First, I thank Internet NZ for their sponsorship which allowed me to attend the conference. And also big thanks to Susanne and Andrew Ruthven for the tickets allowing me to attend the Penguin Dinner.

Andrew informed in in the afternoon before the event that he had reserved one of the tables close to the entrance. He apologised that there wasn't much room to move between tables, and he thought it was best to be at one of those tables, to allow me to get in and out if I needed to. I know what it's like. Having been on both the hotel side of such a reception, and the organiser's side, I realise full well that a maximum number of tables always get crammed in the space, with too many chairs at each table. This of course reduces the amount of space anyone has to get around the tables, much less wheelchair users! No worries, it all worked out.

We took our place as other attendees were looking for places to seat themselves at. On the table, waiting for us, were bottles of wine. It was very nice to see we would enjoy some wines by Fiasco (@fiascowines). There was a bottle of their Black Pearl, a wonderful pinot noir, on our end of the table. On the other end of the table, a couple bottles of white. I assume it would have been their Tall Story, a sauvignon blanc. As I was driving later, I limited myself to a glass of Black Pearl. What a pleasure to drink. Well beyond "eminently quaffable". It is one of those reds that confirm the rightful place of kiwi wines alongside French and Italian wines.

Also on the table was some still water from Waiwera Water (@waiwerawater). I really enjoy this water, although I prefer their sparkling. Still, it seemed like that water was a perfect balance to the wine (pun intended). Waiwera is the best water in the world. Seriously. In 2007, Decanter, a well known UK wine magazine voted Waiwera as the best water in the world.

A bottle of Fiasco Wines Black Pearl, alongside a bottle of Waiwera Water.

The first course arrived. A nice assembly of antipasto - Prosciuto wrapped "sushi" style, grilled aubergine, roasted red capsicum (red bell pepper), cornichon, black olive, pickled onion, crostini, and salami. Some light pesto, and reduced balsamic vinegar accompanied & decorated the plate.

Antipasto, nicely presented, and tasting even nicer.

The plating was very nicely done. I didn't expect such light and creative plating, to be honest. The colours were nice, the sauces accompanied the lot very well. The reduced balsamic vinegar's sweetness was perfect with the lightly salty salami and prosciutto. Very nice indeed.

A significant amount of time elapsed between the first course and the main course. People started moving between tables, mingling and networking. A lot of fun was had, and also a lot of was accomplished. People got together to build up on ideas that had been born during the LCA2010 week. People relaxed. Great time. Looking around, I noticed a guy at a table behind me wearing a Penguin hat. Someone at my table commented that the hat was a bit like the penguin was keeping an egg (the guy's head) warm. Geek humour, that!

Silly penguin hat on one of the people attending the dinner.

Suddenly, the room went dark. The sound of a shell horn sounded. Entertainment, which I didn't know we'd have, was starting. The sound of the conch shell always makes my hair stand on ends. It is powerful. I am not Maori, yet that sound speaks to me in ways hard to describe. What followed was over half an hour of great entertainment, marrying traditional Maori Kapa Haka with a modern influence. I would gladly pay to go see this group perform live again, although I didn't understand the name of the group. I'll have to ask!

Here the group performed Ka Mate, a traditional haka performed by the All Blacks before rugby test matches. It is quite powerful.

After the entertainment, a little more wait, and the main course was served. Another pleasant surprise. Roasted lamb cutlets with braised lamb shank, served with scallopped potatoes and grilled artichoke.

The duo of lamb - braised shank and roasted cutlets.

The shank was tender, and wasn't dry. It was tasty and a little "sticky", like a good braised shank often is. It melted in the mouth. The cutlets was juicy, slightly pink, and flavourful. Rather impressive to be able to serve medium rare lamb to more than 400 dinner guests. I congratulate the kitchen staff on their job well done! The artichoke was also very nice, as were the potatoes. My only complaint would be that I could have eaten twice or thrice the number of green beans.

While we were waiting for dessert, several people came and asked to try out Liz's wheelchair or mine. Liz also had a spin in mine, mostly to see how the Frog Legs feel on a chair. I was quite amused at how much fun adults thought the wheelchairs were. That is, as far as I'm concerned, the right attitude to have towards wheelchairs!

After another wait, we were served dessert. Ahhh, glorious sweets! A chocolate ganache with an orange praliné.

Chocolate Ganache, Praliné orange slice, what a beauty!

The slice of orange looks to have been cooked in caramel, and left to solidify with some almond slivers. So simple, yet it was dynamite in the mouth. The ganache was not overly sweet. The chocolate was obvious without overpowering everything else, the cream softening it.

We didn't stay for coffee, as we had to drive 3 hours to get home after the dinner.

Once again, I would like to thank Internet NZ for sponsoring my attendance at the conference, and the organisers for inviting me to the dinner. It was a perfect end to a great week. And my hat goes off to the kitchen and wait staff at the Civic Centre - they did an outstanding job.

Our table set with different foodstuff.

I found some Rouy cheese, imported from France. It was good, although it was made with pasteurised cheese. Can't find any other kind of cheese around here, unfortunately. I also sliced a bit of old cheddar, a cheese kiwis do well. Cheese is not cheap, but it's good to splurge once in a while.

A baguette from the grocery store. Nothing to rave about, but good support for the cheese and the pate.

A bit of cucumber, some tomatoes, because you need veggies, don't you know?

Some smoked oysters, a treat, they are so good, rich, very nice with crackers.

Some sliced roast beef, also from the grocery store, they did it with Meaux mustard, it wasn't too bad, although always somewhat overcooked.

As for the wine, a Mud House Pinot Noir 2004, it is decidedly excellent! We purchased a case a few years back and we are running low, soon not to have anymore. It is unfortunate! But we've enjoyed it.

A good and simple meal. And no pots or pans to clean up afterwards!