THINGS THAT HAPPENED ON BIRTHDAY WEEK

• A friend got me a rare story book and a rare Japanese KitKat!
  I love story books. I love chocolate. And I love rare things.
  I found a quiet space and read the book while eating the kitkat. It was bliss. 

• Another friend got me a bag full of yummy food. Seriously, she know me too well hahaha.

• Went to a French Market + French film screening in Takapuna with a couple of friends. It was such a good evening. So much laughter. J baked some amazing fig & walnut tarts. They were so amazing that we wondered if she had just bought some from the market while we weren't looking. Oh and the films themselves were really thought-provoking. Really good.

Clockwise from top left: Very edgy cancan dance performance; Outdoor film screening; Revive salad and AMAZING fig and walnut tart that my friend baked herself; Salad bits that got stuck in the seat; Stranger with a cute jumper. 

• A friend who knows that I like beans and nuts, made this super sweet card. I was smiling all day after I got this. I'm still smiling.

• Another friend shouted me lunch. It was a nice afternoon.

• Lastly, I caught up with one of my friends and she broke my heart. She told me she is moving to Sydney. I cried like a baby. I haven't cried for over 4 years so it was really awkward. Why are tears uncontrollable? :( I'm so upset but I'm also really happy for her. She will do well in Sydney. 

Went to the post office with her to send some documents. I want to be sent away too. 

NEW CAFES WITH PRETTY BOTTLES AND CUPS

My friend and I checked out two new cafes that have popped up in Auckland. It was a fun way to start the day.

1. GILES, 21 Shortland St.

• We got water served in a funky bottle and our cups were in the shape of paper cups (but made of glass). 
• I ordered the "Mother-in-law's masala eggs". I think the lady who served the food was the mother-in-law. She had that mother-in-law look and feel. 
• Oh, and this cafe stocks The Caker's cakes!!! Will come back for cake next time.

2. VIK'S, at the end of Vulcan Lane.

• This cafe had pretty glassware too. 
• And we were supplied with free water that had watermelon and berry pieces in it. 

INSPIRED

Finally got to go to "Little & Friday"!
So much prettiness and yumminess in one place.

So yeah. The next day, I felt really inspired to bake something pretty.
This is what I ended up with:

These were the ugliest, blandest, weirdest cookies I've ever seen or tasted in my life.
They weren't even cookies. They were all spongy.

Later in the afternoon I had an angry plate of pumpkin and kumara:

THE SHELF CAFE

Had a sweet time, eating sweet things on sweet tableware with a super sweet friend.

It was a very sweet afternoon. 

The tea at The Shelf deserves a special mention. They serve it in the coolest little gadgety teapot, along with an hourglass. If you are easily amused like me, you will be VERY amused and uplifted by the tea-drinking experience at The Shelf.

The Shelf

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theshelfonhigh

50 High Street

Auckland CBD

ORTOLANA & MILSE

Finally got to go to Ortolana! Then went to Milse for dessert.
The food at both places were so yum.

Today I decided that I should -

• Get married to a chef OR
• Make enough money to be able to employ a private chef

If neither works out, I will just have to learn to cook.

Anticlockwise from the bottom: Beetroot lasagnotte, pumpkin gnochetti, rib eye bistecca

Ortolana review:

Yumminess - ★★★★★ 

5 stars for all the hazelnuts in my dish! Also for all the pretty colours - because colour is yummy.

Niceness - ★★★★★ 

They gave us a whole bottle of some nice artisan-brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil to use however we wanted! It's like they trusted that I would be sensible with it. What if I decided to grab the expensive bottle of olive oil and made a run for it? What if I spilled it all? What if I used this opportunity to massage myself with expensive olive oil? No. They trusted me and they respected me as a civilised, normal human being. And by default, they gave us sparkling water, not plain water! It made me feel so special.

Shiny things and design - ★★★★★ 

Not sure if this should be a category, but there were plenty of shiny things at Ortolana, as in the photos above. Nice furnishing too.

Comfiness - ★★★★★ 

Super comfy seats and nice sized tables. Very relaxing.

Vegetarian-friendliness - ★★★★★ 

Heaps of vegetarian options.

Milse review:

Yumminess - ★★★★★ 

All sweet things are yummy. Especially when they come in small servings.

Niceness - ★★★★★ 

The waitress had a French accent. I thought this was very nice.

Shiny things and design - ★★★★★ 

I was excited to sit on a chair that looked like a Yanagi butterfly stool - but it turned out the legs were a bit different. The interior design was very unique and designy.

Comfiness - ★★★★★ 

Surprisingly cosy and comfy atmosphere.

Vegetarian-friendliness - ★★★★★ 

All desserts are vegetarian friendly!

Ortolana/Milse

The Pavilions at Britomart

31 Tyler Street
Britomart

Auckland CBD

THE BRICKHOUSE CAFE

The Brickhouse Cafe makes magical Flat Whites.

The foamy bit at the top has the most amazing texture.

It's like drinking a mouthful of clouds + unicorn milk.  

I think I might just order a Fluffy instead of a Flat White next time.

I like being inside brick buildings. 

Especially orange-brick buildings.

I'm going to spend a lot of time this winter drinking cloudy-unicorn-milk inside this orange-brick building.

The Brickhouse Espresso Bar

86 Symonds St (It's just a little bit further up than Starbucks on the opposite side. Really worth the extra 2 min walk. I like Starbucks too though).

I wouldn't mind living upstairs. 

The entrance

The amazing Flat White

Cozy interior

Bricks!

The Brickhouse Espresso Bar (Only the right corner of the building is used as a cafe)

HOW TO BUY HAPPINESS

Step 1. Walk on down to The Store (address below)
Step 2. Ask for a scoop of Lemoncurd Yogurt gelato.

I did this today.
Ohmygosh.
Lemoncurd Yogurt gelato. 
Oh yum. 
It was perfect.

Like Silo Park on Friday nights, this is cafe is full of hipsters and other well-dressed people who seem to have a lot of cultural capital (and also a lot of capital in general).

Great food, nice design, and good vibes! The Store is a store of happiness.

The Store

5B Gore Street, Auckland (The Pavilions at Britomart)

Open Mon - Sun, 6.30am til 3pm

The gelato was served in these environmentally-friendly-looking paper cups with cute wooden spoons that looked similar to WASARA's range of biodegradable tableware.

STRATA CAFE

At Strata cafe at around 10am

Tried a Soy Cappuccino! Yum. But their Soy Lattes and Soy Flat Whites are my favorite. 

Vegetarian menu board on the right! The cabinet has lots of nice food too.

I'm starting to think Auckland Uni is pretty awesome. I think it's because I know this is my last year here. 

Oh, I get to use the postgraduate student lounge now! Oh gosh, it's so nice and peaceful in there. It's actually sooo peaceful in there, I think I'm spending too much time away from Elam. 

The lounge is connected to (or is a part of) Strata Cafe. Strata has (in my opinion) the best quality food you can get on campus. Annnnd they now have a separate vegetarian menu! Coffee is realllllly really good too. I don't know much about coffee, but the coffee at Strata tastes really nice to me. I think I might be addicted to their Soy Lattes. I keep thinking about it in the mornings.


Strata Cafe:
Lvl 4 Kate Edgar Information Commons (Over the little indoor bridge. Opposite iSpace)
Open until 5.30pm on weekdays, I think. Not sure if they're open on weekends.

MAIRANGI BAY

Mairangi Bay is a nice little beachy suburb in Auckland. It has a nice little old-town feeling to it. Maybe because of all the old people. Or maybe because of the old buildings. Or both.

Anyway, I walked a bit around Mairangi Bay beach today, then went over to the Mairangi Bay town centre and had coffee at Mangiamo Cafe. The Pukeko Food Store was right next doors but I didn't see it until afterwards! I also missed the Mairangi Bay Saturday Market by around 2 hours. I will have to come visit Mairangi Bay again.

Mairangi Bay beach

 

Paper Moon Cafe, Mairangi Bay

Mangiamo Cafe, Mairangi Bay

Mangiamo Cafe, Mairangi Bay

TOFU SANDWICH

This "Tofu Sandwich" from Raw Power Cafe made me very happy today.

It was like I was that rat from the movie Ratatouille, and I was having explosions of colourful delicious textures and flavours in my mouth and also in my brain.

It's really nothing fancy. But it was just a combination of healthy ingredients and simple food I really really like.

This calls for a list!

Here is a list of what the sandwich was made up of:

-Focaccia bread

-Hummus

-Avocados

-Sweet potatoes/ Kumara

-Tofu

-Afalfa sprouts

-Bean sprouts

-Mesclun

-Pesto

-Tomatos

If I had to choose one sandwich to eat everyday for the rest of my life, I would choose this one.

AN AFTERNOON IN BOLOGNA

Such a beautiful walkway 

Wall mural! 

Cute orange scooter

Little dogs taking a walk

I think this is a residential apartment building

Aperitivo at Zanarini. Apparently the cool place to be seen in Bologna.

Mr Pigeon on the table next to ours. What a hipster-pigeon, eating at Zanarini.

Mr Flatgreenbug. Also such a hipster-bug, hanging out at Zanarini.