Hanoi 17 April 2014

After a 9 hour layover in Hong Kong we finally boarded the plane to Hanoi. We couldn't get over the amount of hand luggage the local people returning to Hanoi had on board. One couple had to each make two trips to carry their hand luggage off the plane! 

Arriving in Hanoi we felt a bit of nostalgia.  The place felt familiar even though we have neither of us been here before. We think it is the developing country feeling and so many things are reminiscent of Papua New Guinea. 

The drive in from the airport was intriguing and terrifying. We were both peering out the van windows but I was tempted to just close my eyes sometimes and wait for the bump.  Our driver ran right up against people on scooters and they were angry and we were eye to eye. In fact, we passed an accident where 2 scooter riders had been knocked off.  

Our hotel is fine. Not too shabby and not too flash. But everything we need.  We have been traveling now for 25 hours and think we will venture out for a meal and hit the sack. 

Lance's booboo- had us standing at the wrong rotunda waiting for our luggage. 

Erynn's bigger booboo- was that she couldn't find her passport when we checked into the hotel.  I was starting to feel panicky until Lance found it in my back pocket (somewhere I never put it). Phew, lucky it didn't fall out in the taxi. 

The Ultimate Chicken Pie

Let me start with two points! What makes this chicken pie the ultimate chicken pie and why this is my recipe and not the one that I found in a magazine 20 odd years ago.

Firstly this pie is your whole meal; meat, veg and carbs, it is full of hearty flavours and it looks magnificent when you pull it out of the oven. It generally does collapse when I cut it open, but that is neither here nor there!

The second is that this recipe has been developed over the years and has grown from the simple but still tasty pie in a magazine to something quite fantastic!

Here we go:

1 large Kumara (sweet potato in other parts of the world) I tend to use golden Kumara as the red is quite dry.

1 cooked chicken. I generally grab a cooked chook from the supermarket

6 to 8 rashers of bacon

1 large or 2 small red onions

A splash of red wine vinegar

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

Chopped parsley

Chicken stock - cube or gel 

More chicken stock - liquid ½ cup..ish

Ground pepper

Gravy powder or cornflour. (I use Bisto)

A good splash of either red or white wine (actually more like a few glugs rather than a splash)

Silverbeet or spinach

Grated cheese

Blue cheese (optional)

4 sheets of flakey puff pastry

Springform cake tin (essential)

Remove the pastry sheets from the freezer to thaw.

Kumara

Peel the kumara and slice into rounds about 1 to 2 cm thick. Lay them on baking paper and either spray or drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at 190 degrees celsius for around 45 minutes or until lightly brown. Remember to turn them over halfway through roasting.

Chicken

Break the flesh off the chicken and shred with your fingers.

Onions

I like to use red onions as I find them to be less acidic than brown onions.

Slice the onions and pop into a warm pan with a small amount of rice bran oil, salt, and pepper.  Slowly cook the onions on a very low heat. I use a simmer mat to create a low and even heat. If you can get the temperature really low you can leave the onions cooking for up to 45 minutes with the odd stir. Please note that I am cooking on a gas hob. I am not sure how this would work on an electric hob. A handy hint is to hold the gas knob in to turn on the heat, continue to hold it in, and slowly bring it back around to high, and then just before it gets to off the heat drops to a lower than low heat. 

When the onions begin to soften and change colour add about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and continue to simmer until they are sweet. At this stage, I usually add the garlic either finely chopped or through the garlic crusher. You don’t want the garlic to brown too much as it will become bitter. You can cook the onions for less time and they will still be okay, but the longer you cook them the sweeter they get, try not to let them brown too much.

Chop the bacon into bite-size pieces and pop the bacon rashers into the pan with the onions and garlic. I find scissors to be the most effective bacon chopping device!

Deglaze the pan with some red wine if you have it, white wine will also be okay. And turn up the heat as you stir everything together making sure to lift anything that remains on the bottom of the pan.

Add the parsley and the chicken stock gel or cube and liquid and pepper. You want to have enough liquid to create a thick sauce that will coat the chicken rather than float the chicken.

Once the liquid is simmering add your choice of gravy powder or you could just use cornflour. Warning! Cornflour and some gravy thickeners will need to be mixed with a little bit of water before you add it to the pan to stop the lumps! Sprinkle the powder (or your cornflour concoction) and stir until it is thick and coats the spoon. If it gets too thick add some more liquid stick. Toss in the chicken and allow it to warm through. Don’t let it boil too rapidly as your sauce will become gluggy and eventually disappear or burn. You just want to warm the chicken.

Silverbeet

Wash and check for creepy crawlies, then slice into 1 cm pieces.

If you have never grown silverbeet you should give it a try. Just bung it in the ground and mother nature does the rest

Pastry

Grease the cake tin lightly and cut a round of pastry for the top and for the bottom. Then some strips for the side, but make them wider than the depth of the tin so you can squish the pastry pieces together. Line the cake tin leaving the top until you fill the pie.

Layering

Place the roasted kumara on the bottom of the pie in one layer.

Spoon the chicken mixture over the kumara.

Load the uncooked sliced spinach onto the chicken. You may think that you need to add less silverbeet but you want it to be bursting. It will reduce in size considerably on cooking. 

Sprinkle the grated cheese and crumble the blue cheese over the top. Then jam on the lid using the overhanging sides to seal the lid on. Use wet fingers like glue to make the edges sticky so the two pastries stick together. Brush with beaten egg, place the cake tin onto an oven tray (leakage), and put into the hot oven until the top is brown and shiny.

Removal

If you are serving this to guests you may like to take this extra step. 

Remove the springform side and brush the pie sides with more beaten egg, then pop it bake in the oven (on a tray) for a few more minutes. This will make your pastry more stable.

It is best to let the pie sit for a minute or two to let it settle before you cut it. Be prepared for the deliciousness to cascade onto the tray when you cut it open. 

This is your whole meal, serve it with a tasty relish or chutney. See Erynn’s Tamarillo Chutney recipe on this blog.

 

 

Eight Hour Flight to Nowhere

We have been anticipating this, our first ever trip to Rarotonga, for two years now. Lance and I have had flights booked four times and three of these have been cancelled due to COVID. 

As the date for this, our fourth booking, approached we we a bit scared to get excited and left our packing until the last possible day just in case! Omicron has been biting our heels and making everyone feel a bit nervous, so when we awoke at 5am on the morning of the 22nd we were beginning to feel slightly confident that we might finally get away.

Arriving at Auckland Airport there was a somber feeling all around as the usually buzzing departure area sat empty with a small crowd queuing for the only flight that morning to Rarotonga. Our usual check in is directly through the premium lounge, but that also was shrouded in emptiness. Being an early flight we chose not to have breakfast, assuming that we could grab something hot in the Koru Lounge. Alas that was also closed and we picked at something at the only cafe open. However the coffee was good!

In the departure lounge a feeling of excitement ran through the crowd. Some were returning home to Rarotonga after an extended stay in New Zealand due to COVID restrictions. Others, like us, had booked several times and were finally getting away on holiday. I know this because Lance talks to everybody and anybody! A voice over the loud speaker asked us to pay attention to important information and I actually haven’t experienced a crowd in this environment actually shut up and listen before. I wondered if like me they were expecting a lockdown announcement and everyone was quiet and alert. But it was just boarding information and regulations and finally we were on board! Lance had an upgrade due and we paid $200 for me to join him in premium economy, which in the scheme of things was a wise move. Even if we were not sitting next to each other, Lance was sitting in front of me. The captain addressed the passengers in the normal routine but he had some extra information for us… the weather in Rarotonga was so bad that there was only a 50/50 chance that we would be able to land!

You guessed it, after 3 hours and 45 minutes and two failed landing attempts we turned back to New Zealand. The flight attendants were great and plied us all with alcohol. They did announce that they did not have enough meals on board so business and economy would choose from the lunch menu and anything left would go down the back. Those were their words! I guess another blessing was that no kids were on board as under twelves are not allowed to fly to Rarotonga yet. As the 8 hour flight to nowhere may have been a bit challenging for them. Fortunately for me my flight attendant smuggled in the Laurent Perrier champagne from business class so I didn’t have to drink the Dulcet that was being served in premium economy! 

A replacement flight was arranged for 6:45 the next morning but this change in plans held extra complications. We already had to have PCR COVID tests 48hours before leaving Auckland at a cost of $250 each. They would be out of the time threshold by the time we flew on Sunday, so new tests were arranged, and we sat in a deserted airport 12 hours since we first arrived Saturday morning waiting for the New COVID tests to be performed. 

At 7pm they announced that the weather was still going to be a problem and Sunday’s flight had been cancelled. A new flight had been scheduled for early Monday morning and we would have to somehow organise our own travel PCR COVID test before then. 

Bottom line is that we have cancelled. If we did get to Rarotonga on Monday we would be flying home on Thursday.

So… this morning we went online to book a couple of days North of Auckland in beautiful Paihia. A gorgeous apartment had been chosen in a prime location but just as Lance was hovering over the ‘book now’ button I yelled “Wait a minute!”  “When I was in the supermarket this morning I heard someone say something about a press conference at 11am.”

And so we waited… and waited … because the PM was late again. And low and behold we are back in the red light zone due to COVID! Apparently, we can still travel but Lance and I think the best thing is to stay put at home. So I have bought a pineapple and I am off now to make the most delicious pina colada I have ever had in my life. Or is that destined to fail as well!

Postscript: Thanks to our travel agent Samara Liyanage at the Flight Centre who was available out of hours to help us with flight cancellations etc.  g

Duck With Cherries

 

Two Peking duck breasts (or plain duck breasts)

1 large red onion 

Half a cup of red or white wine

Cherries - either 1 can of cherries or 1 cup of pitted fresh cherries.

3 Tablespoons of tamarillo chutney (see Erynn’s Tamarillo Chutney recipe) or another fruit chutney.

Juice and zest of 1 orange

Salt and ground pepper

Please note that in these photos I used four breasts which can feed 6 people  Although at the time there were only four of us and we ate the lot because we are gluttons.  

Serving duck seems to impress a lot of people. I often wonder why this is and I have come to the conclusion that in most New Zealand homes it is only something that is eaten at a restaurant. If you have never had a go at cooking duck at home now is the time to give it a try.  In saying this I generally only cook duck breasts, as I find them to be more succulent. 

For this recipe, I like to buy duck breasts that have already been coated in a Peking marinade, if you can only find plain breasts it is not difficult to google some spices to rub into the skin. 

 Caramelising the onions.

I like to use red onions as I find them to be less acidic than brown onions.

Slice the onions and pop into a warm pan with a small amount of rice bran oil, salt, and pepper.  Slowly cook the onions on a very low heat. I use a simmer mat to create a low and even heat. If you can get the temperature really low you can leave the onions cooking for up to 45 minutes with the odd stir. Please note that I am cooking on a gas hob. I am not sure how this would work on an electric hob. A handy hint is to hold the gas knob in to turn on the heat, continue to hold it in, and slowly bring it back around to high, and then just before it gets to off the heat drops to a lower than low heat. 

When the onions begin to soften and change colour add about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and continue to simmer until they are sweet. You can cook the onions for less time and they will still be okay, but the longer you cook them the sweeter they get, try not to let them brown too much. Put the onions aside and clean the pan.

One of the most important things to remember is that duck skin is very fatty, and needs rendering to get tasty crispy skin. Heat a heavy-based frypan and take it down to a low temperature. Use a simmer mat to get slow and even heat. Pop the breasts in the pan skin side down. If you are feeling a trifle worried about it sticking you could rub some oil around the pan with a paper towel. But you definitely don’t need any more than that as soon you will be draining off delicious duck fat to be used to roast vegetables. 

As the fat melts away from the breast drain it off. This will ensure you end up with crispy skin. Continue to cook the duck in this way until the skin is crispy and the layer of fat under the skin has reduced to almost nothing. Remember, my photos are showing duck that was coated in a Peking marinade so it appears to be very red.

Turn the duck and cook for a few minutes, maybe four maximum, making sure that all edges have a bit of colour. Then take it off the heat to rest in a covered dish. Don’t feel nervous about the whole ‘poultry needs to be cooked thing. Duck breasts are best when they have a pink tinge when sliced. 

Whilst the duck is resting drain the remaining fat from the pan and add the wine. Turn the heat up and cook off the wine whilst deglazing the pan, using a wooden spoon to lift any sticky remnants off the bottom of the pan.

Once the wine has reduced and no longer has that alcohol smell you can add the caramelised onions to the pan.

Add the cherries, orange juice, orange zest, and tamarillo chutney. Other chutneys will be okay if you don’t have tamarillo, I have used plum chutney before.

Cook this on a medium heat until the cherries are almost melting into the sauce.

Add salt and ground pepper to taste.

Take the duck breast and slice it thinly, but not too thin, and lay it on a plate. Spoon the cherry sauce over the top and serve. 

We served ours with hassle-back potatoes and roasted greens.

Martinborough NZ 10 January 2021

 After a lovely sleep in, we wandered across the road to the Village Cafe and Bar for breakfast. As we had been stuffing ourselves silly we decided on a light breakfast. Lance chose a cheese scone which came hot with butter and me some granola with yogurt and stewed local apricots. It was really lovely and we decided that we would come again tomorrow before we take off for Wellington. Postscript: their site said they opened at 8am however when we got there they said that they didn't open until 9am so no second visit for us.

Today's adventures would take us back to Greytown for a spot of shopping and that is just what we did.  Lance said that he would not wander with me and would have a look around then sit and people watch. This aligned perfectly with my needs and we set off down the main road separately. Greytown is an old country town where the main street has it all. It is Wairarapa's oldest town (est.1854) and is lined with quaint wooden Victorian buildings. These buildings now house cafes, restaurants, craft, homeware, and boutique clothing. Unusual for us but Lance had made two purchases before I had given my credit card an airing. Although one of his purchases was for me. I had a lovely time popping in and out of stores and managed quite a little haul by the time I met up with Lance two hours later. Whilst he had been waiting he had been chatting to another patient husband who told him that the pub at Ahiarue did a good lunch, so off we went to the Gladstone Inn at Ahiaruhe, a lovely old pub that celebrated 150 years in 2020 and sits alongside the Ruamahanga River. Often when you order a steak or a burger they say that they come with hand-cut chips. And often you are disappointed because they are just extra-large processed frozen chips.  However, the hand-cut chips at the Gladstone were very real and almost qualified as roast potatoes they were so large. They also had live music out on the deck alongside the water, unfortunately, it was full, but we could still enjoy the music where we were seated, just inside the door.

On the drive back to Martinborough Lance spied the sign for Aotearoa Stonehenge. Lance suggested we take a detour and visit it. This in itself is quite an unusual phenomenon. I had seen this advertised and did question what sort of kook would build a Stonehenge in New Zealand. If I hadn't been stuffed full of burger and enormous chips I would have had to have eaten my words.

The center was quite rustic, but it was professional. We paid and went in to view the informative video. I was really interested and felt a bit worried that Lance would be bored and suggest that we leave. But it was not to be. I felt myself tense up as he leaned over to tell me something, and I was completely wrong!

"Interesting isn't it" he murmured.

After the video, we wandered out and down the garden path to the main structure. The video is an essential prerequisite as we now had all sorts of information to wonder about as we checked out the mini Stonehenge.

I would rate this as a 'worth a stop and payment' place, but not an essential destination.

Back in Martinborough, we settled for dinner at Crouching Tiger. This 'pan Asian restaurant which is located on our doorstep, so much so that we walk through the courtyard of the Crouching Tiger to get to our front door.

The food was great with service to match. This is definitely a good place to eat if you are in Martinborough.

Three nights was enough for us to experience Martinborough and its environs. I feel that this is a place that we will return, either on a tiki tour around the North Island of New Zealand or for a short break.  It is probably not a place to take kids for more than a stopover, but certainly great for us middle-ish aged food, wine, and shopping types.

Pasta & Cuore - Mt Eden Village, Auckland

 Two things brought us to this restaurant this evening, the first being that we had recently purchased some handmade raviolii and pesto from an Italian gentleman at the French Market in Parnell. It was so good that we lusted after more pasta. Secondly I had received a voucher as part of a prize at the School quiz night. Not as you may have assumed for intelligent quiz question knowledge, but for the best dressed woman! Again an assuption may have taken you in the wrong direction, this was not a glammed up event, I was dressed as a slutty middle aged 'Westie' woman. Funny that I won because I am a middle aged 'Westie' woman, it must have been the addition of 'slutty' that got me the prize. 

Anyway back to food.

Every morning on my way to school I sit at the traffic lights and ponder whether this restaurant is as it looks, 'authentic'.  Actually it is more than just authentic food, the host shares her delightful story in the menu and you can almost see her as a small child in the kitchen covered with flour helping her Nona.

Auckland generally welcomes warms evenings at this time of year however the temperature had dropped this week and seated outside we were a little chilly, nothing that a light jumper would have taken care of had I had thought to have brought one. With the side blinds lowered, the heaters popped on and a glass of wine down I warmed up nicely. Although I did suffer from jersey envy when other customers popped them on.

The menu is cunningly presented as if a small child may have constructed it. The cover is a piece of corrigated cardboard that could have come from a box and is folded to create a booklet. All of the menus are explained right down to the style of pasta and it's origin. I found it very intriguing and I feel that Lance was a bit frustrated at how long it was taking me to choose.

We decided that we would skip the antipasto and go straight to the pasta and chose three main dishes to share. Our lovely young waiter informed us that the Gnocchi alla Romana would take 25 minutes to prepare. This gnocchi is a semolina gnocchi and was baked in large rounds. I loved it! It was light and creamy with a crispy cheesy top. Lance was expecting a more traditional gnocchi and this was not his favourite, which was great because it meant that I had more!

Whilst we were waiting for our food an antipasto of cold meats and cheeses came out to the neighbouring table. Each piece was explained and the delightful Italian accent made it sounds even better than it probably already was. It looked fantastic with the cured meats sitting up of the board in delicate folds. I hazard a guess that in the future we will not be passing up on the antipasto!

Our other two pasta dishes were a tortelinna con panna and ravioli with tomato sauce.

The tortelini was good with firm pasta and a thick creamy sauce that clung to its sides. I would have liked a bit of pepper to grind on it though. 

And the pièce de résistance was raviolli in tomato sauce. Sounds so simple doesn't it. The half rounds of raviolli sat in a tomato sauce that did not drown them, it was just there, just enough for a bit if a coating and enough to scoop some with a spoon. And as you scooped you snagged a couple of the cherry tomatoes that were perfectly cooked, not too firm and not too soft, just cracking open to reveal their seeds and goodness. The ravioli was stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese, they were light and perfectly cooked. This was Lance's favourite dish, but I did manage to snaffle a fair amount.

Deserts were simple, Lance ordered a panna cotta with chocolate sauce and myself a rich choclate mousse with crumbled amaretto biscuits on top.

I did find it difficult to choose my wine as the menu offered what looked to be only Italian wines. The pinot grigio was not what I expected but good enough for me to have a second glass. Lance was happy with the zero Heiniken. 

We left content and not over full, but replete. This is another place that we will visit once more.

 

Martinborough NZ - Day 2 9 January 2021

 We awoke after both having a great sleep, which at our advancing years is not a regular event.

Martinborough is a slow starter and the two places that we had eyed up for breakfast did not open until 8:30am. By the time we arrived a few doors down the road to Cafe Medici there were already a couple of people standing outside waiting for it to open. This is always a good sign and proved to be a great indication of the quality of this eatery. We both chose the same breakfast, which is another unusual phenomena, and we hit the mark with Spanish eggs. The eggs had been lightly scrambled and piled onto crispy potatoes and then a load of tasty tomatoey stuff laden with chorizo was on top. I couldn’t finish mine, but it was delicious. And the coffee was great.

After a trip back to our room for some toileting we wandered around the shops for a bit. This village is definitely tailored to female shoppers.  In fact at one shop Lance had a chat with the blokes outside and it was unanimous that there should be some chairs and fishing magazines strategically placed for patiently waiting for spouses.

I did not buy much at all as I am waiting to see what they have in Greytown tomorrow. When I say shops I don’t mean a whole lot of them. There are a few homeward and ladies clothes, bags and jewellery places a couple of grocers and a great looking butcher amounts to a few other bits and pieces. But a very nice place to wander. The village is set around a large square of lawn and trees and this has conveniently placed crossings to all sides of the quadrangle.

Hitting the road just after ten we thought we would check out a few wineries. I had called Poppies vineyard as it had been recommended for lunch. Bad luck, they were full today and tomorrow, but we intended to stop for a tasting.

Turning down the drive of Haythornwaite wines we took a right turn, thinking this was the vineyard, and had to stop for an elderly Chinese man who was tending the driveway. We could see a beautiful homestead at the end of the drive, and were feeling nervous that this may be the residence and not the cellar door. It was a relief to spot a flag with OPEN on it and we parked next to the vines and entered the house. The man from the drive arrived and chatted to us about the house which had been moved in pieces from Wellington 21 years ago. We had some tasting and offered to pay the price that was on the board for a tasting but he waved us off. After a quick visit to the toilet, which by the way was spotless, we made our way back down the drive only to find that this was a little boutique vineyard called Vynfields and not Haythornewaite at all. They also serve food and we were tempted by the dumplings as I am sure they would be authentic. But may need to save that for another trip.

Back on the road we passed people on side by side tandem bikes and then a four seater bike.  Martinborough is well known for hiring bikes to go on a tour of the vineyards. 

Poppies was next on the list and was just down the road. It was quite busy when we entered and we were greeted on entry and directed to where Poppy was doing a tasting. Poppy and her husband Shane were both at the helm each sharing their passion for their wine. Poppy was very passionate and took us through the steps of winemaking, right down to how many leaves are left around a bunch of grapes to get the best result. They only sell at the cellar door and appear to be very popular. As I was paying for the case that was to be sent home to Auckland (come on, I had to help them out) Lance was chatting to Shane and mentioned that we couldn’t get in to eat. No problem! A table was set and lunch ensued with a glass of their gorgeous rose. Lance is not drinking, but even his lemonade was different and delicious. At Poppies they don’t have a menu and their platters are adjusted to the seasons and what wine you have chosen to drink, so I guess I set the tone.

In the banter that had occurred during the tasting we found that Shane is also a chef and he explained the platter to us in a way that had our mouths watering.

The salmon came with the most Devine coconut cream dressing, And the spicy Indian relish it compliment the frittata ended up on almost everything that it ate. I loved how they piled it up so I didn’t have to be mean with it. Cold pork belly had some preserved apricots snuggled up next to it. What a surprise when I bit into one and it had a beautiful fresh coconut flavour through it. It almost tasted like a cocktail. We ended by sharing a lemon coconut tart and Shane brought out a glass of late harvest desert wine for me ‘on the house’. Now any of you who know us know that we do a lot of eating out and this has never ever occurred before. Of course I had to drink it.

Clutching our bellies we waddled out to the car park and were amazed by the amount of bicycles leaning up against the wall. There had to be 35 bikes. I just wonder how they are wobbling back home at the end of the day?

Toilet report! - The toilets here were photo worthy but I left my phone at the table - bugger! Entry is by big double doors and the furniture is large romantic French country.

Replete we hit the road and headed out to Lake Ferry which we thought was the lake, however it is the name of the small village on the shores of Lake Onoke. Confusing huh? At the end of the 30 minute drive we found a rugged beach that had a bar (not the drinking sort although there was a pub) or spit that divided the lake from the sea. There were loads of people fishing and I got out for a quick and blustery walk.

Back in town Lance had a rest and I nipped over the square to the museum. This entry by koha (donation) and was fascinating. It was set up like a house crammed with stuff and only a couple of rooms had roped off barriers. I would hate to take poorly behaved children in there. I poked around and smiled at some of the things that brought back memories or that I still have tucked away at home.

Lance had booked us into a restaurant a 17 minute drive away in Greytown called Pinocchio. Click here to read my review. This was a great meal and worth the drive, especially because I had Lance as my sober driver!