Stomachs on legs are proud to present

Pictured: two of my favourite things to eat in the entire world, black sesame ice cream and sakura mochi, at Kura in Auckland. (The sakura mochi, a sign of spring half a hemisphere away, was served warm).

When we turned up, my friend David said "I'm interested to see what you think this time," which didn't exactly raise my expectations. The quality at decent restaurants tends to go down over time, and on a visit a year ago Kura seemed to have, at best, hit a plateau.
But instead I was pleased to find their delicious braised tongue was back on the menu, and the presentation of the specials had a bit more tender loving care, like the plate below (from the daily specials menu), with a yummy bite-sized square of cold seafood consommé en gelée with little nameko mushrooms in it, andh other treats like genmai-zushi topped with shredded shiso.

That plate only cost 14 dollars, which felt like a bargain compared to food of a similar quality in Europe. And bargain is not a word you say often in NZ these days when it comes to food.

My dear workmate Niklas went to Düsseldorf on Saturday to join the festivities for the world's longest vegetarian bratwurst (101 meters) held by Metzgerei Schnitzel e.V.

Niklas kindly shared these pics with Gut Feelings, writing: "I am still somewhat dazzled by yesterday's events, but I am sure the photos give a first impression of the Wurst-Stimmung (vibe). Sadly I do not have any shots of Rüdiger Shaw (you couldn't make that up), the english-accented official of the Guiness Book Of Records who kept parading around, wearing a strict face and a big badge....

The best thing about the evening was that it was exactly like you would wish a "strassenfest" to be, what with the marching band, kids collecting empty bottles for sweets-money, and the general good natured spirit of things. i should go to düsseldorf more, really."

The rest of the photos below show the entire event from start to finish. Personally I find it very charming to see all these people coming together around a really long sausage.





The sausage was cooked on the disposable foil BBQ trays you can buy at every supermarket.