Chocolove

Update Review, 2021

Chocolove seems to be a chocolate brand I want to like more than I really do.  They have interesting flavors, but I continue to find the bars just not very good.  The nut butter cups are great, but the bars ... eh.

Peppermint in Dark Chocolate.
55% Dark.

"Dark semisweet Belgian chocolate and natural peppermint oil.  55% Cocoa creamy dark chocolate and refreshing peppermint.  The flavors swirl on your palate ending in a cool mint finish".

Mint and chocolate.  Pretty common pairing.  A pairing I enjoy - think: Thin Mints.  Andes Mints.  York Peppermint Patties.  Junior Mints.  Etc.  So I had no concern picking this bar up.

But ... I really did not care for it.  The bar was only 55% dark, but seemed far darker.  The chocolate was not smooth and shiny, rather, it was kinda chalky.  That was unfortunate, but not a deal breaker.  The real issue was the taste.  It was sooooo bitter.  So very, very bitter.

The peppermint was extremely subtle, it came through really on the finish, hard to detect through all the bitterness.  It tasted strongly of peppermint oil.  Which, is what it was after all.  Not medicinal exactly, but, slightly cloying.

Overall, just not a bar I enjoyed at all.

*.

Holiday Fruits & Nuts
in 55% Dark Chocolate.

"Sweet currants, tart cherries, zesty orange and spicy ginger complement a mix of crunchy pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts enrobed in dark chocolate... This classic combination is inspired by popular holiday chocolate in France known as mendiant."

This was a really, really interesting bar.  It had all sorts of bits of dried and candied fruit including currants, cherries, and orange peel, plus assorted nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts), and holiday accents like ginger.  It really had a ton going on, all set against a fairly dark deep chocolate.

The chocolate I found kinda lost in the bar, and I actually think perhaps a lighter chocolate would work better.  But the goodies inside it were certainly interesting - I appreciated the crunch from the nuts, and it was very, uh, "holiday" flavored, indeed, with chewy bits of fruit and fairly intense spicing.  It was like ... a fruitcake in a chocolate bar.

I think this bar sounded better than it was though, this was a case of too many competing things, the result being a bit muddled, and, the chocolate lost.

***.

Original Review, September 2020

Chocolove is a chocolate bar manufacturer located in Colorado.  They make 24 varieties of bars, starting with a 55% basic dark chocolate, a 65% richer dark chocolate, a 70% strong version, all the way up to extra strong (77%).  They also make bars with mix-ins, like cherries & almonds, orange peel, chilies & cherries, salted peanuts, peach and pecans, and so on, in both milk and dark chocolate varieties. And bites and cups.

I've tried a few products, most were fine, but one was a real winner.

Bars

The bars are sold at Whole Foods, right near the registers, and many of my friends pick them up to bring to parties.  I recognize the wrappers instantly.  I know I've tried many of them, numerous times, but ... they have never been memorable enough to even take notes on.  I feel like I've failed you a bit here, but honestly, I just don't remember a thing about them, besides that they are all generally "okay".

So when I was recently given a bar, I took my job seriously, and tried to take notes.

Strong Dark Chocolate, 70%.

"Strong, bittersweet Belgian dark chocolate crafted to deliver an exceptionally smooth experience in dark chocolate".

The first bar I ever tried from Chocolove, I went for the strong dark chocolate bar, coming in at 70%.

It was ... unremarkable.  The snap to the chocolate was ok.  It wasn't too bitter, it wasn't too mild.  But the flavor just wasn't very complex.  It just ... was.

I really tried to take better notes.  I tried to taste subtleties, to tell you about the blackberry on the finish, or the slight earthy undertones.  But there weren't any.  This chocolate just wasn't interesting.  Perhaps the 77% is better?

And I'm sorry to all my friends who regularly buy this brand, it has just never impressed me!  **+.

33% Milk Chocolate.

"Creamy Belgian milk chocolate crafted from a blend of Javanese and African cocoa beans."

I don't often crave milk chocolate, but since I didn't find the dark chocolate particularly interesting, I at least gave the milk a shot.  One day, I was eating a peanut butter protein bar, and really, really wanted creamy milk chocolate to pair with it.  I dug into my pantry, and found this bar, I believe acquired while flying at some point.

It was a fine milk chocolate bar.  Creamy milk chocolate.  Fairly smooth.  Nothing complex, but nothing bad.  Not too sweet.  Just, a fine milk chocolate bar.  It met my needs that day quite well, but I wouldn't seek it out.  ***.

Cups

In addition to bars, they make cups, the pinnacle of chocolate confections.  They make many varieties, classic peanut butter with milk chocolate shells, but also versions filled with different nut butters, dark chocolate versions, even salted caramel ones.

Hazelnut Butter Cup - Dark Chocolate.

"Move over peanut butter – hazelnut butter is taking over as the king of all cups. Chocolove’s latest recreation of the “cup” features a shell of the richest Belgian dark chocolate around a fluffy soft hazelnut butter center. Like biting into a hazelnut cloud."

I tried the hazelnut butter cup, since my choices were almond butter or hazelnut (they didn't have peanut due to allergies where I was).

Wow.  These were great.  Really, really good.

Lovely dark chocolate shell, not too sweet, but sweet enough to compliment the filling.  Thick, but not too thick.

And inside, hazelnut butter, rather than the traditional peanut butter.  You need to be in the mood for hazelnut, but, the "nutella" formula is a successful one for a reason, and it totally worked here.  Creamy, smooth, not too sweet.

I really enjoyed this.  At nearly 100 cal per little cup though, definitely a treat! ****.

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Kulficream

As you know by now, I eat a lot of ice cream.  Essentially, daily.

Sometime in the middle of the pandemic, I ventured out to a nearby Indian grocery store and discovered that they carry Kulficream, a local brand of Indian ice cream made by Zeefoods.  For those unfamiliar, kulfi is an Indian frozen dairy dessert, so, the brand name, "Kulficream" is just a spin on that.

"Zeefoods started by offering delicious falooda kulfi during the Festival of India held every year in Fremont, California. In the past 13 years we have grown to offer more than 15 varieties of Indian ice creams and kulfi including Kulficream, Kulfipop and Kulfibar."

Zeefoods is mostly a wholesale distributor, selling to to Indian stores and restaurants in the Bay Area.  In addition to the Kulficream ice cream line, they also make bar forms (Kulfibar and the smaller Kulfipop), although I never tried those. 

Kulficream is available in 15 flavors.  Some are generic flavors like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and choco-vanilla (chocolate chip), but most have Indian flavors at the forefront, think: saffron, pistachio, cardamom, rose water, rose petal, lychee, mango, coconut.   I've mostly only tried the more unique flavors, and I'm impressed with them all.   The ice cream is available in large tubs for foodservice distribution, or individuals as I had.  I'll gladly try more.

Meetha Paan. 

I think I really liked this.  It confused me!

I'm fairly familiar with betel leaf, in desserts even, but this was my first time having meetha paan ice cream.  I was surprised, and pleased, when I opened the lid of the container to find it had toppings.

On top was a sprinkle of fennel seeds, chopped almonds, candied fennel seeds, bits of dried fruit.  Like all the little sweets you often see at the exit of an Indian restaurant ...

I can't say I really love those toppings, but, it was quite fun that they were on there, and made for a very colorful top and good textures.  And, well, it made it quite fascinating.

The ice cream itself was creamy, high quality ice cream.  Not too sweet.  It had a very subtle refreshing quality to it, which I guess was the betel leaf flavor?  It also had bits of almond (or fennel seeds?) throughout, and I appreciated the crunchy bits.

Overall, a fascinating ice cream no question.  It really grew on me, and I found myself actually craving this unique flavor.

***+.

Update review: I've since gotten this several more times, and like it even more now that I know what to expect.  The bits on top are sometimes really quite soothing and refreshing, in an odd way, when I'm in that mood.  And yes, clearly premium ice cream.  ****.  My second favorite of all the flavors I've tried.

Falooda. $3.95

"Ice cream flavored with bits of falooda and basil (tukmaria) seeds."

Next I went for the falooda, which I assumed would be similar to Persian faloodeh, but, in ice cream form.  Which, it basically was.  If you aren't familiar, that is a dessert with rose syrup over frozen vermicelli and cream, sometimes with sweet basil seeds.

I was pretty worried this one would be way, way too sweet (rosewater!), but it turned out quite lovely.  Yes, it was sweet, but the rich ice cream helped temper the sweetness in some ways.  It was not too strong in the rosewater either.

I liked the crisp little bits of falooda (presumably, frozen noodles) throughout as well.

I think a huge scoop of this would be too much, as it was quite sweet, but a small scoop when in the mood, or when paired with a flavor like the meetha paan, it was enjoyable, quality ice cream.

***+.

Malai (Classic Indian). $3.95.

"Creamy ice cream with delicate aroma of cardamom and rose water. Enhanced with bits of pistachio and almonds."

Next up, another classic Indian flavor, and another winner!

I was slightly worried about this one too, rose water and cardamom are not my favorite things, but, this turned out quite balanced, with only subtle sweetness and spicing, and awesome crunch from the bits of pistachio and almond.

The creamy, high quality ice cream base was also a joy, it melted perfectly, and is quite rich and creamy, in all the right ways.

****.

Update: I've since gotten this many more times, and always adore it.  The flavor is so nuanced, and quite lovely.  100% my favorite of the flavors I have tried.  ****.

Kesar Pista (Royal Saffron).

"Made using the purest Spanish saffron, this ice cream is a pure delight for saffron lovers."

Eventually I got brave and went for the saffron flavor.  I'm ... clearly not a saffron lover.  This one was fine, but, it certainly wasn't something I really wanted more of.  Too sweet for me, but a friend really enjoyed it.  **+.

Pistachio.

"Our pistachio ice cream, delicate and not too sweet."

A bit more mainstream, I went for the lovely green hued pistachio.

Broken record?  Yup, another quality ice cream.  The cream level in this ice cream is just fantastic.  So very rich and creamy.

It had lots of small bits of pistachio, which made for real pistachio flavor and a bit of crunch.  Very good pistachio ice cream.

***+.

Butterscotch.

"An all time favorite of Indians, sweet buttery flavor, candy bits swirled with butterscotch syrup."

I was overjoyed one day when I spotted a flavor they never had before at my local Indian grocer: butterscotch!  Obviously not a traditional Indian flavor, but, I adore butterscotch pudding and pie, so this sounded glorious.  I was even more excited by the butterscotch chips on top.

The flavor was ... interesting.  Not something I'd identify as butterscotch, but hard to actually describe.  Sweet with undertones ... of ... something ...  Kinda fake tasting though, and sorta plastic-like.  The quality rich base was still evident, but, alas, this just wasn't a great flavor.  The butterscotch chips were only on top, what you see there, no more hiding within.  Also not sure where the butterscotch syrup swirl was, I never found it.

**+.

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Curio Bar & Restaurant

Curio is a bar and restaurant in the Mission, open for weekend brunch, and dinner Wednesday - Saturday.  

"People come together to eat, drink, and enjoy each other’s company. That spirit of community and fun drives our shareable menu - uniquely infused with international flavors from the grill, smoker and plancha.

The heart of Curio can be found at the bar, where seasoned mixologists create unique, culturally-infused cocktails. The drink menu is rounded out by a curated selection of beer and wine."

I haven't actually been there myself, but they seem to have a vibrant culture, with live music on weekend evenings, and a hoping brunch scene.  One night, I was browsing on Door Dash and it caught my eye, with tempting sounding dishes, a fun cocktail menu (available for delivery too!), and, spoiler, housemade cracker jacks (!!!).  Yelp reviews are strong (4 stars) for both brunch and dinner, so it was an easy decision to order.

I ordered through Door Dash, and my order arrived relatively quickly.  It was all well packaged, and decent.  I'd consider ordering from them again.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ] 

Drinks

Curio has a great bar program, a key focus of the restaurant ... when you dine in.  Seriously, so many great sounding cocktails, like the Chupachabra with tequila, mezcal, passion fruit, lime, habanero, curacau, yellow chartreuse, and grapefruit bitters (!), or the Sphinx with bourbon, black applejack, pear liqueur, Swedish Punsch, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters. They even have a great lineup for takeout ... at brunch.  But at dinner, the cocktail list is reduced to just two options: a mango slushy margarita, or this one, the "Lil Lilith".  I found it a bit surprising that their only takeout cocktails were both slushy drinks, which seem less takeout friendly.

Lil Lilith. $14.

"Lillet rose, aperol, gin, white peach, apricot, grapefruit, lemon."

My first order from Curio was at dinner, so I had the choice of either of the slushy drinks, and opted for the Lil Lilith.  While I wanted some of the others on the dine-in menu more than this, it still sounded pretty fascinating.

The packaging was well done, in an actually sealed bottle, with a Curio sticker on it.  I was impressed that it was even still quasi-slushy, even though it had been picked up 40 minutes prior.  I wonder if they partially freeze them, intending for them to melt during delivery?  

The drink was good, interesting as I'd hoped.  A bit sweeter and fruiter than I really go for, at least alongside a meal, but I think it would make for a great poolside slushy drink.  It was reasonably well balanced, with the assorted fruits and acidic components, along with the alcohol, nothing coming out too sharp.

I enjoyed having a fun drink, but, unless I was planning a beach or pool excursion (um, in SF? Yeah right), I wouldn't get this again, as it this didn't quite fit my mood.  Slushy, fruity drinks just aren't for dinner pairings in my world.

The bottle was quite full, and at $14, it really was a reasonable price, I've had many more expensive, considerably smaller, takeout cocktails from other places.

***.

Dinner

Curio is closed entirely on Mondays and Tuesdays, and serves only brunch (albeit until 5pm) on Sundays. Dinner is only offered Wed - Sat.

Sharable Bites

To get your meal started, Curio has a range of "Sharable Bites", which really are a fairly random set of items.  Lobster rangoons sit side by side on the menu with tuna tartare or deviled eggs, all of which have some unique components (those aformentoined deviled eggs have brie in them (!), and chile crisp, the tuna tartare has smoked pineapple, Ghost Town aioli, and wakame on top).  There are also bar favorites like chicken wings, and a healthy vegan spring roll.  And, um, drop the mike, Curio Jacks.

Curio Jacks. $6.

"Roasted nuts, seeds, salted caramel popcorn."

O.M.G.  That is all.  When I saw the Curio Jacks on the menu, I knew I needed to order from Curio, and I knew I needed at least one box of those jacks.  I was even more excited when I opened my delivery bag.  They really did come packaged in a custom Curio Jacks box.  And, yes, they really do put prizes in them (and, depending on your prize, if you take a photo and share it on social media, they donate to a charity in your honor).  Amazing.

Anyway, if you know me, you know that I absolutely adore popcorn of all kinds, sweet or savory.  To me, this was too good to be true.  Housemade caramel corn?  With salted caramel to make it a touch more interesting?  YES!

The popcorn was smaller sized kernels, not the larger "mushroom" popcorn that many commercial brands use.  The pieces were all extremely well coated in caramel, making them quite crunchy.  The caramel didn't actually taste salted to me, and was the kind of caramel that is right on that edge of being a very complex flavor, or burnt, and it was right at that line.  

The seeds were a fairly unique component, seemingly a mix of white and black sesame seeds, and pepitas.  They added more crunch, more depth of flavor, and the pieces were well coated in them too.  I think Curio could refine the flavor of this even further if they introduced miso into the caramel, the miso and sesame seeds would be a wonderful pairing.  I only found a couple peanuts in my entire box, they definitely were not a dominant element.

Since the pieces were all so well coated, it meant that a handful of this was really quite sweet.  And yet, I couldn't stop eating it.  After all, I had to look for my prize, right?

I wouldn't say this was the best caramel corn I've had, I'd prefer the caramel a little less on the burnt side, and I'd like a salty aspect (or miso perhaps), but, it was certainly good, and certainly gone within moments.  I made a mental note to order more than one box next time.

**** for box design and novelty, and for uniqueness with the seeds, ***+ overall.

(And no, I didn't get a prize, darn!)

Sides

I was kinda drawn in by everything on the small, 4 item only, sides menu.  Sweet potato tempura with gochujang aioli?  Sure!  And people rave about their smoked potato wedges with furikake ranch (yes, furikake!).  But it was the one non-fries item I most wanted: broccoli slaw.

Grilled Broccoli Slaw. $6.

"Dried cherries, desiccated coconut."

Ok, so I am not one to be all that excited about broccoli.  Generally, for me, there are two ways I enjoy broccoli: either simply steamed and served with decadent mac and cheese, or lightly blanched, and in the Whole Foods broccoli crunch salad (or other copy-cats).  Other than those two applications though, I'm pretty meh on broccoli, and although I used to like it raw when I was younger, I really don't care for it raw as an adult. 

But that Whole Foods broccoli crunch salad ... I went through a serious phase of addiction to it, and I still love it from time to time.  For the unfamiliar, it is still crispy lightly blanched broccoli, including chunks of stem, with dried currants, shaved thin slices of red onion, lightly candied cashews, bacon, and tons of mayo sauce.  It is this wonderful mix of creamy and crunchy, harsh and acidic and sweet, and entirely laden in fats (mayo, bacon, cashews).  It is not broccoli for a healthy person, I'll tell you that.  And I adore it, and any version like it.

So when I saw the broccoli slaw on the Curio menu, I was drawn in.  Now, mind you, I had no idea what it would really be like.  As a "slaw", it may very well have been shaved thin (it wasn't!).  It said it was grilled, which seemed both odd for a slaw, and unlikely to be what I'd want in a broccoli crunch salad.  But the dried cherries sounded kinda like the currants in my Whole Foods salad, and the coconut just sounded interesting, so, try it I did.

And I'm glad I did.  While this was nothing like my Whole Foods broccoli crunch salad, it was quite enjoyable.  Chunks of broccoli, fairly small florets, that yes, were grilled, and had a slight char and smokiness, but weren't too soft.  There was also shredded carrots and cabbage, and thinly sliced red onion, making it slightly slaw-like.  It was dressed in what I assume was a mayo base, although perhaps it was something more wholesome like yogurt, but I doubt it, as it didn't have a yogurt tang to it.  It was well seasoned with salt and pepper, perhaps something else.  There was tons of desiccated coconut on top, but strangely, I didn't really taste it.  I think it added texture more than anything.  

One thing that was missing was the dried cherries mentioned in the description.  I didn't find any, and I think those pops of sweetness would be a good addition (plus, they'd mimic the dried currants in my Whole Foods one).  I think some candied cashews, like in the Whole Foods salad, would also do wonders here to add some crunch, and go quite well with the other ingredients.

Overall, this was a good dish.  I hesitate to call it a slaw, given the size of the broccoli chunks.  I also hesitate to call it a salad really, the grilled nature of the broccoli made it seem more just like a side dish ... if that makes sense?  The ingredients were all well sized, in good balance, and it was well seasoned.  The portion was quite sizable for the $6 price, and it could easily be shared between several people, or made into a side for multiple meals.

I'm glad I tried this, but when it comes to broccoli salads, I do prefer lightly blanched, not grilled, broccoli.  ***.

Entrees

The entrees at dinner time are all about comfort food.  Coca-cola braised ribs.  Fried chicken strips or a sandwich.  Classic burger.  Mac and cheese, truffled, available either regular, or vegan (with cashew cream).  Oh, and a token salad.  No seafood.

Truffled Mac and Cheese. $16.
(Topping on the side).

"Vella bear flag brand sharp white cheddar, grana padano, truffled gouda, garganelli pasta, crispy parsnips and leeks."

I went straight for the mac and cheese (not the vegan one, although that sounded fascinating too).  It got good reviews, looked quite creamy in Yelp photos, and had crispy parsnips and leeks on top?  Sounded like a winner to me.  I asked for the crispy topping to be on the side so it wouldn't get soggy, which they nicely accommodated.

The mac and cheese was decent.  It was actually quite creamy, although a bit hard to see here.   The pasta was well coated, and there was plenty of extra sauce in the bottom.   The cheeses were a sophisticated blend of sharp white cheddar, gouda, and grana padano, which was a pretty punchy mix.  It was a mix that made me realize that while those are cheese I like to nibble on, they aren't really the ones I want in my mac and cheese.  It was quite flavorful though.  

Speaking of flavor, of course there was also the truffle element.  I think it was truffle oil, in addition to the tuffle in the gouda.  The truffle was intense, but it was certainly a truffle oil sort of intense, not a fresh truffle flavor.  I think it could be quite polarizing if you aren't into truffle oil.  

The pasta itself was well cooked, not too mushy, not too al dente.  Use of garganelli was a nice change of pace, and it held the cheese sauce well.  I really loved the crispy leeks and parsnips, not only for the crunch, but also the interesting flavor.

Overall, this was well made mac and cheese, creamy, well coated and well cooked pasta, but, the flavors were quite intense, both the cheeses and the truffle, and weren't quite what I was in the mood for.  If you like sharp white cheddar, and truffle oil though, seek it out.

***.

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NZ103, AKL-SYD, Business Class

The journey to Sydney from San Francisco is, well, rather long.  It always begins on NZ7, an overnight flight, that features a decent dinner and then concludes with breakfast at some ridiculously early hour, before landing in Auckland.  Then I have a few hours in the Air New Zealand lounge, where I have more breakfast, at a slightly more reasonable hour, at least, in the local time zone.  And usually a trip through the Priority Pass Strata Lounge for more breakfast.  And then?  Time to get back on the exact same aircraft that took me to Aukland and have breakfast #3, as I head to my final destination.

#allTheBreakfast.  That about sums up how I'm feeling by the time I get on board, along with some jetlag and just total confusion about what time of what day it is.  This review covers that flight, done many times over the course of 2018-2019, and resuming again in 2021.

2018

Flight Details:

Flight: NZ103, AKL-SYD

Class: Business Premier

Seat: 3K

Departure Time: 9am (scheduled)  (~10am actual)

Breakfast #4 of the day: MEH.

Another layover in Auckland, another day with 4 breakfasts: starting on NZ7 from SFO-AKL, followed by a small bite in the Strata lounge, and the Air New Zealand lounge, and then ... on board the AKL-SYD flight.

Such a long morning, as always.  Overall: highly mediocre food.  Eh service.

My FA seemed to be quite forgetful.  As in, as I settled in, she asked what I'd like to drink (orange juice, champagne, water), and I replied that I'd like sparkling water.  Literally 45 seconds later, she came back, to offer the same drinks.  "Just the sparkling water,", I said.  I wrote it off until she came to offer the smoothies and juice once underway, I asked for sparkling water, and it never came.

Seat.

One difference from my other trips this time is that the aircraft was not an Air New Zealand owned plane.  It was a leased Ava air plane, and had entirely different seats.

I liked them a lot more for a day flight, as they had tons of storage and ledges at the seat, and angled towards the window, however you couldn't watch the TV during takeoff/landing, which is basically the only time I ever wanted it.

Breakfast Menu.

The menu was as follows:

Refreshment Drinks

Get yourself started with an all natural berry, LSA and cacao smoothie or your choice from the juice selection.

From the pantry

• Fresh fruit salad
• Natural yoghurt or fruit yoghurt
• Vogel's Cafe Style Light Berry Gluten Free Cereal
• Vogel's Cafe Style Luxury Muesli

From the bakery

• Croissants
• Vogel’s or fruit toast with your choice of: marmalade, strawberry jam, Vegemite, Marmite

From the stove

• Chive scrambled eggs with skillet potatoes, Italian pork sausage and creamy balsamic mushrooms.
• Sweetcorn and spring onion fritters, black bean, tomato, and corriander salsa and soured cream.
• Warm Parmesan bagel with pastrami, Swiss cheese and grain mustard.

The menu was the same as my previous time flying this route, just with a different flavor smoothie, the change to remove danishes (!) from the "bakery" menu, and a switch to Vogel's for cereal offerings.  Main dishes were a choice of an egg dish, a savory carb, and a bagel.  No pancakes or sweet carbs.

Nothing sounded great, and it was breakfast #4 for me, but I figured I should eat again?

Decaf Coffee.

“Refreshment drinks” were served soon after we were underway, but I skipped.  

“From the pantry” came not too long after, served from a cart that came down the aisle.  The offerings were the same as the previous flight.

I ordered more sparkling water (and finally got it!) and a decaf coffee.  The decaf too time since they had to brew it, an individual press pot.

It wasn't good though, very very harsh and acidic.  I had to add a lot of cream and sugar to make it drinkable.  I honestly think that instant would have been better.

Vogel's Cafe Style Light Berry Gluten Free Cereal.

"A light and crunchy muesli with the rich fruity taste of blackcurrant and made from a recipe that uses no wheat or gluten. Our all natural gluten free recipe is made with 100% New Zealand blackcurrant juice, real dried currants and cranberries, mixed with chunky nuts and whole seeds. In fact at least 31% fruit, nuts & seeds."

Since the cereal lineup has changed, I gave this a try, opting for soy milk, which was provided in a pitcher on the side.

The soy milk was warm.  Boo.

The cereal was ... cereal?  It certainly had a large assortment of things in it, seeds, grouts, almonds, and two types of flakes, plus raisins and currants.  But ... I really wasn't into it.  I also wasn't hungry and don't ever really like cereal anyway.

Bakery: Vogel's / Jam / Butter.

As always the “Bakery” came next, a passed basket with toast and croissants.  I always selected the danishes before, but alas, Air New Zealand has removed them from seemingly all flights.

So I finally gave Vogel's a try.  It ... was just toast, hearty toast, but just toast.  The butter was ok.

***.

Main: Bagel.

"Warm Parmesan bagel with pastrami, Swiss cheese and grain mustard.”

For my main, I didn't actually want anything, but I still have memories of decent bagels/paninis on previous flights, so, I went for the bagel.  Plus, I knew I didn't want the scrambled eggs, and the fritters sounded ok, except for the Mexican-ish accompaniments, which just weren't flavors I was in the mood for.

The bagel was actually almost satisfying.  In a very strange way.  On the side came an unexpected packet of BBQ sauce, and a little pot of ... something.  I looked at it, thinking it might be the grain mustard, but actually, it was the same jalapeño and green tomato chutney I had before.

Bagel: Insides.

The bagel really was served warm, quite hot inside actually.  The pastrami was almost steaming as I opened it up to inspect.  Inside was a decent portion of pastrami, nicely seasoned, a little bit of the grain mustard, and, Swiss cheese that had long since melted out as it was soo hot.  I lamented the Swiss being virtually gone, but I could still taste it a bit.

So, fillings ok, although I will admit that pastrami isn't what I really wanted at that time.  Not that I knew what I wanted, breakfast #4 after a very long morning already is just hard.

The bagel itself was clearly not a fresh bagel, but it was loaded with parmesan that gave it a crisp top and substantial flavor.  The inside side of course was mushy/gummy, but in the same way that I've kinda liked before.  I know it is hard to describe, but the mushy/gummy bagel, plus some melty Swiss cheese, and a little spread, is almost tasty.  Almost.

I also tried adding some jam to it, to do a sweet and savory version, but the jam wasn't particularly good.  I wished I had some maple syrup, actually.

So overall, I was fairly meh on this, but I blame my state of hunger/jetlag, and it did have its satisfying moments.

***.

Flight Details: February 2018

Flight: NZ103, AKL-SYD

Class: Business Premier

Seat: 3A

Departure Time: 9am (scheduled)  

I’m skipping review of the aircraft, as it was identical to the reviews I have done previously, of the standard Air New Zealand planes.

Breakfast Menu

Refreshment Drinks

Get yourself started with an all natural mixed berry, coconut yoghurt and chia smoothie or your choice from the juice selection.

From the pantry

• Fresh fruit salad
• Natural yoghurt or fruit yoghurt
• Fruit and grain muesli
• Toasted cereal

From the bakery

• Croissants and Danish
• Vogel’s or fruit toast with your choice of: marmalade, strawberry jam, Vegemite, Marmite

From the stove

• Ham and asparagus omelette with kumara hash cakes, smoked cheddar, beetroot relish and horopito béarnaise
• Smoked New Zealand blue warehouse fish cakes with spring onion, lemon and cucumber sour cream, spinach, and roast tomato.
• Warm Panini with bacon and fried egg, Swiss cheese, green tomato and jalapeño chutney and barbecue sauce.

I was a bit surprised by the menu a few months later.  I knew to expect this format, as it was the same as my previous AKL-SYD flights, and *very* similar to the first breakfast menu I had that day … until the From the stove section.

I planned to skip breakfast #3 on this flight, and had eaten plenty on my previous flight and in the lounge.  And it was easy to not want any of the fruit, yogurt, cereal, etc that I had had before.  But the warm items … they all sounded good!

Ok, I don’t like omelettes, but the kumara hash cake with cheddar, beetroot relish, and horopito béarnaise sure sounded interesting.  And I do like fish cakes!  But it was the last item that made me decide to get some (more) breakfast: the bacon panini.  I still remember the awesome bacon bagel a colleague had on a previous flight, and I wanted it again.

Coffee.

“Refreshment drinks” were served soon after we were underway, but I skipped.  

“From the pantry” came not too long after, served from a cart that came down the aisle.  The offerings were the same as the previous flight, just, different brands, and this time, all pre-packaged items (e.g. pots of “Fresh & Fruity” yogurt vs larger format yogurt served by the scoop, bags of cereal vs pre-poured bowls.

I skipped all of this, but did opt for a bit more decaf coffee (coffee and tea were also offered at this time, but not decaf, so I needed to wait on that).  I think it was instant, it was certainly a bit harsh.

Blueberry Danish.

As before, the “Bakery” came next, a passed basket with toast (adapted to New Zealand brand Vogel’s) and some more croissants and danishes.

Somewhat because I felt bad saying no to everything, I got a blueberry danish.

It was slightly better than the one on my previous flight, as they did a better job warming it up.  It was actually warm.  The top was crisp.  But, it was still a kinda spongy, oily pastry, and the blueberry filling was just sweet goo.  Not exactly worth eating.

**.

Panini.

“Warm Panini with bacon and fried egg, Swiss cheese, green tomato and jalapeño chutney and barbecue sauce.”

For the mains, our orders were not taken in advance as on the overnight flight.  Instead, after the bakery round, the FAs came through to ask which breakfast item we’d like, taking orders for about 3 people at a time, and quickly returned with the items.  They clearly just heat them all up.

The panini … was not good.  Points for being served warm, it really was “hot and fresh” seeming.

The bread was just kinda there, slightly toasty on the outside, but the inside was very mushy as it had contact with the fillings.

It was a bit funny to me that the chutney was served in a cute pitcher, but the barbecue sauce was a packet just like McDonald’s.  Then again, this was true last time too.  Both sauces were fine, but not nearly as good as I remembered.

**.

Panini: Inside.

My plan was to have a warm roll, with gooey cheese, lots of spreads, and maybe a bit of the bacon if it wasn’t flabby.  My plan didn’t really work out.

The bacon?  Yup, flabby, and it had a strange taste to it.  I quickly removed it.

The egg I didn’t really think I’d eat as I don’t even like fresh eggs, and it was as expected, a microwaved very fully cooked egg with no yolk porn.  I quickly removed it too.

Still, this was mostly going according to plan except for one big piece: where was the Swiss cheese!  There was absolutely no gooey melty cheese to be found.  There was some moisture, and the soggy bread, that I kinda thought might be cheese, but, I didn’t think it was.

I half-heartedly had a few bites, and then gave up.  **.

I may have had some scones from the lounge in my bag though, so I re-purposed the chutney to go with the savory cheddar & chive biscuit, and the butter to go with the sweeter orange vanilla biscuit, and that was all … fine.  Really, I was sick of breakfast, sick of airline food.

Flight Details:

Flight: NZ103, AKL-SYD

Class: Business Premier

Seat: 7A

Departure Time: 9am (scheduled)  9:30am (actual - delayed for "paperwork")

Same old, same old.  Aircraft was a Dreamliner, which was nice for cabin experience, but very negative in that it DID NOT HAVE WIFI.  As this is the day portion of the loooong trip, and it overlaps with my home office time, and I usually work the entire flight, this was really disappointing.

Lovely FAs as always on Air New Zealand.

Breakfast Menu.

Same menu format as always, "Pantry", "Bakery", and "Stove" with choice of omelette, savory cakes, or bagel sando.

This time, I already had 3 truly large breakfasts (very nice eggs benny on my SFO-AKL flight, decent congee and other things in the Strata Lounge, and EPIC brioche french toast with caramelized bananas and whipped cream in the Air New Zealand lounge).

To say I had no appetite is an understatement.  I had no intention of getting a meal, and had a nice lunch lined up on arrival in SYD anyway.

But ... the omelette was easy to look past, but the other two options were not.  The savory 'cakes' were ricotta and spring onion, which sounded pretty tasty, and came with a courgette and poppy seed salad.  Hmmm.  And then the bagel, it came with ... HALOUMI!  I love haloumi, and it is such a rare treat in the US.  It also had field mushrooms, sage and onion relish .... well, ok then.  I had to at least try it right?

Breakfast Bagel Sandwich ... but not what I ordered ...

 "Warm bagel with grilled haloumi, field mushroom, sage and onion relish and mint yoghurt."

I was surprised when on the side I saw bbq sauce and green chutney, even though every prior breakfast had come with them.   I was more surprised when I saw a fried egg.  And .... ham?  Bacon? And most notably ... NO HALOUMI.  No mushrooms.  Um.  This was not the same item described on the menu!

I rang my call button to inquire, and the FA was surprised.  It turns out, I was the first person to say something, but I was early in the serving lineup.  She returned soon after to tell me that clearly the wrong item was catered.  She asked if I wanted the cakes instead, but I declined, as I didn't *really* need anything.

I felt bad for the vegetarians however, as most of them had ordered this item, and the only vegetarian option (the savory cakes) ran out quickly with the re-orders.  Many vegetarians were asking if they could have it made without the bacon, but alas, it was already on it, they came that way.  Most just went for more toast or cereal. 

The FAs were then scrambling to complete service, with more than half the bagels getting sent back, replacement things being ordered (that needed heating up), etc.  Folks were understanding, but, it was a mess.

Anyway.  The bagel.  I did try it of course.

Wheat bagel.  A bit hearty.  It had grill marks, but was not actually grilled.  It was warm.  Inside was kinda soggy.  Clearly not a fresh item, meh.

**.

This is not haloumi.

Inside was some melty cheese, quite flavorful, Swiss?  Nicely melted, but congealed.  The bacon I hated, flabby style.  The fried egg was ... fast food quality.

Uh, yeah.  Nothing here very good, and after a few bites just to check it out, I pushed it aside.

Well, except for that green sauce.  Whatever it was, some kind of chunky chutney, it was delicious.  So flavorful.  I ate more bites of the bagel than I really wanted just because I wanted something to put the delicious chutney on.   

** for the main event, **** for the chutney.

2019

Flight Details: Jan 2019

Flight: NZ103, AKL-SYD

Class: Business Premier

Seat: 6A

Departure Time: 9am (scheduled)  (~9:30am actual)

The menu was as follows:

Refreshment Drinks

Get yourself started with an all natural cinnamon, banana, and honey smoothie or your choice from the juice selection.

From the pantry

• Fresh fruit salad
• Natural yoghurt or fruit yoghurt
• Vogel's Cafe Style Light Berry Gluten Free Cereal
• Vogel's Cafe Style Luxury Muesli

From the bakery

• Croissants
• Vogel’s or fruit toast with your choice of: marmalade, strawberry jam, Vegemite, Marmite

From the stove

• Scrambled eggs with skillet potatoes, tomato, and pork sausage.
• Steel cut oat and cinnamon waffles, plum and cinnamon compote, vanilla bean yoghurt and vanilla syrup.
• Warm multigrain bagel with bacon, fried egg and cheddar, spicy eggplant relish and barbecue sauce.

The menu was the same format as my previous times flying this route, just with a different flavor smoothie, still no danishes, the new Vogel's cereal offerings.  Main dishes were a choice of an egg dish, a sweet carb, and a bagel.

Or so I thought, but when my order was taken, I was told eggs or bagel were the only thing available.  Oddly, passengers in the other side of the aircraft, ordering later, were offered the waffle, ordered it, and got it ... by a different staff member.  I think my order taker was just confused?

I skipped the cereal, yogurt, fruit, and bakery, as I never care for these items, and just bought a pastry in the airport instead.

Bagel.

"Warm multigrain bagel with bacon, fried egg and cheddar, spicy eggplant relish and barbecue sauce."

I can't say I was excited for either option, and almost just skipped (as it was my 4th breakfast that day after all - my SFO-AKL flight had breakfast, I nibbled in the lounges), and I had brought pastries, but ... I decided to try the bagel, as every once in a while I do like bagels.  I think I was also craving cheese.

I was not pleased with my bagel.

First, it was not a multigrain bagel as listed, instead, it was the same parmesan bagel I had before.  Kinda soggy.

**.

Bagel: Inside.

The bacon was flabby style that I don't like, which I did expect.  The fried egg was hard and rubbery, flavorless, and honestly quite awful.  The cheese was white, and tasted more like a very mild swiss than cheddar.

The spicy eggplant relish was interesting at least, chunks of cooked eggplant and peppers, flavorful ... but not really what I wanted.  And definitely not spicy.  The barbecue was the same New Zealand brand they always provide.

I nibbled a few bites, scraped off some cheese, and moved on to other food I had with me.

**.

Flight Details: March 2019

Flight: NZ103, AKL-SYD

Class: Business Premier

Seat: 2k

Departure Time: 9am (scheduled) 

As usually, I was generally not hungry at all for a meal on this flight, given that I have breakfast #1 on the flight from San Francisco, and breakfast #2 and #3 in the Strata and Air New Zealand lounges in the airport, but then by the time I eventually get to my hotel to check in I'm suddenly *starving*, so I decided to give breakfast #4 a shot, even though I really had no interest in food at the time.

Breakfast Menu.

The meal was the standard Trans-Tasman breakfast menu, with the same welcome smoothie and juice options (passed through the cabin on trays shortly after takeoff), same "pantry" (from a cart, offered a bit later), same "bakery" (from a passed basket, much later).  Main dish orders were not taken until we were airborn, and took much longer to arrive than I expected.

The "From the stove" lineup features the simpler Trans-Tasman route options, so no poached eggs, no breakfast carbs like french toast, pancakes, or waffles, just an omelette, fish cakes, or a warm bagel sandwich.

I decided to order the fish cakes, something I've often wanted to do to try them out, and, since this was literally breakfast #4, a savory option sounded much better to me anyway than more traditional (for me) sweet breakfast goods.

From the Stove: Fish Cakes.

“Ahia smoked blue moki fish cakes, with spinach and roasted tomato, spring onion, and cucumber sour cream.”

Well, I can safely say these were not what I was expecting.  More breakfast appropriate I guess than what I had in mind for "fish cakes", but, uh ... I really, really struggled to ever find fish in these.  Literally.  Fish?  Really?

The "cakes" were cakes in that they were cake shaped, but, were just piles of mush, they did not hold their form at all.  They were actually mashed potato, with a few tiny bits of potato, but mostly just soft mash.  They were well seasoned, but, well, like I said, I really, really couldn't find any bits of fish in them.  

Once I reset my expectation to be that of mashed potato cakes, I did quasi-enjoy them with the cucumber sour cream (classic combo of baked potato and sour cream here, although I didn't really taste much cucumber in it), and with the end of my garlic aioli I had with me (why not?  Like dunking fries in aioli, right?).

The spinach was really not good though, which was a surprise, given that I usually like the steamed spinach on the side of the dishes on Air New Zealand.  It just tasted odd, and even slathering it with the aioli did not help.

And finally, the roasted tomato, never my thing, but I tried a bite, it was, as expected, a soft mushy tomato, slight balsamic flavor.

Overall, I guess if I was in the mood for some savory mashed potatoes this was a decent dish, but, I felt duped by the "fish cakes" name.

**+.

Gluten-Free Fruit Bread.

The allergen friendly items for Air New Zealand are made by a company called "Dessert Kitchen", based in New Zealand.  The lady next to me was gluten-free, but didn't want her goodies, so I volunteered to take them (literally, trash otherwise), when the FA was standing there looking unsure what to do at the rejection.  I'm always up for trying something!

The fruit bread was not just gluten-free, but also nut free, dairy free, soy free, egg free ... suitable for everyone.

It was also really not good.  About what you'd expect, really.  Strange texture, very, very stale taste, with a few raisins in it.  It should have just gone into the trash, as the original recipient intended!

*.

Gluten-Free Banana Sunflower Seed Muffin.

My neighbor's other goodie was a muffin, an uninteresting sounding banana sunflower variety.  This also was free of most allergens.

I remember trying it, but lost my notes, so, alas, sorry, nothing more to say about it.

Update Review, August 2021

Flight Details

Aircraft: 787-9

Seat: 2A
Departure: 9:00am (scheduled) 9:45?am (actual)

Service & Amenities

The aircraft was identical to the one I had just come off from from San Francisco, and again had no wifi, which for this daytime flight, made me more grumpy.  I had my favorite seat, 2A, on the private side of the aircraft, close to the front (but not the very front noisy seat).  The short day flight had no amenities, no blankets, no amenity kits, no lotion for dry hands, not even pens to fill out our arrival cards.

The service was mostly good - most of the staff were friendly and personable, but there was one FA who seemed very strict and wasn't pleased with most of us for some reason.  It also seemed to be a training flight, and she was teaching one other what to do at every step of the way, explaining things, which might have added to her not loving her day.

We were delayed, and I'm not quite sure why.  Boarding was delayed, with no explanation, although the aircraft had been parked at the gate for 9 hours.  Loading the bags took longer than expected, which we were told, and then there were takeoff delays due to heavy fog.  

The flight had considerable turbulence, and the seatbelt sign was on for most of it.  I can't say it was a particularly pleasant flight, not the experience, the food, the comfort level of the seat, the lack of wifi ... and a big dose of travel fatigue, as I was approaching 24 hours into my journey.

Breakfast

Welcome to breakfast, round 4.  Such a crazy long flying day.  My first breakfast, which was at 3am local time to New Zealand, was fairly decent poached eggs benedict, on my flight from San Francisco.  Next was sampling a few items in both the Air New Zealand and Strata lounges at the Auckland airport.  And now ... another breakfast.  Given the 9am scheduled departure time, this makes sense, but, it still isn't quite what I was in the mood for.  Not that I had any clue what I was in the mood for.

Breakfast Menu.

The breakfast menu was nearly identical to all my previous flights, same format as all trans-tasman routes, which is basically the same as long haul, just without the warm sweet breakfast carb option (e.g. pancakes, french toast), and fewer kinds of bread.  There were only a few changes from my prior flights, mostly just that the variety of Vogel's cereal changed, although it was the same as the one I had just come from.  The lineup:

• Refreshment Drinks
• Get yourself started with an all natural blueberry smoothie or your choice of juice
• From the Pantry
• Fresh fruit
• Natural or Fruit yogurt
• Vogel's Cafe-Style Light Berry Muesli gluten-free cereal
• Vogel's Pistachio, Almond, and Hemp seed cereal
• From the Bakery
• Croissants
• Vogel's or fruit toast with your choice of: marmalade, strawberry jam, Vegemite, Marmite.
• From the Stove
• Smoked Ahia moki and leek omelette, skillet kumara, rocket, sweet paprika cream.
• Potato and herb rosti with spinach and feta scrambled eggs, ratatouille.
• Bagel with crispy bacon, caramelized onion, fried egg, cheese, tomato relish.

Our breakfast orders were taken before takeoff for the main dish.  Since I don't really like scrambled eggs or omelettes, that was an easy choice, although I've had pretty mixed success with the bagel before, and I did like the sound of the smoked fish and leek.

Refreshment drinks were offered from a tray as we settled in, but I just had sparkling water.  I was provided the bottle, which I appreciated.  

From the Pantry: Natural Yogurt.

A bit later, the cart came through with "Pantry".  I assumed I'd skip all of this, as the fruit always has melon, but actually, it didn't.  That said, it was just pineapple, orange, and a single piece of kiwi, so I did skip it.  I had my own fruit to finish up before entering Australia anyway.  The cereal was the same I had on my first flight that day, so I skipped that too.  The cart had coffee and tea, but I had my coffee in my travel mug from the lounge, where the coffee is legit good, and I just opted to drink that, as the coffee on the flight is always fairly awful.

I planned to skip the yogurt, as I don't generally like their brand, but, actually, the natural yogurt was a brand I hadn't tried before, De Winkel, so, I went for it.  Yogurts were individual containers, not the large format as we had on the long haul flight, and this was just regular natural yogurt, not greek.

The flavor was actually pretty good, and I appreciated that they serve legit full fat creamy yogurt, not low-fat.  But, it was regular runny style yogurt, not really my thing.  I held on to it in case I didn't like my hot item, and did end up making a little yogurt parfait to finish my meal, with my own fruit and a sprinkle of granola, just to ensure I had enough food and didn't get oddly hungry before I made it to my hotel.

The "Bakery" basket was presented a bit later, and I was fairly tempted by the decent looking croissants and fruit toast, but ... I had a bagel coming, I didn't really want all that bread.  I knew I could ask for some later if the bagel was nasty.

From the Stove: Bagel.

"Bagel with crispy bacon, caramelized onion, fried egg, cheese, tomato relish."

I've had good bagels on Air New Zealand flights, and I've had some pretty crappy ones.  I've had some with ingredients that matched the menu, and many that were totally different.  I really had no idea if it would really come with bacon, onion, fried egg, cheese, and relish, and that seemed like #allthethings, but, it also sounded kinda more like brunch or lunch, which is where my head was at.

The dish was ... ok.

The bagel itself was lightly seeded, and warm, but not exactly toasted, as I'm fairly certain they come assembled, so no toasting can really be done.  It also seemed oiled?  Or maybe that was just from all the bacon fat.  Anyway, it was a generic, soft bagel, the kind you get frozen at a grocery store.  I suspect the toast from the bakery basket, or the croissant, would have been considerably better.  In the future, I'd consider taking the bagel fillings and just stuffing into better bread ... although that likely wouldn't still be warm by the time the main dishes came out.

On the side was a pot of what looked like ketchup, but was the tomato relish.  It was fairly good, strong flavor from some onion and spices?  Not really what I want early in the morning, but, as it was mid-day or evening or who-knows-what-time, I appreciated the aggressive flavor.  It also went really well with the caramelized onions inside the bagel.

Bagel: inside.

Speaking of the bagel fillings.  

The bottom bagel had the cheese above it, and the cheese was really nicely melted.  Just generic cheese, likely "tasty cheese", but I liked it.  Above that was the bacon, which was entirely NOT crispy as advertised.  There was tons of bacon, so, I guess kudos to them for that, but, it was very fatty, very flabby, and soooo not my thing.  There were a few little edges overhanging that were slightly crispy, and decent, but, I mostly removed the bacon.  The caramelized onion bits came next, and were quite tasty.  And finally, the "fried egg" which was a pretty solid, rubbery, overcooked egg.  I tried adding salt and pepper, and plenty of relish and onion, to the egg, but it was just not good, and I removed that too.  Granted, I had the lovely poached eggs on my first flight, and wasn't really in the mood for more eggs at this point.

So in the end, I scooped out nearly every bit of cheese with some soft, soggy bagel insides (definitely not toasted inside), all the caramelized onions, the few bits of crispy bacon I could find, and my entire pot of relish, and kinda had a onion/relish toastie, which was more lunch/brunch appropriate as I had hoped.  I finished with my fruit parfait for something a bit sweet.

**+ though, besides the cheese and onions, this wasn't a particularly good dish.

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