KEY POINTS:
We find it hard to go past cupcakes at the best of times, but when they've got a fondant shoe, bag or rose perched on top of delicious (trust us) butter cream and vanilla cake, resistance is futile. Dellows Kitchen has come up with this version just in time for Mother's Day. They're baking plenty this week but you can also order them in advance. The shoes are $4.50 and the bags and flowers are $4 each. 212 Jervois Rd. Ph (09) 378 6146.
Cardboard-free
Here's a muesli for those who don't pretend to like chomping on oats and bran. Byron Bay-based outfit Brookfarm's Gluten-Free Macadamia Muesli is preservative and additive-free and, although it contains buckwheat, soy, sunflower seeds and brown rice it also has Barossa Valley sultanas, apricots from Murrumbidgee and dried apple, macadamia nuts and honey. As Brookfarm says, here's a muesli that "doesn't taste like cardboard". $13.95 for 350g from Farro Foods, ph (09) 570 7071.
Sitting pretty
The Takapuna Beach Cafe has finally opened and if the weekend was anything to go by, turning up early may be your best shot at getting a seat. If you do you'll enjoy great views back up the beach and an enticing menu from the folks behind Richmond Rd Cafe and Cafe on Kohi. The new Takapuna cafe has been purpose-built with a generous deck, where once there stood a small kiosk near the boatramp at the north end of the beach. It's open days only, but has a takeout service until 8pm, with seaside offerings ranging from fish and chips to snapper ceviche, plus fruity icecream and gelato, just made for strolls along the sands. On the Promenade, just off Hurstmere Rd.
Lighten up
Low carb beers can have 70 per cent fewer carbs than most regular beers. They're also lower in calories than red and white wine and spirit mixers. Pure Blonde is a low carb beer, but still with a crisp, lager taste. Sales of such beers are a growing trend, with Pure Blonde's increasing more than 100 per cent in the last quarter.
So if you think beer is only for the boys, maybe it's time you started reading the fine print on the label, as other health-conscious drinkers are starting to do.
Ready for school
Just in time for term two, Farmbake has released new cookies, including Chocolate Chip minis - small packs that can pop into lunch boxes or desk drawers. A multi-pack costs $3.75. There's also Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies, with 40 per cent chocolate, which sell at $4.49.
Cin-cin old chap
Dig out your padded shoulders. Cin Cin - the restaurant that was the scene of many an 80s power lunch - turns 20 this year and is having an anniversary on Wednesday, May 14. Chef Joe Boreham is offering up an eight-course degustation matched with New Zealand wines. There will be live jazz to help the digestion, a silent auction and the documented history of the 20-year-history of the place. Cin Cin fan John Hawkesby will be there. Tickets are $200 and limited with funds raised going towards the Cancer Society Research Department Auckland. Ph (09) 307 6966.
