Hey all,

This week, I noticed that Vodafone had changed their service provider greeting (found on the top left of your phone) to “VF Ni Hao”. For some reason I found this incredibly funny, hearing it in my head the same way someone non-Chinese would yell this across the street to me, or some asshole teenager at the Lantern Festival. Of course, Vodafone was only trying to celebrate Chinese Language Week.

Although Chinese Language Week primarily focuses on Mandarin, there are heaps more dialects of the language, some of which feature little crossover. So in the spirit of Chinese Language Week, I want to direct your attention to this charming video of owner Tee Phee from Wellington restaurant Little Penang by Te Papa’s Chinese Languages in Aotearoa project, where she talks in Penang Hokkien. Hokkien is the dialect my dad, who is also from Penang, speaks, and even though I don’t know it myself, I could spot it a mile away — a lot rougher around the edges than Mandarin. Interspersed with English in a Malaysian accent, it’s so incredibly distinctive of Penang. What some people don’t realise is that although he’s Chinese, and speaks a dialect of Chinese, he can’t understand Mandarin, or speak it. That’s how different it is. Sometimes it makes the ordering process at restaurants a little awkward.

It is also apparently International Coffee Day today (having a day celebrating a drink many of us consume daily is also quite funny to me, but, you know) so, happy International Coffee Day, I guess?

I won’t be going into it this week, but if you’d like a reminder of what takeaways are available in level 3, you can read last week’s newsletter here.

— Jean

On the Radar

A new pizza joint looks to be opening soon in Onehunga, Slabs Pizza. Square pies and good times.

A new Italian wine bar, Cornelia, is opening in Parnell on Thursday 7 October, regardless if we move to Level 2 or stay at Level 3. The head chef, Fabio, is ex-Man O’War, Poderi Crisci and Non Solo Pizza.

I spotted this place, Te Pāua House, on TikTok, selling creamed pāua and fry bread, based in Manuwera. DM their Insta for more deets.

The team from Mr Hao are opening a new place, Lucky 8, described as a “Tap Bar and Asian Tapas” concept, but no more details yet.

Haven’t tried it yet, but stumbled across this account, Casa de H-Town, selling pico de gallo and fresh tortilla chips, “selling Mexican dishes I was taught by my grandmother while growing up in Southern California.”

Seedlip and Green Shoots have put together this cocktail garden kit that includes a 700ml bottle of Seedlip (a non-alcoholic spirit) and 18 seedlings of herbs and edible flowers to put into your cocktails. Full disclosure, I was gifted one of these (#gifted) but as someone who lives in a fairly small space and doesn’t drink much, it is genuinely very useful to me. Thanks!

Read More:
https://www.metromag.co.nz/food/metro-eats/metro-eats-friday-1st-october