Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz
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@jegga said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@hooroo said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@canefan said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@nepia said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@nepia said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mn5 said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@taniwharugby I'll eat punnet upon punnet of mussels from the Supermarket. Absolutely love them and much better value than other supposedly nicer seafood.
I don't like flavoured Mussels - and I always struggle to find plain punnets.
When I go to a Belgian style restaurant and ask for Mussels steamed in water they look at me like I'm a loon. Although at the one in Mt Eden I'd often get the blue cheese pot (as they used to do two for one pots and I'd have one plain and one blue cheese).
@jegga said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
I do gorge myself in prawns when I go across the ditch , they aren’t full of carcinogens and other crap like the ones they sell here.
Hmmm, I thought that the quality of prawns would be dicey over here - as they're so cheap. I'm not a huge eater of them (like them but usually they're beaten by other things on a menu) so haven't looked into it.
not up here mate, straight off the boat, beautiful.
And Moreton Bay Bugs
And Mud Crab
god i am hungry now.
I've never had either of those, will have to give them a try next time I'm up your way - although I've never been so disappointed about hyped seafood as I was the first time I had barramundi.
chilli crab, made with mud crab, is just about my favourite thing to eat and make
barra is okay. Famred it's shit, but straight out of a river and on to a hot plate is pretty fucking good.
I love North Queensland seafood
I reckon our fish shits on the aussie stuff. Blue cod, groper, snapper, no contest. But the muddies were made by the gods themselves, the best crab I've ever eaten
Best I have had is Alaskan King Crab. That was amazing. But I haven't tried mud crab so can't compare.
Where did you try that? Next time you’re in Wellington stop by the crab shack by shed five, only hassle is you can’t book a table . You just turn up and wait your turn .
When was the last time you were there? I have been there a few times for it and it was good there. Last time I was there (12 months ago) they didn't have them on the menu
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@taniwharugby I think we get ours from the Russian crabs fishermen, same thing though . Sig Hanson came out to NZ a while back to promote them
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@hooroo said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@jegga said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@hooroo said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@canefan said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@nepia said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@nepia said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mn5 said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@taniwharugby I'll eat punnet upon punnet of mussels from the Supermarket. Absolutely love them and much better value than other supposedly nicer seafood.
I don't like flavoured Mussels - and I always struggle to find plain punnets.
When I go to a Belgian style restaurant and ask for Mussels steamed in water they look at me like I'm a loon. Although at the one in Mt Eden I'd often get the blue cheese pot (as they used to do two for one pots and I'd have one plain and one blue cheese).
@jegga said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
I do gorge myself in prawns when I go across the ditch , they aren’t full of carcinogens and other crap like the ones they sell here.
Hmmm, I thought that the quality of prawns would be dicey over here - as they're so cheap. I'm not a huge eater of them (like them but usually they're beaten by other things on a menu) so haven't looked into it.
not up here mate, straight off the boat, beautiful.
And Moreton Bay Bugs
And Mud Crab
god i am hungry now.
I've never had either of those, will have to give them a try next time I'm up your way - although I've never been so disappointed about hyped seafood as I was the first time I had barramundi.
chilli crab, made with mud crab, is just about my favourite thing to eat and make
barra is okay. Famred it's shit, but straight out of a river and on to a hot plate is pretty fucking good.
I love North Queensland seafood
I reckon our fish shits on the aussie stuff. Blue cod, groper, snapper, no contest. But the muddies were made by the gods themselves, the best crab I've ever eaten
Best I have had is Alaskan King Crab. That was amazing. But I haven't tried mud crab so can't compare.
Where did you try that? Next time you’re in Wellington stop by the crab shack by shed five, only hassle is you can’t book a table . You just turn up and wait your turn .
When was the last time you were there? I have been there a few times for it and it was good there. Last time I was there (12 months ago) they didn't have them on the menu
About a year ago , I’ve never seen them on the menu there but their paddle crabs are bloody good imho .
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@dogmeat said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
I liked Italian whitebait - which I guess is what you got in England TR but in the main I steered clear of seafood for the 13 years I was in Europe which is one reason I love it so much now.
Europe does have some great seafood which isn't readily available here, e.g. baby octopus and clams. I've had some fantastic seafood meals in Italy and France.
In places like Belgium the mussels are so small compared to our green-lipped mussels. Tasty but not the same. Scallops have always been my favourite.
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@canefan said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@nepia said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@nepia said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mn5 said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@taniwharugby I'll eat punnet upon punnet of mussels from the Supermarket. Absolutely love them and much better value than other supposedly nicer seafood.
I don't like flavoured Mussels - and I always struggle to find plain punnets.
When I go to a Belgian style restaurant and ask for Mussels steamed in water they look at me like I'm a loon. Although at the one in Mt Eden I'd often get the blue cheese pot (as they used to do two for one pots and I'd have one plain and one blue cheese).
@jegga said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
I do gorge myself in prawns when I go across the ditch , they aren’t full of carcinogens and other crap like the ones they sell here.
Hmmm, I thought that the quality of prawns would be dicey over here - as they're so cheap. I'm not a huge eater of them (like them but usually they're beaten by other things on a menu) so haven't looked into it.
not up here mate, straight off the boat, beautiful.
And Moreton Bay Bugs
And Mud Crab
god i am hungry now.
I've never had either of those, will have to give them a try next time I'm up your way - although I've never been so disappointed about hyped seafood as I was the first time I had barramundi.
chilli crab, made with mud crab, is just about my favourite thing to eat and make
barra is okay. Famred it's shit, but straight out of a river and on to a hot plate is pretty fucking good.
I love North Queensland seafood
I reckon our fish shits on the aussie stuff. Blue cod, groper, snapper, no contest. But the muddies were made by the gods themselves, the best crab I've ever eaten
that's obviously a taste thing, because i love reef fish. Red Emperor, Coral Trout, both so fucking good.
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Yeah fuck imagine my surprise when I get to Europe and order some mussels, expecting something amazing as I'm used to Leuven.
Plate turns up, oh OK, these shells are a bit smaller than expected. Open the shells... What the fuck! Something about the the size of half of one of those mini Easter eggs. Shelling all those tiny mussels for fuck all meat is a crappy waste of time.
Apart from mussels, all other shellfish and crustaceans make me retch. All fish is good apart from trout.
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@jegga that mixed bucket of clams you can get there is wicked. I think my fav is Cloudy bay clams. The crab is good and a few times they've had king crab. I was a bit of a deadliest catch tragic back in the day so it's cool to know where they come from - but fuck fishing for those things!!
I prefer the supermarket flavoured mussels - chili or garlic flavoured and I'm into it. Haven't had any luck enjoying them at restaurants or BBQs. I am a right slut for well cooked scallops, and like @taniwharugby don't really dig crays overly much. Oysters can be nice but again I've found them to be a bit hit and miss for my educated palate. Def encourage the missus to get stuck in though
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@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@canefan said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@nepia said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mariner4life said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@nepia said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mn5 said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@taniwharugby I'll eat punnet upon punnet of mussels from the Supermarket. Absolutely love them and much better value than other supposedly nicer seafood.
I don't like flavoured Mussels - and I always struggle to find plain punnets.
When I go to a Belgian style restaurant and ask for Mussels steamed in water they look at me like I'm a loon. Although at the one in Mt Eden I'd often get the blue cheese pot (as they used to do two for one pots and I'd have one plain and one blue cheese).
@jegga said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
I do gorge myself in prawns when I go across the ditch , they aren’t full of carcinogens and other crap like the ones they sell here.
Hmmm, I thought that the quality of prawns would be dicey over here - as they're so cheap. I'm not a huge eater of them (like them but usually they're beaten by other things on a menu) so haven't looked into it.
not up here mate, straight off the boat, beautiful.
And Moreton Bay Bugs
And Mud Crab
god i am hungry now.
I've never had either of those, will have to give them a try next time I'm up your way - although I've never been so disappointed about hyped seafood as I was the first time I had barramundi.
chilli crab, made with mud crab, is just about my favourite thing to eat and make
barra is okay. Famred it's shit, but straight out of a river and on to a hot plate is pretty fucking good.
I love North Queensland seafood
I reckon our fish shits on the aussie stuff. Blue cod, groper, snapper, no contest. But the muddies were made by the gods themselves, the best crab I've ever eaten
that's obviously a taste thing, because i love reef fish. Red Emperor, Coral Trout, both so fucking good.
I've had Barra and coral trout. Coral trout was very nice, but I'd eat blue cod or hapuka instead of those two every day of the week and twice on Sundays
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@bones said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
Yeah fuck imagine my surprise when I get to Europe and order some mussels, expecting something amazing as I'm used to Leuven.
Plate turns up, oh OK, these shells are a bit smaller than expected. Open the shells... What the fuck! Something about the the size of half of one of those mini Easter eggs. Shelling all those tiny mussels for fuck all meat is a crappy waste of time.
Apart from mussels, all other shellfish and crustaceans make me retch. All fish is good apart from trout.
How good ? love a feed of mussels at Leuven matched with a Belgian beer.
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@taniwharugby said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@jegga yeah nah...it's little fish.
Yeah I remember ordering Mussels in UK one time and getting a plate full of these things that were smaller than most Tua Tuas.
Yeah - first time I saw whitebait on an english menu - pretty excited. It arrived - pretty confused.
And like so many others - ordering mussels in UK or Belgium or anywhere... and getting mini-mussels.
I nearly accept both of these things now... (coinciding with sending off my application for British Citizenship yesterday).
But every time I go home, I'm buying a pot of marinated mussels on my first supermarket visit (with any newly released craft beers to accompany), and I'll ALWAYS stop off in Mokau at least once for whitebait... even if it means forgoing riding the Forgotten Highway. -
OK guys, so what is NZ whitebait? In the UK it is a load of tiny fish, cooked whole. Usually fried and usually either breaded or coated in seasoned flour (ideally the latter).
As for mussels, I guess it is all about what you're used to. Usually over here they are steamed (white wine, shallot and garlic is the classic) or grilled, usually with garlic and parsley butter. I've tried the NZ green lips and I quite like them but find the European variety has a sweeter taste (to me). However either is pretty damned good.
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@catogrande said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
OK guys, so what is NZ whitebait? In the UK it is a load of tiny fish, cooked whole. Usually fried and usually either breaded or coated in seasoned flour (ideally the latter).
As for mussels, I guess it is all about what you're used to. Usually over here they are steamed (white wine, shallot and garlic is the classic) or grilled, usually with garlic and parsley butter. I've tried the NZ green lips and I quite like them but find the European variety has a sweeter taste (to me). However either is pretty damned good.
In NZ - we're absolute savages, and catch the whitebait when still tiny, tiny babies - so we're typically catching hundreds/thousands of them, and making a fritter or omelette with dozens of the little bastards in the batter/mix.
In the UK - you're letting the fish grow to a stage where they're actually a mouthful in one - then catching and deep-frying the little teenage shits. -
@catogrande said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
OK guys, so what is NZ whitebait? In the UK it is a load of tiny fish, cooked whole. Usually fried and usually either breaded or coated in seasoned flour (ideally the latter).
As for mussels, I guess it is all about what you're used to. Usually over here they are steamed (white wine, shallot and garlic is the classic) or grilled, usually with garlic and parsley butter. I've tried the NZ green lips and I quite like them but find the European variety has a sweeter taste (to me). However either is pretty damned good.
Ours are mainly baby eels
cooked in a light fritter like this
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@crucial said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@catogrande said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
OK guys, so what is NZ whitebait? In the UK it is a load of tiny fish, cooked whole. Usually fried and usually either breaded or coated in seasoned flour (ideally the latter).
As for mussels, I guess it is all about what you're used to. Usually over here they are steamed (white wine, shallot and garlic is the classic) or grilled, usually with garlic and parsley butter. I've tried the NZ green lips and I quite like them but find the European variety has a sweeter taste (to me). However either is pretty damned good.
Ours are mainly baby eels
cooked in a light fritter like this
Baby eels are dark , whitebait are juvenile galaxiids - a weird native fish .
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OK so you lot are a bit more feral and thanks for the graphics. I’ve eaten fish that are basically the size of cotton threads with a head on top in Spain and basically it’s the same dish around the world (caveat: who knows what the fuck goes on in Asia) - fried up with some form of binding agent. Nice 😁
We did serve up some (uk version) whitebait at dinner where a young niece was with us and she threw the heads and tails under the table.
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Can someone get on here and explain why they love whitebait so much ?
Taste is all subjective of course but to me a whitebait fritter is little more than blandly satisfying.
Anyone here been to San Fran ? best Seafood Chowder on earth and served in a sourdough bun which you eat along the way. Absolutely fucken delicious.
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@mn5 said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
Anyone here been to San Fran ? best Seafood Chowder on earth and served in a sourdough bun which you eat along the way. Absolutely fucken delicious.
Nah, Boston is the place for seafood chowder. Served as you say.
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@bovidae said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
@mn5 said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
Anyone here been to San Fran ? best Seafood Chowder on earth and served in a sourdough bun which you eat along the way. Absolutely fucken delicious.
Nah, Boston is the place for seafood chowder. Served as you say.
Massive call. It would take a bit to beat what I had back in Frisco lemme tell ya. Plus SF is a city I'd go to in a heartbeat ahead of Boston despite how cool they sound when they say "bar" and "car"
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@mn5 said in Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz:
Can someone get on here and explain why they love whitebait so much ?
Taste is all subjective of course but to me a whitebait fritter is little more than blandly satisfying.
Honestly, I think I kind of agree... a lot of it is reputation.
When I think about it... a whitebait omelette, done really well - there's not much more than just this really subtle flavour over top of the base ingredients - but one that you can't get from anything else.
And stupid NZ-patriotism... yeah, I buy into it and eat that shit every time I can. -
@kruse it's kinda like when Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc was the shit and despite there being many better SBs, it was the one to be seen drinking when you were out and about.
I like Whitebait Fritters but I wouldnt go gaga over them, but then with Whitebait is possibly the rarity as well, I cant tell you the last time I had a feed of them, so if I was out and they were on the menu, I'd have them.