KEY POINTS:
Eye contact. Jude is very big on it. Mirror of the soul, that sort of thing, she's told me. Not when we were at Gion, though.
The eyes that were making contact belonged to a silvery whole fish, curled above a breaking wave of rice, at the next table. And another one at the table on the other side of us.
The soon-to-be main courses looked so fresh, so natural, Jude was disconcerted. Momentarily. The food is too exquisite, too subtle to be distracted for long.
Funny thing about Gion. You mention the name, that it's in Parnell, possibly the best Japanese restaurant in Auckland, and people go: "Never heard of it."
Gion is halfway up Parnell Rd, pretty much opposite a manky Irish pub and the public toilets. Story goes that Akira Kugue used to run Seamart's downtown sushi bar and give seafood classes at the Auckland Fish Market. Couple of years ago, just before Seamart sprang a leak, he and Eliza Leung opened Gion.
Shall we start with the room? It's long, narrow, closing out the chaos of the outside world as so many Japanese restaurants do. Dark wooden floor. Dark wooden tables. Kimono and fan as wall-art, the fan above a small cocktail bar and serene open kitchen. Full-length of one wall is a stunning scarlet leather bench.
Confronted with some menus, I come across like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. Fortunately Jude is a qualified health professional and used to coping in crises. "What," she asked the kimono'd waitress, "would a Japanese person choose?" from five or six pages.
So we were introduced to Kugue's interesting and intriguing ideas. Yes, he offers traditional dishes. Then tweaks them with the merest infusions from foreign climes.
We shared classic, delicate, shiitake miso, savouring bold mushroom and dashi in the clear soup. Then we chose two light dishes apiece: four tastes.
Jude craved Pacific oysters. Here we could appreciate the poetry of Kugue's food. Long, narrow dish. Five beds of sea salt. Half-shells, nestling. Lightly grilled oysters in ... yes, a French mayonnaise. Playing one tradition against another.
My turn. Jude knows and accepts my affection for red meat. Beef tataki.
"It's raw," she said with a hint of disdain. "Not quite," I said, adding various grated and caramelised flavours and textures and creamy and sharp sauces to the lightly seared slivers. She tasted. My dish evaporated rather quickly.
Her next choice was tempura prawns, the little beasts upturned and turning up in more gorgeous porcelain. "Would that dish fit in your handbag?" I asked plaintively and to no positive result.
"It's a pity you're allergic to seafood," herself changed the subject, spearing gossamer bodies with a chopstick and dusting them with sea salt and sauce.
True, but I can eat fish. Especially Kugue's teriyaki salmon. Barely barbecued, it falls off the plate and on to the stick, past a light coat of sesame, avocado-scented mayo, a drop of sauce.
Jude looked over to the next table, where chicken arrived on a little ceramic temple. "I can't remember," she said, "the last time I ate a Japanese meal and didn't have rice."
Good point. But we didn't need any. These dishes were perfectly considered, constructed and executed.
We'd gone for the lighter end of the menu and would have liked to end with dessert. Futile thought: there isn't any.
We sipped green tea, laughed with the little Japanese boys rolling around the banquettes while Mum and Dad and Aunty ate, and avoided the stares from the neighbouring tables. They couldn't be looking at us.
Address: 197 Parnell Rd
Phone: (09) 379 3344
Open: 7 days lunch, dinner
Cuisine: Japanese
From the menu: Kaisen (fresh seafood salad) $18.50; Sushi and sashimi combo (20 pieces) $29.50; Sukiyaki beef pot $32.90
Vegetarian: Magnificently
Wine: Limited NZ lists
