The joys of central city soups and small town slices
On memorable solo meals, giant pumpkins and a very cheap, and very fizzy snack.
Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome to The Boil Up, The Spinoff’s weekly food newsletter. Written by me, Charlotte Muru-Lanning. It’s lovely to have you here!
Did I consider making this week’s newsletter election themed ahead of the election on Saturday? Yes, of course I did. I toyed with yet another essay on politicians and food, or a collection of photos of political leaders serving ice creams and coffees. Something I jotted down in my notebook last week was: “election night food”. I’m pleased to say that’s not what I ended up on.
This is partly because I need a break and partly because a friend laughingly pointed out at an event last week that my most recent newsletters seemed to have been captured by the election. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but she certainly had a point and I think sometimes we (and I’m talking about both readers and writers) need a respite. This week my respite is talking about food in one of its purest forms: as pure, solo enjoyment.
There’s not been a lot of time to spare in among the constant buzz of the last few weeks, but I’m pleased to say I have still found time for eating and enjoying it too, even if it's been less about finding the new and novel and more about quick, practical kai that I can hoover down quickly in between other tasks or eat while multitasking. Finding space for these moments of delight in food is one of my greatest privileges and, as Nigella Lawson might say, “a balm” in times when every other moment is, to put it simply, full-on. Here are three meals eaten alone that have broken up the relentlessness and heavy headlines of the last few weeks.
(A reminder: Even though this newsletter isn’t about the election, if you haven’t already, get out and vote! Take your friends, whānau and flatmates along with you. Every vote matters. )
A pie and slice at Gear Meat Pie Company in Gisborne: As part of our election coverage, I headed to Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa Gisborne last weekend to catch up with local candidates vying for seats in the election. It was a fabulous trip, and as part of that I’d love to say that I ate well, but mostly that wasn’t the case – there simply wasn’t any time to explore the local culinary offering, even though I’m certain there’s plenty on offer. What I did manage to fit in was a visit to the Gear Meat Pie Company just off the main drag. I gobbled down the mince and cheese pie while taking shelter from the rain in just a few minutes – it was that good – before moving onto the resplendent jelly tip slice, with layers of biscuit, the squishiest marshmallow, jelly and a crisp chocolate top. If you’re ever in town, I highly recommend you pay them a visit.
Khao soi kai at Mali Thai, central Auckland: It’s my firmly held belief that we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to Northern Thai food in Tāmaki Makaurau. Because Mali Thai, just off Queen Street, is the most central of them all, and seems to reliably be open at whatever time I’m running an errand in town, I end up here quite often, either for their hoi tod (mussel omelette) or, as I did last week, for their warming bowl of khao soi kai; a slightly spicy, coconut-based yellow curry dish with chicken and boiled noodles and adorned with an egg, crispy fried noodles, slivered raw red onion, pickled mustard greens and lemon wedge.
A cheese scone at Mezze Bar, also in central Auckland (I didn’t think to take a photo of my scone, sorry): For those unacquainted with the wonders of Mezze Bar, it’s a central city institution that’s been open since 1992. Yes, it might be rather dated but I can forgive that as there are cocktails, coffees and cakes in the cabinet, high ceilings and windows that look out to Queen Street and, incredibly, it’s open from morning till late seven days a week – a rarity across the city. It’s for all those reasons that I’m there an astonishing amount, so much so that I’d count it as my foremost third place location. I’ve recently started studying again part time, and on my weekly “study days” you’ll regularly find me here swotting and taking notes from library books, sometimes with a coffee, sometimes with one of their Rhubarb Royale cocktails. Last week, my Mezze study session was paired with a flat white and one of the best cheese scones I’ve eaten this year – served with lashings of butter and a white ramekin (of course) of quince paste. Heaven.
Weekly bites
Despite their ubiquity and the heft of knowledge and history they can hold, recipe books haven’t formed a significant part of our country’s museum collections and archives. But Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland Museum curator Nina Finigan believes they should, and she’s on a mission to give them a presence. As the first in an ongoing collaboration between The Spinoff and Auckland Museum to find the food stories and recipes that make us who we are, Finigan talks with local artist Bev Moon about her knitted versions of family recipes, what stories those recipes tell us and how they thread together the past with the present. If you have your own story about recipes to tell, get in touch with Nina at recipes@aucklandmuseum.com.
A New Zealand health and education researcher says the rising costs of food in New Zealand will impact the academic future of Pasifika – a stark reflection of the links between access to kai and intergenerational inequities. The report, which was part of a longitudinal study of Pacific families, found that household food insecurity and mothers who were not well-nourished during pregnancy was associated with lower academic achievement at secondary school. A co-author of the study, AUT emeritus professor Elaine Rush, told RNZ whoever was in power after the election needed to work hard on reducing child poverty and find ways for the population to be fed better food.
The latest update to Statistics New Zealand’s food price index shows an increase of 8% overall in food prices since the same time last year. It’s high, but it also means food price inflation has slowed to its lowest rate since July last year. Cheaper tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce helped to chop fruit and vegetables prices down by 3.9% for the month. Grocery prices were flat, and there were small rises in the cost of soft drinks, and takeaway and restaurant meals.
Speaking of food inflation, take a look at these massive, and world record-breaking, pumpkins.
Dogs at polling booths is back for 2023
In 2020, we showcased big dogs, small dogs, long dogs, short dogs, hairy dogs, happy dogs, nervy dogs, silly dogs, stylish dogs, sleeping dogs – and we’d be barking mad not to do it all over again. On election day, The Spinoff will again bring you nothing but live pupdates until 7pm. On October 14, send your photos of dogs at voting places around the motu (no humans please) to info@thespinoff.co.nz.
We’re focusing on on-the-day dogs, but will consider any particularly fetching advance-voting dogs, especially if they’re voting from abroad.
The weekly snack
Chi Forest sparkling water sakura and grape flavour, 99 cents (discounted from $2.79) from Dahua: This may well be the cheapest snack I’ve ever featured in this newsletter. In fact, it must be a rare occasion for anything to be marked at 99 cents these days – this might be one of the cheapest snacks in the entire country. But I didn’t just buy said drink because it was cheap (though that certainly added to the allure), I was also enamoured by the concept – a fizzy drink spiked with grape and sakura (cherry blossom)? Yum. And it did not let down on the fizz: big, bold, bountiful bubbles suspended, shimmied and sparkled throughout the drink as I poured it into the glass. The initial moments of the sip were marvellous too, with that wonderfully artificial muscat grape tang – but what follows is unfortunate. I’m sad to say that the drink is sweetened with two artificial sweeteners, and it’s not at all subtle about it, with those recognisably icky saccharine notes the staunchest and most enduring element of the drinking experience here. If you’re someone with a fondness for artificial sweeteners by all means grab yourself a 99 cent bargain, for anyone else: beware. 3/10
Talk next week!
Hei kōnā mai, Charlotte
