Rice, CBD

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

Tried to get into a downtown restaurant lately? Not the "I'll just leap into the food hall after the gym and get a carton of noodles to eat on the ferry" ones, but the flash, expensive, "We bought a designer over from Milan to create the napkins" type.

Do you know what: it's getting bloody difficult. You actually have to ring a day or two beforehand and book. We noted this last week when chatting about O'Connell Street Bistro, and it's true of Rice (or r'ce, if you prefer English as she is wrote in graphic design school) too. There are one or two others that we could mention but there are still quite a few columns to go this year.

As the cruise liners aren't double-parked down at the wharves this week, we can only put this down to the growing number of folk embracing the apartment-dwelling life. These must be the people striking fear into the heart of Auckland Grammar head John Morris (and as a former All Whites goalkeeper, this man knows what it is to have fear in the heart) as they squat for six months to get their lads on to his ever-increasing roll.

Those were the things running through our minds as we arrived at Rice last week. Before we go any further, we should let you know that there was a little fear in our hearts, too. We'd been soon after it opened, adored the concept of dishes based around the common ingredient of rice, loved the decor, put it on viva's 2002 A-list. Another visit, about a year ago, was less impressive, largely because the kitchen seemed to have lost its zip and what had started as a cool idea felt more like kooky contrivance.

Conservative types may have some difficulty with chef Amanda Morris' theory. Dinner does not have to consist of soup, meat and three veg and pudding. Millions of people from dozens of cultures around the world take their nourishment from rice dishes, and are satisfied, and so Morris has created a succession of menus that draw on a vast range of cuisines or styles.

May we suggest a tasting plate of entrees? The three of us gained maximum pleasure for minimum decision-making: among them, the tang of Fijian snapper kokoda (or ceviche) with a tiny tomato and green capsicum salad; lashings of Szechuan squid with lime mayo; a sensational, piquant mouthful of miang, the Vietnamese delicacy in the curl of a red cabbage leaf.

Morris seems to be concentrating more on meals than previously, when her dishes tended to come across as an eclectic array of separate items.

Combinations such as barbecued char sui pork, sticky ribs, crackling and ginger broth or roasted spatchcock, chicken and wild rice ravioli with champagne butter, and even a veal chop with spinach and aromatic rice ensure that some form or derivative of the grain is ever-present, but now it sits in the back seat rather than driving. Regrettably, that ravioli was under-cooked. No, not al dente. Under-cooked.

Never mind, the kitchen puts as much imagination and research into its desserts, which can overcome disappointment.

Serving food like this, you have to understand what's going on in the kitchen because you'll spend quite a bit of the night answering diners' questions, and the black-clad staff are knowledgeable and efficient. Good on the wine choices, too: Patutahi gewurztraminer Gisborne 2002 against the ravioli, Isabel pinot noir Marlborough 2001 a soft red for the veal.

Two years on, the room is as terminally cool as ever, all 70s disco revisited with its marvellous lighting sculptures, white moulded chairs and floor-to-ceiling windows that are really sliding doors. Smokers at the bar will irk some diners but they've got their way, there's a law coming in soon.

The restaurant has two nominations for the Restaurant Association's Lewisham Awards this term: one for ambience and style, the other for Morris in the innovative chef category. When we heard about this, we thought they might be a couple of years late. Maybe not. Rice is steaming again.

Open: Mon-Fri breakfast, lunch, dinner from 6pm Sat 6pm-late

Owners: Amanda Frecker, Penina Macpherson

Chef: Amanda Morris

Food: Rice of many races

On the menu: Fennel, apple and chicken little boy, ox tongue and jus cubes $16.50; crusted prawns, peanut and mirin sauce, cuttlefish, cucumber spaghetti $23.50; rare porcini-rubbed venison, beetroot chard, beef jerky and shallot chip salad $24.50; ginger kiss and lychee, ginger and lime sorbet, hot sake shot $11.50

Vegetarian: In spades

Wine: Discriminating Kiwi-led list

Crowd: Apartmentistes

Noise: Congenitally urban

Smoking: At the bar, close to tables

Disabled access/toilets: Excellent

Parking: Three public parks close

Bottom line: Two years on, the ultimate urban diner is still one of the most stylish rooms in town and Amanda Morris remains one of our most innovative chefs. She seems to be concentrating more on meals than previously, when some dishes came across as an eclectic array of ideas. Rice is steaming again.

* Read more about what's happening in the world of food, wine, fashion and beauty in viva, part of your Herald print edition every Wednesday.