30 before 30...Crossing some stuff off! Episode 2 - All the foods

Ok, I'm aware that 2015 isn't over and I couldn't have tried a new restaurant every month...but... I've tried more than 12, so that's every month. I've just been super efficient at eating all the foods. 

I have blogged about the following 11:

Longroom in Ponsonby
Red Earth in Papakura
Paasha Turkish Cafe in Pukekohe
China Yum Cha in Auckland CBD
Karaka General
The Langham
Nishiki
Mikano
Miss Clawdy
Mecca Stonehouse
Calendula Cottage

And there are a few others I know I haven't written about, plus the two I'm going to share today.

Portifinos has a few spots around Auckland. We visited the one in Howick. Delicious seafood plate I had, and everyone enjoyed their meal. My only gripe is I think it was sliiiiightly over priced.
I thought the desserts were adorable and had to take a photo of everyones before they ate!

I also recently had High Tea at TriBeCa in Parnell. This place seemed very fancy and the food was delicious, BUT.. in comparison to the Langham High Team - this is a bit disappointing. The white chocolate lollipop was super dooper cute though right?

This has been a great goal because I got to eat a whole lot of food, which I'm fond of. No seriously, it was great to be conscious of finding and eating at new places and not just going to the same old same old. I'd love to continue this, and in fact my book club now meets at restaurants - which has been very helpful. I've got a group of workmates who love this as well and we've began a little list of places we'd like to head out to every couple of weeks or so. Gotta love fellow foodies.

There are some fancy schmancy places that I'd still like to eat at - like Euro, but all in good time. I have a 40 before 40 list encroaching...maybe I can add that to my new list.

30 before 30 progress report

I have wanted to do a progress report for some time, and now I've gotten around to doing it, a lot of the photos I wanted to use are potentially lost with a broken phone... hrmph.

In the meantime I will update what I can.

My sleeve got underway about a month ago and I'm SO happy with the start. I love it. Will be booking in time during the October holidays for installment #2 - a dream catcher.

 Of all my goals, the restaurant one has been the most pleasant I think. Lol. Albeit in competition with my goal to lose weight! I've lost many a photo of a few meals but have found these of my trip to Longroom in Ponsonby. What a yummy lunch!

We ordered a few plates to share - pork belly in miso sauce, hot wings, sliders and we also go salt and pepper squid (which I didn't get a photo of). The pork belly was to die for and even though I live about an hour out of Ponsonby, I would travel there happily for that dish alone. A very cool little place with very yummy food. Would highly recommend it to any and everyone.

I've also visited Red Earth. I do like the tapa style of eating, but felt like this place was over priced, especially considering where it is. In comparison to restaurants in town where I've had tapas in particular. The food was OK, I would have felt a lot better about it if it wasn't so over priced. I did like how the waitress looked after my little wriggler by offering a complimentary fluffy. She loved the chocolate fish! A very average meal though.

The Langham - My cup of tea!

Today I knocked another goal off my 30 before 30 list:

And what a super fun goal it was. I got to feel fancy, chat with friends for a couple of hours AND eat some nom noms. Like, super nom noms.

When we arrived we were greeted by a lovely young man who was very knowledgeable, welcoming, and made me feel at ease (I was a first timer and felt waaaaay outta my depth in terms of fancy, lol). He was just a delight. Everything you could want in someone who's looking after you at a restaurant.

But let's get down to the real reason we're here shall we? The super noms.

Our drinks were iced tea and delicious. I unfortunately didn't take note of what they were, but it was very fruity. I think I've begun a love story with iced tea now, it was that good.

On our afternoon tea plates we had a selection of sandwiches, savouries and desserts, and we were then brought some delicious scones as well. Was so full, but so satisfied by the end of it. I was actually really impressed with myself as there were some items on the menu that I normally wouldn't touch (beetroot - euck!), but I ate it all up like a good girl!

The sandwiches were  champagne ham and english mustard, smoked salmon and horseradish, free-range egg with watercress and cucumber with lemon cream cheese. I definitely dug the classic salmon, but the winner for me here was the cucumber. Having worked in a cafe one summer I knew the cucumber and cream cheese combo was a delight, and the addition of lemon was just delicious.

Our savouries were prawn salad and tomato mousse tartlet, beetroot panna cotta with pickled beet and salmon caviar, basil sable with potato and truffle puree and peking-style duck leg roulande with coriander and cucumber. There was nothing here that if I would choose having to pick from a menu, but it was all really good. I didn't particularly like the beetroot number, but made my way through it. The winner for me here was the duck roulande. I'm a big coriander fan, I know it polarizes people - our table was!

The desserts were as delicious as they looked. Vanilla macaroon with salted caramel filling, lemon and ginger tea mousse on a biscuit with freeze-dried raspberry, rhubarb compote with vanilla sauce, dark chocolate cupcake with white chocolate mousse, grand marnier pop cake and strawberry tartlet. My favourites here were the macaroon, which has made me want to become a master at making them, the ginger and lemon mousse number and the rhubarb compote which showed me that I in fact do like rhubarb.

Scones were plain and passionfruit with a selections of jams. The clotted cream (which I don't think I've ever had before) was NOM. Would bang again.

I cannot recommend The Langham enough. Was just devine. A great goal! Thanks Nicola and Rachael for sharing it with me :)

30 before 30 Progress Update - Restaurants

Goal #22 in my list of 30 goals before I turn 30 is to visit a new restaurant a month in 2015.

I began this early and went to my first new restaurant in December. Nishiki is a yummy Japanese restaurant that has Tapa style meals - you order 2 or 3 small dishes (or for me it may have been 4 as it was sooo yummy) instead of one larger one. It's great because you get to try lots of different things. I was quite tame in my choices but I was able to taste the grilled eggplant that my friend had ordered and it was ridic amaze balls.

In January my best friend and I ventured to Mikano as we had a special lunch tapas meal voucher. Although they didn't really deliver on the 'tapa' promise, the food was yummy and it's in a very unique spot. While we were waiting for out meal we got to see a helicopter land, pretty cool!

Miss Clawdy is my new favourite place. It's very fortunate that we live just under an hours drive away from where it's situated or I'd be there on a daily basis. It's well priced, delicious, family friendly and the service is fan-freaking-tastic.

For my birthday in January we visited the Mecca Stonehouse in Mission Bay. I'd wanted to go there for years. It's always somewhere that I'd driven or walked past but never went to. Our meals were very yummy and Mission Bay is such a nice place to eat and then take a stroll. Was a lovely evening.

Even my first Teacher only day allowed me to add to this goal - and it's close to home! Calendula Cottage is a lovely little garden cafe in Glenbrook, about 45 minutes drive from central Auckland.If you go, get. there. corn. frittas! So friggin' good!

I love eating, so this is a great goal for me, but it's great for other reasons too. Food really brings people together. It's allowed Damien and I to have some 'us time', our first since Willow was born and it's strengthened my friendships with a few people, because we're out together eating. I've also made a point of going out and doing stuff because of this goal. When you live as far out as we do, it's good to hit a few birds with one stone when you're out and if I'm venturing somewhere to try out a new restaurant it's a great excuse to visit other places that are near.

Just lovely good vibes all round!