Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn.
~ Terri Guillemets
For two years, my friend Mandy flatted with this guy named Rayvin, who was apparently great in the kitchen (amongst possessing other qualities, of course).
I met him a few times on my previous trips to Auckland and duly said hello each time, but finally – finally – I understand what Mandy has been going on about. I have to admit I am rather disappointed that he is soon to leave the country and will not be here to cook with (or for :-P) us…
This boy isn’t great; he’s gifted! Mandy, Justin, Rayvin and I sat down to a marvellous dinner on Sunday night. Thank you, Ray!
Special dish of the night: salted egg yolk prawns. I know this may sound a little odd to some of you who haven’t grown up in Asia, but I promise you you will love it. It’s sweet, salty, crumbly, crispy, hot and fragrant… lovely and yummy in every way. You’ll be licking your fingers and your lips; actually, you’ll probably be gushing like I was, whether gushing is part of your natural conduct or not.
Want to try it out at home? Ray used this recipe as a guide (we skipped the dried prawns and made a few other changes). You can get curry leaves, chillies and salted eggs at a very good price at Asian supermarkets.
Kang Kong, gently stir-fried. God knows what Ray did to this – it didn’t look complex to make, but he cooked it perfectly – light, wonderful, retaining a slight crunch in the stems while being soft in the leaves.
This beef rendang was made with some help from Prima Taste. Ray used a sachet of the magic paste in this; it was lovely with the dessicated coconut and just the right amount of spicy!
Justin brought a bottle of moscato, and we cooked two cups of chicken rice to go with everything… it was pretty perfect! Conversation was brilliant too – a great accompaniment to good food.
In other news, I’ve really been eating out waaay too much in the two short weeks I’ve been up here. I’ve even found a few places which do good long blacks ;-) (or at least, they made good cups for me when I visited!) Mezze Bar, Circus Circus in Mt Eden, and Strawberry Alarm Clock and Citron Vert in Parnell.
I’ve also visited Auckland Fish Market and Tai Ping, both of which I hope to visit again once I settle in here… presently, the days are flying by quickly and I am lost in the world of work, a new city, a sea of unfamiliar faces, flat hunting, picking up dancing again, etc…
Enjoyed driving up to Mt Eden with Mandy yesterday to see the sunset – the sky was streaky like blue and orange bacon, sizzling in pink fire. Twas marvellous to feel the wind on my face and take in the gradual sinking of the sun and slow beginning of winking city lights.
treehousekitchen 
Gorgeous pictures!
Go for coffee at Good One!