a few of our favourite things

Miriam: Mike and I have just come back from a lovely weekend in Wellington, being very well looked after at Libby & Jabez' place. As well as the many culinary delights (special highlight was being treated to these hot cross buns for breakfast), I also enjoyed a green tea on our flight back to Auckland. Although not quite as good as a happy hour wine, it felt quite nice and cleansing after a great weekend of overindulgence.

Libby: Yes, it was a weekend of overindulgence with lots of Wellington food highlights... little garlicky rolls at Vivo and dosai at Roti Chenai on Friday night... bomboloni at Floriditas and haloumi at Nikau on Saturday... and a Sunday morning spend-up at Moore Wilson followed by Caffe L'affare mocha.

Becs: Coincidentally my favourite thing this week is beverage related too. These dutch stroopwafels are made in Waihi, and were recently recognised in the Cuisine Artisan Awards - according to their website "they're typically enjoyed as 'lids' for hot beverages - you place the biscuit atop a cup of hot tea or coffee, leave it for a few minutes to allow it warm through, then enjoy it in all its sweet and gooey deliciousness." They are lovely and not too sweet like the imported ones I've tried.

A few of our favourite things...

Becs: Is there a more perfectly fragrant flower than daphne? (Although freesias come a close second). My husband Mike loved it too, and used to pick sprigs of it to dot around the house, so now I love that it reminds me of him. I have both pink and white daphne plants, both in pots. They are easy enough to look after - keep them somewhere with a bit of shade - so if your home is daphneless I suggest a visit to the nursery.

Libby: Wellingtonians might have seen the Wellington book in local bookstores - it's a book of beautiful illustrations of all things Wellington by two very talented young artists. I bought a couple of prints from the website - this cute Mt Vic tunnel one and the other an "aerial view" of Wellington. I had them framed by Framing Online which is based in Kumeu. They offer such great service - really prompt and so accommodating of special requests. You just order the frame you want online, post off your prints and it arrives back (beautifully framed and carefully wrapped) a week later. Like a great big present to yourself!

Miriam: I'm really enjoying these blue peas from the Wright Sprouts. They're a good way to add a healthy crunch to salads, especially at this time of year when one starts to feel like salads but the fresh produce often isn't that good yet. They are also delicious when used as a base for pesto; you can find the recipe here.

A very delicious day in Wellington

Becs came up to Wellington for a quick mid-week visit and no opportunity to eat was wasted. We had a carefully itinerary planned which included some of our old favourites and a couple of new places Becs had yet to try.

We started the day at Nikau at the City Art Gallery. We love this place. The food is always outstanding - simple but delicious, and the service so welcoming. On this occasion we both ordered the porridge with tea-soaked prunes and toasted hazelnuts. How could we not?! I adore prunes and Becs always orders porridge in the name of "research" for her Posh Porridge stall at the Christchurch Farmers Market.

Some may scoff at ordering porridge when out for breakfast but Nikau's porridge is nothing like the porridge you eat at home (unless you're Becs). The porridge was perfect in every way. The oats were lovely and creamy, and the prunes plump and delicious from soaking in tea. We enjoyed our porridge with the lightest drizzle of cream. I also added a spoonful of brown sugar from the sweet little jar you help yourself to, though I probably didn't need to as the prunes offered enough sweetness. I just couldn't help myself as I just love the way brown sugar turns into instant caramel sauce on hot porridge.

We went to Nikau hoping to take away one of their delicious bombolone and we weren't the only ones: while we were at Nikau two other customers had asked after them. We must have let our disappointment show as we were kindly given a coconut bun by co-owner Paul when we paid the bill. Such a nice touch. And such a delicious wee bun! A light brioche-like dough rolled with orange zest and coconut milk. Highly recommended for days when bombolone aren't available.

After doing a round of Moore Wilsons we headed out to Cafe Polo in Miramar for lunch. Cafe Polo is participating in Wellington on a Plate and offering both a set menu and an entry in the Burger Wellington competition. I went with the burger and Becs the set menu. The burger was enormous filled with hummus, beetroot, toasted walnuts, two delicious Zany Zeus goats cheese patties and salad. It was served with the most amazing truffled fries - these fries alone are worth the trip out to Miramar.

For more on Cafe Polo's burger, keep an eye on Delaney's 17 days 17 dates: we spotted her dining with the charming James Nesbitt. Lucky girl!

Becs went with the fork tender beef shin from the Wellington on a plate set menu...

... followed by the apple tart - a beautiful tart tartin with translucent caramelised apples atop flaky pastry. The tart was served with a delicious pohutukawa honey ice cream. Such a lovely finish to our meal - it worked out at three perfect mouthfuls each.

We popped back into town for a look in the shops and while up the Cuba Street end we stopped off at Floriditas for coffee and shared this delightful Portuguese custard tart... don't you love how the plate matches the tart?!

Last stop for the day was La Boca Loca in Miramar. The place was just bustling - we arrived early at around 6.30pm to secure a spot as we hadn't booked and shortly after it was packed. Fantastic to see places so busy on a Tuesday night in winter. La Boca Loca take bookings for tables but leave the bar and window spots free for walk-ins. Such a great strategy. Should you arrive and there's no space they'll kindly take your number so you can pop down to the lovely bar at the Roxy cinema a few doors down and call you when a space becomes available. Love that kind of service.

We ordered corn chips with housemade salsa ranchera, guacamole and chipotle mayo; refired beans with chorizo, enchiladas de pollo and tacos de puerco. Our favourite was the taco de puerco - soft corn tacos filled with pulled pork shoulder with a pineapple and salsa.

A pre-airport glass of wine at Coco at the Roxy was also on the list but we had to reconsider this dinner as we simply didn't have room! Instead we admired the beautifully refurbished cinema and perused Coco's menu for future visits.

A lovely wee day indeed.