The Hamptons + The Factory

You may have got a bit (too!) excited when you read the title of this post... Unfortunately I did not make it to the real Hamptons, but this comes pretty close, I imagine. 

Another restaurant that is part of the phenomenon that is...POP UPS! The Hamptons sits nestled amongst sterile skyscrapers within the Auckland CBD, on Shortland Street of all places! (For non-Kiwi readers, this is also the name of the local prime-time soap opera that plays in Shortland Street hospital, it divides the nation -love it or hate it!) 

The pop-up restaurant actually sits on the forecourt of one of such skyscrapers, however wooden decking has been laid down and this, combined with picnic tables, colourful Marais stools (one would hope original Tolix), light blue weatherboard and plenty of umbrellas will transport you to a beach shack. And a pretty classy one at that! The vintage longboard and somewhat kitschy marlin proudly displayed behind the bar also still work. What actually makes it classy, are the corporates flocking to this place. The Fräulein does appreciate a man in a tailored suit...

On with the food, since Mama SoulFood was on "diet" after...I'm not really sure what after, she just didn't want to eat so much...we decided to share the Crab roll as our entree. Our "personal waitress" Rebecca (we had already befriended her the previous time!), informed us that that night it was in fact Lobster roll. Even better! She did also warn us that it would be small. It was, for us, just right but for $15 a bit overpriced. A couple of bites each and we had devoured it. To be honest I am not generally a fan of lobster, as I find it tastes a bit "muddy", but in combination with the mayo-y, shrimp cocktail like sauce and sweetish bun it worked to our tastebuds' advantage.

Lobster roll (normally crab) $15

Next to my Hamptons Long Tea cocktail for scale.

For main we shared the Grilled Hapuka paprika & fennel rubbed with sorrel, vine tomato and basil. It was tasty, especially with the smoked paprika, which I have decided is my new favourite spice. But, for $28, essentially a relatively small piece of fish with a few cherry tomatoes...again overpriced. Thankfully we had also ordered the Cornbread as our side, otherwise not even Mama would've been content. Neither of us had ever had cornbread, so we didn't know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised. Nothing exciting, basically bread made from corn (hah!) but rather nice, with the hint of sweetness. Not something I will have to have regularly though.

Grilled hapuka $28 & Cornbread $5

Naturally, the Fräulein was still hungry, so we ordered the Peanut butter bombe with cookies and jam. And a bombe it was! Again, not so much portion wise, but honestly you wouldn't want anymore of this sugar hit. Don't get me wrong, it was good! If you imagine smooth peanut butter made into a mousse and slightly frozen (essentially a semifreddo) combined with tart raspberry jam, and even a few fresh ones! The let down...the biccies. These were also peanut butter flavoured and still warm and soft which soft-biccie-loving types will appreciate, I however do not belong in this category. I still need a bit of crisp. They may be gooey in the middle, but with these biccies it felt like the kitchen hadn't expected anyone to order dessert yet, and had just baked them and chucked them in with the bombe, when really they would've need a good few minutes to chill out. Furthermore, I feel like the dessert needed some other element to balance the sweetness. But then perhaps that is what made it quintessentially American?

Peanut butter bombe $10, as you can see the biccies were also a little burnt on the edges...

I suggest you hit The Hamptons before they pop down again end of May, but stick to something off their interesting cocktail list, and go after five to check out the men in suits. You're welcome! :)

Really, the part of the evening I wanted to get to was the musical we went to after The Hamptons, called The Factory. I know, I know...as soon as you read musical you most probably cringed! But this was awesome! It is a Pacific musical, with a mainly Samoan cast who can sing like no other. I had goosebumps several times and still have the songs stuck in my head...It's part of the Auckland Arts Festival, so if you're about, GO!

That is all for today!

Yours truly,  

Fräulein SoulFood x