mmmmmmm……..Fresh Baked Bread

I have (like many people) a passion for good bread. I’m excited to have Wild Wheat on the Shore now (originally in Mt Eden) and visit a few times a week to buy my bread. This is the good stuff, mainly artisan and mainly sourdough (their apple based starter is reputedly 10 years old!). If you think sourdough bread is not to your liking, put your prejudices aside and go sample some of the Wild Wheat product. It’s wonderful! I’m slowly working my way through all the flavours, and standouts for me are the fruit bread, the baguette (ooh that deep crust!) and the kumara sourdough. The breadmaking process takes about 36 hours, which helps to develop the great flavour, as well as making the bread far more digestible. It also keeps really well – just wrap it in a clean tea towel and store in the pantry. This is bread the way it used to be made and the way bread should taste. Wild Wheat Bakery also has cakes and other sweet things, and you can pick up a great sandwich for lunch, then go eat it on Takapuna Beach. Wild Wheat is located in Hurstmere Road, near The Promenade (between GPK and Glengarrys), and there’s another store at 1/69 Lake Road, Belmont. You can check out the range of products and some background information on the Wild Wheat website.

One of the colourful Takapuna stall holders

Originally called the Takapuna Flea Market, this regular Sunday morning market had humble beginnings but is now positively thriving. Covering the whole of the municipal carpark in Anzac Street, it kicks off at 6am. There’s plenty of parking around Takapuna, but you have to be canny to get a free park. If you’re a serious shopper, you should arrive well before 9am for the pick of the day’s fresh produce and flowers. On the other hand, if you’re more interested in bargain hunting, it can pay to whizz around nearer to the midday closing time when many stallholders will do some great deals simply because they don’t want to take anything home with them.

Markets are a great place to buy fresh fruit and veges

As well as a huge selection of well-priced fresh fruit and vegetables, the Takapuna market is a popular spot for browsing the second hand goods, from tools to trinkets. Artisan products such as bread, olive oil, handmade soaps, cheeses and sausage are in abundance here, as well as some delightful cakes, local and ethnic foods (the mussel fritters are in huge demand), honey and fresh fish. You’ll also find a number of art and craft stalls. One of my favourites is the ponga logs carved with beautiful Maori motifs.

Old building, new face

The Department Store, located at 10 Northcroft Street in Takapuna, is a refreshing change from the bland sameness of shopping malls. It’s a groovy industrial space – polished concrete floors, concrete ceilings and exposed beams – occupied by some savvy designers and retailers. Karen Walker Clothing, Black Box Boutique, Simon James Furniture/Design and Michael Lett Galleries occupy the ground floor, along with The Marr Lab (organic, non-toxic skin care), and The Tea Room (excellent coffee and delicious treats – I love the poppy seed cake!). There’s so many gorgeous things to look at and try on, and I really enjoy browsing the range of books on offer – architecture, design, cookery, art – the goods may be up-market but the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. A white spiral staircase leads to Lucy and the Powder Room (beauty spa), and the new Top Shop is on the top floor, sharing space with Stephen Marr Hair. The wash basins are cleverly hidden from view by an exotically lush, living wall of plants, all growing quite happily and providing a soft contrast to the hardness of the concrete. This building has come a long way since it was used as the Post Office (I worked there as a bank teller in the 70s). Good on the designers and business people who had the sense to retain the building and reinvent it as a superb, sophisticated retail experience.

Having had its first market day on 29 May 2010, this is the North Shore’s newest weekend market and one of only 3 bonafide Farmers’ Markets on the Shore. Sponsored by Harcourts, Bayleys and Barfoot & Thompson Mairangi Bay, this is a great initiative for the area and it’s drawing a lot of interest from locals. It’s small and relaxed, mainly about food, and there are some delicious and delightful products to be had.

I bought a parsley plant from Clevedon Herbs and Produce - they run a blog with recipes and other interesting foodie stuff, and they sell deliciously fresh lettuce greens and herbs, ready to eat salad mixes and all manner of vegetables (subject to the season). Based in Clevedon, Phil and Jenny Tregidga have been growing their produce hydroponically since 1984. Earlier this year they shifted the focus of their business from supplying supermarkets to being vendors at a number of Auckland markets.

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This appears to be the only market on the North Shore which claims to be a Farmers’ Market. What this term means, loosely, is a market in which the majority of the produce is produced or grown within a defined local area. The raw product for manufactured goods should be locally produced or grown, where possible, but exceptions can be made if adding value. For more information, go to the official website for Farmers’ Markets in NZ.

Taking place on the first and third Saturday of the month, from 8am to 1pm in the King George Coronation Hall (cnr Library Lane & albany Highway), this is a small, friendly and very much local market. Being indoors, it is not affected by inclement weather and is limited in size. There is a fresh produce stallholder who prefers to set up shop just outside the front door, however.

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Why is it that shopping malls are so well patronised? After all, they’re pretty much clones – when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, right? That may be a little harsh, and there are still a few independent malls around the place, like Milford. I can see the benefit of malls in Australia with their ridiculously high summer temperatures. There’s no better way to escape the heat on the Gold Coast than by ducking into one of the many local malls for a few hours of air conditioned relief. But in Auckland, with its mild climate, why lose yourself in a windowless cavern of mass produced goods when you could be enjoying the diversity of main street shopping (MSS) on a fine summer’s day.

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Forrest Hill was one of the first suburbs to be developed as the North Shore began to boom in the 1960’s and 70’s after the Auckland Harbour Bridge was completed. The Northern Motorway at that time ended at Tristram Avenue, and Forrest Hill soon became a suburb of choice for families wanting convenient and affordable homes.

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