Little & Friday Newmarket

If there is anything that had made my life sweeter (and waistline wider) recently, it has to be the
Little & Friday cafe on Melrose St, Newmarket. At first I was reluctant to share information of this little piece of gem to others but it will be known to all sooner or later so I might as well ..

The coffee is from Supreme Coffee...my favorite and the talented bakers here uses  free range and organic ingredients in their kitchen. Not to mention that the staff here are really friendly most of the time.

The tables were decorated with more goodies to entice you !  

      The pear tart is so delicious...the pear was just the right texture and the pastry was just so damn    good. After I've finished I just wanted another because it's just too awesome.

Lemon & coconut cake is one of their best sellers.

I also love their grilled haloumi cheese, tomato and leek pastry.

This is one of the rare cafes in Auckland that I think will make non Aucklanders jealous (I am just being sour grape of the cafes in Wellington) and wish they had one too. 

There's really nothing to complain about this place other than some selfish patrons who'd rather let their designer handbags sit on a chair than you (Grrrr!!) The coffees here are pretty great too and prices are around $5-$8 for their cakes which I think is a really good deal for the quality, taste and quirkiness.

Little & Friday
12 Melrose St.
Newmarket

Tweet

Follow @herworldly

A whiff of Eritrea in Auckland

The very first time I had African food was during a trip to Vancouver and I fell in love with the flavour, texture and the smell of my fingers after the meal. I was hooked. Since I am back in Auckland, I kept googling and finally found an Eritrean lunch outing through a food tour organiser, Finding Flavours.

This is not just a lunch outing, we are going to be served a meal cooked by an Eritrean family and followed by a coffee ceremony. There were about a dozen other foodies on the day and we were warmly welcomed by Aklilu and his sisters Rahel and Tsehaines in their family home. The smell of the food was making me hungry.After an introduction to the family and Eritrean food and culture, the dishes were presented to us on a table and we were encouraged by the family to eat as much as we like.

The meal starts with injera, a flat bread made from fermented rice flour is the base of a meal much like rice or pasta. The fermentation process created the airy soft texture of the injera.

Derho is a chicken and hard-boiled eggs in curry. The chicken was so tender, it fell off the bones.It was not very spicy, just a little hint of chilli with a nice gingery aftertaste.

Zigni is a lamb curry cooked with the family made from scratch curry paste. Very good too.

Alicha : stir-fried carrots, beans, potatoes ,garlic and onion with spices. It was so delicious that I ate almost half the bowl. No kidding.

Ades is a spicy lentil dish that goes really well with the injera.

Our lovely foodie, oops! I mean guide Lynn from Finding Flavours

Tsehaines & Aklilu generously shared their food and culture with us

Aklilu presented us Hmbasa bread to go with the coffee. Popcorn was also served and it's a common practice to have it before coffee is served.

Freshly baked Hambasa bread to go with the aromatic coffee

Green coffee beans are roasted over charcoal fire by Rahel


The roasted coffee grinds are then transferred to be boiled

If only I can have this coffee every morning..strong but not overpowering with a nice cardamon flavour lingering in your mouth.

We've spent almost 3 hours in the family home and it was one of the warmest occasions that was motivated by food but continued by sharing some of the families' stories in a group of like-minded, well-traveled foodies. I personally think it's a true privilege to share an amazing meal cooked by the people who eat it everyday at home themselves. Nothing can get as authentic as this. The experience was really memorable and kudos to Lynn from Finding Flavours for organising such a special occasion and am looking forward for more to come.

Tweet

Follow @herworldly