1 January 2011
MY TOP INTERNATIONAL FOOD EXPERIENCES OF 2010
It’s the last day of the year. A chance to think about the good stuff and the best meals I enjoyed outside New Zealand. Here are the highlights in no particular order. Pic is the condiments at Helen Darroze in Paris.
The Food Carts of Portland, Oregon. What a responsible and sympathetic city council that licences immigrants and young cooks to cook the delicious treats of their homelands and imaginations and serve them from carts placed in parking lots and unused building sites around the city. The best I tried? Ziba’s Pitas; unlike anything that is ever served as ‘pita’ here in NZ. Tasty spiced meat or vegetarian with fresh cheese in a soft flaky warmed bread pocket.
Two San Francisco restaurants not to miss. Flour and Water, and La Mar. Flour and Water, despite the long queues, is worth the effort to get there. Fabulous fresh seasonal food served with a casual style that is delightfully refreshing in a world of tortured food. Everything we ate, we had spotted at the farmers market at the Ferry Plaza that very day. And La Mar, on the SF waterfront introduced me to Peruvian cuisine; causas, empanadas, ceviches and to top it all, Pisco Sours. Brassy, bright and happy.
Quay’s breathtaking views almost out-muscles the breathtaking food at this amazing restaurant on Sydney’s Circular Quay. Eat your heart out Melbourne! Peter Gilmore made it into the World’s Top 50 and so deserves it for his imaginative, stylish food that is oh-so-beautifully presented. The dessert with wild raspberries, sorbet and cream- in- the-jelly sphere was the best I ate all year.
Berowra Waters Inn, with Dietmar Sawyere at the helm we found the most perfect place in the world to go for lunch. Fly in a seaplane from Rose Bay or drive the ridiculously crowded highway to the upper reaches of Sydney’s Pittwater to this hideaway. Fabulous service, fabulous setting, fabulous food. The oyster beignets with vichyssoise have to be the best entrée I was served at a restaurant in 2010.
CSA & OOOBY. Community Supported Agriculture. I really admire the concept and delivery I saw in San Francisco and Portland of the weekly food box filled with fresh produce grown by a local farmer. Participants pay up in advance and the farmer can grow his crops, safe in the knowledge they will be enjoyed and consumed by an appreciative audience. (Also loved the OOOOBY initiative in New Zealand!)
The fishy restaurant tour I took of England’s South West. Lunch at Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant, even better (yes) fish and chips at the Porthminster Café in St Ives, Mark Hix’ Oyster and Fish Shack at Lyme Regis, and Michael Caines’ careful cooking at the Abode Hotel in Exeter with freshly smoked haddock and a poached egg for breakfast following on from amazing red mullet for the previous night’s dinner. Seafood is alive and kicking in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
Back in London, highlights were the luxurious and centrally sited Langham Hotel (don’t miss the elegant cocktail lounge or the High Tea), JJ Sheekeys comforting fish pie, anything at Ottolenghi in Upper St Islington, and as ever the dazzingly fresh fish, Japanese style cooked by kiwi boy, Nic Watt’s, team at Roka. Still the best restaurant on the world. Britain’s adherence to freshly produced sustainable food extends right down the food chain to fast food outlets like Leon, Prêt A Manger and Eat. Truly admirable and a huge lesson for New Zealand where we seem to just coast along on our supposed green and clean image.
Ballymaloe House, and Ballymaloe Cookery School in Shanagarry, Ireland. The wonderfully warm family led hospitality, the magnificent gardens and farm for the school, the Sunday night buffet presided over by Myrtle Allen and the sheer energy of Darina Allen are unforgettable.
Helene Darroze, Paris. A female chef with a comfortable two starred restaurant serving delicious south-western cooking. The trolley, complete with state of the art slicing machine delivered the most mouthwatering dried ham from the southwest to our tale as a gift to start a feast that was truly memorable.
Brasserie Bofinger near the Bastille in Paris for a surprise birthday for a dear friend. It may not be cutting edge food, but the service and atmosphere of those old belle époque brasseries of Paris is not to be missed. And my lobster with a large pile of crunchy French beans was a real treat.
Food in Hong Kong. China’s National Day with fireworks and a feast to remember at Hutong on the 47th floor overlooking the Harbour. A degustation dinner at the ritzy flagship restaurant in The Langham in Kowloon. The bustle of the gigantic shopping centre and endless food halls at Langham Place in Mongkok. And the noodle bar in the Cathay business class lounge is a pretty smart idea for weary travellers.