Nic Watt's new Inca restaurant in Ponsonby. Photo / Babiche Martens
Nic Watt's new Inca restaurant in Ponsonby. Photo / Babiche Martens
The borders are opening and soon, Kiwis will be able to return home from anywhere in the world without the need for quarantine or self-isolation.
But not everyone is champing at the bit to get out into the world just yet.
If you're not quite ready to travel, but youwant to tickle your tastebuds with international flavours, get a taste of every continent right here at home.
North America
Crab Shack, Princes Wharf, Auckland; and Queens Wharf, Wellington
It may not be Cape Cod, but Crab Shack's efforts to bring a taste of North America to the Viaduct are whimsical, cheery and tasty.
"Our first courses set the tone. The little slice of blackened tuna on a sharp salad of cucumber, lime and coriander was delicious and later judged to be one of the stand-out dishes of the evening. I have long been a fan of Golden Bay clams and my scoop of mixed varieties displayed all the sweet flavour that makes them so good and was well matched with a garlic and chilli sauce that was lively without being overpowering. The crab and crayfish cakes were sound but not sensational and the calamari in the salad was something of a revelation in avoiding any hint of the rubbery character that can make it a gamble."
Brand new in Ponsonby is Inca, Nic Watt's crossroads of Latin America and Asia. The menu brings the fresh flavours of Peru, and prepares them with Japanese cooking techniques, a cuisine known as nikkei.
This is the second site for Inca (the first is at Westfield, Newmarket), and takes a perfect people-watching space at the edge of Ponsonby Central overlooking Richmond Rd. The menu is focused on freshness and spice, alongside a gorgeous ranges of cocktails (with plenty of pisco, of course).
Currently open for dinners, and soon for lunch service as well - check their social media at @inca_nz to check opening times and incarestaurant.co.nz for the full menu.
Nic Watt's new Inca restaurant in Ponsonby. Photo / Babiche Martens
Asia
Bali Nights, Ponsonby
You can bring your own drinks, but happiness is literally a soda (and definitely the sambal) at Ponsonby's Bali Nights, writes restaurant critic Kim Knight.
"I've always thought of sambal as a kind of sludgy sauce. Chillies pounded with oil, spruiked with sour citrus or musty fish; fiery hot and as ubiquitous in some countries as Wattie's is in this one. Food dictionaries tell me that sambal is, by broadest definition, a side dish that accompanies rice. At a restaurant off Ponsonby Rd, I have discovered it is a culinary chameleon - both supremely elegant and stupidly fun; a Tom Ford stiletto sandal splashing about in a puddle."
"Eighteen months ago, it seemed every new Auckland opening was Asian-fusion focused. More recently, there has been a swing to Mediterranean flavours. The pasta, pizza and small vege plates space is getting crowded. For my money, Ada easily makes the top three - and ranks number one for ambience."
You'll have to be quick to nab a spot at the pop-up events and hosted dinners held by Yeshi Desta's Ethiopian food service, My Mother's Kitchen. She advertises events on her Instagram page @my.mothers.kitchen and they sell out quickly.
As Anna King Shahab writes: "Many dishes start with the spice base silsi; it consists of onion cooked down for a very long time, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, and berbere, a spice blend integral to the Ethiopian kitchen. Berbere's exact ingredients vary according to the cook but key elements are red chilli, fenugreek, cloves, cumin, black pepper, and the seeds of Ethiopia's beloved black cardamom. "It's called korarima," says Desta as she unscrews the lid on a jar of the round black seeds. "And the smell of that is the smell of home."
Ethiopian expat Yeshi Desta creates home-cooked feasts through her pop-up and private catering company My Mother's Kitchen. Photo / Supplied
Australasia
Right here at home, and with too many world-class restaurants to pick a winner, try fire-roasted muttonbird at Monique Fiso's Hiakai or scampi corndogs at Ben Bayly's Ahi.
