Super-sized Menu.

After about a month of facebook stalking (fun times), I was so excited to try Cameron for dinner the other night. They had no raw fish, basically there were only really steaks, curry rice and noodles but that's why it was enticing for some reason, and the fact that the restaurant was hamburger shaped!

Okay, before it was a Japanese family restaurant the hamburger shaped building existed as a takeaway bar for all the factory/garages workers in the area and that was never appealing, but make a few changes i.e. make it Japanese style... instant love.

 

Fries

 

Takoyaki

For starters we got fries and octopus balls because I love fries... and I know they were just fries and very un-japanese, but at least they didn't try to deceive you in the menu by making them sound japanese-y... they were good for what they were and very reasonably priced.

 

Tempura Prawn Udon

 

Sushi Ball Set

 

Chicken Cutlet Curry Rice

Hamburger Steak and Teriyaki Chicken

Ribeye Steak

The only thing that disappointed me a little was the changes to the menu, because I like to study a menu beforehand so I don't get too excited and overwhelmed with selection. A few options were crossed out and in their updated menu on facebook today they even permanently cut a few things out.  They probably weren't as popular, which is sad because I will never get to try them but then again I only think that because the choice was taken away from me...

I ended up getting the steak because there was an option to add rice and miso to my dish for $3.50 and I love rice! The weird thing was when they asked if I wanted it in small, medium or large at no extra costs, so of course the cheapskate in me got the large size because it's the same price?! but hey, I may be a cheapskate but I do not waste food, I shared my large rice with my sister and we finished it! 

I did try a bit of my mum's udon which you could also add on a sushi ball set for an extra $2.50 and that was yummy. The udon was nice and chewy while the broth was beautiful and strong, much better than the one I get at the mall! I didn't try the chicken cutlet but the big chunks of beef in the curry was generous and looked very tasty.

After the main there was a little room for a shared dessert and to be honest, this was the main reason for coming.

OMG?!

Baked pudding strawberry ice cream sundae. Admittedly they were very unorganised and possibly the baked puddings weren't ready yet because it took nearly an hour for dessert to come, but that was fine because the little room we had for dessert didn't really exist, we just wanted it... and it really was worth the wait. It was like a party in the glass! So, it had whipped cream, the baked pudding, some fruit, chocolate sticks, strawberry ice cream, sponge cake, cornflakes, blueberries and strawberry jelly?! It was amazing! Seriously! 

If there's a lesson to be learnt from coming here, it's that I'm going to have get a smaller main next time so I can have one of these babies all to myself!

 

French Toast with Fruit

 

Warm Raspberry Drenched Chocolate Cake

Creme Brûlée 

The girls were pretty useless, breakfast and then not finishing their desserts. Admittedly the breakfast was huge but really, it's only like two courses, they definitely would not qualify for my buffet buddy! Looks as if I'll just need to train Jack a little harder...

My french toast was yummy but possibly a little too eggy, very minor though. It was meant to come with bacon but as I mentioned last time, pancakes, waffles and french toast just don't go with bacon... it's weird! Fruit is much healthier, therefore my french toast was much "healthier"!

For my dessert I chose the creme brûlée because the daily tasting plate didn't appeal and even though I love the warm raspberry drenched chocolate cake, I need to be less boring sometimes... not that creme brûlée is the most exciting thing ever, but I really like cracking the sugar topping. When I went last time their tasting plate had a berry creme brûlée and it was delish! This one was just alright, it was better when I mixed the berry coulis with it.

All in all, lunch with the girls was lovely, great to gossip and catch up because seeing each other five days a week is just not enough you know :p But jeepers, wouldn't it be lovely to go on girl dates everyday... one day...  

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Chocolate Syrup on Black Sesame Toast

Eight is an exciting culinary destination offering eight open, world kitchens taking diners on an unforgettable culinary journey.

At Eight dining is a journey, and every destination is as fascinating as the next. No two meals are the same. What is the same is the quality, passion and freshness of the food prepared at each of the eight kitchens that comprise this exciting culinary journey, as you create your own personal degustation.

Plate 1

Indian Curries

Desserts

Desserts

I was at the doctors today for a routine check-up and she doesn't normally tell me to hop on the scales but she took one look at me and told me I'd put on weight :( I put on 4 kilos! It's on my record now too!

Possible contributing factor (of many), Eight at The Langham! Above are just a small selection of the goodies I ate for lunch that day. It did get a bit messy and over indulgent after the first few dishes. The sushi and dessert stations were my favorite because I didn't have to wait for the chef to cook it. We ate for two hours and Jack had to give up, I could still keep going but it's not fun eating alone... and they had a pink chocolate fountain!

Definitely worth the price and can't wait to go back. Need to work out a strategy for eating though, because while eyeing what every other table was doing I noticed that they must have been seasoned buffet eaters and worked as a team, for me with food it's every man for themselves but then you waste time and don't eat as much, need to work out a strategy and train Jack's stomach!

Thank goodness we don't have awesome buffets down here...  

Crab and Prawn Yaki

Spicy Grilled Squid Legs

Caramel Filled Churro

After Japan day's disastrous takoyaki experience, I wasn't too enthused with these little morsels. However, this stall we found didn't just offer takoyaki, they had crab and prawn "takoyaki"! They were amazing. After eating one of these juicy pillowy balls I remembered I was still extremely full from dinner but I could not let my stomach down! 

We should have stopped after the balls but you know... we found a grilled lamb and squid stall. Back home at the lantern festival we got ripped off by the lamb kebab stall so we did not have high expectations but not only were these kebabs cheaper, they were much tastier too! The squid was hard to eat until Jack told me that if I was going to eat street food I was not allowed to be a lady! Got it!

Dessert was a jumbo churro filled with caramel. Jack wanted the cheese filled one but they sold out. I don't normally like caramel but yum... and how do you take a picture of a jumbo churro without it looking dodgy?

Morning in Auckland

We stayed at the Hilton. Get this, we even got a drink from the mini bar! How luxurious. HA HA! It was really nice. 

Adidas Horse

and there was a horse in the opposite building to greet us... ? 

 

Wildberry Frappe and Dark Hot Chocolate

Waffles with Ice Cream

Chocolate Mousse

Jack's new love is the wildberry frappe; refreshing and tasty. For me, anything with dark chocolate because it's "healthy". The waffles were yummy but would have been healthier with dark melted chocolate ha! The mousse however was terrible. For someone with low standards and likes the KFC chocolate mousse desserts, I had trouble eating this. Perhaps it was too rich and too gelatinous? I don't know, I know where gelatin comes from but this was the first time I could see and taste it's origin in the back of my mind?! Strange. But other than that, I love this place. Jack used to bring me chocolates at work before we started dating and Theobroma was one of the first places we hung out at. Oh the memories...

 

Creamy Mushroom on Ciabatta

Omelette

Wedges

Chocolate Mousse Cup

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake

The cakes and desserts in the glass cabinet looked amazing. The plan (my plan) was to try every single one of them but luckily we didn't do that because lunch/breakfast was so filling. It was a little confusing because they didn't have a physical menu and I was such an eager beaver to get lunch started that we went at a bit after 11. At 12 they put up their blackboard lunch menu, had we known, we would have waited for lunch. Nevertheless, breakfast was alright. The wedges were very dry but that didn't matter because it left room for dessert, yay!

Perhaps next time I might give the "main" meal a miss and just go for the treats. I need to listen to my heart more, my original plan was definitely the way to go!

Saucey!

Berries

ah, Bliss!

Just discovered these cute wee bottles of happiness from Dollop. Chocolate ganache and berry compote.

Apart from the slight effort of whipping some cream up, it made dessert time very easy and delish! The chocolate ganache needed to be slightly melted first from running it under hot tap water and because I was on an easy mission (the whipping of cream already used up my energy), decided to flag it. Tried it the day after though, and like the berry compote, it was very good. Great when mixed together, and with yoghurt... oh the options?!

Luckily for me, they are not stocked at every supermarket so I can at least have some kind of restraint and not over indulge. They're not cheap but definitely worth it.  

http://dolloppuddings.co.nz/

Snack Sushi!

About an hour later, after much pondering of what to have for lunch, we ended up at Strawberry Fare for weekend brunch! Yay!

Smoked Salmon with Avocado, Poached Eggs and Croissant

Vegetarian Pancakes

I'm not a vegetarian but bacon with pancakes have never sounded appealing for me. Love bacon, but with pancakes, waffles and french toast?! I just don't get it. So for the vegetarian option I got extra fruit. Fruit = healthy. It was a delight, the pancakes were so fluffy! and according to my sister, her meal was equally nice.

I think we were both a little bummed at how filling brunch was though, because we really wanted dessert. You don't go to Strawberry Fare and not get dessert! To be fair though, mine was a bit of a dessert so I was still very satisfied.

Maybe next time we won't grab a snack an hour before... or, maybe next time we just eat ourselves silly?! good idea.

Sashimi

Plain Udon

Rainbow Roll

I think what disappointed me was the lack of variety in their fresh fish. Two?! I ordered the rainbow roll because like the sashimi, I was expecting more than two kinds of fish. sigh.  The udon was a bit chewy but had enough flavour.

Vegetarian Options

Rachael is vegetarian so she opted for the vegetarian teppanyaki set with agedashi tofu for starters. I think as a teppanyaki restaurant it may be decent (I will try one day) but as a sushi/sashimi restaurant it still has a long way to go. The sushi rolls may be fancy and pretty looking but lacks that... authenticity? Anyone can make sushi, but it takes many years of proper training to become a sushi chef and you can really taste the difference.

After dinner we went to Coffee Culture for a herbal tea to help digest dinner before heading off to my favourite dessert place Strawberry Fare.

Chef's Tasting Plate

Nice way to finish the night with a burnt raspberry creme brulee, cheesecake, mango sorbet and berries with cream. We both got the same thing, it was too hard not to get that. I want more :( I also need to work on my night photography skills on my iphone...

Roses are red... and pink.

Strawberry Tart!

I saw on Yahagi's facebook status last night that they would have strawberry tarts today! I woke up late but at the same time I didn't want to turn up at their opening time looking too desperate. When I finally got my a** into g, I made it just in time to score the last two strawberry tarts (in your face person after me!). Lucky, so in hindsight, it's better to look deperate than miss out!

Happy Valentines Day!



Green Tea Tiramisu

Creme Brulee

If you've ever watched the movie Amelie, I've loved cracking creme brulee with my spoon and finding pleasure in it ever since...

Desserts were divine. Now I have to stop stuffing myself silly and save room for these babies. So hard.

 

Fries make me happy!

 

Laksa

Eggs Benedict 

I ordered a laksa style mussel soup. It was very creamy and tasty without that heavy feeling that laksa sometimes has. Jack was boring and ordered the eggs benedict with bacon. Afterwards we had just enough room for a chocolate drink (I didn't really but you know...) and that concluded our lovely lunch at She Chocolat. 



 

Birthday Tart

Almond Tofu with Fruit Salad

It's my baby sister's birthday today! I did intend on making the cake but the chance of me being lazy and unmotivated was very high so instead, we ordered a birthday tart from Yahagi. Along with the tart we also had a refreshing almond tofu that my dad made the night before (the tofu... not the canned fruit).

Happy Sweet 16 Baby Sis!