Fisherman's Wharf, Lyttelton

It seems only appropriate that Lyttelton, being a port town, should have its own dedicated seafood restaurant. Sadly, the latest attempt at providing this at 39 Norwich Quay falls far short of a boastable standard. I don’t like to be the castigator of small businesses but I’m firmly of the opinion that Fisherman’s Wharf Seafood Eatery & Bar has opened its doors too soon, certainly before ensuring staff are trained to a level above the bare minimum standard, a wine list with more than almost nothing on it has been established and a menu representative of fine southern waters is drawn up.
I was under no illusion that this eatery was anything other than a fish and chippery with casual dining options; notwithstanding this, the view across the port was quite splendid, the seating comfortable and roomy, the atmosphere heaving with activity as the staff scurried in and out of the open kitchen. The potential exists for this establishment to work well for the owners but someone needs to take charge of the operation and bring it together as a well-oiled, working machine. At the moment the staff seem to be charging about in all directions, each oblivious to what the other is doing. Guests are left wondering whether they will be offered another drink, whether cutlery will appear on the table, which of the handful of wines on the tiny wine list is still available – several were sold out on the night we visited.
The menu offers a choice of chowder, mussels (spelt muscles on the menu), scallops, seared fish(freshly caught), salmon, crayfish and prawns as well as a chicken and a beef option.
The seafood chowder was mediocre and was presented with what seemed to me to be a cheap Pak n Save type bread roll, sliced up; what’s wrong with that? Nothing in essence except it further dumbed down the experience for me.
My seared fish of the day, Groper, was a fine enough specimen, as fresh as the morning breeze, but the taste was dominated by the charcoal coating; the plate was adorned with a salad of tomato, lettuce, onion and capsicum and a sizeable handful of fried chips – to reinforce the casual nature of the place no doubt.
In defence of the owners of Fisherman’s Wharf it should be conceded that it is not easy to recruit wait staff in Christchurch at the moment and, in some instances, even harder to train those you do manage to get, but this cannot and must not be used as an excuse for poor service and fundamental operational mistakes, omissions and oversights. The difficulties in hiring staff should not in any way, shape or form become the restaurant diners’ problems. You have to roll out your red carpet for your guests at all times and without fail as the competition for the private discretionary dollar is fierce in this town and shortly to become more so as many more restaurants and cafes open their doors.
This restaurant, I’m told, is in partnership with Pegasus Bay Fishing Ltd, and so has the advantage of access to freshly caught fish on an almost daily basis. This, I would have thought, is an enormous opportunity to deliver something quite special to us all; giant platters of smoked, seared, fried and raw fish perhaps? Interspersed with prawns, scallops and crayfish, fresh salads, bright yellow lemon wedges and cold beer…..or champagne. Casual eatery or not, I’d pay handsomely for such a dish.

The Great Governor's Bay Hotel

You might think that midweek in Governors Bay is a place of solitude & quietude but there’s action aplenty in the kitchen of the Governors Bay Hotel; in fact, should you require above average sustenance served in thoroughly agreeable surroundings with a damn fine view straight down the harbour then the sprawling deck out the front of the hotel beckons.
Sit down, as I did, albeit inside, with a fetching presentation of balsamic Portobello mushrooms filled with pistachio & feta, adorned with cherry tomatoes & roasted pepper coulis. Follow up with an eminently slurpable Bouillabaisse, so rich, so complex and organoleptic, its effulgent sheen the very picture of indulgent palatability, the seafood, fennel and chorizo offering up such lingering goodness and smooth graciousness.
Before, after or in between don’t miss out on further edible salvation by neglecting to sample the Duck Liver pate, an arresting blend of Cointreau, cornichons, cherry tomatoes and relish with a flick or two of delicate herbage for good measure.
Couple the above with an Ataahua merlot and you could end up as pleased with yourself as I was. The weather was being its difficult self when I visited but if you pick a sunny, windfree day you will get the best out of the deck dining in the comfortable looking chairs and, as mentioned, an iconic, enduring Lyttelton harbour view.

Spice Paragon

 

 

There’s no place for confusion when you’re thinking Thai Fusion as there’s a paragon of excellence on the edge of the concrete jungle. Spice Paragon boastfully proclaims its place in the Asian food heirarchy as being at the top, the very top and nowhere but the top.
One cannot but agree with their corporate statement which reads, “Spice Paragon is more than a restaurant, it’s an experience...”.  I don’t disagree! In fact, I’d go further and say this restaurant offers a fresh whiff of style and pazzaz with its creatively presented dishes, adding value to one’s dining out adventure and its confidence of purpose is carried through to fine measures of taste, excellent, plethoric use of spices, ambrosial by their exciting nature, enhancing the essence of flavour in the dishes presented. Yes, an experience worth having!

Considerable effort has gone into fitting out the restaurant and you are absorbed into this on arrival, not failing to be impressed on entry as you fall into the trained, careful clutches of the uniformed staff.
We had a 6 person alcove which afforded a measure of privacy and a splendid view of an adjacent room or area, set for eight people and magnificently overseen by a polished, well-lit Star Anise on the end wall. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie. The dining room aboard the StarShip Enterprise perhaps.....

We were as hungry as an empty-bellied, bombastic Baltimorean in Bangkok, our tongues hanging out in expectation of the beautiful release that even the endorphins within could not provide; it was food, glorious food that we yearned for......and it wasn’t long in coming. Service, whilst not completely up to our expectations, was prompt and pleasant, suffering from no more than staff inexperience and the need for a two hour Mr Lu professional training seminar.

What’s in a name? Well, I couldn’t resist a  Marisco Bastard Chardonnay to pimp my ride..or should that be palate? An entree of “Lettuce cup topped with minced roasted duck, chicken and Shiitake mushroom” at a mere $6 (can you believe it?). “Roasted duck & fresh vegetables wrapped in rice paper with Hoi Sin nut sauce” came next and whilst there was a degree of sharing at the table we all got to taste substantially from our own ‘orderings’. The flavours were simply exquisite and there was general excitement at what was to come. The duck & vege rolls were crammed with the texture and freshness of thinly sliced ingredients, a balance of hot and cold, the sauce plentiful and offering its own marinading dimension to  paint the palate and complete the picture accordingly.

I felt like a judge as the Bangkok Street Grilled Whole Free-Range chicken with spice, lemon & tamarind sauce appeared before me, cleaved almost in two, splayed out flat on the plate waiting for sentence to be passed. I was disappointed with its presentation and at $39 it was alone on its China bed, a sad & solitary soul, destined for incarceration in my stomach; it should have had a companion or two for the trip within, perhaps some rice, or something equally as nice but, alas! It did not....
Cooked well, not too dry, easy going and sufficiently tanned just like a Bangkok Tuk-tuk driver in the tropical heat but not interesting enough for me. Too bland. I knew when it came to the table that I should have ordered what one of my dining companions had – “Eggnet Salad with ground pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts & a touch of citrus fruit”. A magnificent, artistic interlude of aroma and attitude, basking in webbed captivity yet so willing and  somehow so poignantly wistful. The owner of this particular dish was understandably reluctant to part with more than one or two mouthfuls but I managed to force my utensils through the soft,porosity of the egg net and into the succulent centre to claim a small share of the booty. The prize was worth it – a riotous revelation of gastric delight, a sanguine gift to gently trampoline its way across the tastebuds to find rest beyond these final arbiters of joy.

Dessert? Yes, indeed....an irresistible selection with my vote going to a baked cheesecake and ice cream. Vanilla ice cream to be precise; but this stunningly presented dish came with a slice or two of fruit and a patterned, decorative  chocolate ‘tiara’ just to provide a finish with a flourish.

Worth a visit? You’d be mad not to. All my guests were fully satisfied and I loved the experience even if my chicken just didn’t cluck with me.

 

Passione Italian Restaurant

The main street of Kaikoura, West End, is a thriving haven for tourists and others, offering a yakety-yak  of cafes, a rack of restaurants and a brace or more of bars. Such variety and choice for the luncher.

There are times a plenty when you can’t go past a good Italian; Passione welcomed us into its capacious, stylish space, the exuberant, hypnotic colours of local artist Ruth Stirnimann’s  works  bouncing gleefully off the walls with great splashes of modernity and strokes of artistic passion.

We bathed in glasses of Alpha Zeta Garganega and Ripasso, Veronese gems from the hands of New Zealander Matt Thomson, savouring each sip as we nibbled on Italian bread with Olive oil and herbs, ‘authentic’ pasta with basil pesto, shaved parmesan and ground pepper and a noteworthy, extremely biteworthy quatrostagioni  pizza, the slices of which seemed to effortlessly sashay  across the table to my plate. This is what lunch is all about! Enjoying a mini smorgasbord of flavoursome variety that teleports one to the nation of the food’s origin, the core of the experience.
Throw in a couple of glasses of Main Divide Riesling and the  grand total for this lively, cheerful lunch was less than $80.00 for two.
Pensa che lei possa battere ciò per il valore, il tesoro?