Restaurant Month: Vikki Lane

Vikki Lane is tucked down an alleyway on Victoria Street West, towards the Vic Park end. It goes by the name 'Vikki Lane Bar and Kitchen'. Upon entering the bright little alleyway, one would think it was the 'bar' alter-ego tonight, with the upbeat mood and the smoke smell dominating the covered space. Turns out the crowd this Thursday evening came for the free wine tasting event. For a girl who describes wine as either "too bitter" or "that's nice", I did not help myself to a glass by the door, instead we were seated in a cosy corner for Restaurant Month.

The covered alleyway in Vikki Lane

The menu was easy enough to choose from. Eliminate the seafood from the options (dining with a fussy eater) and we were left with deep fried camembert and garlic bread for our entrees, and ham steak and chicken kiev for our mains.

St Clair Vicar's Choice, Malborough

A glass of bubbles arrived! This was exciting since this was included in the $25 set menu. I'm not sure if many other Restaurant Month menus include a drink in their price. About 45 minutes into our dinner I remembered the other reason why I do not enjoy alcoholic drinks; it makes me sleepy. Regardless, this makes the dinner very much worthy of $25. 

Deep fried camembert with plum chutney

Deep fried cheese is great. The camembert came with plum chutney; tart and sweet enough to complement the savoury cheese, and a basic salad with marmalade. The serving came with three wedges, so it left the two of us fighting for the third slice. The kind of fight where you go back and forth "you have it/ no you have it" until we ended up making the effort to cut it 50/50. With a little more crispiness of the breadcrumb coating, I wouldn't have been so polite eating more than my share.

The presentation of the meals wasn't over the top; no sauce patterns, no flower toppings, no sculptures stuck in the potatoes. This is a bar and kitchen after all, and with that comes simplicity. But well executed, may I add.

Chicken kiev with waldorf salad

I'm not sure what a 'waldorf salad' is, but this breaded chicken was on top of a green salad that contained apples. Simple and tasty enough. My dining partner's plate however...

Ham steak with pineapple ring and potato croquettes

I wasn't polite this time. I had a taste of the ham and when the last piece was still on the plate after a long minute, I stabbed my fork into it. Fantastic, delicious.

The food at Vikki Lane left a good first impression, although I do note that these dishes are not part of their daily menu, so it's only available this August! If you're after an affordable dinner with bubbles to make things a bit fancy, I recommend this place.

The portion sizes won't make you undo your button, but with a comparably fair bill for inner city European dining, you can make allowance for dessert.

Vikki Lane Bar and Kitchen

151 Victoria Street West

Mon - Fri 7am - Late

Restaurant Menu diners to be seated by 6:30pm

Where to next?

https://www.heartofthecity.co.nz/restaurant-month

Signed,

Elisa

ps. I paid with a registered American Express and I got a $10 credit for spending over $20 at Restaurant Month, so this dinner only cost me $15

Cafe review: Once Strangers, Upper Symonds St

Saturday's lunch: bulgogi beef burger and pear and walnut waffles

The story behind this cafe is a unique and personal one. Emily and Aaron, the owners, are now engaged, but previously they were once strangers who got to know each other at a cafe. Their vision for their newly established eatery, appropriately named  'Once Strangers', was to create a social place; a space to talk, eat and enjoy each other's company over affordable meals. Every element you see has a story behind in; the menus, logo, table numbers, the feature wall.

Conveniently located in front of the bus stop on Symonds Street where Mt Eden Road and Khyber Pass Road buses converge (next to Gina's Italian restaurant) the cafe greets you with a welcoming airy glass frontage. The interior is bright and fresh, bustling on a Saturday afternoon.

The menu is one of those menus that you could spend 20 minutes trying to decide. Because, ooh the waffles! But ooh soft baked eggs? Yum I love pork belly. But the bulgogi beef burger...

Breakfast waffles; bacon, grilled banana, whipped cream and maple syrup $15

I love waffles. Not many cafes serve them, usually brunch menus only extend to pancakes and french toast. But there are two sweet waffle options and a savoury one here!

Pear & walnut waffles served with poached pear, walnut crumble,
whipped cream and caramel drizzle $14

It tasted as good as it looks. The waffles were the perfect texture; not crunchy and not chewy, the right crisp and fluffiness. My friend loved the poached pear and I loved the biscuit flavor of the walnut crumble although I prefer the bacon less crispy with the savoury option.

Pork belly bao bun with pear coleslaw $18.50

Bao is a Chinese style steamed bun that is ever so slightly sweet but the combination is delectable when filled with meat, vegetables and asian style seasoning. Once Strangers did it just right; soft and not at all dry. There are two options for order: spicy, stir-fried thin sliced pork belly or honey balsamic thick pork belly. For those of you undecided you can get one of each for $18.50 or a single one for $9.50. We were one of the undecided ones.

I have to say I'm not keen on pork but my friend who ordered it is, and he says the best one is the honey balsamic because it had a hint of sweetness that complemented the savoury pork flavor.

You know the food is good when you look up and there, across the table, is your friend eating with his eyes closed.

Bulgogi marinated beef patty, housemade potato rosti,
caramelised onion in a brioche bun with fries $18

The king meal for the hungry: bulgogi beef burger. The bulgogi beef is a korean BBQ style tangy sauce. It tasted absolutely amazing. The potato rosti (hash) was tasty and paired well with the caramelised onion and bulgogi flavor. It was a massive burger that you'll regret not finishing later. The fries were crispy and came with aioli (slightly too lemony, I thought). This burger is a definite winner and I'd recommend it without hesitation if you come here.

They had an extensive drinks selection, from acai smoothie to Vietnamese iced coffee. It's worth coming here even if you're not ordering food. They have affogato and a Kohu Road ice cream cabinet which you can buy in scoop or make into a milkshake. My friend is a coffee snob so when he says the coffee is good; the coffee must be good.

Kohu Road ice cream

Once Strangers' menu is their strength. There is a lot of variety that I imagine would satisfy almost everyone. Not too much variety in their cabinet mealwise, although the sweet slices looked unique and tempting paired with a coffee.

Cabinet food selection

What makes this cafe unique is their personalised touches.

The table numbers are made up of people's names who helped made the cafe what it is.

There are packs of personally made conversation cards on every table; blue to break the ice and pink for "date conversations". Or if you're here alone, there is free wifi!




Both my friends have said they want to make a second visit. With a menu variety like this and the quality of food we've had, I'm keen to go again.

This is the place to go for your next brunch/ date.

Signed,

Elisa


Menu below taken from their Facebook page. Eat off each others' plates like I did if you can't decide what to order :p

Once Strangers
159 Symonds Street,
Eden Terrace
Auckland
HOURS | Tues - Fri 7-3pm, Sat 9-4pm

A little bit about JAX Wine & Tapas bar

After a full on day of consultation, City Rail Loop presentation, and general this-and-that with only coffee and a bun to fuel me since 7am, it was time to grab a feed.

At 5pm, Newmarket was accommodating the last retail customers of the day, the buses carried the workers home and I sat down at Jax for after work drinks/ pre-dinner with jt.

I loved how we were practically the only customers at the time. Allowed us to chat properly about me managing a small part of a project, the dating hierarchy and The White House's current anticipation for a mormon visit.

Jax is a small espresso/ wine and tapas bar and had a sophisticated 'after-work Ponsonby' relaxed feel without the intimidating 30+ vibe.Their website says they hold private functions and photography exhibitions as well.

JAX Wine & Tapas

40 Remuera Rd

Newmarket

(next to the train station)

Open Tues- Sat 4pm-11pm

A White Russian for me and a Heineken for the simple man :)

White Russian, the manager explained to me, is vodka and Baileys. Which tastes amazingly satisfying especially in the humid evening. But I can definitely drink it all day.

We ordered 4 tapas. You can find the Jax menu here
Tapas is basically a shared platter. You order a few things to share over drinks.

The pate of the week is duck with orange and cointreau, served with toasted ciabatta.

I've never had duck before, but fyi it tastes like chicken with an after taste.

Beef eye fillet served with a mozzarella & potato fritter topped with a rich dark ale reduction.

THIS was absolutely EXQUISITE.

Firstly, the beef eye fillet.

I didn't know there could be such a difference between good steak and excellent steak.

I've had good steak before and this was definitely the excellent steak. Tender, juicy, flavorsome, not chewy and not dry.

The mozarella and potato fritter...

jt described it as amazing.

I said, let's try make it at home.

Butternut & Parmesan risotto cakes served on tomato salsa

Delicious. Love the texture, unfortunately not a fan of the slightly spicy (but almost unbearable in my mouth) taste.

Braised Merino lamb spare ribs on potato mash, fennel & drizzled port reduction

Fuzzy photo of "the best lamb ever" -jt

I'm not well experienced with lamb but it was specially tasty and the mash was perfect.
There was a moment of weird silence when I watched as jt closed his eyes to savour the food.

Food: excellent.
Service: impeccable, friendly, informative.
Price: only affordable for students if it's a special occassion or you have a voucher like us :p
Place: comfortable, quiet and sheltered from the busy Broadway intersection.

Must try: the beef eye fillet with the mozarella potato fritter. Must.
Next time: I'm keen for the goats cheese balls with herbs, coated with bread crumbs on fresh honey comb. Will definitely keep a lookout on grabone again


And to conclude,
The end of Sherlock season 3.


Signed,

Elisa

Twenty One

I turned 21 on 9th October. And I felt very very loved and special all day Wednesday!

I woke up to birthday Snapchats, including this gorgeous one...

thanks kiki <3


Lauren took me out to dinner!

We went to Atico Cocina
A very nice, chilled, comfortable and open South American restaurant at Victoria Park.

Their website is here including their menu and info on function room

The restaurant was one big open room. Brightly decorated, with couches and even a swing seat in the corner and a large bar in the centre.

 

Our drinks yea! Can't remember what they were called but it was real delicious cocktails.
Sweet and a bit on the strong side
My first cocktail!

Jamaican chicken jerk.
Jerk chicken breast, creole okra, plantain chips with fennel and pineapple slaw.

This is what I had and I tell you, the chips were AMAZING.
Where can I get some more??

I just looked up what plantain was: it is actually a fruit! That looks almost exactly like a banana but does not taste like it at all. So good...
The chicken was spicy however, but it was very tender and oh so juicy.

Lauren's roast pork fillet; Filete de cerdo dulce, the signature dish.
With chorizo stuffing, chilli apple glaze, cassava puree, pico de gallo and watercress.
Again, delicious.

We then went to dessert night with the 2013/ 2014 committed student leaders of Auckland Studentlife.

White choc mudcake, caramel latte and Henry Yeah's strawberry sponge cake.

We each got given a book wrapped in ribbon... and ended up being wrapped in the ribbon ourselves

And I came home to this!! 21 things from my long-time friend, Hayley
It came in a massive box of parcel, gift wrapped and in a NAUTICAL box!!
Lotions, NAUTICAL napkins, chocolate, cupcake lip gloss, notepad, tissue pack, teddy bear and the first key on a bracelet!

Thank you so much

Our little neighbours popped by today and gave me a little gift too!
Purple party eyeshadow and body butter.

A delicate handkerchief all the way from Whangarei

However the first gift of the day was this.
Hand delivered by a man in a formal wear who waited for me at my bus stop
I've wanted this perfume for a while! I LOVE THE SMELL
Thank you... <3

What a beautiful card! Witha  rhyming poem inside too!
I was just looking at those notebooks yesterday!! And I was searching for a day planner yesterday too! Perfect.

Cake tester, sprinkles and cookie cutters <3
Thank you

So sweet and so thoughtful! Thank you

I made Abby write in it too and she was self conscious that her handwriting would spoil the book...
I think her handwriting looks like the printed font.

Along with the Moschino perfume, it came with samples. I thought it was funny; Taylor gave me 'Taylor' by Taylor Swift.

Most surprising: Secret Blessings.
I got told by Abby to go to the locker, and I found these!!
I was so excited when I saw the Lush packet and SO SURPRISED when she got me what I had been wanting since the start of the year! Lip scrub!
Cause after radiation, my mouth and lips go dry really quickly, but I tell you I've used the scrub twice already (tastes so good) and it makes your lips supple and soft.

Can't wait to scoff those macarons as well. I've only ever had the cappuccino ones and they are gooood.

Thank you Secret Blessings. You know who you are (I don't!)

At our group meeting, I was greeted by my engineering boys with sour skittles and Bueno.
How did you guys know Bueno is my favorite chocolate?!
Aww <3 so touched

My long time friend delivered this to my mailbox with a hilarious card that had all the stuff we bonded over during Year 12/ 13 ... dear me

I love... Kikki K!

My family gave me a printed photo album! So nice. I'll show you some time

My brother made me breakfast/ brunch!

 They were nice waffles, even if it did take him an hour to make and he had to wake me up to ask why the mixture was lumpy and if the egg whites were stiff enough :p hahahaha learning curve

And then I heard a "YAAAY" and the first waffle was served!

A couple of you have been asking about the whipped peanut butter.
Thank you Nina for recommending it to me!! It is light, not sticky, slightly denser texture than whipped cream and most importantly doesn't get stuck on the top of your mouth.
I got it from Countdown!

And then Google gave me a birthday greeting ;)


And to conclude,

I am getting an external flash for my Canon 600D courtesy of the parentals
If you have tips on what to purchase/ where to purchase an entry-level flash, let me know please!!

Signed,
Elisa