Garlic Bread from Keplers Restaurant in Te Anau

Keplers Restaurant

1055 Town Center
Te Anau 9640

Phone: 03-249 7909

No known email or Website

          We had been in Te Anau some time ago, actually a long time ago - before we started blogging about the quality of the Garlic breads. From memory we had a meal at Kepler's back then as well.  Te Anau is the Gateway to Fjordland and Milford Sound along with the multitude of Tracks one can walk/tramp/hike or - in some cases - just stroll for a lazy afternoon.  In any case it is a mecca for many youth-ish backpackers - many which do stay several weeks if not 6-12 months, and supplementing their 'holiday' budget by working in the NZ hospitality industry. This gives them the the opportunity to use their 'off-days' to explore further, so no surprise that we were served by a young bloke from Spain.  Last time we ate out in Te Anau it was a lovely lass from Prague that served us.  Now, whether or not, NZ should issue 12 month 'tourist' visa's is not for this blog to discuss. My personal view is that 12 months is too long and it should be a maximum of 3 months - but alas - as said before - we will not get into that - rather yes, let us look at the garlic bread we received when eating out at Keplers.  As  you can see - it was originally a baguette - cut into semi-bite sized bits and liberally buttered.  Surprisingly (because you do not see it very often these days) there was a good sprinkling of chopped herbs with it!  The down side is partially the presentation, a wicker basket is fine - but not sure it needed a white paper napkin. The other down side is that the edges of the bread got close to being burnt - yet as you can see in some cases the butter still remained - well - as butter and had not yet melted into the bread.  I suggest this was a bit of a rush job to get out on to our table - which was unnecessary  as the eatery place was semi empty when we got seated and only filled up by the time we were ready to leave. Maybe the oven was just to hot for this particular job (assuming they used an oven indeed and not a blow-torch)

We rate this as pretty average given recent offerings

Presentation	3 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	3 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	11 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Stumpers Cafe in Hokitika

2 Weld Street, PO Box 35
Hokitika 7810
New Zealand

E-mail:   enquiries@stumpers.co.nz

0800 STUMPERS (788 673)

Phone    (03) 755 6154

Fax        (03) 755 6137

Website    http://www.stumpers.co.nz/bar-cafe/

Stumpers Cafe is a curious mix of Hotel and Bar and Cafe, and sits in a prime location in Hokitika.  By all accounts it is popular with the locals so we decided to give it a whirl. That being said - the other attraction was the garlic loaf on the menu. A loaf it was, as  you can see.  Sadly - probably for health and safety reasons, it was already on its side when it arrived.  

The added little side dish as a nice touch, although I am never sure if the chef wants to give the client the choice of how much garlic butter he wants to spread - or does the chef not trust his own creation / flavoring?!?  Either way - some of our dining companions added liberally to the bread - others used what had already pre-melted into the loaf.  The bread  itself was typical loaf - slightly crusty on the outside and soft and fleshy on the inside.  Sadly by the time we got it, the bulk of the heat had already left the loaf a little bit, so the 'extra' garlic butter applied did not melt and soak into the fleshy bread part as one might have hoped.  The slices were very uneven cut - giving one a very thick slice that would have been enough for two slices.  All in all a pretty average presentation - not helped by arriving on a wooden platter and over a paper napkin.   Regular readers know that for this blogger the minimum standard is a porcelain type plate or at least Non-wooden.  A wooden platter - you can never be totally sure how clean it is . . . .

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	3 out of 5
Quality	3 out of 5
Overall score:	12 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread homebaked at a friends place

The Austrian Connection
c/o- Lancwood Drive
Christchurch



http://garlic-bread-critique.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/garlic-bread-at-friends-place.html


 Hmmmm - In all fairness - and you can read about that from the link above and the comment posted at this blog-entry -  there has been a improvement from the original offering. This time it is a case of 2 steps forward - one step backwards.

There are however extenuating circumstances, which will take to long to write about. Suffice to say that the owner changed her location and was still bedding in all the equipment at the new location.  There was enough stress getting to this point so we shall leave it at that eh ;) her royal highness Elizabeth ii;  and forgo any rating
 - in the hope that we get invited back there soon!!  

I can honestly say that the bread and the rest of the meal was great and we had an enjoyable evening re-kindling the family links!!

Presentation	out of 5
Quantity	out of 5
Taste:	out of 5
Quality	out of 5
Overall score:	(out of poss 20)