Hello Wellington......I'll stop talking long enough to eat

I've just spent a great weekend in Wellington with my friend Yummy Mummy. She was having a wee holiday from being mega-mum to two young kids, I was leaving Mr PK to have some quality time with Tommy & Tuppence......ok, any excuse for a trip to Wellington.
We have been friends since we were 5, but have never actually travelled together, so it was a bit of an adventure. Being friends with someone does not guarantee you can share a room, a lesson I learnt the hard way on one particularly fraught trip to New York. I was in charge of booking flights (thanks Grabaseat!) , YM booked the accommodation, and here is one secret to convivial travel, your own bathroom and hairdryer! We stayed at the Boulcott Suites, booked through wotif. It was fab, a bedroom/bathroom each, proper coffee and nice & central, what more could you need? A camera actually, I managed to leave mine at home, so all pics are from the iPhone....

Our home for the weekend.....

We did what friends do, talked, ate , talked, shopped, talked, drank, then talked & ate a bit more, bliss....and jaw ache

Ernesto was a great spot for brunch pre shopping. We both had the  Free-range eggs on  hash browns with  bacon and hollandaise (I know, but we both really wanted the same thing ok?) which was excellent ballast for the morning. Who can resist a crunchy hash brown, I mean really, who? It was also lovely to say hi to Laura over at Hungry & Frozen, who happened to also be at Ernesto ( I spent ages myopically trying to decide it was actually her, before crossing the room & potentially being shot down by someone else not called Laura wondering who the hell I was...)


Dinner at Floriditas was a treat, even if we did eat at 6.15 (people with kids do eat a little earlier....) I went for the Wellington on a Plate menu, which was great value, and delish, YM ordered a la carte.

My meal, from a small set menu selection was

Rocket & walnut pesto, smashed green olives & pea tendrils & parmesan linguine
Verdict: delish, the pesto was really flavoursome, the pea tendrils added a wonderful freshness, and the pasta was well cooked, my only teeny gripe, it could have been slightly hotter
Wine match Nga Waka Vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc

Char grilled aged black angus sirloin, cavelo nero & rosemary roast potatoes
Verdict: Tender well cooked beef, slightly chewy tasty cavelo nero & crunchy rosemary potatoes. Not reinventing the wheel, but a great meal.
Wine Nga Waka Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay (not the suggest match, that was a Pinot Noir, but once a Chard Hag, always a Chard Hag I'm afraid....)

No, this isn't my beef, but YM Chorizo Risotto balls, served with a white port (cue more giggles, we had already had a bubbly....)

Baked vanilla ricotta, caramel pears & gingerbread crumbs
Oh yummy, I don't normally go large on pudding, but this was delish, not to sweet or heavy, prefect after a rich meal....

Confession, we had already started eating when I remembered the camera....

I must confess I didn't get as many pictures as I planned, natural greed overcoming any pretensions to artistic photography (ie I was halfway through my beef before I remembered I forgot to take a pic....dang),so apologies for that.

The set menu with the two glasses of vino was $70, which I think represents great value. The other options, a Pork terrine, pork chop & chocolate mousse also looked fab, get along if you can & try it out:)

As usual I had a great time in Wellington, and would be back in a flash. Check out all the other great events going on for Wellington on a Plate and get along, I'm jealous!