Halo, Trinity Wharf
51 Dive Cres, Tauranga Ph 0800 577 8700
Open 7am until late, daily. Licensed
www.trinitywharf.co.nz/halo
On the menu: The Halo menu has a good variety of international dishes. It features signature creations crafted by chefs using seasonal ingredients. They also serve traditional high tea from 2pm-5pm (bookings essential). Award-winning executive chef Simon Green is reviewing the menu for summer; he's keeping the favourites, fish and chips, Caesar salad and home-made pies, and introducing new creations to tempt your taste buds. Keep an eye out for the new dinner menu beng unveiled in December (new dessert and lunch menu to follow) and treat the one you love to a five-star meal at this glamorous restaurant.
The buzz: "The Buzz" isn't the right phrase to describe the sophisticated atmosphere at Halo. The best of the Strand is on display through floor-to-ceiling windows, idyllic blue water reflects off every glass surface and soft white light provides a peaceful, calming ambience to accompany a beautiful meal.
I'll have: The seared tuna tataki with avocado mousse, wasabi mayonnaise, pickled mushroom and radish salad ($20) was a delicate and tasty way to start the meal. The wasabi mayonnaise was balanced perfectly to enhance, rather than overpower, the tuna. For the main course I ordered the seared Ora King salmon with white bean puree, pistachio and almond granola and wasabi seafood foam ($36). Simon and his team created an Ora King salmon dish similar to this that was ranked in the top five nationally by industry professionals. Ora King salmon is the best of the best. It is to salmon what Wagyu is to beef, and it was cooked to perfection. The pistachio and almond granola served with it was genius, adding an amazing flavour and texture to the dish. I also ordered a side of gourmet potatoes in herb butter ($8) that were deliciously decadent. I don't normally order dessert but, when I saw warm pecan and macadamia tart ($16) on the menu, I had to have it. I love macadamias. The only disappointment was being too full to finish it. It was delicious and the maple syrup icecream was the perfect accompaniment.
He'll have: My partner started with tempura squid, pickled cucumber, bean sprouts and chilli with Kiwi nouc cham dressing ($18). The tempura batter was silky and the chilli gave the dish a good kick of flavour. He followed the squid with a 300g New York strip of beef from Silverfern Farms, with sweet potato gratin and green peppercorn sauce ($32). The caramelised gratin was the perfect match for the smoky, medium-rare steak. To finish he had the liquorice creme brulee with Rocky Road Florentine biscuit ($16), cracking the perfectly caramelised creme brulee top to find a dark filling of liquorice custard.
