Doorways

'Doorways are like people. Some you approach are open and welcoming. Others remain closed until you find the right key.'  -djf

A trio of uniquely decorated 13's 

This door is open but I don't think anyone is home...

This last one is interesting. I think of it as a physical oxymoron. 

(You have to climb a long flight of stairs (20 steps) to get to the elevator.) (lift) 

I wonder if the lift goes to the top floor or if it stops one short?   

Or better yet, I wonder if it goes.....down? Too funny. I kill myself sometimes...  .-djf

Britomart reopens

Before I get started with today's post, I thought that I would show you the window that produced the rainbow barcode that I showed you in the header photo.    

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(Pre-Covid lockdown) This post was actually photographed back in April, 2021.

Don't you think that is a gorgeous building?  I do. Next stop, as you see on the sign, is Britomart.  

Here it is. It's not beautiful in the same was the building above is beautiful, but it's interesting.  It'll be better when they get the scaffolding out of the way. They're also going to give the exterior a face-lift.  We'll all have to wait a bit longer to see that.   

We're in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, of course, and Britomart, the train station, is about to reopen its front doors.  For about the last four years, we've have to enter from the back side, while work on the new rail line was in progress.  

In fact, the square you're looking at now was once a very deep hole. The new tunnel and tracks are down there now awaiting the completion of other sections of the line.  

People are starting to line up, just think, the first to walk through those doors in years. 

And here we go. I'm not the first one in, but I'm in the first wave.  

Lots of room in here.  

Looking toward the central dome

The bench beneath the dome.

The stained glass dome.

On the ground level, looking down to the first sub-level. I'm standing in front of the elevators.  

This is the the train level. 

It feels good to have Britomart back. I wish it still had the SUBWAY in it, instead of the Starbucks that now is in that space.  Oh well. 

Those escalators that you see in the background are moving 1/3 faster than the old ones did. (You can't tell, I know. You'll have to take my word for it.)      -djf

Turkey tails and tupig

(Pre-Delta Covid Lockdown)  

I like doing a post about food every now and then. Sometimes it has been a recipe that I've tried, but for the most part in this blog, it has been about unique foods that I've, not discovered, but become aware of.

Living where I do, I often come across something new to try.  These opportunities give me as much pleasure as I get when I see some new beach or forest waterfall.  I add them to my store of experiences.    

This post then, is another in what appears to be my continuing saga about our Thursday night-market. I attended and reported on the last one just over a year ago. It was time to go back... 

Jeanne's knees allowed her to come with me this time. We dined on chicken dumplings, octopus tako maki, and steamed bbq pork buns, each purchased at a different food stall.    

We enjoyed ourselves, but we didn't stay long. We got there fairly early, just about half an hour after it opened and left 45 minutes later.  The crowds were arriving in hungry hordes as we exited. We had been noticing that we were bumping elbows with other diners more often than we liked.  

The highlight of the evening for me though was discovering some interesting offerings from a Filipino food stand. (They describe it as Pinoy)  I have never seen turkey tails on a menu before. 

We chose not to enjoy the meal shown above. It's a little more than we wanted to eat.  However, seeing this led me to do a little more turkey tail research.  A couple of weeks after seeing them at the night market, I spotted them in a display case at Aussie Butcher.  They are far more expensive as you can see than either the drumlettes or drumsticks. (Sorry, I hid the price tag of the drumsticks; they are also $6.99/kilo. A kilo equals 2.2 pounds.)  

I bought just four tails. The guy filling my order approved. He told me that his extended family had just celebrated a meal together and that he had provided a big pan of turkey tails for them. I asked him how he had prepared them.  

He said that he was Samoan and had prepared them the traditional way. He had first marinated them for 24 hours in soy sauce, finely diced garlic, and hot chilis. He then coated them with honey and roasted them, covered with foil, until they were done. Removing he foil allowed them to crisp up before serving. 

He has served me many times as I shopped in his butchery.  A very nice guy. This time, he went on to give me a short history of turkey tails in Samoan cuisine. 

He said that because of World War II, American food started pouring into Samoa. Not only did turkey tails become very popular, but Spam and corned beef did as well. He said that an alternative to honey as a glaze on the tails was maple syrup, which was also introduced to Samoa during the war.  I never would have guessed.  

I cooked our turkey tails in a different way. I split them in half horizontally, top and bottom, sprinkled them with garlic salt, and then fried them very slowly. The fat rendered out for the most part and we were left with very crunchy turkey tail 'cracklings.' Jeanne and I had fun nibbling one night. 

And here is the other item listed in the title of this post, tupig.  

I think that I was even more excited to try tupig than I was about finding turkey tails. Had I read about these tasty rice treats as a kid, living in the frozen north, I would have despaired of ever trying one. But here I am, and there they are, and I am about to learn.   

This is the bundle I purchased. You see they are wrapped in banana leaves and tied with same.  

I am so pleased to have been able to try these. They are not what I had imagined.  

They are very dense. I think the glutinous rice they are made from has been cooked in coconut milk until it is broken down and completely smooth in consistency. Spoonful's of it are then spread out onto banana leaves and rolled up. They are cooked over a grill. (You'll note that the leaves and some of the pieces of tupig look scorched.) 

They taste of coconut. They are slightly sweet from the brown sugar that was added, and they are very slightly smoky from the grill.  

I wish you could all try these.  They are best when warmed slightly. 

Let's look at some of the other sights and culinary sites of the market.  

Jeanne watches our tako-yaki being made,  

and served.  

The batter for these little flavor-balls looks like pancake batter, about that consistency, but has bits of green onion and octopus in it, rather than the wheat germ and blue berries that Jeanne is fond of putting in her pancakes.  

When cooked, the centers are still somewhat soft, just barely 'set up,' you might say. The springy pieces of octopus require a little more chewing and so are the treat at the end of each mouthful.  You've got to be careful eating tako-yaki. The centers are blisteringly hot when they're fresh from the grill.  

This booth, besides having dinner choices, also sells lots of dessert specialties. I bought one that I didn't catch in this photo.  

I asked the salesgirl the name of this dessert but I couldn't understand her. My hearing is not what it once was and we were in the middle of a noisy crowd besides.  

Whatever its name, it consists of a baked custard, (Like flan but not as sweet) over a very moist ube (purple yam) cake.  

I didn't try the raw fish in the picture below. I chose it once in a buffet restaurant and didn't care for it. 

I may be making a mistake by not trying it here. Buffet restaurants are not known (generally) for their high quality. Quantity maybe. 

What I didn't like at the restaurant was the flavor of the sauce. The fish itself was very mild. The lime juice in this recipe causes the fish to firm up and it did not have a raw consistency to it. Still, I'll have to think about trying it again.  

Lamb chops, sausages, octopus on a stick, and I don't remember what else.

We like the dumplings, or whatever they're called, that are in the center of this picture. The ones with the yellow, open-topped wrappers and slightly pink insides. I think they are ground pork and prawn. Hot off the steam table they are a delight with a little soy and chili sauce splashed over them.  You're given a long pointed stick to spear them with and it's fun to wander the aisles, nibbling and looking for your next course.   

Here are signs for some other interesting choices.  

Charcoal grilled BBQ pork ears or tero-tero, (pork intestines) 

I have added a link to a post I did back in 2015. It has a recipe for a tero-tero sauce that I enjoyed. (No, you don't have to try intestines to use the sauce.  In fact, I suggested using other meats in the post.)

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/398866872025297364/2459207043509258937

However, just to let you know. I did try using tero-tero and two different kinds of beef tripe in this recipe. (Yes, three different batches. When I experiment, I do it right.)  Of those three meats, I found the tero-tero to be most to my liking.  

As I wandered around the market snapping pictures, I saw this young woman being photographed by a friend. Her sash identifies her as a finalist in a New Zealand contest, but her basket hides exactly which contest. She is standing in front of the booth that sells the tupig. 

There is always something new at the night markets. I'll keep my eyes open and let you know what I find.            -djf

The Adventure of the Opanuku Steam, part two.

This is the continuation of the story of the heavy rains of Monday night and what apparently happened to our placid Opanuku for a few hours. 

On Friday morning, I took a walk up along the Opanuku Stream, as it passes through Henderson Park, about 1 kilometer upstream from the the bridge, mill and boardwalk that I showed you last time. I learned a lot. After seeing what I am about to show you, I am surprised that the whole boardwalk hadn't washed away.  

Let's go...

I'm heading down to the Stream.

That's a storm water run-off pond above the stream. All is serene once again.  

I'm on the path that follows the Stream through the park. I'd guess I'm six to eight feet above the stream right now.  That is a pile of debris that was just deposited. I can see evidence all along here of plants being pushed over by the force of the water.  

I'm closer to the level of the stream here, maybe only four or five feet above it, but look. There is debris in the branches over my head.  

This is the first pedestrian bridge. Look at how much junk is piled up against it, within a couple of inches of the top rail.  Unbelievable.  

As I was taking this picture, a guy passed me. I was shaking my head at the time and told h

couldn't believe how high the water was. This is nothing he told me. 

"Do you know where the Pony Club is," he asked. 

"It's along Henderson Valley Road," I said. 

"Well, you should see it there," he said, "A car got washed into the Stream."  

 Here's a view of where the water level is now. 

I am now approaching the 2nd bridge from the downstream side.

There is also an uprooted tree behind the slats.

I'm taking this picture from midway across the bridge. There is a large tree leaning out from the far side of the stream.  It's branches are filled with debris. In the right foreground is the top railing of the bridge.  

After seeing this, I looked up how much rain we received Monday night. I found that we got 7.91 inches of rain in 14 hours. In the 24 hour period surrounding that 14, we got 149% of the rain we normally receive during the month of August. Well, no wonder then.  

I'm heading home through the park. Our village is beyond that tall building and to its right.  

What a day, huh?

Almost home. I heard that the penthouse suite in that apartment building was just sold for $3.2 million. Don't know if that's true or not.  I wouldn't doubt it though.     -djf

The Opanuku Stream originates in the Waitakere Range. It probably isn't more than 10-12 miles long as the Tui flies. Longer of course than that with all the curving around it does. Still, I mention that because its relatively short length means that it will rise and fall very quickly in response to heavy rains. 

We certainly saw that Monday night. If we get another heavy rain day, I just might put on my rain gear and investigate the river at the bridge, even if I have to go out at night to do it.  I have a setting on my camera called Light, which seems to boost whatever ambient light is present. That might come in handy.  Keep watching, you'll see what I see.                     -djf