More Auckland Eats
Released from attending Writers Festival sessions, I can go a little further afield and spend more time with mates. I have a plan for Monday lunch which involves walking up Symonds Street (in Auckland) and down Kyber Pass. By the time I get up the hill, I feel in need of a coffee: luckily I come across a decent looking place called Twenty Three. Sitting inside drinking my coffee, I feel an urgent call to cross the road. Galbraiths Ale House is one of the earliest craft beer breweries and taphouses still running in Auckland - they started in 1995. I should really have one of the beers brewed onsite, but when I see they have McLeod’s Harvest Moon Dark IPA on tap, that’s what I have.
Down at the bottom of Khyber Pass, the place I planned for lunch isn’t open so I make what proves to be a poor choice. Auckland has a number of pork on rice places, which sounds good as a concept but is less good than expected: I know this when my food turns up in under 2 minutes. Obviously not cooked fresh. There are much better choices here, even on a Monday. I head along Broadway to the Parnell Library for a pleasant afternoon: I am quite impressed at the patience of the woman beside me teaching a child maths, and the child’s ability to stay on task.
I am meeting a former student, now friend, for dinner and have left it to her to decide where we are eating: she picks Jun’s Grill Fish, on Dominion Road. I do get distracted on my way there, by a huge, glossy photo of deep fried oysters at Prawn Boss, a fairly new establishment. Maybe if I don’t have enough to eat, I’ll get some on the way home. That’s not the case: we don’t even finish what we order. I get so caught up in talking, I completely forget to take any photos and by the time I realise, we’re done and the only other people in the place are so well through their fish, there’s no point grabbing a pic of their food.
What they do here is grill a whole fish in a high-sided rectangular oven pan, then add a broth and various ingredients (I think we went for the one that was pepper based) - like a hot pot. This gets brought out and put on an electric cooker to keep warm. We also get stir fried beans with pork and chilli and rice. I’m not sure how I would have fared had I eaten here alone: they do give me a couple of menus when I arrive, but when my friend turns up, the conversation is all in Chinese. After we’re done, I walk back - it’s a pleasant 3 km walk.
Tuesday, I have coffee with another former student turned friend before hitting the trains: there’s a bookshop café in Glen Eden I want to see - The Book Exchange. It’s a cute wee place between the train station and library that I’ve never managed to get to. The books aren’t really to my taste, but I’ve brought my own.
My family used to live just up the road, so I like to come back for a wander - I think that Glen Eden is slowly getting nicer things, such as the new library I hang out in for a couple of hours. An even stronger indication is my brother’s former mechanic’s workshop - it’s now the home of Dear Deer Coffee Roasters
Back on the train, I go a little further west, to Henderson. It all seems a little smaller than I remember it, so I have time to fill before dinner. This is at Treasure Kitchen - a smallish place with just a couple of other people in. Their chicken curry is pretty obviously made inhouse, quite tasty and home made looking, but I’m not sure about the roti.
To finish my night, I get the train back as far as Morningside and walk to Kingsland, stopping off at the Beer Spot and Urbanaut Brewery to check them out. The former has a quiz running - so typical of Auckland on a Tuesday - but I find a spot upstairs away from the crowds.
Wednesday, I go to Mount Eden. On the way to the bus I need to take a small detour, because a street is closed, and find a cool café, the Tuesday Club. That’s actually the name of the whole building - it’s an arts and crafts space, with galleries and officies upstairs - I’m told they do pop up events and shops at times. The coffee is nice and they give free (store bought) biscuits away to go with it.
I’m in Mount Eden to check out the Time Out Bookstore. It has a very big reputation, opens late, has lots of events - I am surprised at how small the actual shop is. I hit Frasers up for lunch - it’s not the bar I expected, more of an upmarket café, so I end up with a prawn linguine. The cake cabinet looks so inviting that, rather than leave, I stick around for a second go.
There are so many places to eat and drink in Mount Eden, it would be rude to go without trying another - I’m feeling a bit warm and happy hour starts in 2 minutes, so I pause for a bit at the Garden Shed.
My evening is dictated by a Youtube video I saw, featuring a drink which was previously unknown to me - carajillo. It has a layer of brandy or some other spirit, a bit of orange or other citrus, there’s briefly a fire, then frothed espresso is poured over the top. The guys in the video had half a dizon for breakfast: the last place they went to allowed them to film the making of the drink. It looked so cool, I had to find one - I could only find a few places in Auckland for one. I persuaded a couple of mates from my Whangarei life to come out for dinner at one of them. It was a strange experience eating here, as we three were the only ones in the place: I don’t rate the food very highly, so am not naming it.
Cheers!