Aunt Betty's Dessert Toppings Review

Received two Aunt Betty's Dessert Toppings by Hansells Food Group Ltd. today:

1. Temptation Sensation - 380g (dark chocolate topping)
2. Slimey Limey - 360g (lime flavoured topping) 
   

Yummy! So romantic...strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce!

I waited till little J got back from school so we can all try it together.

Look at how concentrated he was

Finished the Slimey Limey without dipping fruits in it!

J was very excited with the surprise treat. You can tell from his expressions above. He finished the Slimey Limey first and took a bit slower with Temptation Sensation, maybe he's saving the best for last.

Husband also want to give it a try.

Verdict:

Little J: He likes both flavours, can't decide which ones the best. When asked to choose just one flavour, he said he just can't, he wants to mix both together so they becomes one! LOL...

Husband: He likes the Temptation Sensation dark chocolate flavour...Not so much for the Slimey Limey because of the strong sweet concentrated syrup taste. He's just not big fans of syrup. Ooppss..

Me: I also prefer the chocolate flavoured topping but the dark chocolate taste is not rich enough for me. I liked at least 60% cacao chocolates you see...

These Aunt Betty's Dessert Toppings are good when we have unexpected guests. I can just cut some fresh fruits and squeeze the toppings straight from the bottle and desserts served. Convenient!

Great for birthday party as well, for stress free desserts.

I wouldn't be giving it to the family that often. It will be for special occasions and as a reward for little J.

According to the information on the bottles, Aunt Betty's Dessert Toppings for:

Slimey Limey: No Artificial Flavours, 100% Fat Free, Made with Real Lime Juice

Temptation Sensation: No Artificial Colours or Flavours, No Palm Oil

Both are suitable for vegetarians!

Playball

Over the school holidays, we enrolled J with Kumeu Indoor Sports Centre School Holiday Programme twice a week. They taught him soccer, dodge ball, netball, cricket and t-ball (something like baseball/softball, from what J told me..) The idea was to introduce variety of sports to him and get him active.

The Centre is neat, clean and kid friendly AND they also cater for birthday parties! I'm already thinking where to hold J's 6th birthday party (which is in April), so I'm putting it down on my list. I'm always on the look out for new venues for gatherings and parties!

Outdoor playground & eating area

While I was waiting for J, I had the opportunity to chat with Rebecca, who is the Manager of Playball.

Playball is an Educational Sport Programme and has been around in New Zealand for 4.5 years.
I liked the fact that at Playball, J is introduced the basic of common sports like tennis, soccer, cricket, hockey...and he is also taught to listen to instructions, taking turns and trying out different things and learning about his body movement and ability.

Playball is suitable for children between the ages of two and nine.

Coach Keith watching J closely

Playball
Rebecca - 021-530 260 

Kumeu Indoor Sports Centre
250C Main Road,
Kumeu
Harriet: 021-228 8483
Craig: 021-228 8482

One and only REAL ITALIAN PIZZA in Auckland

When I was living in Zuerich, Switzerland, L and I travelled a lot. I remember eating this delicious, tasty pizza in one small town in Italy (can't recall the name of the town...somewhere near Parma)

The pizza was not like any other pizzas you get from Pizzas Chains. It was full of flavour, the base was fluffy on the crust and really soft in the middle we had to fold it up to eat it. The cheese they used was just different...the smell of the herbs was just heavenly...oohh...Delizioso!!

This is the Queen Margherita D.O.C - Tomatoes, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (E.V.O.O), fresh mozzarella di bufala, fresh basil - $19.- 

Now, you don't have to fly all the way to Italy to get that delizioso pizza, because the great news is, I've found the FIRST and ONLY pizzeria in New Zealand to receive membership into the prestigious culinary institute Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN). This association is subsidies by the Italian Government to preserve the original Italian Pizza.

Here at Dante's I was told that their wood-fired oven was handmade in Italy and shipped here. Their wood-fired oven takes them four hours everyday to reach the optimal cooking temperature of 800 degrees, where the pizzas are cooked in for only 90 seconds or less!

Our pizza came out pipping hot and it was just divine. I thought I was back in Italy for a minute there. LOL

Chef Kevin Morris, who is half Italian prepares each pizza to order in the time-honoured way of manual hand-skill and there is no need for rolling pins or dough presses. Nothing is frozen and the dough does not contain additives, preservatives, dough relaxers or enhancers.  

Awards

F.Y.I - Chef Kevin only have 100 pizzas to sell a day! So, it's best to call and check if you're one of the lucky ones.

I'll be back for more!!

buono appetito!!

Dante's
316 Main Road,
Huapai,
Auckland.
09-412 86 44
www.dantespizza.co.nz

Cyber Clean Review

I received a trial pack from Cyber Clean last week and I had a go at cleaning my computer keyboard, remote controls, printer and telephone

75g pack

In case you don't know what is a Cyber Clean yet, it's a soft, yellow squisshy goo that you press on your hard-to-clean item and dust and dirt will stick onto it.

It was easy to use. I just warm it up a little in my hands and started pressing on my computer keyboard and I could see the difference right away. Then I pressed it on the remote control and I have to say its effectiveness declined each time it was used.

It's reusable (you don't need to wash it!) and when the yellow turns to dull green, it's time to replace them.

Cyber Clean is not sticky and it smells fresh. It also leaves my computer keyboard shinny like it's been polished.

Cyber Clean have a pH balance of 7, and is safe to use around the family and it's also biodegradable. 

Before & After pictures for your own judgment:

Before

After

Dust & Dirt from Keyboard!!

Before

After

Before

After

Upper part cleaned, Lower part NOT cleaned

 

Lunch @ Coromandel Town

After a nice soak at The Lost Spring, we headed North to Coromandel Town. There, we had our lunch. As usual, we didn't know where to eat, what to eat. So, we walked around the town. Coromandel is a really small town and we found just the place to eat. 'Coromandel Takeaways'

When I was looking through the menu board, one of the name struck me. 'Da Whopper Burger'. I remember seeing this name on the TV something to do with Burger King not happy with them using the name Whopper but the communities didn't want to change the whole name and mentioned Da Whopper Burger is the best burger. So, we gave it a try.

Dad ordered Fish n Chips (yeah...alot of fish n chips this trip..) The batter wasn't too oily, the fish was fresh and the chips was salt-less (L always order salt-less chips for J) and they provide small sachets of salt on the counter for you to put your own salt which I think is a good thing to eat less salt. I've never come across any fast-food outlet like that.

Husband ordered Da Whopper Burger with double beef patty, bacon, mushroom, egg & cheese - $10.50 and he said it's alright. I took a bite too and I think it was tasty (I don't usually eat beef burger, I usually order either chicken or fish)

Behind is J eating his (super unhealthy) fried sausage with chips and cinnamon donut as dessert. We should have ordered the kid's burger meal...but oh well...there's always another trip. LOL...

I had the Maddie Burger with real chicken schnitzel, ham, cheese & pineapple - $9.- and I tell you...it's the BEST chicken burger I've ever eaten!! I liked the crispy chicken schnitzel and the pineapple in it makes the taste unique and slightly sweet.

I'll drive there again (when I have the time) and this time I'm going to try the Trent Burger.
Yummy! I miss the burger already...LOL

Coromandel Takeaways
124 Wharf Road
Coromandel
07-866 8438

The Lost Spring @ Whitianga, Coromandel, NZ

Ok...let me take you to the day we arrived at Whitianga. We went straight to a thermal pool - The Lost Spring (before checking into a motel). Since we reached there quite late, they're not accepting anymore guests AND they only cater for children 14 years and over!

Oh dear...we've promised J that we'll bring him to a hot pool. The one in Tauranga is closed for renovation and this one is only for children over 14 years! 'shoot'

So, we asked the receptionist if she can recommend a motel that have a private hot pool. Before she could answer, a guy standing next to us told us he would like to help us.

He is allowing us to bring J in tomorrow at 10am (before the pool opens for the public at 11am) and we just pay the normal adult price and no charge for J. I felt something fishy, so I asked the receptionist if that guy is the owner...turned out he is the owner and his name is Alan. He also recommended Beachside Resort and told us that Bruce will give us a good price! And he did! Thanks!

And of course we took up the offer!
The next morning, we reached there 5 minutes before 10am, got changed and Alan was there to greet us and told us where to go (feeling like VIPs already...HAHAHhaha)

When we opened the door to the hot pools, it was like we're entering another world.... It's like walking through a beautiful garden of Eden (not that I know how garden of Eden looks like...but you know what I mean...)

This is the walk way...with Amethyst Gemstone!

Cave with more Gemstones! (there's about 2-3 caves)

We finally found the pool, tucked quietly in a secluded place. It was just so peaceful, relaxed and beautiful!! The water was warm and I felt my muscles saying "aaahhhhh....."
There's even real life exotic birds calling out, soft background music...It was a really really nice place to be, even J wanted to stay longer.

We met Alan's mom and had a bit of chit chat. We were told that The Lost Spring just opened 18 months ago and it took Alan 20 years to build it! I envy his patience and all his hard work.
You have to be there to experience the 'garden of Eden' feeling yourself.

Thanks Alan!

The Lost Spring
121A Cook Drive,
Whitianga, NZ
07-866 0456
www.thelostspring.co.nz

(to be continue...)

A night at Whitianga

When we reached Whitianga it was almost time for dinner! (thanks to the rain, dad drove slower, and that made me felt more relaxed) 

But we've decided to checked into a motel first before it gets too dark. We were recommended to check out Beachside Resort and the manager Bruce gave us a special price at only $100.- a night (for the five of us and its usually at $99.- for a couple but because it's winter/low season + recommended by his friend, we have special price)

The room is modern, clean and warm. It fits 4 adults so he had to blow up another extra bed for us without charging extra costs.

So we unpacked and settled down, deciding on where to eat again.

J must have found a packing on the towels and thought they're chocolates (the last motel we stayed, had chocolates on the bed)
He opened it and had a small bite and realized it wasn't chocolate! Poor boy...must be very hungry.

Because Whitianga is much smaller than Tauranga, there are not a lot of restaurants and shops around, so choosing a restaurant wasn't that difficult.

We went to check out 'Salt' - fine dining restaurant & bar. It is situated right by the water of the Whitianga Marina. Too bad it was already dark when we reached there.

Mom and I ordered - Market fish with sauteed local paua, Japanese mushroom, spring onions, chilli, coriander & white miso broth - $33.-. It was a good dish. The fish is fried on the skin side, making it crispy then put in the oven and back to the pan for final round. It goes very well with the miso broth.

Dad & L ordered - 90 day grain fed eye fillet with roasted shallots, hand cut chips & bearnaise sauce - $34.-. Dad & L claimed that it's the best eye fillet they've ever tasted! So...there you go..comments from 2 meat lover.

J's entree as his main - Ragout of wild rabbit with homemade papadelle and grana padano - $18.-

J didn't really liked his dish because it was rabbit (I should not have told him it's rabbit). He couldn't finish it so husband and I licked the plate clean..It was delicious!
Service as a bit slow, we waited 30 minutes to be fed but the waiter was friendly.

Beachside Resort
20 Eyre Street,
Whitianga
Coromandel Peninsula
07-867 1356
 
Salt Bar & Restaurant
1 Blacksmith Lane
Whitianga, NZ
07-866 5818

(to be continue...)

Bye bye Tauranga

Before leaving Tauranga, we had another walk along the town and at the same time deciding on where to have our lunch. We can't decide which restaurant to go to as everyone wanted something different that we can't get in one restaurant. (we wanted to go to Mt. Maunganui Hot Salt Water Pools but was closed for renovation)

So, we ended up with kebab, sushi and fish n chips (again). We found a nice spot near the beach (sharing the spot with some hungry sea gulls)

J just had to play on the beach even though it's so windy and cold. Bbbrrrr....

Before we head up North to Whitianga, we stopped by Mossop's Honey Store. Dad takes a lot of honey. He drinks honey water, on toast and as a substitute for sugar.

They have live bee display and free honey tasting table. The store is filled with honey products such as beewax sheets for candle making, health products, gift packs and skin care products and the store smells delicious too!

www.mossopshoney.co.nz

(to be continue....)