The Dish: A New Downtown Dumpling Bar, Fresh-Hop Beers & More Delicious Food News

Sidart has a new tasting menu, Remuera has a new bistro and New Zealand has a new homegrown walnut milk.

New opening: Perch in Britomart

For anyone still lamenting the loss of Xuxu Dumpling Bar, we have some good news for you. Perch has arrived. From the team behind Café Hanoi, Ghost Street and The Parlour, general manager Vik Sirohi and executive chef Nathan Houpapa promise excellent service, a welcoming vibe and a brilliant menu of dumplings, spring rolls and sides. Find dumplings like prawn and pea shoot with XO chilli oil and pork and prawn shaomai; and spring rolls heroing ingredients from East Asia including kimchi, Sichuan pepper and XO sauce, all designed to share. To drink, there are local craft beers on tap (from Brothers Beer), Sawmill’s Bare Beer by the bottle and a great list of cocktails with ingredients like black tea, cherry, coriander and yuzu, as well as boutique wines from New Zealand and around the world. Perch is open from 12pm until late Wednesday to Friday, and from 4pm until late on Tuesdays and Saturdays. 23 Galway St, Britomart.

Inca is open for brunch

Inca Ponsonby is known for its Japanese-Peruvian cuisine, its chef Nic Watt and its Ponsonby Central location. Now it’s set to become known for its breakfast too with the launch of a new brunch menu, available every Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 11.30am. New brunch dishes include the Nikkei eggs Benedict, with corn and sweet potato rosti; the Inca poke bowl; churros with bacon, maple syrup and a chilli fried egg; and oats with sweet white miso, grilled yellow peach, and bush honey (pictured). There are also breakfast tacos! There will be breakfast cocktails, if that’s your thing, as well as Allpress coffee. Find Inca at Ponsonby Central, via the Richmond Rd laneway. To book, visit Incarestaurant.co.nz

New opening: Spring Bistro in Remuera

Remuera’s new retail and hospitality precinct 1050 has opened, housing Thai Village (recently reviewed by Viva’s dining out editor Jesse Mulligan), Spiga Pantry, Waku Waku, and newcomer Spring Bistro from the original owners of classic Ponsonby brunch spot Bambina. Sarah and Pete Wren have created what they call a relaxed neighbourhood space, open all day from Tuesday to Saturday. Stop in for breakfast, lunch or dinner and dine on fish crudo with salsa verde and fennel, harissa chicken or chimichurri sirloin, and marvel at the pink-hued interiors by Katie Lockhart. Shop 1F/415 Remuera Rd, Remuera.

Sample a new alcohol-free sparkling rosé

New in from AF Drinks is this sparkling rosé in a rather fetching pink can — the brand’s first foray into alcohol-free wine. This rosé has a light, crisp taste with notes of cranberry, blackberry and strawberry and subtle floral tones designed to mimic a dry rose. Lisa King, AF’s founder, says: “Globally, sparkling rosé is very much in the spotlight as a top-trending drink. So, after we received an overwhelming number of customer requests to create our own sparkling rosé at our pop-up bottle store in July last year, we knew we had to do it.” AF Drinks has used natural flavours and state-of-the-art blending technologies to achieve the layers and complexity of flavours you’d expect from a rosé. The inclusion of natural botanical extract Afterglow gives the drink the pleasant warmth of alcohol, without the booze. Available to purchase online from AF, $45 for 12 x 250ml cans.

New year, new Burmese restaurant

In celebration of Thingyan (Burmese New Year), Christchurch-based chef Thun Ya is leading a team of Burmese chefs to cook a feast for a ticketed Thingyan Burmese New Year event on May 6 in Auckland. Among the dishes on the 12-course menu will be ngar hinn (Burmese fish curry), pazun jaw (sauteed garlic prawns), ngar sein kaw (citrus-cured fish slices salad) and pazun nga sote (prawn cakes). The purpose of the Thingyan dinner, besides the proceeds going to help victims of the Myanmar conflict, is to establish what will go on the menu of the city’s first Burmese restaurant, Constellation Cafe, which currently operates as a daytime eatery. Owner Wut Yi says they’re taking a cautious approach before turning it into a full Burmese restaurant. “Unlike other Asian cuisine heavyweights like Chinese, Indian, Thai or Japanese, we still need baby steps to introduce Burmese dishes and find out what local New Zealanders like.” From May 6, three Burmese dishes a day will be added to the Constellation Cafe menu. Tickets to Myanmar Thingyan Night, Saturday, May 6 are $99, from Lincolnstable.co.nz. Find Constellation Cafe at 61 Constellation Drive, Rosedale, Albany.

Fresh-hopped beer season is here

Ah, what a joyous time. Supermarket shelves have begun to fill with special beers brewed with fresh hops, as part of the annual fresh hop beer season. This yearly event begins in April/May, a delicious result of craft beer brewers using fresh rather than dry hops to make beer, which is only possible for a short window of time during hop harvesting season in March. (Read about the delicate balancing act of brewing with fresh hops here.) Hops provide bitterness, complexity, stability and aroma to beer, illustrated by hoppy styles like India Pale Ale — which brewers normally incorporate into the brew as dry pellets. Fresh hop beers, on the other hand, have green, grassy, fresh, oily and floral notes which some people love. This year, participating New World stores in the North Island will stock 35 green-hopped beers in their chillers, created by 25 New Zealand breweries, from 8 Wired to Emerson’s. We’re looking forward to trying Sawmill’s Fresh Hop Superdelic Hazy IPA, among others. They’re available for a good time not a long time, so get in quick.

Another great food event to add to your calendar, the upcoming Tasting Australia is Australia’s longest-running eating and drinking festival and this year’s programme includes 150 events across all 12 regions of South Australia from Friday, April 28, to Sunday, May 7. The region is a heavy hitter when it comes to food and wine, with 18 world-renowned wine regions (the likes of Barossa, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale) and more than 200 cellar doors a stone’s throw from Adelaide. Tasting Australia draws some of the country’s best chefs to the region, as well as high-profile international chefs to participate in master classes, intimate dinners and even overnight adventures to pristine remote locations. Plus, Adelaide’s Town Square transforms into a festival hub for 10 days of new tastes and experiences from local producers and drinks makers late into the night. We’ll be booking in to Wasted at the Town Square (pictured), which unites three chefs passionate about food waste, including Norway’s Heidi Bjekan, whose restaurant Credo has a Michelin Star and a Michelin Green star. The menu will highlight South Australian produce and offer insight into how food and climate change intersect. Find tickets to Tasting Australia at Tastingaustralia.com.au.

Top chefs join the fight against food waste

Kiwiharvest has been around since 2012, working hard to combat the issues of food insecurity and food waste by rescuing and redistributing excess stock from food donors to communities in need. Now, a collective of top chefs have put their weight behind the cause, including Michael Meredith, Peter Gordon (an existing KiwiHarvest ambassador), Brent Martin, Kylee Newton and Alfie Ingham. Called the Kiwiharvest Collective, this group of chefs aims to raise awareness about the issue of food waste. “KiwiHarvest has done so much good in trying to improve the way we deal with such an ongoing problem, one that we face every day. My involvement in the collective is a stepping stone to contribute some new ideas and to collectively, raise more awareness,” says Michael. KiwiHarvest founder Deborah Manning says, “Our hope is that by teaming up with these culinary experts, we can raise more awareness about the issues right here in our backyard and offer practical solutions for people to take action.” To learn more about KiwiHarvest, visit Kiwiharvest.org.nz

A taste of Sidart

Viva Top 50 Auckland Restaurant Sidart has launched a special four-course menu available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays that offers a brilliant introduction to chef Lesley Chandra’s exciting food. ‘A Taste of Sidart’ comprises four courses with canapes on arrival showcasing current dishes as well as some old favourites for $100 per person — that’s great eating at that price. To book, email reservations@sidart.co.nz. 283 Posonby Rd, Ponsonby

Cook for Ukraine

Unicef Aotearoa has launched #CookForUkraineNZ, aimed at increasing awareness of the impacts of war on children living in Ukraine and the need for international support. The campaign invites New Zealanders to come together over a dinner party, shared lunch, or bake sale to raise funds for children impacted by war. Donations raised will provide children in Ukraine with medical care and supplies, mental health support, warm clothes, clean water, and school supplies. Chef Peter Gordon has led the charge with a cooking demonstration and lunch at Homeland for members of the Ukrainian Association of New Zealand and Unicef Aotearoa donors. Peter says the launch was a great way to bring people together. “It’s heartbreaking hearing that children are dying and suffering because of the war. I want to support this campaign because we continue to see innocent children suffer the most from the impacts of this conflict. With no end to the war in sight, children must be supported with lifesaving supplies and assistance as the demand for it grows. This campaign is a really simple way of how Kiwis can help.” Unicef Aotearoa’s #CookForUkraine campaign will run for six weeks. To participate, sign up here. Recipes for authentic Ukrainian dishes and their stories are on the website.

A mother and daughter team make a new milk

A new walnut milk from Rangiora-based mother-daughter company Mylk Made provides a clever alternative to conventionally packaged plant milks (most of which are housed in problematic Tetrapaks), with a ‘milk base’ made from a blend of New Zealand-grown walnuts, as well as almonds and macadamias that comes in a recyclable glass jar and creates a smooth and creamy milk when blended with water. You only need one tablespoon of the nut paste to create 250ml of milk, and consumers can make as much milk as they need, which should help cut down on waste, say the duo. Jemma and Corinne Turner say the secret to their products is their slow process of stone-grinding the ingredients to retain their goodness and produce silky textured milk. As well as their new Wal-nutty Mylk Base, they have almond milk base and oat milk base in glass jars. Wal-nutty Mylk Base, $13, from Mylkmade.co.nz, selected New World, Countdown and GoodFor stores across New Zealand.

Toasting to Ombra’s birthday with a gin

This is a restaurant and gin collaboration that we can get behind. To celebrate Wellington restaurant Ombra’s 10th birthday (on April 12), it has collaborated with Martinborough’s Reid + Reid to create a limited-edition Mediterranean Gin. In keeping with Ombra’s Italian flavours, the gin has hints of Italy with juniper, coriander, angelica root, rosemary, sage, lemon, fennel, and olive oil from Olivo in Martinborough. You can enjoy it at the restaurant, by the bottle from Moore Wilson’s, and from Reid + Reid’s website. Ombra owner Dean White says, “It’s amazing to reach this milestone with Ombra. I bought the restaurant in January 2018 and it’s been a pleasure to continue the great work of the founders, Russel and Elwyn Scott. I also wish to thank our team members, past and present, for their great contribution. Ombra goes from strength to strength and we look forward to many years ahead.” 199 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington.

New Lands Fashion Collaborates with Cloudy Bay

Cloudy Bay wines has a chic new uniform, designed by New Zealand fashion clothing brand New Lands. Arrowtown-based designer Natalie Newlands says she’s designed a topographic print using the winery’s new colour palette which reflects the contours of the vineyards in Central Otago and Marlborough. The uniform includes a mid-length pleated skirt with signature topographic print, straight-leg trousers in brand-toned grape green and a crew sweater, knit tee or cardi made from 100 per cent organic combed cotton. The final touch is a silk scarf featuring the custom-designed print. Natalie says the philosophy throughout was about providing confidence to staff through the stylish and powerful everyday work outfit.