bittersweet is particularly intriguing, leaving an unusual slippery residue on the tongue. Earl Grey tea is full of bergamot aroma and flavour.

Strawberry and black pepper isn't as sweet as I'd expect, although the bits of dried strawberry are genuine and always a welcome surprise. The schocbittersweet is earthy and intense with cocoa solids of 76.5%.

But my favourite is actually the olive dark chocolate. There's a slight salty oiliness to the chocolate, but it's evenly balanced and the bits of black olive are strangely addictive. It's bizarre but it works.

And that shouldn't be such a shock afterall.



Schoc Chocolates
11 Tory Street, Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: +64 (04) 382 8907

Monday to Friday 7.30am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm





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Wellington, NZ - Simply Paris
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SMH Good Food Guide Awards 2008

I don't tend to frequent hatted restaurants very often, but the announcement of the annual SMH Good Food Guide Awards is always worth a gander.

It was a pleasant surprise to see a few personal favourites finally reach (or reclaim) one-hat status. Warm congratulations are extended to Oscillate Wildly and Perama, as well as Glebe Point Diner and Three Clicks West, all championing great food in Sydney's inner west.

Commiserations to Bathers' Pavilion, La Sala and Three Weeds, who all lost their one hat status.


Three hats
Bilson's, Claude's, est, Marque, Pier, Quay, Tetsuya's

Two hats
Aria, Becasse, Bentley Restaurant & Bar, Bisto Moncur, Buon Ricordo, Forty One (+1), Guillaume at Bennelong (-1), Icebergs Dining Room & Bar, Lucio's, Pilu at Freshwater, Restaurant Balzac (+1), Rockpool, Sean's Panaroma, Yoshii

One hat
Assiette, Astral, Azuma (+1), Billy Kwong, Bird Cow Fish, Bistro CBD, Bistro Ortolan (+1), Bistrode, The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay, buzo, Catalina, Fish Face, Flying Fish, Forbes & Burton, Four in Hand Dining Room (+1), Foveaux Restaurant + Bar (+1), Galileo, glass (+1), Glebe Point Diner (+1), Grand National, il piave, Longrain, Lotus, Milsons, Oscillate Wildly (+1), Otto, Pello (-1), Perama (+1), Pier Tasting Room (-1), Restaurant Atelier, Salon Banc (+1), Restuarant Soujourn, Sailors Thai Restaurant, The Wharf, Three Clicks West (+1), Yings

Restaurant of the Year
Tetsuya's

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The Tasting Room, Wellington

Ostrich carpaccio $18.00
Finely sliced ostrich fillet with an orange and basil salad

One of my favourite Wellington meals.

I had been lured to the Tasting Room by its menu, primarily by the allure of an ostrich carpaccio, something I had never tasted before. Cooked emu - yes, raw ostrich - not yet.

It didn't take long for my salad to arrive. Wafer thin slices of raw ostrich were fanned out in a circle, surrounded by golden green orbs of olive oil punctuated with commas of balsamic. Peeled orange segements nestled amidst a pile of salad greens.



Wow. Mouthfuls of rich gamey ostrich married wonderfully with the swirls of olive oil and sweetness of caramelised balsamic. The orange added lightness and refreshment, the salad leaves some welcome texture. The deep-fried capers were my favourite: crunchy and salty they shattered on the tongue with an audible crackle.

An unbelievable flavour combination. I'm still drooling at the memory.



The Tasting Room
2 Courtenay Place, Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: +64 (04) 384 1159

Open for lunch and dinner 7 days
Brunch available on weekends






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Wellington, NZ - Simply Paris
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