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Not-Burglary from Philip Chan on Vimeo.

This is not a joke. I came back to my flat to find that someone had snapped the cylinder of my lock, broken in and not stolen anything. This includes not stealing an unopened iPod Touch, a laptop, and my car keys (+ my car).  

I'm a bit pissed off.

Continuing the River Cottage theme of my time living in Cresswell Grove, here is some of the produce I arrived back to today.

Cresswell Grove Cheeky Blackberrry & Raspberry Combo Jam:

• 2:1 ratio of fruit:sugar. However, remember to try your fruits! If they are a little tart or not as sweet (likely if it late in season) it may be a good idea to add a little more sugar.
• If you can get your hands on jam sugar all the better.
• Add the sugar and fruit to the pan and melt down until boiling. Boil profusely for 10 minutes or so (like caramel it is easy to burn so be vigilant). To test whether it is ready for jarring up skim off a bit and dollop onto a plate. If it forms a wrinkly surface you're in jam city.
• Pour into jars sterilized in a hot oven or boiling water.
• Boom.

Three years ago today, four hot guys bought a bucket and proceeded to chow down. That was how modestmango.com was brought into the world. We've come a long way in three years.

We had cake, obviously.

Perhaps if we do some filming tomorrow I can post a proper birthday video... In the mean time, does anyone want to leave a birthday message...?

I was sitting there in the food court tonight when I thought to myself, "God, a lot of people seem to go on dates to the food court. I guess it sort of makes sense. You don't even have to order from the same counter - just get whatever the hell you want. There's no need to agree on the type of restaurant beforehand. Embarrassed about your uninteresting palette? She won't know about it. Well, not yet."

Then I thought to myself, "Holy crap, this pork bento box is unreal. I can't believe I only paid a fiver for it. I wish sushi was as accessible, as good quality and as cheap in Glasgow as it is here."

nd then I looked down at what surely would be my last taste of Speights for a very, very long time and I thought to myself, "I'm really going to miss this. I mean genuinely, I'm really, really going to miss this."

I can't quite believe that I will be returning to Hong Kong six weeks older than I was when I left. There's not really much to say about Auckland. I've been struggling to find things to keep myself occupied if I'm honest. Photos have been sparse as well. The big city is more or less pretty uninteresting. The harbour, yes the water is beautiful, but there's nothing on the water to point your camera at. The best views are outside of the CBD, where again I was met with unfortunate weather.

In case you're wondering what I'm doing on my last day in New Zealand - I'm sitting in a public library. I have definitely been spending far too much of my holiday sitting in New Zealand libraries. There are loads Asians here. Yeah, I know libraries are usually rammed with Asians, but I mean there are loads of Asians here. I had completely underestimated the amount of immigration into Auckland. Everybody is Asian.
 
I am not exaggerating when I say that every other restaurant in Auckland is Asian, and of the ones that aren't, they're likely to be run by Asians anyway. The Asian food here is cheap and authentic. There really is little reason to eat anything else. I think I've eaten more Korean food in New Zealand than I did when I was in Seoul. Yeah, okay, that's clearly an exaggeration but I've had it at least four times, and that's four times more than I thought I would.
 
Does anyone else think that sky towers are incredibly cheesy and annoying? Annoying in that they are always infringing on your field of vision whether you like it or not. There is something about a building that's been built for the sole purpose of tourism.
 

 
I think this will be the last post in the NZ series. It has certainly been a memorable trip, I've seen some amazing things and I've met some incredible people. But I must say, I'm ready and happy to leave.
 

 
So… Goodbye from New Zealand (I'm in a library).