April 2019

Calendula Cottage Cafe & Gardens (Glenbrook, New Zealand) 5

Calendula Cottage Cafe & Gardens (Glenbrook, New Zealand)

There are many unexpected places in New Zealand and this was one of them, literally tucked in the middle of nowhere, located in Glenbrook this restaurant is surrounded by farms on every side. An oasis in the middle of lush farm greeneries this place surprised me. I dined in here...

Samgyeopsal (삼겹살) 1

Samgyeopsal (삼겹살)

Samgyeopsal is a Korean dish of grilled pork belly which is not seasoned or just lightly seasoned with sesame oil and salt. Samgyeopsal, samgyeopsal-gui, or grilled pork belly is a type of grilled dish popular in the Korean cuisine, directly translated from Korean, samgyeop-sal means “three-layer flesh” which refers to...

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs 1

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs is a dish prepared with beef meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cooked with marinara sauce then served pasta. Italian Meatballs is already good as it is but making it better is not surprisingly hard, just add mozzarella which makes every bite really interesting, imagine a warm gooey cheesy...

Castaways Restaurant & Bar (Waiuku, New Zealand) 3

Castaways Restaurant & Bar (Waiuku, New Zealand)

We had our departments conference several weeks ago in this amazing location called Castaways, I had my eye on this resort many years ago but did not have the time to check it out until now. It’s such a good venue and if you plan to have your conference here,...

Fishball and Pork Mince Rice Noodle Soup 2

Fishball and Pork Mince Rice Noodle Soup

Spicy Fishball and Pork Mince Rice Noodle Soup is a dish prepared with round rice noodles served on a pork, shrimp and squid stock. I guess a lot of people are afraid of making homemade noodle soups at home because there are so much options that you can buy in...

Where to find good ramen in Auckland 2

Kiraku (Auckland CBD, New Zealand)

If you’re looking for an authentic straight forward ramen, then look no further, this is the closest thing to what we had tried in Japan. Authenticity does not stop with the ramen even the place looks authentic, cramped in a small space that looks like those small Izakaya bars in...

Chicken Curry Laksa 2

Chicken Curry Laksa

Chicken Curry Laksa is a noodle soup dish prepared with yellow noodles, chicken, curry puffs and boiled egg in a broth is made with special chilli paste and rich coconut milk. In Malaysia and Singapore this is called “Laksa Lemak” also known as Nyonya Laksa, basically a type of laksa...

Bunny Cookies 2

Bunny Cookies

Bunny Cookies is the perfect Easter Cookie made with egg whites and flour then shaped into bunnies Like many great recipes our post today was made by accident, a beautiful accident. One day our daughter was making some macarons as she always does, then she was challenged to make one...

Epiphany Donuts (North Shore City, New Zealand) 1

Epiphany Donuts (North Shore City, New Zealand)

First there was just Dunkin Donuts, then came Southern Maid, then Al’s Deli, next was Krispy Kreme and now we have Epiphany. I love that these new places started to pop up, now we have many options and definitely some friendly competition. Thirteen years ago, I was dismayed with my...

Batso nga Tabungao 1

Batso nga Tabungao

Batso nga Tabungao is a vegetable dish prepared with bottle ground and small shrimps sautéed together with garlic, onions, tomato and annatto. Batso nga Tabungao is an Ilocano vegetable dish made with sliced bottle ground and small shrimps sautéed together with garlic, onions, tomato and annatto, a dish almost similar...