Hospobaby's Cheap Eats

I once bought my husband Chef Sid a book called “The Hungry Monkey” by Matthew Amster-Burton. Amster –Burton and I share the same quest in educating our little ones palates by exposing them to as many flavors we possibly can. New Zealand has become such a great place to live; we are slowly getting acquainted with different cultures and their food. I came across Metro’s Cheap Eats list last month and was so happy to come across a whole lot of new ethnic places to try.

 We have exposed Zoya to spices since an early age. We added hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric and cardamom to her mashed veg. She moved on to eating the lamb saagwala curry from our Indian takeaways. Metro’s list praised 7 tastes of Siri in Kingsland so we took the leap of faith and took Hospobaby to try something new. 

7 tastes of Siri serves Sri Lankan food. The place is tiny and quaint. A young energetic couple greeted us and assured my mother who is vegetarian that she wouldn’t suffer. We ordered the Lump rice that came with different curries and a boiled egg on a banana leaf. Hospobaby got an Appam; a rice flour pancake with a soft centre. My mother ordered another Appam that came with a vegetarian topping. Hospobaby quite enjoyed the warm crispy on the outside but soft in the middle Appam. The food was delicious and a great introduction to Sri Lankan cuisine.

The success of our visit to 7 tastes of Siri encouraged us to explore the Cheap Eats list again. We found Barilla Dumpling on Dominion Road. I recommend that you book ahead at Barilla as they get quite busy. Hospo baby was rather naughty and tipped the chilli oil jar the minute we sat down. The staff didn’t even bat an eyelid and quickly cleaned up the mess and swiftly took our orders. We ordered the pork and cashew dumplings, the sugar pancake (for Hospo baby), the smoked pork pancake, the French beans in spicy salt and baked buns. Four of us, with ample help from Hospobaby found the one plate of dumplings a challenge to finish.  The pork pancake came in the form pieces of smoked pork with Hoisin sauce encased in crisp pancakes. They reminded me of Peking duck. The French beans are by far my favourite dish and I can vouch for them being Hospobaby’s too, as she gnawed on several of them. The baked buns were a surprise they were like little doughnuts and came with condensed milk on the side as a dip. The perfect finish to a great meal.

You need not travel many miles to broaden your little one’s taste buds just explore your neighbourhood a little, step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Be the Pied Piper and lead by example your little one might just follow. If you don’t believe me read Amster-Burton’s book (I am still waiting for the chef to read it).

bah humbug!

Although our Hospo baby is too young to get excited about school holidays, being a teacher I can’t help being thrilled by them. Holidays mean I can take Zoya out and explore new eateries together.  We have been to Depot in Skycity before but we had heard that they had started opening for breakfast and decided to try it out again. First Sunday of the school holidays we ventured into town with our 18 month old in tow and empty bellies.

We were told we had three options, toasted muesli, bacon and egg butties and warm beignets. However they had run out of the beignets! A tad disappointed, we ordered two bacon and egg butties, coffee and juice. The bacon and egg butties were delicious; the relish in them gave them a real kick. Perhaps we need to go back to Depot when the kids are back at school and they are not eaten out of all their beignets.

On a Saturday afternoon I decided to catch up with a friend (also a teacher) who lives in Glen Eden and she insisted we try Humbug café. We ordered two chicken burgers for ourselves, drinks and a melting moment for the little lady at our table. Humbug is a great place for toddlers, they have a second room full of books, games and toys. The décor is eclectic with mismatched chairs and has an easy feel to it.  Zoya was soon lost in all the kiddy paraphanelia leaving us to catch up. I went back to Humbug on my own a few days later and picked up some delicious almond croissants to help my friend and me finish our marking. Needless to say it’s a gem of a place especially in a location that has a real dearth of good cafes.

Dippy dip dip

We all love familiar food when we are unwell. Our little Hospo baby was a tad sick, so we decided to treat her (as well ourselves) to a Saturday morning brunch at Zus & Zo. Zus is our all-time favourite café in Ponsonby. It is one of the few cafes that goes beyond the typical eggs benedict fare.  I ordered the Black Box Piri Piri sausage sandwich that comes with an unctuous relish and grilled peppers. Sid got a chicken club sandwich and Zoya got a brioche toastie with cheese. The café is tiny but quirky and the great food keeps us coming back. We were not so surprised when the owners informed us that they were branching out with a new place in Takapuna.

Takapuna has had a recent bustle of activity with new eateries opening up. Mexico has also been another of our haunts and it has opened its new, larger premises on The Strand. I personally love Mexican food and am trying to cultivate a love for it in Zoya.

Don’t you love kids menus when the food is good? I was surprised to find one at Mexico. Kids menus are like security blankets, you can fall back on if all your well- intentioned attempts fail. We ordered the beef, pork and the chicken tacos. The fried chicken and the patatas de maiz came with dipping sauces which hospo baby was thrilled with. “Dippy dip dip” she sang. The best dish was the churros with chocolate sauce off the kid’s menu. Us big kids couldn’t resist it either. We left with a very happy hospo baby who kept chanting “dippy dip dip” all the way home.

to market to market

Experts say that we must know where our food comes from to truly appreciate it.  As a family short of DIY skills, the plant beds in our new house were begging to be sown. Sunday morning saw us drive to Clevedon farmer’s market. We thought we could kill two birds with one stone, get brunch with our little early riser and also pick up some seeds for our kitchen garden.

It was a slightly wet day, but the great thing about the Clevedon Markets is that the stalls are covered. After Sid got his caffeine hit and we got some cash out, we were in business. Hospo baby tucked into beef and bean empanadas then explored the buffalo yogurt stand. We bought a lemon and sugar crepe and a glass of freshly squeezed juice to fill up the little one’s empty tank.

Once everyone’s hunger was satisfied we moved on to shopping for produce.

We bought hand-made ham and cheese ravioli, potato sourdough, cavolo nero and oyster mushrooms, all of which were used up to make dinner that night. A tired toddler was bribed for silence on the drive home with a cute shortbread cookie on a stick. Even the dog got some treats. Our kitchen garden has been introduced to radishes, herbs and heirloom tomatoes. Hospo baby and her dad spent the afternoon pottering in the garden, acquiring green thumbs. A great day spent as a family with some culinary and horticultural education thrown in.

Tip: You don’t have to count the kilometers to Clevedon, Parnell and Britomart have excellent farmer’s markets too.

Hospobaby has migrated

In case you have been left out of the loop, Hospobaby now features in Bite magazine every fortnight in the New Zealand Herald. Hence, I have not been blogging here. Here are the past 5 issues. I will update as I can but it will obviously be after the articles are published in the Herald first.
So really if you want your Hospobaby fix you need to get the real thing... the newspaper on Monday fortnightly. Look out for the next one on 26th November...look for From the other side with a cute illustration of Zoya.

Here is the first one

Tempting young taste buds

My culinary education began almost eight years ago when I met my husband, Chef Sid Sahrawat. Since then I have been building my own perspective from the other side of the dining table. Love for food, is a legacy we both hope to pass on to our 16-month-old daughter, Zoya. Ever since our little Hospobaby could eat her first morsel, she has accompanied us on some serious taste escapades.

Not only has she had her first toddler date at our own restaurant Sidart, but she has also darkened the door of many other fine dining establishments. I believe there are two rules of baby dining etiquette, one; ask and you will be surprised, many restaurants, even upmarket ones will allow you to dine with a young one (especially early, on quiet nights) and the second; if your child does throw a tanty just leave for a bit until they calm down.

Last weekend we decided to revisit an old favorite, Molten in Mt. Eden. I called ahead and spoke to owner Sven and confirmed that a toddler would be welcome. On arriving we noticed she wasn’t the only toddler in the room. The bread was scoffed down, but our little ones immature palate rejected the Orongo bay and Tio Point Oysters. However she ate all the shaved Ox tongue from the poached prawn entrée. Salt and pepper squid has always been our quintessential favourite. The pulled pork entrée was of a rather interesting texture. Zoya took to the spatchcock that I ordered for my mains and devoured a leg. She ate gnocchi off Sid’s Pork Cutlet. Evidence of the hot chocolate fondant remained smeared on our little chocoholic’s mouth as we walked into the wet night. Molten remains a place to turn to on Sunday nights when many good restaurants are shut.