Karen’s Bday in South America -ole!

SISTER ANN’S REVIEW: I have lived in Rotorua for way too many years to remember and I have never dined at the Latin American Sabroso Licensed Restaurant, 1184 Haupapa St . It was full and we had been warned we may need to come back for our table. what? in Rotorua? what an eye-opener! I can see what people like about it. The ambience is that of a warm kitchen in your grandmother’s farm house. Eclectic furniture a la ‘Fat Dog Café’ and a warm glow about the place . The owners are the chef (out the back-never saw him) and a gorgeous Canadian woman not unlike Charlie Sheen’s housekeeper but pretty like an English one-all rosy and busy. well enough of the atmosphere. To the food…cannot for the life of me remember what I had but it was darned tasty. Latin American cowboy food I’d guess. Served on big pottery plates with a beautiful blue border. The colours were spectacular. I had the Argentinean Style Steak -  Grilled 250 gram rib eye, chimichurri sauce, green salad, seasoned roasted potatoes, sour cream I enjoyed it. I do not like to cook, I like to eat and anyone capable of fixing a very good steak has my vote of thanks. The spicy Latin American sauce made it!  The desserts were creamy and old fashioned. The Mexican Chocolate Cup- A rich and dense cold chocolate dessert spiced with cinnamon and cayenne chili, topped with whipped cream. Wow! I had the  Sabroso Sundae -   Delicious Vanilla bean ice cream topped with Latin caramel and whipped cream… and it was.

AMBIENCE  7/10                    SERVICE  8/10                       FOOD  7/10

Korean BBQ

(Guest blogger Sister Ann) Spent the day at Palmerston North yesterday visiting my son Luke with son Harry and exchange student Kathrine from Denmark. We went to the Korean BBQ Restaurant and had a fab meal! What value!?? $116 for 4 mains and 3 entrees and 3 cokes. Not exactly a Metro Magazine food review - but if you want a nutritious tasty meal at a really great price I  totally recommend it! Luke had the Eel and it was sweet and exotic. I had pork belly and enjoyed it…. Kathrine and Harry has squid …a little rubbery but they finished their plates. And remember Korean cabbage pickle was voted in 2009- the most healthy food on the planet. By whom I do not know!! Who can remember details like that.

I'm lucky to have a cook for a husband

The scenario:
Swiming squad at 5.30pm, rush to the bank by 6.45, stray into the shops and suddenly realise I'm late getting home.
But the wonderful husband meanwhile has cooked dinner, part of which is scalloped potato served in my new red mini casserole dishes and placed on some of my prototype cork placemats.

Noice!... (that's "nice" with a new zealand accent..)

Oh I'm in coffee heaven

Just look what I have this morning ...

the most beautiful little black and gold cups, halva and Arabic coffee.

The coffee is hot, sweet and strong and Maryna - Stewart's newest employee - has brought some Arabic coffee which is flavoured with cardamom.

Where is our nearest Arabic shop!? I'm suddenly a black coffee drinker!

'Simmering' Yum Cha

YUM! Cha

SISTER ANN’S REVIEW: hi Chris-this is a pictorial review of 'Simmering' in Eruera Street, Rotorua. Yum cha (simplified Chinese: 饮茶; traditional Chinese: �茶), also known as Ban ming (品茗), is a dining experience which involves drinking Chinese tea and eating dim sum dishes. Yum cha in Cantonese literally means "drink tea". That was the wikipedia summation of Yum Cha. Is that it? That is not enough! YUM YUMMMMM yumm CHAAAAA!!! That is more helpful . I have been waiting til I can return. I LOVED it! Is it too early to return to a restaurant with a one day gap? Sister Ann, guest reviewer. Christine is busy getting together her new showing at the Gift show in August so she gave me the reins. Whoaaaaaa.

AMBIENCE  4/10                    SERVICE  8/10                       FOOD  9/10

I must admit I do feel guilty for man-handling Stewart's salad (see before
and after) but everyone at the party thought it was a better, more
attractive, more popular salad than mine. mine is the one in the aluminum
bowl. In hindsight I like his more too. Sister ann Gracious of you... Christine

Guest posting from Ann in Rotorua

Nanna and I went to 'The 3rd Place' a café where all the profit goes to charity.
It is always full and the atmosphere is busy, clean and 'Christian'...
cleanliness is next to Godliness. I say this seriously not as a joke. Nana had 'the usual' - a scone and a cup of coffee (anything that is made to resemble an instant black coffee). The cheese scone was "crunchy on the outside and doughy in the middle" but looked absolutely gorgeous, if that matters.
My heated Roast Vegetable salad was perfect.

The thing I like is; the staff are adorable and concerned, and not unlike mothers dressed up as waitresses. You half expect them to ask if they can band aid your finger and darn a sock while you are waiting for your order. I 'bagged' a custard square for Harry and he said " it was fabulous!"

I'm sure Dee Pascoe works there... she used to sell cars.

True Farmer's market, roadside

This is the way to go... can't get fresher and you just know not many people have handled it and breathed on it.
Pumpkin Pie here we come... by the way, add orange zest to the pumpkin fillling for real winter luxury.

Vinnie you can live with us

because Vinnie you have all the best friends (like Oli), and a father who gives us his very own wild duck salami

A certain advantage to offspring

some of them bring home crayfish.
Oh yeah, oh my, oh boy.

 Charlie thought she had a new friend

 and then she licked it

and then we did.

Chargrilled with horseradish and lime, served with Caesar salad and who could ask for anything else!?

persimmons

Just in case you never saw a persimmon tree in fruit.

Big Fat Dog

One of the fave things to do is visit Big Fat Dog (the Big is mine....)
Breakfast Sunday was all the excuse we needed.

Fat Dog's a bit of a Rotorua institution - hard to get a table on a weekend, but the coffe and the portion sizes are worth the wait

my grandmother is a legend

Birthday time in Rotorua and while the food at the Dinstinction Hotel is nothing to write home about, it's clean and the staff are attentive and although we were the only people there for lunch, the 2 wait staff were patient and made the birthday lunch relaxed and enjoyable.

beaut burgers, inexpensive, fresh, delicimo

 so much fish and chips that a 97-year-old couldn't eat it all. Nothing left though.... Scrummy!

sensational big pots of mussels

How long since I saw banana split on a  menu? Years and years.

Best price on Moet in the whole wide world

Go Public! This sweet bar on Courtenay Place charmed us with the decor, the lovely music and the sensational price on Moet. $50 per bottle - we were sold. Or was that bought?

 

Jelly airplanes

Woop woop Air NZ!
Flew down to Wellington with Flipping what's their name? Jetstarve...
BUY a coffee? Not likely... 30 minutes check-in? Get a life...
Boring in-flight magazine? Keep it!
But AIR NEW ZEALAND on the other hand, on the way back today, had a choice of 3 treats - biscuit, pretzels or jet planes. Free. With tea or coffee. Also free. Yay! Stew was so sick from dinner out last night that he couldn't eat his. So I had them. And I love Kia Ora in-flight mag - I always pull out several articles to share with people.

I must admit to being a little bemused by the safety message delivered on-screen by Richard Simmonds ... quite bizarre. The staff stood rather grimly through it, when all we wanted was for them to join in. DO THE PONY! A little pre-flight 70's aerobics? All they needed was the bright lycra, a few sequins and big hair. Come on hosties, be a sport!

At least we no longer have to imagine them in nothing but body paint....

Bees can't be ignored, honey

Are you noticing articles cropping up in unlikely places lately, about honey bees?

Turns out (to those of us who didn't realise) that these small fellas are pretty darned important. Not only are we seeing a rise in home bee-keeping, but there are examples like the team of 4 girls from Oturu School (Far North of NZ). At this school the environment plays a big part in learning. Pupils sell produce from their bees and trees and olive pressings. The girl-team are making their way to take part in an international problem-solving competition  at the University of Wisconsin, after winning a place in a national competition. Their idea is to educate people about the importance of bees so that the dwindling populations of honey bees can be revived in New Zealand and globally.

Taggart Siegel, a film-maker who lives in New Zealand 3 months of every year, is also a mouthpiece for bees around the world. His documentary about them, Queen of the Sun, has received acclaim around the world. Seigel calls bees "the legs of the plant".

40% of our food is reliant upon bees - and in an agriculture-based country like NZ, that means we need to take notice.