Not A Food Review: Everybody's

Cuisine: Japanese Fusion

Price: $70 for set menu

Location: 44 Queen Street, Auckland
Website: http://www.everybodys.co.nz/

Not A Food Review is an informal first impression of a restaurant I've eaten at, in which I did not taste enough of the dishes to form a definitive opinion of the establishment.

Everybody’s (also known as Everybody’s Izakaya) recently refreshed their menu. Previously offering Japanese fusion, their latest menu has a heavier slant towards European and Western flavours. The décor is rather minimalistic with the low lighting projecting a casual, yet refined atmosphere. I arrived at Everybody’s with a vegetarian friend. The set menu looked appetising, so we ordered it for two people and challenged the chefs to use only vegetarian ingredients. What followed was an incredibly boring experience.

Half a dozen courses were served, most of which were cold or warm. Vegetables comprised the bulk of each plate with minimal dairy, grain or eggs.  Disappointingly almost all of the dishes were bland, under seasoned and boring. What was truly baffling was that if I cook some bok choi with soy sauce, sesame oil and light spicing, I can create a delicious vegetarian dish. How is it a kitchen of full time chefs, with dozens of ingredients, could fail to create a memorable vegetarian meal? I will say that the presentation was excellent, and there was a discernable effort made to use several ingredients per dish. As a result there was a variety of textures from the different vegetables. Perhaps the only enjoyable savoury plate was a potato heavy, creamy dish. The potatoes were fantastically crisp and the cream added a nice silky texture, which contrasted fantastically. The only true high point of the meal came at the end, in the form of a delicious chocolate lava cake. It was indulgent and we utterly enjoyed it.

At Everybody’s we gave the chefs a tall challenge, and it’s one they failed almost entirely. The dishes were typically bland, cold and under seasoned. The only saving grace was the excellent dessert. I will not be back to Everybody’s in a hurry, even if the meal included meat.

3/10

All Bark, No Bite

It started out like any drinking night. Clean the flat, buy booze, welcome people and socialise. We played drinking games; Ring of Fire (called Kings Cup or Circle of Death elsewhere in the world). I couldn’t recall all the rules, so I had to ad lib. We drew cards, we got drunk, then I lost. I drunk a mug full of soju, wine, whiskey and coke as the penalty for losing. After that I remember nothing.

I woke up in the morning, my teeth felt strange. I got up, and winced at the pain in my knee. I hobbled to the bathroom mirror and opened my mouth. A gap tooth monster started back at me. My central incisor was half gone, and the other one chipped. My mouth was bloody and my lip swollen.  I couldn’t remember a thing. I Skyped my parents and swore profusely about my lack of teeth.

When my flat mate woke up I ran to him and asked what happen. He didn’t know. Apparently I got into a fight. I could believe that, I’d been in fights before, but my wounds didn’t add up. I concluded that I must have face planted the payment and destroyed my teeth.

I arranged a dentist appointment for that afternoon. I arrived and chatted with the friendly dentist and technician. I was still partially drunk, so was extremely talkative and had the ladies cooing. 2 hours later and $200 poorer my teeth were fixed, and looked fantastic. Who knew that cosmetic dentistry was so easy and cheap?

I still feel slightly sentimental at the loss of my own beautiful teeth, but I can’t turn back time and get them back. So I might as well get on with life.

Maybe next time I won’t drink as much.

Maybe next time I won’t drink on an empty stomach.

Maybe next time I won’t lose Ring of Fire.

Food Review: Better Burger

Cuisine: Burgers

Price: $14.50 for burger, fries and milkshake

Location: 31 Galway Street, Britomart, Auckland
Website: http://www.britomart.org/better-burger

Better Burger is a newly opened premium burger joint in Auckland’s CBD. After a cold, wet and windy Tuesday morning I checked it out. The seating was open air which, while great in more pleasant weather, was noticeably chilly on this particular day. Thankfully they had flame heaters, which provided some warm. Better Burger’s menu is extremely simple, with beef or vegetarian burgers, fries, soda and milkshakes on offer. I ordered the double cheeseburger, with fries and strawberry milkshake, and an additional vegetable burger. The staff were extremely friendly and happy to explain their philosophy behind the eatery. All of the produce is carefully picked, and cooked with care. For instance the buns contain honey, as opposed to sugar, for a fuller flavour. 

Much like the menu, the presentation of the food was simple but clean. I couldn't wait to get stuck in! The beef patties were thick and perfectly seasoned, the vegetables crisp and the rich cheese adding to every bite. Each mouthful was juicy, delicious and morish. The doubled fried fries were fantastically crispy, while still retaining a light and fluffy centre. To top off this delightful meal was the strawberry milkshake. Thick and luscious, it was like drinking ice cream. Heaven! The vegetarian burger featured a fried Portobello mushroom, which had a fantastic savoury flavour. 

Better Burgers concise menu doesn't provide a lot of choice. However what they do serve is incredibly delicious and good value. The beef burgers are cooked to perfection and the fries are crispy pieces of heaven. I will absolutely be back for more.

8/10

Just Dance

I remember back when I was in Glasgow, hanging out at a bar and being handed a flier for salsa classes. I used to find dancing an uncomfortable and awkward experience, in clubs I would simply head bop. Here was an opportunity to test the limits of my comfort, try something new and get better at dancing. That's how I ended up at my first salsa class.

I felt very uncomfortable in my first lesson, with me being so reserved at the time. Touching girls was a bit weird, the moves were hard and I felt like I was being judged. Despite this, after the first class I realised I was hooked. Dancing was surprisingly fun! So I went back, and even took lessons twice a week. After a few months I was somewhat competent at salsa and would enjoy myself immensely. Part of the charm was undoubtedly talking to the girls, many of whom were cute. I also found that salsa would dispel a sour mood and leave me over flowing with positive energy. If you had told me that I would enjoy, and become an okay salsa dancer, I would have thought you crazy. Salsa also helped me to become less self concious, to the point I really started to enjoy dancing in clubs. Then things changed. I graduated, left Glasgow and didn't continue with salsa in Singapore. Now, more than a year later, I started salsa in New Zealand.

There are several options in the city but calling out to me was a Latin American dancing school, literally, opposite home. So I signed up for a class and went for the first time last week.

I forgot how fucking amazing dancing is.

It felt like I rediscovered something I had lost. I was actually terrible at the dancing since the class was teaching LA salsa (as opposed to Cuban which I learnt in Glasgow), but it didn't matter. Even when I was screwing up the moves I still had a great time and was so happy for hours afterwards. I'm definitely going to make salsa part of my life. I just need to find the right school now!

I'll Be There For You, When The Rain Starts To Pour

I've only been in New Zealand a short while, but I can say I've been very lucky in one regard; the amount of friends I've made. Perhaps it's because I've done my best to be proactive and friendly, I always try to be a genuine person, but in a way I've been taken by surprise in how fortunate I am. So far I've made enough friends that I could see one a day, or even groups, and still not have time enough for all of them. More importantly these are all people I sincerely like and enjoy spending time with. Sadly some of them will be leaving the country soon, but I still feel blessed for these relationships.

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

Being unemployed sucks. It’s been around two months now and I'm starting to feel the unpleasantness. I arrived in New Zealand in January, travelled until April, found a place to stay and I've been looking for work since. The first couple of months were fine. Many a time I was bored, but I somewhat enjoyed the freedom and time. Unlimited video games and movies? Yes please. Now things have changed.

The lack of day to day goals, challenges, team work and the feeling that you are contributing nothing of value to society is straining. Over the last few days I've felt afflicted by a feeling of malaise. To combat these feelings I'm pushing myself to keep occupied and challenged in the following ways:

• Get out of the house every morning/afternoon, if only for a walk
• Get out of the house during the evening
• Socialise with existing friends
• Embrace any opportunity to get out of the house and meet new people
• Write blog posts more frequently to give me a sense of achievement and progression
• Take up a sport or activity

For instance today my schedule looked like this:

• Do laundry
• Apply for jobs
• Plan activities during the week
• Arrange with friends to hang out
• Go for a walk and get a snack and shopping supplies
• Hang out with friends during the evening for an arts exhibition
• Go to a bar to meet other friends

I still have far too much down time, but it’s keeping me sane just now. I’m afraid that if I stop, I will die.

Food Review: Giapo

Cuisine: Ice cream

Price: $9.50 for a single scoop cone

Location: 279 Queen's Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland
Website: http://giapo.com/

Giapo specialises in one thing and one thing only; ice cream (well, sorbets as well). Located conveniently on Queens Street, it's a must try if you are in the city centre. Giapo's compact premises have minimal seating so be prepared to take your ice cream for a walk. This is perhaps the only mar on an otherwise fantastic experience.

Giapo's June menu 

There are over a dozen choices of flavour, some of which change every few weeks. Each is lovingly crafted by the staff, who decorate the ice cream with creative toppings like blow torch melted marshmallow. Prices are extremely reasonable with double scoop cones under $10. You can also try deluxe cones, with one covered in white chocolate, which are worth trying for the novelty.
I've been to Giapo a couple of times now and eaten several flavours such as avocado, tiramisu and chocolate evolution.