quaint melody

Mr K had Scotch Fillet, served medium-rare on a bed of baked potatoes with red wine, cracked pepper and peppercorn sauce, while I opted for my fish of the day, grilled with lemon, served with cauliflowers and potatoes.

We went to this little Italian restaurant called Invito which is located at the Chancery in Auckland CBD last weekend. The restaurant provides both indoor and outdoor dining. Lovely place to relax and enjoy fine dining on a lazy spring afternoon. We were there late afternoon and opted for the open-air area as it was quite a sunny day, the ambiance was quiet and nice. The food was exceptional with great service. I especially love their tiramisu, it’s probably one of the best I’ve had in a while, very rich yet not too sweet. This place is definitely one of my favourite hang-out places, absolutely divine! Drool away people!

It’s happy Friday again! Have a wonderful weekend ahead!

A scrumptious dinner at Grand Harbour and some snow-skin mooncakes I bought from local Chinese grocery,
by Maxims Hong Kong. click photos to enlarge.

Nice food, pleasant company and a few laughs over drinks.
Isn’t that how we spend most festive seasons?

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Sunday night. The Observetory. A quiet night out with my significant someone.
Delightful companion and delectable food. Life should be such blissful joy.

We went to hell last weekend. Yes we did, for a whole 15 minutes, for pizza that is! Heh.

Hell’s Pizza is a very successful pizza franchise in New Zealand. Started as a small pizza shop next to Victoria University in Wellington, they quickly gained attention via clever advertising campaigns. With a catchy name like ‘Hell’, it’s no wonder they created buzz around town successfully. They now have 63 stores spread around the country. I remembered when the new stores started popping up around town, their unique devilish deco certainly caught my attention. There were even hearses parked in front of the shops! They certainly took the nation by storm.

Of course, however strong the campaign is, the pizza chain wouldn’t have survived without the most important ingredient, good pizzas. They offer various gourmet pizzas, pastas and sides. The unique part is, the names of all dishes are hellish as well. You get names like Lust, Greed, Envy, Sloth etc on the menu. That certainly makes ordering fun!

Hell only offers pickup or delivery services, no dine-in. You can phone in or place an order from their website. We normally order online and collect the food from the shop near us. Their website is very cool and animated, with little devils running around. Have a looky here.

cute devilish merchandises.

They are running a series of advertisements that depict the current political events. This one is about the newly passed anti-smacking law. Heh.

cute ducklings.

We ordered snack size Touble pizza with camembert, bacon, onion, chicken, pineapple and salami.

Yummylicious spirit pasta, my favourite!

Last but not least, garlic bread. (again, modeled by Mr K’s hand. Ha.)

Next time if you visit New Zealand, don’t forget to go to Hell!

hell’s pizza food New Zealand

Winter is coming and the weather is getting colder. As I was waiting on the pavement with wind blowing my way, what else would I think of but ice-cream?! Haha, strange huh, I’m feeling the cold, yet ice-cream is the answer. Maybe Kok’s friend is right, eating ice-cream in cold weather is a better idea. It doesn’t melt as fast like during summer, therefore you can enjoy at your own pace.

Anyway, what better place to get great ice-cream in town than New Zealand Natural! Here in New Zealand, they operate as a stand in the middle of shopping malls. No comfy sofas or tables, unlike the ones in Malaysia. Nevertheless, they still taste great! I went a little greedy and chose to have 3 scoops on waffle cone, Orange Chocolate Chip, Rum ‘n’ Raisins and Walnut Butterscotch. Wholly molly, I am full!

MR K’s hand.

*photos taken back in summer.

Technorati tags: New Zealand Natural ice cream

Just like my many Malaysians pals, I am passionate about food, good food. You can imagine my devastation when I came to the kiwi land 7 years ago. The food variation was not that bad, but significantly less if compared to my home country. Of course, I know I shouldn’t compare, every country has it’s good and bad points, so I set myself out to an on going mission to hunt for good food, well, good Asian food mostly. Luckily, the food choices over here has improved over the years, and being the glutton, I am happy sampling away the delicious cuisines of many nations. Here’s one of the many that I love, Turkish chicken on rice.

Chicken on rice is a dish containing layers of roasted chicken pieces on top of specially cooked fragrance rice, served with green salads and homus. You can choose among the many sauces, like homus, chilli, bbq, tomato, mint and garlic yogurt as topping. I usually go with my favourite homus sauce. The taste is heavenly, oozing with aroma. Mr K and I used to have this 2-3 times a week when we were students because the shop is just right around the corner from uni. Of course, there’s their famous kebab and Mr K’s favourite Lamb on rice as shown in photo below. And let’s not forget their super crispy homemade fries, the best in town!This delicious dish is typically found in many Turkish kebab stalls around town, but I find the one from Kebab on Queen to be the best. Their warm customer service just keeps me going back for more. Why is is called Kebab on Queen? This kebab shop originated from a small (And I mean small, with only 2 small tables right in front of their store) on Queen Street, the busiest business district in Auckland. It is one of the rare food outlet that opens till late (well over mid-night) and 24 hours on weekends. Business is always busy there, and you can see long queues during lunch hours. I stayed in the city centre for about 4 years when I was studying, and used to patronise the shop frequently. So nowadays, everytime I eat this delicious meal, I eat it with a sense of memory.

Their new stall in the newly opened Sylvia Park mega mall.

MR K’s favourite, lamb on rice.

**Start Copy**

Proposition: What is your favorite food in your state or country?
Requirements: Find some info about the food and show delicious pictures of it?
Quantity: FIVE PEOPLE.
Tag Mode: You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.

Mybabybay loves Asam Laksa from Penang, Malaysia
JustMyThoughts loves Penang Char Koay Teow
My Lil Venture loves Laksa Sarawak
Montessorimum loves Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun
Chinnee loves Melaka Wan Tan Mee
Leah loves Hakka Lei Cha
Hui Sia loves Crispy Duck Skin from China
Karen loves Pan Mee.
Simple American loves Cheese Enchiladas
Giddy Tiger loves Dim Sum
CC loves Turkish Chicken on Rice

**End Copy**

Here are the five lovely bloggers I’d like to tag:
Criz from Criz’s Sanctuary
KC from Earth-Bound Insight
Kok from Not so complicated…
FireHorse from Fatty Poh’s Kopi Tiam
Iwan from Iwan SanchezLet’s share your favourite food! Have fun!

Technorati tags: kebabs on queen turkish food

I am not so much of a coffee person but I do enjoy the occasional glass of ice coffee. My coffee of choice? Aik Cheong 3 in 1 White Coffee Tarik from Malacca. It is one of the best I have tasted amongst the same range. I was delighted to find it in one of the Chinese grocery stores in Auckland and have been keeping a pack on my kitchen shelve ever since. It comes in a package of 15 sachets, each contains 40g of heavenly coffee mix. It is quite a generous size and can be divided into 2 cups if you prefer a lighter taste. I usually make it as an ice coffee with lots of ice as my tongue cannot tolerate a very hot beverage. Sipping this cooling drink while reading my favourite book during the hot summer afternoon is simply heavenly.

Technorati tags: ice coffee cold beverage

Cock & Bull is a successful traditional English bar and restaurant. It has franchises around town at all the hot spots. It is one of our favourite places to patronize for a night out. I really like the deco and atmosphere there. They have interesting events and quizzes going on all year round. It’s a great place to catch football or rugby live on their big screen TVs too!

We went there last weekend to sample some good old traditional English food. We ordered our favorite entrée Cheesy Garlic Bread. It has just the right amount of cheese on top of a garlic flavored bread which is toasted to perfection. For mains, I had the fish of the day, which was snapper battered with egg and herb on a bed of green salad with roasted baby potatoes. It’s topped with corns and coriander tomato relish. Yummy!! K had the tasty Scottish Mutton Pie. The gravy-topped home baked pie comes on a bed of mushy green peas and served with crispy fries and salad. K described it as ‘a feast for the taste buds’.

All in all a pleasant night at the bulls. Now, go photos!