Jules Taylor Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Marlborough

With a light greenish hue, Jules Taylor Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from Marlborough is magnificent. Great passionfruit flavours, fresh and nicely balanced. Drinking beautifully now.

District Dining, Britomart, Auckland

As a group of 5 we walked in off the street with no booking to District Dining on Thursday. The restaurant was busy, but they were able to sit us in the bar area where they where happy to serve us. This was the first time any of us had been to District Dining so it was a new experience for us all.

After our eyes adjusted to the low light we looked over the interesting range of tapas-style dishes and, after finding out the portion size from the waitress and the specials, proceeded to order 2-3 dishes each. The verdict (or more-so my verdict) on the dishes:

• Prawn toast, soy mayonnaise - these were very good and one of my favourite choices
• Smoked fish croquette, dill mayonnaise - I didn't expect much with croquette's but these were very good.
• Crispy pigs ears, Szechuan salt - these were done like fries and enjoyed by many.
• Spiced lamb briq roll, Tzatsiki - quite enjoyable.
• Chicken wings, chilli caramel - ok, but the caramel just didn't seem like a good match.
• Crispy squid, cauliflower puree, chorizo, Pedro Ximenez - the squid itself was ok, the Pedro Ximenez (a spanish white grape) was a new experience that I don't think any of us liked, the puree was nice, the chorizo flavoursome and good.
• Veal tongue, pickled turnips, salsa verde - this was a lovely dish. I'm not usually a fan of tongue, but done is this style you wouldn't know it was tongue.
• Chicken liver parfait, Port jelly, Toast, red grape - beautifully smooth and full of flavour. There was however not another toast and we had to order more.
• Steak tartare, Aioli, French Fries, Sourdough - this was my of my favourite dishes of the evening and even those of our group that had never had steak tartare enjoyed it.
• Herbed gnocchi, broccoli, pecorino, pangratto - very nice.
• Duck confit, Kumara, Pomegranate, Ra el hanout - a little dry in parts but otherwise I actually enjoyed this.
• 12 hour lamb shoulder, egg plant, olive, tomato - beautifully tender but lacked any wow factor.

The service was slow. The first items arrived reasonably quickly but then there was a long wait of about 20 mins before the next lot and then a similar wait time until more turned up. The wait staff were however friendly but professional.

The restaurant had a nice vibe and was nicely decorated (albeit dark), although it was too hot.

In retrospect we probably didn't need quite as many dishes, but we did manage to get through them all anyway. From a cost perspective, the food bill was just under $50 a head. There was also a good selection of wine and beer to choose from.

Moana Park Vineyard Tribute Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Moana Park is one of those vineyards that brings back great memories. When we visited the cellar door in the Hawkes Bay in January 2009, Dan Barker (the winemaker) told us to take a seat outside at the table, pulled a stool up and proceeded to lead us through their vast selection of wines. It is probably still the most memorable cellar-door experience I have ever had and Dan was a great laugh and superb host.

Deep ruby red in colour, this wine predominantly has leather to the nose.

This is one mouth-puckering tannic wine, although it is remarkably smooth to taste. Packed with red berry and plum flavours, it is very full-bodied and has some nice earthy & leather flavours present. With a medium tail this is a delight to drink. Drinking well now and feels like it will be able to be cellared longer.

Cobar Restaurant, Days Bay (Wellington)

Last night we had a lovely meal out at Cobar Restaurant in Days Bay. This is not an area I am used to going to for a meal in Wellington and chose Cobar based on it having high reviews on dineout and the Cobar website containing information about the source of their ingredients, which is often a good sign that a restaurant takes pride in their food and respect for the ingredients.

We were a party of six and made extremely welcome from the moment we arrived until we left. The service was friendly and professional in this nicely decorated restaurant that has a magnificent outlook across the harbour.

Cobar has an extensive selection of quality beers and wines, and I started with a Tuatara IPA before moving onto a Cotes de Rhone (that was enjoyed by all).

To start we had some marinated olives and spiced almonds, and also the sourdough bread with homemade dips and olive oil with balsamic vinegar. These were all good.

I had the Kingfish entree which was accompanied by an artichoke and potato salad, micro-greens and salmon caviar. This was pretty good although I felt the kingfish could have done with a smidgen more seasoning.

Jane opted for two small plates instead of an entree; the kingfish and salt and pepper squid. She enjoyed both of these although wasn’t too sure about the squid batter and thought it may have had a bit too much cornflour. The squid was however beautifully tender and I enjoyed the small portion I tried.

Another dish enjoyed by our party was the Prawn cocktail with sesame prawn toast and prawn mousse.

For my main I had a beautifully tender lamb rump that was accompanied by a lovely sauce, asparagus and what I think was a butternut puree. This was a lovely dish although the puree was a little on the sweet side. Having said that I would happily have this dish again.

Jane had salmon for her main that was accompanied by some lovely beetroot fritters. The salmon whilst flavoursome may have benefited from being a little more rare.

Others thoroughly enjoyed the beef fillet and said they would happily have this again.

We finished with a birthday cake we had brought along and some coffees. The coffees were good, and so was the cake for that matter.

We will all happily return.

The Cornerstone Bar, Blenheim

We found The Cornerstone to be a busy bar in Blenheim that was quite noisy due a Hens party whilst we were there, but it contributed to a nice relaxed vibe. We started with a plate of mussels (in a white wine sauce) and chips; the mussels were overdone and the chips were limp and soggy.

For my main I had the fish of the day, which was blue cod and was accompanied with prawns, mussels, salad and rice. The blue cod and prawns were nicely cooked and flavoursome. The mussels were also thankfully significantly better than the entree and very enjoyable. The rice felt a bit lost on the plate and the salad was basic but perfectly fine.

Jane had the Coq au Vin and found the chicken to be beautifully tender and falling off the bone. It was a basic dish that whilst okay, she wouldn’t order again.

La Veranda at George Michel, Blenheim

Lunch at La Veranda consists of a menu that mainly has platters. Jane and I both decided to have the Fruite de la Mers (i.e. Seafood platter).

The platter, had a fresh prawn cocktail, salmon dip, caper-berries, creme fraiche and dill and a salmon tartar. This was accompanied with bread. It was a simple but nice platter and I enjoyed all of the parts.

Not surprisingly, the platters did arrive very quickly once ordered, and other than the first platter having some difficulty getting to Jane and portions enjoying Jane’s dress the service was good.

Raupo, Blenheim

Breakfast alongside the river in Blenheim is a lovely way to start the day, and Raupo is perfectly positioned with a good quantity of outside seating to do it justice.

We were one of two tables in the cafe when we first arrived, so were able to chose an outside table with great views along the river. The decor inside, although we only briefly passed through, looked to be very stylish.

I had the Eggs Raupo for breakfast, which consisted of Poached eggs on Brioche with a Tomato Hollandaise with Smoked Salmon and Greens. I did wonder if it would be a bit too busy in terms of flavour, and it was slightly, although in general I enjoyed my meal. It was apparent that Raupo takes pride in the quality of their meals and the ingredients they use. The accompanying trim latte on the other hand was a bit burnt.

Jane had the big breakfast done with gluten free bread and found it to also be good, although the scrambled eggs weren’t great.

The service was pleasantly friendly and the food arrived in a timely manner.