Bedford Soda and Liquor

I've been meaning to write this post up for quite a while, and by now half of Auckland seems to have already visited Bedford Soda and Liquor. But - for those of you who haven't made it there, let me tell you all about it.

Nestled in Ponsonby Central, on the Richmond Road side, Bedford Soda and Liquor is an American style meatball and cocktail haven.

Hannah and I visited Bedford for a drink one afternoon, but I naturally I couldn't resist trying the food. But, first things first- the cocktail I tried from the 'Bedford Daisies' menu was a delicious concoction of Tanqueray gin, rhubarb, ginger, pink grapefruit and soda. It was a perfectly balanced (and very pretty) drink that went down dangerously fast.

The drinks menu is enormous, and features re-worked American classics like Tanquery Iced Tea, Bourbon Shakes, Mint Juleps and dozens more. It is a very impressive list, executed by skillful bartenders.

But it's the food menu that's one of the best parts about Bedford- you are given a menu and a non-permanent pen to tick your choice. Very simple, very cool.

We only ordered a few sliders, but the menu is pretty limited so that told us enough. The first slider was the 'special' beef and bacon meatball covered in a naughty hollandaise sauce, cooked to a beautiful pink in the middle. Next up was the pork meatball with a spicy tomato sauce. This one was delicious, although the pork was a bit overdosed on fennel for my liking. The last slider was the delicious beef and gravy- which was definitely my favourite.

The sliders were all pretty good, but competition around here for sliders is tough, and I don't know if these guys would hold up against the likes of Depot or The Roaming Dive. But- the meatballs are great, the cocktails are fantastic, and there is no other meatball joint like this around. You go get 'em Bedford.

Karaage Chicken

Karaage Chicken is better than sushi.

OK, a high claim, but those of you who have tried Karaage chicken will know that a good one is hard to beat. It is a Japanese fried chicken that knocks the socks of any KFC you've ever tried (and yes, sushi too).

I'm sure my recipe isn't completely authentic, but it tastes awesome, so here you go.

Karaage Chicken (serves 2)

• 4 boneless/skinless free range chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon Sriacha hot sauce (or finely chopped chilli)

Chop each chicken thigh into 4 strips.
Mix soy, garlic, ginger and Sriacha to form the marinade.
Mix with chicken and marinate for at least two hours.

• 1 cup cornflour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 750ml canola oil

Mix together cornflour and salt, and coat chicken pieces thoroughly.
Heat oil in a wok or pot until it just reaches smoking point, and carefully lower batches of the floured chicken in (about 4-5 strips at a time).
Cook chicken for about 3 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden.

Once she's ready sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve with lemon wedges and Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise (the BEST)

Karaage is great served with slaw, or a crunchy green salad with sesame dressing. Or you can be extra naughty and load it all into a roll or a burger like I did...

Chop Chop

 

Who knew Ponsonby Central could squeeze in another restaurant? But here it is: Chop Chop, Blue Breeze Inn's younger, and spunkier sister. She serves bourbon cocktails and encourages the patrons to wear cowboy hats, and serves noodle bowls that knock your socks off.

I started off with a pork bun, interested to see how it would fare against the famous ones at Blue Breeze, and while it didn't have the same glorious crispiness, it was delicious in it's own right. A pillow soft bun encasing sticky BBQ pork covered in a tangy and fresh salsa.

We then choose a noodle bowl each- roast pork for James and spicy crispy chicken for myself. I thought these noodles bowls were slightly overpriced (for a noodle bowl) at $18, but in saying that they are incredibly filling, and after that pork bun I couldn't even finish mine. Overpriced or not, they were both delicious- though we agreed the chicken was just slightly better. You can't beat fried chicken.

Aside from the food, Chop Chop really stood out for their service. We were attended to by a couple of extremely friendly and attentive waitresses, who didn't mind us taking about half an hour to make up our minds. Even more impressive was the incredible patience and professionalism they showed to the Worst Customers In The World who were sitting next to us, while I stifled my laughter in my noodle bowl (but that's another story....).

Breakfast: Stewed Plums on Muesli

Breakfast and I have a funny relationship. We didn't get along until I was about 20 years old, but now I can't cope without it. Whether it's sliced tomato with a dash of hot sauce on toast, a decadent eggs benedict, or just simple muesli, it's now one of my favourite parts of the day (after lunch and dinner of course).

My new breakfast of choice is stewed plums on muesli- I know this is not the most challenging recipe (it would probably give two minute noodles a run for it's money)- but hey, it tastes AWESOME.

Stewed Plums (4 servings)

• 12 Plums 
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar (or more if don't like it too tart)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cut the plums in half, remove the stone, and place in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients.

Cook over a medium/low heat for about 10 minutes, or until soft.

See, told you it was easy.

I served my plums over a simple bircher muesli (oats/dry muesli soaked in milk), topped with natural yoghurt and a sprinkle of almonds. You can even pre-make the whole thing the night before so it's ready for you to gobble down in the morning. Yum!

P.S. These plums are also amazing on a big bowl of vanilla ice-cream ... (but you didn't hear it from me)