The betel leaf and whitebait snack, new to the menu at Ponsonby's Blue Breeze Inn. Photo/Supplied
The betel leaf and whitebait snack, new to the menu at Ponsonby's Blue Breeze Inn. Photo/Supplied
Finally, life beyond the kitchen table. Restaurant critic Kim Knight relishes a return to Ponsonby Rd.
It slid from the tray with a crash. Ice, liquid and deep regret flooded the table, the floor and the customer's lap.
There was a flurry of serviettes and many apologies. The diners wererelaxed. "Out of practice?" laughed one. "I must be," said the server, wryly.
Dear Hospo Workers: You could set fire to our hair right now and we'd still say thank you.
Since August, Auckland's kitchen tables have doubled as offices and classrooms. There is no gap between work and play and pasta for dinner again. The neighbours are renovating loudly, the humidity arrived early and you've recently discovered your hairdresser has ... opinions.
Take refuge in a restaurant. Remember the hedonistic joy of two hours in a room that doesn't consider Marmite on toast a proper meal.
Two weeks ago, when I put out a post-lockdown call to Auckland restaurants to share their best comeback dish, there was a lot of lamb and crayfish. Che Barrington, from Ponsonby Central's Blue Breeze Inn, bucked the trend.
"I love whitebait," he said. "Unlike in Asia where you can get it all year round, here in New Zealand, the season is short and sweet - perfect timing for Christmas."
His genius is served snack size, a $9 betel leaf stuffed with flash-fried individual 'bait, crab, green papaya, ginger, chilli and a spritz of citrussy calamansi. Roll it up for a two-bite brain-trip to another country; a little flavour explosion that cut through the swampy Auckland air like a southerly wind shift.
Pedants will know the West Coast fishery closed on November 14. The reality is all the commercially caught whitebait from that region is couriered frozen. As any Coaster will tell you, whitebait are elusive little buggers and those cold, clear rivers are too remote for fresh shipping. (I'm lying - the average Coaster will tell the average Aucklander exactly nothing. Catch size, location and methodology is on a need-to-know basis and nobody in that category is dining on Ponsonby Rd.)
I grew up eating whitebait by the pound, packed between two slices of white, but this is a diminishing fishery. Barrington showcases a tiny amount of exquisite product to excellent effect. A chilli and mango margarita ($16) with this betel leaf taco on the side was a perfect re-entry to restaurant dining.
Auckland's fanciest dumplings? Scallop, prawn and pāua, from The Blue Breeze Inn, Ponsonby. Photo/Kim Knight
While some of the table spacing was back-to-back tight, the windows were open, our vaccination status was checked (once when I booked and physically at the door) and I felt as Covid-proofed as the rules require. Loud shirts are part of this restaurant's charm and now the floor staff wear masks to match. (The strangest thing - this cohesive approach renders the mask invisible; it's the best "normalising" of the face cover requirement I've seen).
In fact, one of the most comforting aspects of this dining experience turned out to be how much was unchanged. You can still get the pork belly bao and those fancy dumplings. We opted for scallop, prawn and pāua, plumply steamed and flying-fish roe-adorned ($17 for four) and pork and black truffle in a more substantial twist of dough. I've never mastered the neat tooth-nip, chopstick-tilt and slurpy-suck of the soup dumpling - eat with a spoon to avoid losing mushroomy-flavoured money in the bottom of a bamboo basket ($16 for four).
Bang Bang Chilli Chicken ($22) is a cool and juicy compress for a frazzled day. Loaded with peanuts and sweet-spicy vinegar and served with rice ($5) it's the kind of dish you'll be craving for lunch the next day.
Pudding with a sense of humour at The Blue Breeze Inn, Ponsonby. Photo/Kim Knight
The Blue Breeze Inn has a reputation for pork and duck and I wish I had ordered either. A $39 stir-fried cumin lamb failed to engage. Creamy white bean puree (a literal sop for the non-rice eating crowd?) sat underneath a stir-fry that needs to get better acquainted with its titular ingredients. There was not nearly enough cumin and the meat appeared battered and pre-fried. I think it had been "velveted" - a cooking technique that uses cornflour to tenderise. I'd anticipated clean, lean, seared flavours and this was too gluggy (I did enjoy love the huge pile of greens; a delicious, slightly bitter foil to the puree).
We started with mango (cocktail) and finished with mango (soft-serve). Twenty dollars is a lot for pudding, but I'd defy anyone to finish this dish solo. Biscuit crumbs, waffle cones, white chocolate, meringue, freeze-dried raspberry et al, was almost too much to take in (literally). The presentation was joyous - as was the service throughout. Perhaps I was projecting, but the staff at Blue Breeze Inn seemed as happy as I was to be back doing what used to come so naturally.
