Good Eats - seafood

At Kaikoura, there is an ocean road, along which there are well known seafood shacks. The area is also known for its crayfish. What could be better?

First off, we hit "The Original World Famous" (no less) Kaikoura Seafood BBQ shack. It was right there between the coast and the ocean road, both mere steps away. Heaven. We had crayfish, scallops, a whitebait fritter (like an omelette), paua fritter (paua is "New Zealand abalone" - it was fishy and delicious), blue cod and a seafood chowder. It was great, I just wish there had been more of it.

These were smaller crayfish and cooked on the grill.

The next day, we had to try Nin's Bin, also famous and one of Phil Keoghan's Best Kept Secrets, no less. It was more out of the way, definitely more expensive and more no-frills. You just got the seafood cooked and served. With a lemon. That's it. No sides, no fancy-schmancy whatever. We were unsure at first, seeing as we'd had a very different experience already with the Kaikoura Seafood BBQ shack.

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The difference: this was a big ass crayfish and it was steamed, I think.

But you know what - it was DELICIOUS. We got a big big ol' crayfish and some mussels and they just cooked them up real quick, and that was it. Even the lemon juice tasted so good with the food. Super simple. Super fresh. Super delicious.

Good eats - Wineries

We've had some good eats here in New Zealand and the best ones so far have been at a couple of wineries we visited. First, there was Mt Difficulty Winery. What a name! Loved it already. We ate atop a small hill overlooking vineyards and farmland. I won't overdo it with the food photos so here's a glass of wine and some pork belly. It was good.

Then, there was Pegasus Bay. Good wines, and more good food. Here are some (out of focus) Jerusalem Artichokes - a rare treat for me. And superdeliciousyummy.

The specials board. We didn't actually have any of these, ha.

More lovely gardens and views at Pegasus Bay.

Autumn in Middle Earth

New Zealand is ridiculously beautiful. Just ridiculous. Gorgeous.

We flew into two airports today and both times coming in to land, I was already thinking that it was like flying into a postcard. Just nuts. And you just point your camera anywhere; you don't even have to try.

London

To all my phantom readers: I'm blogging again! It's nice to be back in London after quite possibly a decade or more. It feels like home, even though it isn't. And, as a good friend said, it's a culture, food and sermon boost!

First off, SNOW! Woo hoo. It is currently a snowy winter, much grumbles and harsh conditions all over UK and Europe, but I have to say the cold and snow are a joy for me.

The first day we went to service twice: once to Holy Trinity Brompton, and then to St Helen's Bishopsgate, right under the Gherkin.

Other than that, it was loads of good food - organic breakfast, roast duck from Gold Mine, chicken tikka masala from Khan's! Here's a cute dog parking sign outside the organic shop.

A final word on FOOD

A final word on the food in Japan. Which has been so so awesome. Great eats, fresh food, and the most stupendously awesome seafood.

Everyday on our way to the train station, we'd walk through a department store food hall. It struck me how the food hall can be found in Asia and Europe, but not the US. Ah, the Americans don't know what they're missing out on! And the Japanese food hall is the best of all... all kinds of fresh food each day, from bento boxes, to custard puffs, to tonkatsus, to bread, to... well, it's endless, really.

On the basis of recommendations, we also checked out some great ramen and tempura places around Tokyo. Here's a pic from Menya Musashi ramen, my favourite of the ones we'd tried.


Even fast food was great - Pepper Lunch had this item on the menu (see pic). Cubes of marbled beef that melt in your mouth. Aaah.


I only had one or two missteps. Mostly cos I would try stuff without knowing what they were. This noodle sandwich was not good.