I made a great lunch box discovery today when I popped in to the Noodle Canteen franchise in Royal Oak, Auckland for a quick take-out lunch.
Having never been into a Noodle Canteen before, I was immediately impressed by the fresh ingredients laid out in the chiller cabinet for customers to see. Vivid green broccoli, plump prawns, crisp carrots and the many more prepped ingredients presented in a clean and tidy environment all pointed towards a franchise that took care and maintained standards.
Although I was craving noodles, the curry laksa caught my eye and I ordered that from the friendly young woman behind the counter before settling on a stool and chatting to a colleague while watching my lunch being prepared.
Back at the office, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality, freshness and variety of the ingredients in my laksa which included two types of noodle, at least three types of seafood and various julienned veggies.
The soup base was a rich orange liquor with a well-balanced flavour and warmth and the size of the portion was big enough to leave me still feeling satisfied and well fed some 5 hours later – no mean feat where my appetite is concerned. Although I have only tried one dish so far, that meal was certainly more than enough to encourage me to return to try others.
I was also amused to note that the Noodle Canteen web site, like Big Boy’s Brunch, is managed on WordPress.
A week ago, SWMBO’s friend flew out from the UK to join us for a week or so before heading off to explore the rest of the country. To give her a real taste of Kiwi summer, we packed the 4×4 and the trailer and headed north ahead of the Friday rush to drive to a great little bach on a secluded East Coast bay.
After a pasta and wine supper at the bach on Friday, we decided to go out to dinner on Saturday night and headed to the restaurant at the Bridge House Lodge in Warkworth, where we had a great meal with The Out-Laws last year.
We were early enough to get a table for seven without booking with the added bonus that we were by the window overlooking the river and I had a great view of the large screen TV showing the Sevens tournament down in Wellington. While restaurants with sports bars can often be noisy and less than pleasant to eat in, the volume of the TV and the good natured cheers were fine and we enjoyed mixing our dinner chat with rooting for the boys in black.
The waiting staff were friendly, helpful and efficient, bringing drinks and garlic bread to settle the sprogs while the three grown ups decided what to have. Being the sole hungry chap among the ladies, I alone ordered a starter – the salt and pepper squid to start – and ended up sharing it with everyone not having an entrée. Cooked and seasoned well, it was a very nice way to kick off the meal, even if the portion was on the small side even before the vultures descended.
SWMBO liked the look of the spinach salad entrée with feta, olives and roasted peppers and the staff were happy to ‘upgrade’ the dish to a main. Her friend, the District Nurse, went for the pan-fried chicken with cream cheese farce while I was unable to resist the lure of the venison sausages and chorizo with garlic mashed potato and gravy. The sprogs enjoyed their choices from the children’s menu which included freshly made pizza and fish or chicken & chips.
Each dish was well-presented, served without fuss and in a timely fashion. While I only have the contented murmurs and empty plates of my companions to go on, the spinach salad and the stuffed breast of chicken both got a hearty thumbs-up. The chorizo were packed with spicy paprika and the venison sausages were gamey with a discernible bite lacking in many Kiwi bangers. The garlic mash was lovely and smooth which, with the gravy, made each mouthful slip down that little bit easier.
Desserts were a split with two adults choosing the lemon tart with citrus sorbet and two sprogs voting for the mudcake with chocolate sauce, which they fell on like jackals on a carcass. I liked the sorbet more than the tart but as I’m not big on desserts and the District Nurse finished hers with much delight, who am I to judge?
More through laziness than anything else, we drank a 2007 Hunter’s Sauvignon Blanc, a long-time award winner from Marlborough, throughout the meal. Light, bright, full of elderflowers and gooseberries, we liked it so much we’ve bought more since.
It’s hard say if this was all value for money as the District Nurse picked up the tab, a very kind and wonderful gesture and much appreciated by all. That said, I’m sure we’ll go back on our own dollar again in the not too distant future.
