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| Frasers Cafe - Mount Eden, Auckland, NZ |
I brief history as to how I ended up here. In 2010 I visited Auckland, New Zealand a couple of times. In the process of my visits, I had found love: Both in someone and with the country. That year I decided to sell my things and work towards moving over. In January 2011 I made it happen.
My first place was in a house at the top of Mount Eden, Auckland. I lived with a few other friends, and it was a stunning place to live. The view of the city and the ocean was astonishing, and Mount Eden village was a short walk from down the dormant volcano.
In Mt Eden village, at the corner of Essex Rd and Mount Eden Rd, is the cafe Frasers. I dabbled around with a few breakfast items until I thought I'd try their eggs benedict. I hadn't had one for a long time, but in Des Moines, Iowa, dead center of the midwest, eggs benedicts aren't exactly done with perfection. So I gave it a try...
I'm here to tell you that the dish they prepare is simply perfection at it's best. So here are a few details to take note of:
• The hollandaise sauce was perfect. It was thick and creamy, and full of flavor. The dish wasn't drowned in the sauce, yet there was always enough to run each bite through.
• The poached eggs were cooked at slightly lower temperature with a little extra time to cook. I never received the dish with runny eggs, or broken yolks. The chefs are meticulous about the display of their dish, and their pride in it is obvious when it is served. And the yolks were always full and runny, ready to be pierced and join the hollandaise sauce.
• The bacon: New Zealand bacon was a new experience, since in America we're used to thin skinny slices of it, burned to a crisp. NZ bacon is a different story. Its thicker, more like slices of ham, but not as thick. Slightly crisped, and fantastic. It was one more thing they had over American food.
• They use a bagel sliced into 2, and it really works for this dish. Their bagel is thick and soft, as well as lightly toasted. So there is a little bit of a crunch, but still plenty of soft inside. Its easy to cut through and became my choice of bread when I make my own at home.
They stack the dish altogether, which is a little different than your traditional benny. You have one bagel slice on bottom, then bacon, then the other slice of bagel, then more bacon, then the eggs, and sauce topping it all off.
When I would get into this dish, I learned the best way to start was to slice it all up into bite sized cuts right away. You'll spend some time slicing it up with it being stacked as tall as it is. So take your time cutting it to your liking, because you'll want to spend the rest of the time savoring.
Theirs also comes with salmon if you prefer that over bacon. Their flat whites are exceptionally good as well.
This benny gets my 10 out of 10. Simply the best I've had in the world.
