The weekend with Beervana and a Welsh Dragon burger

 Friday's beervana was good - I saw a heap of people that I hadn't caught up with for ages. But I think it's peaked for me to be honest. I feel like I've tried every variation upon malt, hops, yeast and various other ingredients the Germans wouldn't let you put in. 

Still, good fun.

I learned that REAL TACOS START OFF FLAT

And here is a man riding a giant chicken
He had friends riding actual Moa, too. Amazing.

Saturday I met Janine for lunch at the Welsh Dragon and yet another burger. Not an official Burger on a Plate burger - their Cost of Living burger which they sell for the exact price of the ingredients - $9.76 - and have a donation box for City Mission for you to pay what you think the margin should be.

After some fantastical creations this week I really enjoyed it. A nice simple burger with nice simple ingredients (though the Welsh Rarebit on top was different!) done to perfection with all the flavours a burger should have. I might go back for more.

Meanwhile the rains continue to come down and the hills continue to slip away.

Angela has had a 'perfect' last day

It's now Sunday morning. Angela is en route from Geraldine to Christchurch and then home. Can't wait!

The Thursday with Wolf burger

 I woke up woozy on Thursday morning after my migraine. Cancelled gym and wondered whether I should call in sick or not, but after a sleep in til 7:30 and a couple of coffees I felt good to face the day.

Meanwhile, at Cardrona, Angela is having a good time

A quiet day working from home and trying not to do too taxing things and it was time for the next burger. I mean, Southern Adventure planning session with Callan and Stacey which just happened to be at another burger restaurant.

I headed down to Wolf (which I always try to spell with two o's, thanks SubWoolfer) and tucked in.

Burger was great. An interesting bun which I'm told is actually a cronut! which gave it a good flavour without overpowering anything else. Delicious rare wagyu beef. Just the right amount of sauce and seasoning and condiments. 8/10 from me.

There it is

Stacey also had the WOAP gin cocktail - with a bubble of flavoured smoke and everything

Oh and we did get more planning done too. Angela and I now have flights to and fro. I still need to book our Queenstown accommodation and we need to sort out the cycle trip we're slipping into the mix too.

And that was my "Friday" because I've got the day off for Beervana tomorrow. Wish me luck.

The Wednesday with a Migraine and no burger

 A rest day for Angela on Wednesday. She was out and about in the beautiful Wānaka shoreline.

I had gym (127kg deadlifts, woot) and an uneventful day at work. After work was Huxley for burgers. Just as we ordered... the side of Shane's face started to disappear as I chatted to him. Oh no! A migraine.

A quick burger cancellation and an uber order, and I was soon ensconsed in bed with drugs in my system and fed cats milling about. 

Friends rated the Huxley burger well. I must return next week!

Smudge came down and slept on my bed! Moxley started causing trouble so I took the unprecedented step of shutting Moxley out of the bedroom. Smudge was very happy and stayed purring on my bed all night. I did let Moxley back in later on, but in the morning it was the black cat, not the multicoloured one, that was still there.

Migraine was ok but I woke up really nauseous a couple of times in the night and really woozy in the morning. Scrambled eggs and avo, and a couple of coffees later I feel able to face the day. No gym but a quiet day working from home for me.

The Tuesday working from home - and 7 Bar burger from Saturday night

Kia ora all!

Uneventful day for me yesterday. I made the weak decision to miss gym and work from home. So I didn't leave the house once. The cats and I enjoyed our day. 

Moxley has noticed that I've been under-performing with feeding her on time so from about 4pm she was gently reminding me of her presence. By climbing up my chair and 'gently' digging her claws into the top of my head. 

She got fed on time (more or less).

Moxley takes her place on my lap

And then gets insistent

Angela is healing up, she got out on the slopes yesterday with the blue-run group. Then dinner out. Fun!

Like a painting

Back on the horse

Affogato for dinner. Must be close enough to an iced latte that a photo is required.

No burger for me yesterday so I should talk about the 7 bar and eatery's "Fire starter" burger from Saturday night. I stayed with Ana and Daniel out in Upper Hutt to get a good start to our Tukino daytrip so we went to a local pub. It was great. I'd forgotten how good a real suburban pub can be, with a quite different crowd of families and friends, much more chill and relaxed than the buzz of a city bar.

And the burger was great. Really great. Centred around a juicy slab of chicken, grilled to melt-in-your-mouth perfection. Matched with interesting and complementary flavours and a delicious bun. Just nicely balanced and presented. 9/10 and the benchmark for me.

Yum

If I'm out in Upper Hutt I'll go back to this place for sure.

It's burgers at Wolf restaurant tonight. I'll report back tomorrow.
 

 

The Monday with Burger on a Plate - Master Kong

It's the Wellington on a Plate Burger season and I'm making the most of it. Last night Ana, Daniel, Amy and I headed to Master Kong for their Bang-Coq burger. "Bangkok-style dried chilli glazed fried free range chicken with shredded lettuce and lime gribiche in a Brezelmania brioche bun, with tom yum salted crisps."

My verdict - 7.5/10, good but not great. It was yummy, but I think that 80% of that was the delicious sauce that overwhelmed everything else. I wolfed it down and was a little unsatisfied. Maybe I had high expectations because last year they made my fav burger. 

I liked the flavoursome crisps as a good alternative to a bowl of fries you don't really want.

The 'Monkey Magic' dessert however was quite magnificently presented!

Burger was nice and photogenic though

Flaming dessert

Aside from the food it was great catching up with Amy after her south island adventures. She borrowed the van and it behaved nicely for her, though she didn't like it when it got a bit squirrely on the Mt Hutt road. She was also the consummate professional in her newish job with one of the big three, chipping in whenever we talked about our work problems with, "You know what you need? A consulting company come in and to review your culture. I can help you with that."

Meanwhile Angela is healing up, her hip hurts a bit, her chest hurts a lot and she's popping ibuprofen and going for walks. Get better soon Angela!

The Weekend with skiing in the north and skiing in the south

Hi,

Quick post today. I will try to expand on it later.

Fri night we went to The Boss tribute band. They were fantastic. They knew exactly what to do and how to do it. So much fun.

Please have lots of happy supportive thoughts to Angela. On the first run of the first day of her big 1 week snow adventure she was smacked into on the cat track and is now lying in bed feeling sorry for herself. It's a shame for her. 

She's been sending me some stunning Wanaka photos though.

I got a great day in with Ana at Tukino skifield - the little-known chilled out club field that shares Mt Ruapehu with the big corporate entities of Turoa and Whakapapa. It was a great day. Thanks Ana!

Ana on nutcracker tow

Club field style - free sausage sizzle at the top of the mountain

For me, Wellington on a Plate Burgers beckon. I've got Monday, Wednesday and Thursday booked in. I better have salad for dinner on Tuesday.

 

The Wednesday at work and then a K drama session at home with Sarah

 Hi,

Busy again at work.  I was in the real office on Wednesday - as was Mike.  And when I got an iced latte from work, I could not resist the background when I took my selfie.

Korean TV show with Sarah

Work iced latte with Mike background

Headed home a little late with Mike on a #14 bus.  Managed to eat some leftovers before Sarah arrived to watch a Korean TV show on Disney+ called "In the Soop: Friendcation".  It stars a boy from the boy band BTS, with some friends of his, doing not-very-much on a holiday to a snowy part of Korea.  They do nothing. Shop for groceries. Cook.  Eat. Sleep.  They did go fishing though, and there's a promise of ice skating to come.  The anticipation!

Off to bed once we'd seen two episodes and Sarah headed home.  Slept well.  Up for gym with Quentin, but he pinged me at 6.15am to say he was sleeping in as he'd had a poor sleep.  I have a 7am session on Friday now.

Day looms large.  Busy.  

Have a great weekend. I am off with Kara skiing for the week.  Mike will hold the fort here.

Love,

Angela