Friday 26 June - Christmas in July(ish)

Recently I decided to become more proactive at work and to join the Social Committee. This was of course was fueled with wanting to have a Mid-Winter Christmas dinner, something that I had become accustomed to from my time working in Auckland. Little did I know that I wasn’t joining the Social Committee, but rather making one from scratch on account of all the previous members quitting. So that’s how I became the President of the Social Committee (and the sole member for a while).

Beef Broccolini 'Meat Carrot'

 But being the sole member has its perks, I had full reign over where and what everyone was going to eat at the dinner.

I managed to get a booking in at a Restaurant in Northbridge called Bonsai. Then I locked in a 16 course tasting menu for everyone. The items sounded delicious and I was told that the restaurant was excellent so needless to say I was very excited. I worked out a budget with one of the practice directors and off we went. This budget was of course blown by about a thousand dollars - he insisted that we had an unrestricted open bar and assured me that since partners were invited everyone would be on their best behaviour. I do recall thinking, as I looked around the room while people were pouring sake out of novelty sized bottles that this was probably not a good move, however everyone had a great time (I think) so who am I question the decision.

The Tempura Barrumundi

 Anyway, back to the 16 courses, which were (in order of arrival) Crispy Chicken Salad, Tuna Tataki, Wagyu Beef Tataki, Fresh Sashimi Spoons, Prawn Kushi Yaki, Pan Fried Scallops, Beef Asparagus, Fried Chicken Tosazu, Tempura Barramundi, Oyster Panko, Creamy Prawn Springrolls (I was truly drink at this course), Chilli Crab Claws, Takoyaki, Crispy Skinned Duck, Teriyaki Chicken, Teriyaki Wagyu Sirloin.

Sashimi spoons

 Unfortunately, being an open bar I couldn’t really critique each dish and as the night went on everything tasted like the best thing I’ve ever eaten, until of course I becoming so full that I was force feeding myself food so I didn’t feel I was missing out (I know food FOMO).

Tuna, going fast

 However, I would have to say the standout dish for me was the Chilli Crab Claws, although the scallops come in a very close second.

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and all the stress of late RSVPs and pullouts was worth it. I had a few great drunken conversations with my bosses and colleagues which were hilarious. Everyone I spoke to on the night thanked me for organising such a great event (which was an added bonus). Hopefully the next event I organise would be equally as appreciated.

Pan fried scallops, butter...mmmm...

Beef Asparagus

Some chicken stuff, almost the end

Chilli crab claws...YUM

An overdue post from 2013

2014 is now a third over and work life is spiralling out of control. It seems that anything that could go wrong on a project is doing so with mine. As a result I haven’t been able to attend any events lately, and there have been so many good ones. However, I did start writing an update last year for the Resene End of year Christmas Party that I didn’t get a chance of posting until now. Hopefully this will do until things get calmer and I can finally go back to free wining and dining.

2013 marked the return of the Resene Christmas Party, a highly anticipated event that for quite a lot of us in the architecture profession. The last Resene Christmas Party, I can remember, was held on the roof top of a bar called ‘Honey’. It was so packed that the mid stair landing to the roof was as far as I could get, people just handed me down drinks. Besides not actually making into the party I remember having an awesome time. So with those fond memories in mind, I had high hopes for this year’s party, fortunately, these high hopes were not let down.

A view from the upper level

Resene held their Christmas party at ‘Number 01 on High Street’. They had hired out the whole venue and possibly the club downstairs. I say possibly because a group of us ventured down there with the free drinks from above but it didn’t really feel like it was a part of the rest of the party. Most likely we just managed to bypass the bouncer with our drinks in hand.

The only downside to the party was that it was held on a Thursday night, and I had quite a bit to do the next day. This of course didn’t stop everyone. Stories of total mayhem spread the next day and of people leaving in the early hours of Friday totally inebriated.

Deep Fried Cheese Stick

Myself and a group of my colleagues arrived to the venue at around quarter past five, with the event kicking off a five thirty we thought arriving fifteen minutes late would make us not look too eager but still be early enough to get in a drink or two before the crowd showed up. We were totally wrong; the place was already packed when we got there. Lucky for us we managed to corner a waiter who got us our drinks. Setting the bar high (pun intended), everything from the bar was on offer, as opposed to house wine and beer as per the norm. I however, kept on the safe side and only drank beer (with an occasional wine just to mix it up a bit).

The canapés were slow moving though, this is most likely because the waiters could hardly move around the venue, we were advised that about 650 people had turned up and crammed into the venue. But when the canapés did arrive they were of very high quality.  The first bite sized snack I managed to get a hold of was a crumbed mozzarella stick. These were delicious but dangerous. The cheese on the inside was melted making them extra tasty, however the melted cheese was also super hot. If it wasn’t for my cold beer I could have has a cheese tongue burning disaster. My white shirt did suffer the collateral damage of the melted cheese, lucky I could scrap off the cheese before a permanent stain.  

Shrimp Burger

Next up I scoffed up a lamb mini burger, this was ok, but I do prefer the regular beef mini burgers over this lamb variety. After downing about three lamb burgers I grabbed a forth thinking it would be more of the same, but to my surprise my forth burger did not come with a mince meat  patty, but rather a whole shrimp. Needless to say my mind was blown as this set up a new level of free canapé standard. Of course there were also the regulars available, ie some sort of filo pastry savoury cupcake and sear beef bruschetta. I don’t believe the food ran out it was just difficult to circulate.

Overall the party was a hit with everyone I talked to about. I guess this is why we specify Resene paints, so we get invites to this party. My only complaint is that the upstairs area, where I spent most of my night, was ridiculously hot. You could really feel the accumulated heat of the 650 bodies below. But it was free, so I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.   

Filo Pastry

Thursday December 10th: Merry Christmas

With the year coming to an end, Christmas parties have started to pop up. Last Thursday the firm I worked for had their Christmas party. Usually, we have awesome days out with a great lunch, but this year was different. It was our 25^th year as a practice and the Christmas party was to be combined with our anniversary party. At first I felt a ripped off, as our Christmas parties were awesome and something to look forward to, however I warmed up to the idea of the anniversary/Christmas party when I found out what was happening.

The Chicken Patty Thing, Held by my drinking partner in crime

The company had hired the old ‘6 pack’ silos down at Wynyard Quarter and cleaned them up for the night. In addition, there was a marquee put up beside them to house the 300 guests that were apparently invited. There was going to be some great catering and an ample amount of wine and beer.

Of course, because all out clients and consultants were also invited it meant that we had to be on good behaviour (well at least until they all left).

Mini Bruschetta

It was a good day on Thursday, it was sunny and warm and the sea breeze helped keep the place fresh. Upon arrival we were greeted with waiters handing out cocktails. The ‘Silo-tini” (the cocktail of the event) was a martini with a hit of lemon juice. It was pretty strong and to me very sour. I needed to down that quickly and move on to the other drinks available.

I kept to wine and beer for the rest of the night, drinking the Pinot Gris, until that ran out then moving to Heinekens. The food on offer was pretty top notch. The first dish that came around was a mini bagel with cream cheese and salami. It was ok, but sort of too big to have in one mouthful and quite hard to bite in half. Next were a few different variations of mini Yorkshire puddings with either rare beef on top or a grilled mushroom. These were (especially the mushroom ones) delicious. And due to their size you could really chow down on them.

Prawn Skewer, wrapped in basil, Silo-Tini in the background

After mingling a bit with some of my office colleagues and some randoms I had never seen before in my life, I had to go around and take photos of the event, something that was tasked to me…meaning I could not get totally inebriated or I would probably lose or break my camera. I did this for a bit before another round of canapé goodness.

Next on the menu were mini summer rolls, mini versions of the fresh spring rolls you can order at Vietnamese restaurants. They were ok, but if your been to a Vietnamese restaurant more than once your would have already had your fair share of these. After these mini rolls came mini bruschetta with a caramelized cherry tomato on the top. This was quite tasty and the tangy tomato mixed with a savoury paste which I couldn’t figure out what was made of was a great combination.

Mini Summer Roll

It was now well in the night and the sun had set, meaning it started to get cold. We all huddled into the marquee and continued to drink away. Feeling the beer kick in, I had to look for more food. I found a tray of little chicken patties with some sort of noodle thing on top. I assume they were pretty good, from what they looked like, but at this point my taste buds had almost decided to call it quits due to too much drinking.

By the end of the night, I was quite satisfied with the food and drink. There was plenty to go around and it was all pretty tasty (well at least the stuff I ate at the beginning of the night). The venue was done up very nicely as well.