Star & Garter - Oamaru

On our way back through Oamaru, after being snowed in for an extra day of our holiday we were planning a brief stop at a café for a takeaway because we had our sedated, spewy cat on board and didn’t know how long he would stay in la-la land for.

We ended up in ‘Star and Garter’ down the Victorian precinct of Oamaru, near my last entry – Loan & Merc. Before we realised this was not a café we could grab a quick bite from a cabinet, the proprietor in the inviting red hat already had us sitting down for a meal at “one of the oldest restaurants in New Zealand’.

Star & Garter - 9 Itchen Street, Oamaru

The ambiance was so-so, quite dark and cold feeling.  I can understand this because there were only windows in the front of the building but it was the heavy dark curtains and décor that added to the dimness. We can compare this to the Loan & Merc which had no windows yet still felt cosy and inviting. It could have also been the mannequin or fake flowers that didn't impress!?

We ordered a sprite 0 (big thumbs up for having it) and a coffee. The lady was distracted by a friend on the phone, delivering me my drink while on the phone then burning the bejesus out of the milk in hubby’s flat white. Not wanting to make the same mistake as last time - ordering cold food when I wanted hot I went for the ‘fresh off the boat that day’ blue cod and ‘steamed’ vegetables (Note the quotes)… This was $13 for half a fillet or $20 for a whole one. After asking the size I went for the whole. The fish arrived with fries and salad, I politely ask for the steamed veges that I ordered off the menu and the lady was more than happy to correct this. Now correct me if I’m wrong but roasted yams, kumara and potatoes are not steamed veges, right?  The qualifiers were the limp piece of broccoli, peas, some cauli and carrots. 

Deep-fried Blue Cod with 'Steamed' Veges

The fish was very nice, the batter nice and light and crispy but it was accompanied from what I identified as possibly master foods tartare sauce and there was a bit of squirt on the broccoli as well – yuck. A thumbs up for the fish but the veges were lame as.

Give me some fresh cod and I think I could put up a competing effort (but I really should prove this)… Better from my Kitchen.

Ed:To be honest I’ve been putting off this post because this experience was just ‘so so’ not the best and not absolutely terrible, which is what I initially envisaged this blog would represent. After discussions with hubby we decided I should post these mediocre ones too. I would be interested to know what you think too?

Loan & Merc (Fleur's Other Place)

We have stopped at 'Fleurs Place' in Moeraki a few times and rate it very highly so we have been eager to try Fleurs 'other' place - The Loan & Mercantile (Merc).

The Loan & Merc - Harbour St, Oamaru, NZ

Fleur Sullivan earned reputation for creating great food a bit closer to home, owning Olivers in Clyde for around 20 years. She has crafted a winning combination in 'Fleurs Place' - fish and seafood straight off the fishing boats blended with fresh local produce. Even though this particular day I really did fancy a nice fresh fish dish, it was pleasing to see that the Loan & Merc was based on a different concept - Hearty, Wholesome Victorian Fare. The Loan & Merc is located in what was once an old grain house on Harbour Street in Oamaru and reaps tons of its original character.

The Loan & Merc is a Victorian style eating house set in an old grain warehouse.

The waiter was one of the most studied up I have come across wanting to spend the time to explain each and every dish on the menu. We could choose any of the long wooden benches in the eating house and although it was quite empty, it still oozed atmosphere and we could see this as a great place to park up with friends for the night.

The ploughman’s smorgasbord is the centrepiece of the lunch menu - the centerpiece of the evening meal is a carvery. A La Carte items included Fleurs famous Rabbit, Venison and Pickled Walnut Pie, Colonial Goose (which is actually Lamb) and Aged Sirloin with a Wood Mushroom & Port Sauce on Sautéed Potatoes ($32.50).  Nick opted for the aged sirloin and myself the ploughman’s because I didn’t fancy a heavy meat and potatoes type feed for lunch.

I want to start with Nicks. He absolutely raved about his, specifically the combination of the wood mushroom and port sauce combined with his wine choice - 3 miner’s pinot. This really was Nick’s kind of restaurant and it was 5 stars from him!

Aged Sirloin in wood mushroom and port sauce with sauteed potatoes and salad

Let’s move onto the Ploughman’s, that we were invited to observe before ordering. The smorgasboard of cold, smoked, cured meats and fish, pate's, terrines, spanish tart, cheeses, pickles, chutneys, salads and freshly baked breads "made fresh each day from locally sourced produce". For $20pp this seemed a good deal but it was never really clear if it was a 'one plate and one plate only' or a 'buffet' style arrangement.

The Ploughmans spread is the centrepiece of the Lunch Menu

We guessed the former but it really should have been spelt out. As I approached the spread the chef pounced to his station and proceeed to point out all the things he wants me to put on my plate "have 1/2 egg with that red sauce there", "Have some seaweed salad, 'Irish whitebait' that is" and "have this polenta slice with curry spices". It was great to have these things explained but then I just wanted some alone time with the spread after this to choose rather than being hovered over. I also wasn't offered to be cut any of the cured meat or bread. Once I trot back to my table I have a some real treats on my plate. The most memorable being the coleslaw, yip coleslaw! I liked this so much that I went to discuss with Chef himself, I found out its contents but I promised not to share. The other was the smoked tarakihi; it was in some mayo type sauce - Yum. It was great to have so much variety!

My Selections

One thing that was noticeably missing was a lack of cheese choices. Nick reckoned that cheddar is the only cheese on a ploughman’s traditionally but with Oamaru being a cheese region I would have liked to see a few different choices. I looked this up on Wikipedia and it states "usually a thick piece of cheddar, stilton or other local cheese". The Spanish omelette also lacked a bit of good old salt and pepper but small criticisms only. I want to be fair with my overall verdict because I really was more in the mood for a hot meal (just not a heavy one), so choosing a cold ploughman’s immediately set me up for disappointment but if I consider:
1. Nicks 5 star impressions.
2. The character of the place.
3. The concept of the ploughman’s and the little gems found within the verdict is......Not Better From My Kitchen.

'Beach House' - Riverton, Southland, NZ (Honeymoon Sustenance)

12/2/2011
For my first blog entry I wanted to write about the most memorable and delicious feed I've had in recent times and dare I say ever!

We got married in February and didn’t have the most conventional honeymoons such as sitting on sunny beaches or laxing by the pool. Instead we took to the deep south – Riverton. After a pretty average day in Te Anau (man has that place gone to the pack) we pull up to our house kindly lent to us for nothing from a family member. It was here on a lovely note with some chocolates on our bed we were recommended ‘Beach House'. Needing a bit of refueling ;) we headed out to the point for a look. 

 Beach House is located at 126 Rocks Highway, Riverton.

I have only begun to enjoy fish lately and even then it has to be very white, clean and not ‘fishy’ tasting. I broke out of my usual chicken choice because if you’re going to order fish it might as well be by the sea right!

Off the specials board I ordered:

 Eggwash Panfried Blue Cod fillets served on a Creamy Mushroom and Tomato Risotto topped with Steamed Greens finished off with Crumbed Feta. $35.

Whooha what a mouthful huh! Ordering such a dish as risotto isn't quite in my health conscious zone but what the heck I’ve had my first pie in ages this trip and being married I don’t have to try anymore right ;) Risotto arrives and although it wasn't the most attractive dish to look at, the taste was – WOW. I don't know what a good risotto is but this was beautiful, It was creamy without being too heavy, still quite fresh if that makes any sense. The fish was nice and firm, perfectly seasoned and really worked well with the feta. It was a huge portion perhaps too much as I waddled out of there like a duck.

Believe me this is high praise from miss fussy. I still remember it and it’s 5 months on!!

We finished off with a  walk along the windy south coast beach – bliss. Because we had such a great visit we went again the next night. Risotto was off the blackboard so I ordered the “Coconut crusted blue cod, deep-fried with fresh summer salad, steak fries and tartare sauce” this to was very good but the risotto was hard to beat!

 Might look like a pile spew but my it was tasty spew

The verdict do I really have to say? Not better from my Kitchen!