Ten Twenty Four

I am not the only one that has relatives in Hawkes Bay. David’s brother Tony, sister-in-law Nancy & nephew Ethan also live in the Bay, although they are relative newcomers, arriving five or so years ago after purchasing the Village Motel in Havelock North. Their days are busy and full-on especially at this time of the year when accommodation is at a premium with the many visitors and tourists to the district.

They managed to grab a few hours away from the motel on Sunday afternoon and we met at their favourite restaurant Ten Twenty Four at, well, 1024 Pakowhai Road, Hastings for lunch.

I believe this used to be the restaurant area for the Hettinga Estate Vineyard but I think the vineyard has now leased the kitchen, dining rooms & courtyard to the owners of Ten Twenty Four.

The dining area, bar and open kitchen are light and airy, I love the chandeliers but I’m not so sure on the stag’s head.

But the pièce de résistance, in my opinion, is the courtyard, and especially on yet another hot Hawkes Bay summer afternoon. Ten Twenty Four would make a lovely wedding venue, the bride & groom could get married at the end of the courtyard with the vines as a backdrop.

I thought this was a great way to make a feature of the old fountain pool in the centre of the courtyard. And if a wedding was taking place perhaps they could resurrect the fountain to flow champagne…….or maybe make a chocolate fountain!

Tony recommended we have the Chef’s Choice for lunch and even though it wasn't on this particular day’s menu (which is printed and changed daily), the chef was happy to oblige. Small but visually appealing portions are the norm here, we love this style of casual fine dining where you leave the table replete but not feeling over stuffed.

I’m afraid I can’t give you a blow by blow account of what we had although each course was explained in full to us- my memory just isn’t that good. But I can give you an rough idea; the complimentary glass of plum juice had an interesting arrangement of firm bubbles and dry ice. I loved the glass and saucer set. Next was salmon, a cockle, roasted black garlic, a chicken spring roll and a flavoured foam.

A lamb rack, purple carrot, potato croquette, half a baked stuffed apricot and two different sauces were our main followed by a delicious dessert of panna cotta, chocolate mousse, an edible white basket with a marinated cherry and what looked like a scoop of icecream. It actually broke in half to reveal a few tiny hidden treasures.

Ten Twenty Four might not be everyone’s cup of tea (or glass of plum juice, as the case may be) but if you’re looking for a completely different dining experience in a wonderful setting with great ambience then this just might be for you. But be sure to book, I hear that most evenings they are fully booked. This doesn’t surprise me as Ten Twenty Four is the number one restaurant (out of 56) for Hawkes Bay on Trip Advisor, the travelling public’s on-line ‘bible’. And just in case you’re a little worried at the size of the meals, I see from photos on TA that they are a bit more substantial for dinner.

Black Barn Growers Market- The Original

Black Barn Vineyard in Havelock North has fingers in many pies, not only does it have a well known and well regarded boutique winery, it has 16 luxury retreats & lodges for rental (located in amongst the vines and around Havelock North), a bistro restaurant in the vineyard, The Kitchen for pantry supplies, a wedding venue and function rooms, an amphitheater perfect for outdoor concerts and probably the most well known of all, Hawkes Bay’s original ‘farmer’s market’; Black Barn Growers Market which was started over 15 years ago well before farmers markets were trendy.

Mum & I paid our second visit to the market in a week, we happened to be in the area on other business earlier in the week and decided to check it out before returning on Saturday morning when it is open during summer from 9am until noon.

The market  looked like it hadn't been used in a long while, the floor was covered in fallen leaves but it has been running every Saturday since the beginning of December. The trees obviously drop a lot of leaves daily, I wonder who gets the job of sweeping them up before each market. I’d love to visit during the autumn when both the plane trees and the surrounding vines would be a golden yellow.

The canvas covered market is located under a ring of Plane trees in the heart of the vineyard. It’s a small and intimate market similar to some of the French markets that I’ve been to.

Just enough stalls with fresh good quality seasonal produce along with fresh baked breads, locally roasted coffee, flowers, meat, pickles, olive oil, cheeses, lavender products etc.

We arrived early, bought ourselves a coffee, found a seat and people watched for awhile as others began to trickle in. Most of the early visitors did the same, the coffee stall was doing a busy trade and seemed to be about the only one selling product for the first 30 minutes or so.

After coffee we walked the circuit twice; the first time to sample a little of this and a bit of that & to chat to the stall holders, the second time to purchase.

I bought a selection of fruit; deep red plums, white flesh peaches and our old favourite, the Golden Queen peach. We both managed to talk ourselves into some wild venison salami and chorizo and Mum got some lovely cheese along with a few vegetables.

And I also thought I might like to try a bottle of pretty expensive tonic syrup, Sin-Ko-Nah, the real McCoy- no Schweppes for me. Cinchona bark is the natural source of quinine.

Infused with cinchona bark, our tonic syrup is a bittersweet mixer. For a fabulous take on the classic gin and tonic, dilute sin-ko-nah tonic syrup with sparkling water, add a shot or two of gin, plenty of ice and a slice of lime.

Yes, I’ll try it with gin but I really thought it might make a refreshing drink (mixed with iced water) to have when you’re not having a drink. The jury is still out.

Across from the market, this underground cellar was open for inspection. Small concerts are held in here during winter with braziers for warmth and looking at the setup I think a few weddings have taken place in here too. Two large hearts made from vine trimmings hung on opposite walls- you can see one in the mirror.

….sparrows, butterflies, snails, worms…..

Summer Sizzle

We’ve now been in Hawkes Bay for 22 days and for every single one of those days the sky has been clear and brilliant blue with a big golden orb beaming down on us. And every day we’ve sweltered under temperatures reaching well into the 30s. Fantastic beach temperatures…if you’re at the beach. But not when you’re parked up in suburbia doing maintenance on ‘Out There’ and catching up with family.  And as some of you will know hot summer temperatures in suburbia, where there is no hint of a sea breeze or even a whisper of a wind, are at least 5 degrees higher than what is reported by the media.

Every time I head off to the van for the night & I’m laying on top of the sheet tossing & turning, David Bowie’s song comes to mind-

Here am I floating
round my [hot] tin can
Far above [below] the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do.

…..except remember to leave all the windows & top hatches wide open 24/7 to catch a little cool air when it does breeze through. Thank God for the security door which I can lock, leaving the main door open overnight. We do have air conditioning but we only run that if we’re in the van for awhile and usually in the morning when the sun is streaming down on us from the east side where we’re parked. Plus we don’t want to scare Mum & Dad with a mighty power bill after we’ve left!

And if the forecast is anything to go by, it doesn’t look like we’re going to receive any relief from this relentless heat anytime soon. A boom for the local fruit & grape growers who will be in for a bumper season and vintage. The ‘Fruitbowl of New Zealand’ is definitely living up to its name with many roadside stalls selling everything from cherries, plums, nectarines, apricots & peaches to nearly every type of berry you can think of; blackberries, raspberries, blueberries & strawberries to name a few.

Many local orchards & market gardens have stalls at the Hastings Farmers Market which is held every Sunday morning at the A&P Showgrounds in Hastings. I headed over there early Sunday morning to beat the crowds and the heat. Hundreds of locals and many visitors soak up the friendly, relaxed atmosphere of the market every weekend.

First port of call for many is one of the coffee carts with their hot freshly roasted coffee, once that’s in hand it’s off to get a pastry, a bacon roll or maybe a fruit smoothie or an icecream for other members of the party. Meanwhile the rest of the family or group have located a table & chairs out on the grass in the middle of the market and it’s here that they’ll sit catching up, calling out to passing friends or just watching the passing parade of people.

Most early arrivals are there to purchase their weeks supply of fruit & veges, they’ll have the best choice and possibly buy before the stall sells out- especially produce with a short season such as figs & blueberries- they’ll fill up their carry bags and get out of there before the later flow of leisurely shoppers arrive.

Some may buy a loaf of two of freshly baked bread for lunch, salami or fresh meat from the delis, chutney or pickle and cheese, free-range eggs, manuka honey or freshly pressed olive oil, unusual vegetables or herbs along with plentiful supply of beautiful & tasty sun-ripened fruit, all direct from the orchard or farm.

The guy on the left looks pretty pleased with himself- he’s just bought a couple of cupcakes!

The blueberry van was doing a steady trade in both fresh berries and berry icecreams.

After walking the circuit a couple of times and being tempted by the gorgeous smells & delicious treats on offer I resisted the urge to spend up large, settling on some juicy apricots, white fleshed nectarines (the only nectarine for me), a dozen sweet corncobs (for a BBQ we were having later on) & a coffee. I found myself a chair in the shade, drank my coffee and ate most of the cherries and some of the blueberries I’d also purchased!

As I left, the rear guard were arriving, dozens of cars filing slowly into the park, choking dust from the limestone tracks hanging in the still, hot summer air.

Footnote- I jinxed the weather, Day 23 has dawned overcast but humid with a very light drizzle falling for the first couple of hours. In fact it could hardly be called a drizzle more like a mist, not even enough to wet the pavement although very pleasant & refreshing while I was out for my early morning walk. I'm sure the cloud will burn off later in the day but for the time being we're enjoying break.

Lewis Road Creamery

I finally fell for all the marketing hype and purchased a very rare bottle of chocolate flavoured milk today. Although I had no intentions of doing this, I don’t particularly like chocolate milk. It is true, I like milk and I like chocolate but together they have never had much appeal. Now if it was strawberry or lime or even banana or coffee flavoured milk, that would be a different story. I LOVE flavoured milk. Just not chocolate.

But as I was wheeling my trolley around the supermarket religiously ticking off the items on my shopping list- you have to do this when living on the road, otherwise you get back to the van and spend the next half hour trying to find places to store the extra items, then you forget where you've put the extra items and end up buying the same things all over again!

Anyway, I digress, I was walking around the supermarket and there on the shelf beside the regular milk supply was a whole shelf of Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Flavoured milk! There was a large sign stuck to the front of the shelf- ‘Limit- two per person’. There were only 300ml size bottles left, right next door was a large empty shelf which would have held the 750ml bottles earlier this morning- they were now gone……but wait, I spied one lonely 750ml bottle hiding at the back pretending to be a little brother. I reached in to select it and it was whipped away in front of my eyes. A young ‘lady’ leaned in from the left and grabbed it. It has been known for supermarkets to employ security guards to make sure customers stick to the limits and don’t end up fighting each other, I can see why. Oh well, I didn’t really need the bigger bottle so I settled for the smaller one.

What a dream marketing job Lewis Road Creamery has done, imagine introducing a new product and from the get go not being able to meet demand. Lewis Road Creamery uses only organic Jersey milk and I think this has a lot to do with it’s appeal. Jersey milk is known to be richer & creamier in taste and texture. I know this for a fact, I was brought up on a dairy farm with a Jersey herd, the cream was sold and the skim milk fed to the pigs.

I did nearly forget to take a photo of my purchase today, I had downed half the bottle before I remembered.

And the verdict? Well, it did taste lovely, it was smooth and creamy and I could definitely taste the Whittakers chocolate (a NZ brand). It was very sweet though and when I checked it out I can see why, it has a very high sugar content, one of the highest of the flavoured milks, 29g of sugar or more than seven teaspoons per 250ml!

This could well be my first and last bottle of Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate flavoured milk, it's not available in the South Island.

Coffee Art

We had breakfast yesterday morning with some friends at Pronto Café which is under the Towers & just across the road from the Main Beach at the Mount. While I enjoyed my bacon & scrambled eggs, it was the flat white that impressed me the most.

It may only be frothy foam but this, in my opinion,  is an incredible work of art by a talented barista. I’m sure a high degree of patience is needed to produce this; patience & a short queue!

Pronto Café also do seriously good burgers.

Sushi Bites

I’m in seventh heaven, I’ve found myself a seriously good sushi restaurant in downtown Mt Maunganui. I love sushi, I could eat sushi morning, noon & night and still want for more. And with at least four sushi bars dotted along the short and busy Mount Mainstreet I’ve had plenty to choose from but this little restaurant, Yuki Sushi, wins hands down.

Little rolls of joy, colourful works of art, tasty morsels of deliciousness, all rolled up into tiny packages of healthy eating…

Except of course, when I add a selection of deep fried items to the plate. It's called research.

Very fresh and extremely delicious, the prices are also very reasonable.

And with so many different varieties to sample, my lunches are taken care of for the next three weeks!

Yuki Sushi- there's some irony in that name if you don't know how to pronouce it.
186 Maunganui Rd
Mt Maunganui
Tauranga

White Gold #2

And probably the true white gold going by the price per kilo of this tiny little delicacy that has had ‘baiters’ fighting for space on riverbanks around New Zealand these past two weeks. Not only are they being very wary about giving anything away about where their “spot’ might be but also keeping very tight lipped on how successful they might have been. Their prize is the tiny transparent whitebait that run in shoals upstream each spring to spawn and can sell from $70-80 a kilo.

Whitebaiters may be very coy, that is until you reveal that you’re not there to fish and that you just happen to be passing through the area just as the season has opened. Then the twinkle in the eye & the animated discussions reveal the trials & tribulations & that there have been a few big runs already and so early in the season.

The ultimate Kiwi delicacy, whitebait is an iconic part of our heritage where the start of the 3 month season is looked forward to all year by die-hard whitebaiters up and down the country. Once a whitebaiter, always a whitebaiter; with nothing more than a net & some luck on your side some ‘baiters fish every day from dawn until dusk, rain or shine, dreaming of that big run. Many rough it in the great outdoors, setting up camp along the many waterways.

My mother’s family have a long history of whitebaiting in Hawkes Bay, some still regularly whitebait. My grandfather was the epitome of Barry Crump’s “ A Good Keen Man”. From high in the mountains reaching down to the sea, if it moved, it was shot or caught, killed and eaten and if there was anything left over it was sold off down at the pub. Whitebait was no exception, I learnt the art of whitebaiting (sitting & waiting patiently) from my grandfather. Against regulations, he would have multiple whitebait stands on the river and he protected these by manning each with a son or daughter, or a grandchild (some of us are of the same generation). It was great being outdoors but I’m sure we must have got bored because I do remember once having a whitebait eating competition with my uncle. That's live whitebait, straight out of the net. And out of sight of grandad of course! 

So when this “home kill” butchery with the strong message, which we pass every day, changed one of the window signs we were quick to stop. It had been caught that morning and about a kilometre down the road where we’d seen a regular procession of whitebaiters vehicles lined up everytime we’d passed over the bridge.

$35 for half a kilo (plus a couple of extra spoonfulls for free) and I had enough whitebait to try out a number of recipes I had filed away for exactly this event!

Most people have whitebait in fritters, but there are quite a few different ideas of what the batter should be made up of. Whatever the batter, it mustn’t mask the delicate flavour of the whitebait. Some people swear by just a beaten egg, others add flour and some add just breadcrumbs.

My first lot of fritters were two whisked eggs, a tablespoon of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. I made a yoghurt (should have been sour cream but I had none), horseradish cream, dill & chopped capers which was tasty but totally unnecessary as it killed the flavour. I didn’t wash the fish (I thought that would also kill the flavour) but we both thought the flavour had quite a strong fishy taste (funny that). I think I should have also cooked the fritter for a little longer as they were a little “wet” in the centre. I was worried about overcooking them.

Next was deep fried individual whitebait. A long time ago we had a  memorable meal at our favourite Christchurch restaurant (Saggio di vino), the entree was a half avocado with individual whitebait (about 15!) scattered across the top with a balsamic & olive oil dressing. It was delicious.

A salad (and a sliced pear) took the place of an avocado and I don’t have a deep fryer (not that the oil has to be too deep for these tiny things) so I fried them in pan after dusting them with seasoned flour. And I washed and dried the whitebait before flouring them, so they didn’t spit in the pan. It was an interesting exercise, I liked them straight out of the pan but they went cold immediately (obviously) and were a little chewy.

Next up and for the last of the whitebait, were fritters again. But this time it was a lightly beaten egg yolk & a tablespoon of flour plus seasoning with the stiffly beaten white folded in. This was the winner for both of us, lovely and light with a delicate flavour. Just as I dished up the last of the fritters I remembered a conversation I had had with someone on our travels who suggested a light drizzle of mint sauce enhanced the experience. I had to think hard about where and who and after a gentle prod from someone with a “mint sauce history”, I remembered it was while lined up at the whitebait stand at the Bluff Oyster Festival. So I added mint sauce to my fritters and by-crikey I liked it! Funny that, but not so unusual considering I am a Kiwi kid and once had mint sauce on everything.

And the person with the history? Rachel, David’s daughter once showed us how to get the last of the sauce to the top of the bottle. “You spin the bottle like this”, at arm's length around and around like a windmill. You just have to make sure you’ve shut the lid down firmly don’t you Rachel?

A Weekend in Waikouaiti

It was a fine day for exploring and our first stop was the beach just  a couple hundred metres down the road from the camp ground. They don’t only take their dogs for a walk along the beach around here.

Low tide, firm sand & a long sweeping crescent of a bay makes it ideal to exercise the race & harness horses from the local stables. The vehicle “towing” seven horses drove steadily up to the far left of the bay then turned and made it’s way back along in front of me as two trotters arrived and they all headed way out of sight down the other end of the bay.

About 20 minutes later they came back past me for another stretch up to the other end, the horses looking like they were having a good work-out. We can’t say we’re not seeing some unusual sights on our travels.

Our next stop was Karitane, the seaside settlement that we drove through yesterday morning when we took the scenic route along the coast. Karitane is located between the wide Waikouaiti River estuary and a smaller ocean beach, separated by the Huriawa Peninsula. This is the site of the historic Maori Pa a Te Wera (fortified village) and there are a number of tracks over the headland and points of interest with information boards telling the story of the Pa.

It was a surprise to come over the rise on one of the tracks along the ridge & see this natural arch along with a blowhole nearby. And in the centre of the peninsula just below the site of the whare (home), a fresh water spring. Obviously why this was the perfect site for a fortified village; able to see approaching enemies from four sides, fresh water & an endless supply of seafood.

The track continued on along the shore line back to Karitane, here a manmade breakwater guides boats into the estuary. At the far end opposite a small commercial wharf & located on an overgrown bank was this plaque commemorating a century of community service by Plunket. Of course! Karitane. It suddenly clicks and I realise that this is where Sir Truby King started the Karitane nurses & hospitals. It’s a bit of a strange place to put the plaque though.

On our way to Karitane we passed this caravan in a layby beside the main highway, selling coffee & fish & bacon butties, it obviously sowed a big seed in David’s head because on our return he pulled in without warning & ordered a fish buttie for lunch (even though it was mid-afternoon & I had lunch with us!)

David was soon joined by two guys who were as impressed with the size of David’s fish buttie as he was. They turned out to be the two surfers we’d seen paddling across the river mouth when we were on the track. David enjoyed his buttie and another “on the road” kiwi experience!

We drove back into Waikouaiti village in search of the large estuary that we’d heard about which was just off the main road and in fact ran along the back of the campground. We found one of the entry walkways near the racetrack and as we pulled over a white heron (kotuku) lifted out of the channel beside the path. Too late for a photo but a great welcome. We could see plenty of ducks; mallards, grey, shovellers & paradise, a large flock of Canada geese, a few domestic geese, white faced herons, shags & pied stilts.

And feeding on the edge of the next pond three Royal Spoonbills (kotuku nutupapa).

Breeding spoonbills have yellow eyebrows and grow distinctive long white crest feathers (plumes) on the back of the head. This male already has his eyebrows.

I watched them for quite some time while they fed in the shallows near where I was standing. Like mine sweepers they all moved in unison sweeping their bill back and forward through the water. When they touched something, I’m assuming a fish or a crab, they rapidly chased it through the water before throwing their bill up in the air releasing the fish before catching it at the bcak of the bill and swallowing it fast.You can see a tiny fish in these two shots.

I was reluctant to move on but we had one more place to visit and the afternoon was drawing to a close. Further on from the estuary and towards the beach was another historic site. We drove to the end of the bay and continued on up a farm drive that ended near the historic Matanaka homestead.

The homestead itself is a private family home but we follow the well marked track for a few hundred metres through a stand of gum trees beside the public car park and a surprise awaits us. At the end of the track across a paddock with the ocean as a backdrop are a collection of stunning farm buildings.

These buildings belong to Otago's first farm which was established here at Matanaka in 1840 by Australian whaler Johnny Jones who had bought the land and an adjoining whaling station in 1838. There is a stable, a granary, a school house, a privy and a farm shed still standing today, all in their original positions. These are probably the oldest surviving farm buildings in NZ and are cared for by the historic places trust, they are rated Category I heritage structures.

The Shed

The buildings make great photography subjects but the nearby gum trees cast long shadows in the setting sun.

The Stables & Shed

Inside the granary is an old whaling boat and in the stables are old tack & saddles including a side saddle. The privy (top left, in the photo below, beside the granary) still had the boxed toilet with lift up lids (nailed down for obvious reasons), in fact it was one large box with three lids. Hmm.....imagine that " 'morning" " 'morning".....

Waikouaiti is turning out to be a great place to stop for the weekend. We realise that had we not had the issue with the van we would have passed through here not giving it a second thought.