Top 5 New Zealand Road Trip Food Products

If you ever travel to New Zealand, chances are you will be doing a lot of driving. The country is much larger than most people realize, and getting from point A to point B is normally a few hours drive.

The country is very spread out. A trip to NZ always ends up being a big long road trip for CK and I, which means we are living out of a car for the majority of the trip. As a result, we have seeked out the best food products that not only keep well, but are also a good source of energy.

Here is a top 5 list of our favorite New Zealand road trip products. These goodies are now the first things we grab when we walk into a NZ grocery store.

Number 5: Seafood in a can. Although I have mussels pictured below (only picture I had), they are actually my least favorite. The best seafood in a can is the sardines in tomato sauce. They are great for sandwiches, and a great source of protein.

Seafood in a Can

Number 4: Mother Earth Baked Oaty Slices. These are full of fibre. Each bar is made with wholegrains, rolled oats, and wholegrain meal flour. Our favorite flavor is Anzac: a nice blend of butter and coconut.

Mother Earth Baked Oaty Slices

Number 3: Tasti Raw Snacking Scroggin. If you're not familiar with the term scroggin, it is equivalent to the North American term, trail mix. This particular brand comes in little individually wrapped snack size scroggin bags, and this flavor combination has proven to be the best of the best: almonds, dried apricots, banana chips, cashews, peanuts, and dark chocolate.

Tasti Scroggin

Number 2: Mainland processed cheese. They have different flavors so you can switch it up to avoid boredom. CK and I usually rotate between the regular, black pepper, and smoked flavors. Although the real deal is always better, processed cheese keeps much longer.

Mainland Processed Cheese

And, drum roll pleaseeeeeeeeee..............
Number 1: MacKenzie High Country Bread. This is probably the one product that we cannot go without. This bread ROCKS, and nothing compares. Each loaf comes in a brown paper bag, and there are five flavors to choose from. Our favorite is the Southern Grain.

MacKenzie High Country Bread

If you are ever stuck looking for some good tunes to drive with, check out dDub. They are an awesome Kiwi band whose music style is a combination of reggae and instrumental mixes. Their music is upbeat and catchy, which is great for long drives.

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Emirates Airline Meal - Christchurch to Sydney

As you are reading this, I am on a plane on my way to Vegas. Soon after, I will be in hot and humid Singapore. Yes, way too much fast paced travelling. I have scheduled some posts while I am away so that you don't miss me too much ;-)

Flying with Emirates rocks. I'm not on an Emirates flight this time, but I was a few months back when I flew from Australia to New Zealand. I specifically chose to fly with Emirates solely because of the food they offer. Their airline meals are always exotic and excellent in quality. For my 2.5 hour flight in Economy class from Christchurch to Sydney, I was served an awesome meal that was just as good as some of the business class meals I have had on other airlines.

Right before the meal, a hot refreshing towel, and the menu for the flight was brought to us. The menu was a nice gesture because it helps you get excited for the food to come. For the short flight, we were served an appetizer, main, and dessert.

Our appetizer was the char siew duck served over a bed of Asian style vegetable salad. This was the first time I had ever seen duck being served on a plane! CK found the meat a bit too fatty, but I didn't mind at all. Duck is supposed to be a fatty meat.

Char Siew Duck with Asian Style Vegetable Salad

There were two choices for the main: lamb or salmon.

I ordered the pan fried salmon topped with coconut & lemongrass curry sauce. This was served with pulao rice and stir fried vegetables. The salmon was cooked very nicely, and was surprisingly not overdone. Oh! And the curry sauce. It was delicious! I wanted to lick my plate clean, but I didn't to save my husband the embarassment.

Pan Fried Salmon with a Coconut and Lemongrass Curry Sauce

CK ordered the Moroccan lamb tagine accompanied with a vegetable mash, buttered peas, and roasted potatoes. The lamb was also very nice. I had a bit of food envy at first, but my salmon was too good to share. Both dinners were extremely flavorful, and spiced very nicely.

Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Dessert was a white chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis.

Other items served with our meal included a bread roll, cheese & biscuits, chocolate, water, and beverage of choice.

Compared to other airlines for the same flight, this was about $40 more expensive at the time. However, the great meal + free magazines + great inflight entertainment make it all worth the extra money paid.

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Tête Fromagée Anyone?

My co-worker showed me this picture, and I just had to post it.

My co-worker's son, who is a chef, bought this pig head to make tête fromagée, aka head cheese. He ended up scaring the crap out of his girlfriend when she opened the fridge and unexpectedly discovered his recent purchase. Of course, he found it somewhat amusing, and sent this picture to his dad.

If you are unfamiliar with the term tête fromagée (like I was), I'd first like to clarify that it is not a cheese of any sort! It is actually a meat jelly made of pig head pieces, gelatinous meat broth, and spices. The meat jelly is traditionally molded into a loaf, and served thinly sliced.

When I saw this picture, I thought it was a joke. It didn't look real to me. I even thought it was a cake shaped into a pig's head. I had no clue pig ears were so big.

If you were curious, the pig head was purchased from Marché Jean-Talon (Jean-Talon market) in Montreal.

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Cafe Orient, Ottawa

I went to lunch at Cafe Orient with my mom and a few of her friends, and we all spent the afternoon chatting while pigging out on noodles, rice, and congee. Cafe Orient is a bustling little place located on Somerset in Chinatown. They specialize in Hong Kong dishes, and offer over 300 dishes on the menu, including dim sum. My friend Wals is a big fan of their dim sum, especially their xiao long baos.

We ordered a bunch of dishes to share, communal style.

First was the preserved egg and sliced pork congee. Preserved egg, also called century egg is made by preserving duck or chicken eggs in ash and clay for several weeks to several months, until the egg turns a dark green/black color. There is no doubt that this is an acquired taste, but once you catch on, preserved eggs are really good.

Preserved Egg and Sliced Pork Congee

Next was the fried Chinese donut. This is basically sweet dough that is deep fried...not as sweet as a North American donut though.

Fried Chinese Donut

I'm an offal fan, so the beef tendon and tripe egg noodle dish was right up my alley. The tendon and tripe is stewed until tender, and then served over a bed of noodles.

Beef Tendon and Tripe with Egg Noodle

It is also served with a bowl of broth, where you eat the two together.

Beef Tendon and Trip with Egg Noodle

Next was the fried spaghetti with beef and black pepper. If you love black pepper, this dish is for you.

Fried Spaghetti with Beef and Black Pepper

Next was the Indonesian style fried vermicelli: thin rice noodles stir fried with shrimp, beef, scallion, and bean sprouts. It was garnished with a generous amount of coriander.

Indonesian Style Fried Vermicelli

Salted fish and chicken fried rice is one of my favorite dishes. A small warning, this is a very fishy smelling and tasting dish. Again, it is an acquired taste. Day old rice is stir fried with chicken, cured fish, scallion, egg, and lettuce, producing an awesome combination of tastes.

Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice

Next was the chow mein with chicken, squid, and veggies. This is a pretty standard Chinese dish. The chow mein noodles are deep fried until crispy, and the noodles soften up when the stir fried veggies and meat is thrown on top.

Chow Mein with Chicken and Squid

Last was the fried flat rice noodles with beef, onion, and bean sprouts. This is one of my sister's favorite dishes. The noodles and beef are stir fried in both a dark and light soy sauce.

Fried Flat Rice Noodles with Beef

It was a lot of food, but it was good! All of the dishes were nicely made, but we did find some to be a bit too oily. Next time, we will ask the chef to use less oil.

Cafe Orient
808 Somerset Street West
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-563-2422

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The Arcade Restaurant, Memphis

The Arcade Restaurant is a historic landmark in Memphis. Credited as Memphis' oldest restaurant, Arcade Restaurant was founded in 1919 by Greek immigrant, Speros Zepatos. In the 1950's, it was renovated into the retro diner that it is today by his son, Harry Zepatos. Although the food is not spectacular, Arcade Restaurant is famous for many reasons:

• Elvis ate here often during his lifetime
• Arcade was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (means it is worthy of preservation)
• Arcade has been featured on TV Networks such as The Food Network, and The Travel Channel.
• Arcade has been featured in publications such as Travel, Esquire, Southern Living, and Sports Illustrated
• Scenes from Hollywood movies such as Great Balls of Fire, 21 Grams, and Walk the Line have been filmed at this restaurant.

And, the most important reason:

• The service is impeccable!

I didn't know the true meaning of Southern hospitality until I dined here. The waitresses are constantly ensuring their customers are happy, and they go the extra mile whenever possible.

Arcade restaurant sticks to what they know, and serves four things: breakfast, sandwiches, salads, and pizza.

Old Memphis Photo at Arcade Restaurant

I ordered the sweet potato pancake breakfast. It came with hash brown, sausages, and 2 eggs of choice. I wanted my eggs poached but they were pretty much hard boiled. Luckily, I didn't mind. The menu pointed out that these pancakes were voted as a Food Network favorite. The pancakes were really good: fluffy yet dense at the same time. The sweet potato gave it a really nice flavor.

Sweet Potato Pancake Breakfast

I had never tried grits before, so I ordered it to see what it was like. I was pretty indifferent. I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it.

Grits

CK and his cousin ordered the famous arcade cheeseburger. It was a 100% Angus beef patty served with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion. The burger also came with fries.

Famous Arcade Cheeseburger

S ordered the regular pancake breakfast with 2 eggs, bacon, and hash brown. Her pancakes were very burnt on the backside, but she didn't bother complaining.

Pancake Breakfast

A ordered the 21 grams sandwich: roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, feta, and pesto aioli on the side. This came with a side salad and dressing of choice. He enjoyed his sandwich.

21 Grams Sandwich

His cousin, TK, ordered a personally designed 12" pizza. We named it "The Heart Attack Delight". It contained every cheese and every meat available except for pepperoni. On his pizza was mozzarella, brie, feta, ground beef, bacon, and sausage. We all made fun of him for ordering such a health destructive pizza, but a few of us tried it, and enjoyed it way more than we wanted to.

'The Heart Attack Delight' Pizza

TK's pizza took longer than expected to cook, so the waitress apologized, and brought him a salad on the house. His pizza also ended up being free of charge. Gotta love Southern hospitality.

Salad

We also discovered the talented George Hunt on this trip. He is a local artist whose art is deeply influenced by blues music and culture, the Civil Rights movement, and the Southern African-American experience. In 2005, one of his paintings was printed on a US postage stamp as part of the the United Postal Services series, "To Form A More Perfect Nation." To read more about George Hunt, click here. Just a few doors down from Arcade Restaurant is D'Edge Art, a cool art gallery that features Hunt's vibrant work.

If you like burgers, walk across the street from Arcade to Ernestine & Hazel's, and order one of their famous mouth-watering soul burgers. I hear it is the best burger in town.

The Arcade Restaurant
540 South Main Street
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Telephone: 901-526-5757

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Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, Memphis

My trip to the South wasn't complete until I had tried real fried chicken. I have to admit, Kentucky Fried Chicken was the only fried chicken I had ever tasted, and I made the mistake of comparing that to real Southern fried chicken. I kept telling CK and his cousins that I didn't like fried chicken, but they just kept telling me to give Gus's a chance.

His cousins were right. I had no clue what fried chicken really was until I had tried Gus's. The chicken is deep fried until golden brown & crispy on the outside, and the inside is moist and sweet. The batter is perfectly spiced with a blend of salt and cayenne pepper.

Gus's is a small little joint that serves the one thing they are good at: fried chicken. Your choices are white meat or dark meat. Breast, thigh, leg, or wing. Plain and simple. There is a small selection of sides and desserts, but nothing substantial enough to keep you full.

The interior is dimly lit, and it is decorated with local art and sports memorabilia. There is usually a line up to get a table, and service is not the quickest. In recognition of that, they put a sign up saying that "there will be a $5 charge for whining". It's hard to see in the picture, but there is another sign on the left that says "unattended children will be given a free puppy and chocolate covered espresso beans". That cracked me up.

We were a large group that day, so while you can't call ahead to make a reservation, you can call ahead to let them know that a large group is coming, like we did.

For appetizers, I ordered the fried green tomatoes. They were super crispy on the outside, and gooey on the inside. This was served with a side of ranch dressing. I mixed the dressing with some Louisiana hot sauce, and downed my tomatoes. I really enjoyed them.

Fried Green Tomatoes

CK and I were somewhat health conscious (I use that sentence loosely), so we split the 3 piece white meat plate. This came with two breasts, and one wing. For our sides, we had coleslaw and substituted our beans with fried rice. The fried rice here is awesome! It is stir fried with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and Louisiana hot sauce..a surprisingly good combination. We also ordered a jalapeno pepper on the side, but it was WAY too spicy for me. All chicken plates come with white bread.

Three Piece White Meat Plate with Fried Rice and Slaw

This is a 2 piece white meat plate with slaw and fries. CK's cousin said that this was the best coleslaw he had ever had! I found it a tad too sweet for my taste buds. The 2 piece white meat plate came with one breast and one wing.

Two Piece White Meat Plate with Fries and Slaw

Here is the 2 piece dark meat plate with the traditional sides: baked beans and slaw. The 2 piece dark meat plate came with a thigh and a leg.

Two Piece Dark Meat Plate with Baked Beans and Slaw

The original Gus's where it all started is in Mason, TN, 45 miles North East of Memphis at 505 Highway 70. Check it out if you get the chance.

When I googled Gus's to find their address, I stumbled upon this article written by Ed Levine attesting to how good Gus's Fried Chicken is.

A really cool thing to do while in Memphis is to check out Al Green's Sunday morning gospel church service. I am a HUGE fan of Al Green, and just being able to see him was an honor for me. His church services are long, but lively and fun. I was dancing, singing, and clapping the whole time, and it reminded me somewhat of a concert. He is not always there, but if you are lucky enough to see him, you will be wowed by his voice. I loved the shrilling and singing in between his preaching. The service was 3 hours in total, and Al Green didn't show up until the second half of the service.

 

Here are videos that people have posted of the experience. I wasn't sure if it was rude to take photos/videos, so I decided to play it safe. Honestly, watching it doesn't even compare to the real experience.

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
310 S Front St
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Telephone: 901-527-4877

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Vosges Exotic Caramels + Marshmallow

I thought my love affair with Vosges Haut-Chocolat was over, but clearly, it is not. On my way back from Memphis, I flew through the O'Hare airport, where I bumped into the very familiar Vosges Haut-Chocolat stand.

"I've got an hour and a half", I thought to myself. "Won't hurt to look. I've tried pretty much everything I wanted to."

Boy, was I wrong. Vosges has expanded its product line to offer so much more than chocolate bars, truffles, and hot chocolate mixes. I saw chocolate covered tortilla chips, peanut butter bonbons, chocolate covered mango, caramels, books, and more. I was in awe with all that was offered. I was like a little kid in a candy shop.

Of course, I had to buy something. I wasn't sure what I was going to buy, but I needed to buy something. After much contemplation, I finally decided on the exotic caramels.

I chose the 4-piece Exotic Caramels, which fit nicely into my carry on luggage. These were the 4 flavors + interesting tasting notes that came with the caramels:

Crema: Argentinean dulce de leche + Costa Rican cashews + milk chocolate.
Vosges recommends pairing this with Quilmes mild beer to allow the "sweet caramel flavors of dulce de leche echo through".

Sunshine: Tupelo honey + milk chocolate + bee pollen.This was a very soft caramel with a nice strong, sweet honey taste. If you are feeling adventurous, try eating this chocolate "with spice rubbed corn on the cob between bites."

Maple: Canadian maple sugar + maple syrup + walnuts + dark chocolate.
The walnuts in this semi-soft caramel provided mild hints of bitterness. Vosges recommends eating this one with "steaming Canadian maple-cured bacon."

Tarte: blood orange + Campari® + dark chocolate + hibiscus powder.
This was a refreshing citrusy caramel. Mirror the ingredients in this caramel with a "tall glass of fresh blood orange juice and Campari® on the rocks."

I skipped the recommended pairing notes, and ate these caramels on its own. My favorite of the four? The Bee Pollen + Honey Caramel. I loved the softness of this caramel, and the honey instantly warmed my soul (I work on emotions). With the cold we've been experiencing, it was much needed.

As I was paying for the caramels, I chatted with the clerk, where we then started to compare notes on our favorite Vosges products. She mentioned that her new go-to products were the peanut butter bonbons, and the caramel marshmallows. I instantly knew I had to try one of the two.

I opted for the marshmallow only because it was the most portable. They are sold individually, and it was the smallest of the two.

The marshmallow was a Madagascan vanilla marshmallow, topped with sweet caramel, coated with dark chocolate, and then sprinkled with caramel toffee bits and French Guérande grey sea salt.

Katrina Markoff, you have proven yourself to be a chocolate goddess.
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On a completely separate note, my good friend BB just delivered a healthy, beautiful baby daughter. Look how precious she looks...only 7 days old. Awww.

Check out my other Vosges Haut-Chocolat posts:
Vosges Boutique, Chicago O'Hare Airport
Vosges Haut-Chocolat: Black Pearl Bar and Red Fire Bar

Vosges Haut-Chocolat
O'Hare International Airport, across from Gate B6
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Telephone: 773-894-4613

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The Restaurant Adventures of Caroline and Dave

Photo above by Miv Fournier

I was excited when Ian Capstick of MediaStyle sent me an invite to join Caroline and Dave, this past Wednesday, for the launch of their new TV show, The Restaurant Adventures of Caroline and Dave.

An evening out celebrating Dave and Caroline’s launch + rubbing shoulders with food enthusiasts? How can I say no! I was extremely exhausted because I had just landed from a long day of travel that day, but this was something I knew I absolutely wanted to support.

The Restaurant Adventures of Caroline and Dave is a 13-episode TV documentary showing the process of opening their vegan restaurant, Zen Kitchen. Caroline and Dave have been busy filming for the last year, and this is a show that hides nothing. Their show documents the entire process from the early stages of business plan development, to seeking finance, to menu construction, and beyond. Dave & Caroline mentioned that this show was somewhat therapeutic for them. Letting their frustrations out in front of the camera allowed them to resolve issues quickly and move on.

The show was produced by Ottawa’s Mountain Road Productions Company, and their creative spin combined with Caroline’s animated character combined with Dave’s wonderful humor has made this a highly entertaining show to watch. If you are an Ottawa resident, you’ll also enjoy the random shots of the city and local establishments.

If you live in Ottawa, tune into The W Network, channel 62, on Wednesdays at 9pm ET. You can check out the promo video here (courtesy of Mountain Road Productions).

Left to Right: Tim Alp, Caroline Ishii, Dave Loan

This event also gave me the opportunity to meet other fellow food bloggers, which was a bonus. It’s funny, I felt like I had known these guys for years but they were in reality, complete strangers. Food bloggers included: Rachelle Eats Food, foodiePrints, The Waffle, and It Ain't Meat, Babe. It was great meeting all of you!

Of course, the awesome Zen Kitchen staff served awesome little bites throughout the evening to keep our appetite satisfied. Here is a snippet of what was served:

A wonderful cauliflower soup with orange blossom oil.

Cauliflower Soup with Orange Blossom Oil

Marinated Eggplant and tomatoes. The eggplant was deliciously flavorful!

Marinated Eggplant and Tomatoes

Caramelized Onion Dumplings.

Caramelized Onion Dumpling

Lemon Pie...seriously, can't believe vegan can be this good.

Lemon Pie

Jantine Van Kregten from Ottawa Tourism posted a short video of the event:


If you want to read more about Zen Kitchen, you can check out my past meal at the restaurant here, and a Spotted Interview with Caroline and Dave here.

Zen Kitchen
634 Somerset Street West
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Telephone: 613-233-6404

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