Cafe Review: Rata @ Zealandia

Visited 09 Feb 2014

Crew: Mark, Me, LJ

Food: 7/10
Ambience: 9/10
Overall Rating: 8/10
Cost: $40 after discount
Kid Friendly?: Definitely. Two high chairs provided, kids menu that has a couple of non-deep-fried options AND a playpen with toys.

An overcast weekend day in high summer, what a surprise (not). We were desperate to get out of the house, and it was lunchtime. Since we are Zealandia members, we opted for a quick trip to Rata, in order to use our 10% off, and try somewhere new.

The cafe is spacious, airy and light, even on an overcast, damp day. We are early, there are very few people around. We grab one of the two high chairs, and steal a couple of toys from the toybox to keep LJ occupied.

We opt to sit "outside", next to the big cafe blinds that are keeping out the worst of the weather. Its still cozy, but we have the advantage of a view. We both agree that we are gutted this didn't exist for our wedding, as its a stunning venue.

The kids menu is passable. A lot of fried food options, but also a couple of brunch choices. We pick the french toast with banana (LJs all-time-favourite food) and bacon for him ($7.50), while I go for a peri jose beef burger ($19) and Mark takes his chances on the special - lamb, pikopiko and mushroom (I think) pie with a tuatara beer match ($14). I also ordered a caramel shake.

While we waited, the cafe filled up noticably. Unfortunately for another couple, they were the third baby to arrive and there were not enough high chairs.

Mark loved his pie, he thought it was awesome. It certainly looked fantastic - big wedges of lamb in a smooth gravy, with a thick crust.
My burger was tasty, BUT the mayo / cream cheese combination was unfortunately overwhelming. It was all I could taste. The salad disappeared, the sweet meat had no taste. Thankfully the sauce was not massively spicy, otherwise it would have been inedible. Instead, it was nice, but lacking complexity. The chips were very tasty though.
LJ enjoyed his french toast, even though it was too hot for him to eat to start with and wound up covered in maple syrup up both arms and all over his face. The banana was his favourite part, but he also ate good quantities of bacon and actual french toast. Mark got to finish his leftovers.

Would I go back? Definitely! I'm also curious to try their dinner menu, but they only appear to open for dinner over summer.

Kids in the Kitchen

So, I have a 10 month old, and I would dearly love for him to be involved in the kitchen as much as possible, from as young an age as possible.

Thanks to an awesome group of mums I know, here are some ideas for things under 3 year olds can do to help:

Grandma helping cake decorating

• Peeling - carrots, potatoes, kumara, parsnip.
• Trimming - beans etc
• Popping apart brocolli / cauliflower florets
• Measuring - almost anything that can be measured!
• Counting - "Can you get me 3 potatoes for dinner?"
• Filling pots (using cold water), to cover the veges
• Collecting things
• Stirring - particularly cold things. Hot / on the stove would require supervision and a knowledge of your child before trying
• Table setting
• Grating
• Make your own pizzas - either a pita bread they can top, or even go as far as letting them help make the dough!
• Rolling meatballs / patties
• Breadcrumbing
• Get them a "lettuce" knife - Scanpan brand do a plastic knife that wont cut your skin, but can cut tomatoes, lettuce etc.

About this age / slightly older, they can probably start to do things like breaking eggs, using a hand beater to whip cream and perhaps even start helping with hot stuff, like making scrambled eggs, spreads on toast and filling toasties.

A great option, if you have a parent who bakes, is to get their grandparent to spend some time cooking with them. Gives you a break, and them some special one-on-one time with Grandma / Grandad, who often have a bit more patience!

Heres hoping I'll enjoy having my son in the kitchen with me. Have you cooked with your kids? How did it go? What do you get them to do?

Mini Meringue Pies

Rantings of a Basketcase, November 2012


It was rhubarb and strawberry season, and we had been invited to a dinner party when I decided to create these. I wanted something that was finger-food friendly, could be eaten cold, and would use some cooked rhubarb I had in the fridge.
I was well pleased with the outcome, although they were better when fresh than cold, simply because the meringue weeped a little as it cooled.
Suitable for probably nearly any kind of fruit I reckon. Inspired by my Mums lemon meringue pie.

The Good: Quick, easy, tasty. No need to make your own pastry, the hardest part of this is deciding what fruit to use

The Bad: The pastry cases were a little chewy. I would definitely shell out for better quality ones next time.

Overall Result: 8.5/10

Christmas Pudding Truffles

Rantings of a Basketcase, December 2012

These did not go at ALL like I had planned. They wound up being little hard bites rather than soft, chewy truffles like I had hoped. Also, the lollies I used were not ideal. That said, they were still incredibly yummy, and disappeared at a rapid rate of knots!

The Good: Tasty, pretty, great for decorating a Christmas morning tea table

The Bad: The chocolate melts really fast, so you cant have them out of the fridge for long.

Overall rating: 6/10. I was not happy with this one. I need to try it again with a different truffle recipe. And smaller lollies for on the top!

Pull-apart Garlic Breads

Rantings of a Basketcase, May 2012

An amendment from a recipe found on an American website, these have been a hit every single time I make them. I made them for a gourmet dinner for our Tramping Club families group at the ski lodge last winter, and they were gone within 5 minutes. They never even made it to the tables, everyone came to the servery to get them!

The Good: Simple with a breadmaker, require no advanced skills and taste fantastic

The Bad: Awfully moreish. You wont want to stop eating them

Notes: Always, ALWAYS use butter. Never use oil.

Overall Rating: 10/10. Probably my favourite recipe of all time. Why haven't I made these recently?

Butterscotch Self-Saucing Pudding

Healthy Food Guide, September 2008

I made this for the first time when we had friends over for a pot-luck type meal and I was designated dessert. It is deliciously yummy, and although a bit fiddly at times, well worth the effort.

The Good: Sweet and rich without being too rich like some chocolate puddings are. Moist and sponge-like cake and a sticky toffee sauce to round it out. This recipe has never failed me, and I have successfully re-heated it on several occasions.

The Bad: The fact it only uses one egg makes it difficult to cook a smaller portion, and its such a more-ish dessert that while it can comfortably feed six with a serve of ice-cream, its very easy for it to end up only serving 3 or 4. Not so good for the waistline!

Notes: I always tend to use butter rather than spread for HFG recipes. Just because I like that buttery taste.

Overall Rating: 9/10

No photo sorry - this never lasts long enough!

Apricot Choc-Chip Cookies

Healthy Food Guide, June 2007

I make a variant of these biscuits on a regular basis now, after they got a great reception at a work morning tea. Make sure your flour is as fresh as possible, otherwise they can taste stale. The nuts are optional - I tend to add extra chocolate chips and dried apricots instead. Also, use real butter. It tastes better :)

The good: Easy. Can be made as biscuits or a slice. Slightly healthier than many other biscuits, but dont taste "healthy"

The bad: Very crumbly mix that is difficult to mainpulate.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10.

Daydreaming

Early in 2013 I went to a cupcake decorating course, and they had the most awesome spice rack - full of sprinkles! If only I did more cake decorating, so I could use that as excuse...

This awesome cake decorating spice rack was at Cupcake Sweeties. They do awesome classes, and have a huge range of gear available in store as well.