In this economy, barely anything can top the excitement of free parking. But SkyCity's served us twice over with the holy grail itself, plus an exciting new addition to October and November's epicurean calendar. Enter: Served, two months of feasting.
Showcasing cuisines from around the world, Served runs through October and November and features five massive food-centric events, kicking off with the festival launch where culinary royalty Michael Meredith (Metita, Mr Morris), Nic Watt (MASU, INCA, and the soon-to-launch Cāntīng), Al Brown (Depot, Federal Delicatessen, Best Ugly Bagels) and Sid Sahrawat (Cassia, Kol, Anise, The French Cafe) will whip you up a glorious feast in a collab with Four Pillars Gin. Other offerings include champagne-matched Foujita Nights at MASU, a dumpling masterclass at Huami, Metita's first birthday celebrations, and Diwali at Cassia.
Then there's the exclusive set menus where everything clocks in at the exceedingly reasonable pricepoint of $50-55 (and in some cases that's for two people). Head to Metita, The Grill, MASU, Cassia, Depot, Fed Deli, Huami, SkyBar, or Andy's Burgers & Barto get your fill. An added bonus? Parking's free at SkyCity from September through to the end of November—score.
We caught up with Michael Meredith and Sid Sahrawat ahead of Four Chefs Four Pillars.
Michael Meredith
Image credit: SkyCity | supplied
The Good Life According to Michael Meredith
Family (especially my kids), good sense of living and food—how it brings people together.
Fave Local Eateries
Alma, Lillius, Apero, Chur Bae and Williams Eatery.
Fave Thing To Do Around Tāmaki
Morning walks and exploring parks with the little ones.
What's Metita bringing to Four Chefs Four Pillars?
Image credit: Metita | supplied
We're doing three dishes but one in particular is one of the snacks we've had since opening—our corned beef steamed bun. I grew up in Sāmoa and corned beef is part of our culture. It's contributed to the health failure in the Pacific but it's also quite delicious. I wanted to do something playful with it when we first opened the restaurant so we added some spices to it and cabbage to make it a little bit healthier, then encased it in a milk bun and steamed it before adding a form of cured pork fat, caviar and soy sauce to complete it. It's a tasty mouthful because it plays on texture and flavour. It's a good representation of what modern Pacific food can be—celebrating what it has been traditionally with the addition of new flavours.
Sid Sahrawat
Image credit: Cassia | Instagram
The Good Life According To Sid Sahrawat
Family, food and travel.
Fave Local Eatery
My favourite local restaurant is Apero because it's got the right balance of fun, delicious food, delicious wine—they just do it so well. Mo's amazing at the front—so relaxed but very knowledgeable, he just knows how to work the room—and Leslie, she's a wizard with technique. We'd usually start with charctuerie and I love the ribeye they do. I usually leave the wine to Mo because he knows what I like.
Fave Thing To Do Around Tāmaki
If I get any chance when I'm not working I want to spend it with my wife Chand and my kids Roan and Zoya. Whatever they want to do whether they want to play a game, go for a walk, something to eat, we try and spend as much quality time all together as possible, and try to stay away from the devices.
What can we expect to see from Cassia at Four Chefs Four Pillars?
Image credit: Cassia | Instagram
We're doing our pani puri, a classic street snack from northern India. It's been on the menu since day one. For the main course—with the duck that Nic's cooking—we're doing lamb chops which again has become quite a staple at Cassia. It's a classic marinade: dry korma which has got cashew, tomato, fenugreek, and a charcoal wafer, and then for dessert we're doing gulab jamun, an Indian-style doughnut with saffron, cardamom and a few textures of chocolate.
Hungry? You and us, both. Check out the full SERVED lineup here.
Main image credit: SkyCity | supplied.