Stew and I did breakfast at Zarbo, and I'm so delighted with the dish I ordered. Often I look at what others order and wish I'd chosen differently, but not this time...
Sweet French Toast with cinnamon, poached fruit and berry coulis
Oh my, that French toast - crispy, spicy, drenched in syrup... a breakfast dream on a plate. All for $13.50. We do breakfast rather well here in enzed don't we? This plate of food had lots of the things I love about breakfast in New Zealand. Freshly poached fruit with zing, punchy spices, warm and comforting. Simple, uncomplicated, just well-cooked and hot. Plenty of salty moist bacon, streaky but not cooked within an inch of its life. And don't hold back on the carbs - oh, I love those carbs. A plentiful serve of toast. Creme fraiche on the side, you can see I'm a dairy-holic as well as a sweet freak.
A recent revelation to me was how much better French Toast is when made with French Bread... but then I always was quite slow. Don't add too much milk to the eggs - about 1 tbsp per egg - and cut the bread on a diagonal so you get plenty of surface area. Spice it well with cinnamon or allspice. Dip it both sides: I let it soak for a bit. And then fry in NZ butter. If you don't have pears or apples for the poached fruit, just add half a banana to the pan with the bacon. It all cooks fast and within 10 minutes you'll be upending the maple syrup bottle for that finishing touch. Add Sunday newspaper, home made plunger coffee and you'll have something almost as good as Zarbo's.....
Thanks to the staff and the boss who were prepared to risk me taking photos of their place - I have a deal with Mark, the owner, that if I win "NZ's best food blogger" on the strength of my visit to Zarbo, I'll take him to the Rick Stein show in early August. He's keen... as am I.
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