blown away by welly

No, this time I was not literally blown away in my hometown that is Windy Welly.  The food, yes the food, is what blew me away.  On a recent trip back to Wellington, I was lucky enough to have a week there to try some of the best food they have on offer with some of my favourite people.  There are a lot of people who rave on about the food that Melbourne has on offer and yes I agree, the food here in Melbourne is amazing.  But I have to say that I am so proud of my little hometown, being a fraction of the size and population of Melbourne, and having this amazing food scene that is steadily expanding and evolving.  I always look forward to a trip back where I can enjoy three of my favourite things, good food, great company and simply being home.

The Wellington coffee scene is insane.  I have always been a little (or a lot) biased and preferred the coffee in Wellington over Melbourne and pretty much anywhere else in the world.  I put it down to liking what you know and what you are used to.  I am not saying that I enjoy every single cup of coffee that I have in Wellington but what I am saying is that the consistency and flavour nearly always satisfies me.  So with the “hipsters” in full force, Wellington now has so many choices available that without the inside knowledge of a hipster friend, I may have been a little lost.  Red Rabbit is where I was taken and my latte did not disappoint.  The flavour of the coffee was great and with the standard Wellington double shot, it was a good strength also.  Red Rabbit also has the Leeds St Bakery delights available for purchase and oh my goodness, their salted caramel cookie is to die for.

I had heard a lot about the Crab Shack that opened whilst I have been away.  I mentioned to a great friend of mine that I wanted to try it.  She considerately pointed out that I would have to try it with her since I have a husband who is allergic to crustaceans and another good friend who is allergic to seafood.  So being the great friend that she is, she took the day off work to take me to the Crab Shack.  I know, I feel so lucky and am very grateful!

We started with the Shrimp mac ‘n cheese croquettes.  These beautifully crumbed morsels were deliciously filled with creamy mac ‘n cheese.  Admittedly the shrimp was not memorable however the entire croquette experience was definitely a worthy one.  I judge it with the question to myself “would I order that again?” and this was definitely a yes! 

The other entrée we had was the Moroccan spiced calamari, lightly fried and served with aioli and lemon.  I am pretty fussy when it comes to calamari, it needs to be tender, fresh and perfectly cooked.  This entrée ticked all those boxes and I would definitely order this again.

For mains, we both had the Crab & Clam fettuccine with white wine, garlic, chili, roasted peppers & parsley.  It sounded, looked and smelt fabulous.  It was definitely tasty however its downfall was that it was over seasoned.   It was that little bit too salty where we both did not finish the dish.  I probably would not order this again however this is not to say I would not visit again.  The menu at the Crab Shack is extensive and there is something on there to suit most people with non-seafood dishes also.  So yes, I’m guessing my great friend knew this and just wanted me to herself, but hey I’m not complaining!  It is also set on the Wellington waterfront and even on a cold winter’s day, it was beautiful and definitely a recommended place to dine.

I truly am so lucky to have beautiful and generous friends who I will always be grateful for.  An old friend of mine flew down from Auckland while I was in Wellington just to have lunch with me which made me feel overly spoilt.  I had heard good things (as usual) about Charley Noble so we ventured there for a nice, long, lazy lunch.
 

As I typically do, I studied the menu before I went and a few things had caught my eye but I had not made a decision, as I would rather wait to see what I felt like on the day.  I opted for a vegetarian dish, the house made pasta – Ravioli with pumpkin, amaretti, sage, pine nuts and brown butter.  This dish blew my mind.  It was so flavoursome and had the perfect balance.  The serving was not huge, however it was just right for my appetite that day and it did have a generous amount of pine nuts. 

My friend opted for a pasta dish also and went with the parpadelle with duck ragu and Grana Padano which is a hard slow-ripened, semi-fat cheese similar to parmesan.  This dish was hearty and also very delicious.

We also ordered sides of Truffle fries and French Peas, bacon, white wine and cream to accompany our delicious pastas and for that extra bit of decadence.  Both were delicious but probably not required, but hey we forgo dessert instead as our lunch was already superbly indulgent.

Tucked into Miramar an eastern suburb of Wellington is Café Polo.  This suburban café/restaurant was already established before we left Wellington five years ago, however the couple we were dining with who live in Miramar had never even been there!  I always remembered this place as consistently good and wanted to get back there while I was in Wellington. 

To start with, we had the Wild mushroom arancini with garlic aioli that comes in a serve of three balls.  One thing I love about this menu is it tells you how many items you will get in a serve, takes the guessing out of it and also saves you from asking.  I love arancini because I am a huge risotto fan.  These were delicious, full of flavour and well-crumbed.  Personally I think there is nothing like something that is crumbed well!

Also to start we had the Fish Sliders (in a serve of 2), which came with sauce gribiche and watercress.  What is sauche gribiche, I hear you wondering?  Well, it is a mayonnaise style sauce however the eggs are cooked instead of raw.  You do learn something every day when eating fine food!  The sliders were again delicious - I think delicious is fast becoming my favourite word.  The fish was battered and deep-fried, the buns were fresh, and the combination of watercress and egg is one of those matches made in heaven.

Onto the mains.  We had the Pan roasted fish, cauliflower puree, pine nuts, sultanas & glazed endive.  This dish had my favourite things.  I’m not a huge fan of cauliflower in its natural form.  However, when it is pureed, it is a different story.  It was creamy, smooth and well-seasoned, I loved it so much, I have tried to replicate it in my own kitchen.  The fish was also well cooked and this was a complete dish that simply worked.



The other main was the Crispy skin pork belly, apple & parsnip remoulade, quince, roast shoulder croquette.  Again, pork and apple go hand in hand and is a harmonious marriage.  The dish was presented beautifully and tasted mighty fine also.  It was very scrumptious and we were extremely satisfied.


As if we needed more satisfaction, there was still room for dessert.  I opted for a new dish that had found its way onto the menu, it was the Bitter chocolate & malt tart, toasted marshmallow, almond & vanilla milkshake.  There were so many components onto this one mind-blowing dessert.  It also contained a quenelle scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate krisipies.  The tart was smooth with an amazing dark chocolate flavour which I am a huge fan of.  The toasted marshmallow was light and fluffy, similar to a meringue without the crunch.  The milkshake was a quirky addition to the dessert and an extra decadent way of washing the rest down.

The other dessert was a Vanilla ice cream fudge sandwich.  I had seen this dessert on social media and had to try it.  It was absolutely amazing.  The creamy smooth ice cream was sandwiched between what I think was pop corn wafers?  I am not 100 percent sure but whatever it was worked well together.  The final hurrah that completed this mind-blowing three course meal.

Would we return to Café Polo?  Most definitely.  Would we recommend Café Polo?  Absolutely.  I not-so-secretly think, this is one of my favourite places to dine in Wellington – besides having my mum’s cooking of course.

Wellington will always hold a special spot in my heart.  It is the tiny, windy, funky city where my family settled and made our home.  I am always quick to boast about this city and I love seeing how it has evolved and how it can challenge the food culture of its bigger cousin Melbourne, in its own unique and wonderful ways.