WHERE: 10-12 Federal St, Auckland (09) 359 9113
OUR MEAL: $138.50 for two entrees, two mains, two side dishes, two desserts, three glasses of wine and two coffees.
OUR WINE: Thorough range of locals (excellent range by the glass) priced from reasonable to somewhere in the stratosphere.
VERDICT: Not an attractive part of town but the style is all inside and you are spoiled for handy parking buildings.
OUT OF 10
FOOD: 8
SERVICE: 8
VALUE: 9
AMBIENCE: 8
KEY POINTS:
The course of our life invariably takes us far from what were once well-trod paths. But when we went to Rice I was surprised to realise how long it had been since I had frequented this unglamorous part of Auckland City between the lower ends of Hobson and Albert streets.
A decade ago this was familiar territory as I inhabited some stylish bars and somewhat seedy clubs around the area. I had once been a regular at the tiny Mo's bar, which I am delighted to see is still there. And, seemingly against the odds, Rice has survived too - although it concedes on its website that it is in "the ghetto" of Auckland's CBD.
Indeed, the view from the large windows remains as unattractive as ever: one of the city's many dull parking buildings. But people still cheerfully make their way to Rice because once through the door it offers fine European/Asian style food in a comfortable, smart-casual atmosphere.
You quickly ignore the view, such as it is. Rice's wine list is impressively strong on local whites and reds (there are a few Australians among them, too) and we were happy to settle in with drinks - our friendly but not over-familiar waiter helpfully counselling Megan away from something he felt might be too sweet. As the name suggests, there is a strong Asian element at work here.
And, although fusion phases seem to come and go, Rice manages to keep your interest with signature dishes of whole fish, venison tataki, roast duck and Peking duck pancakes you roll yourself. Because it was a chilly night - and large windows aren't conducive to taking the edge off that - we order long and large.
For entrees Megan had the pancakes (subtle and delicious) and I went with the Vietnamese pork belly in pho soup, which came with rice noodles and herb salad (equally good).
Although the cumin and black pepper spiced lamb rump sounded extremely tempting, I went for the roast duck which came with soba noodles and thick, grilled leeks in a bracing broth. It was a generous portion and was not only tasty but a sensible choice, given the weather.
Megan's lightly battered snapper with sweet and sour bell peppers was similarly good, judging from the little she allowed me to taste. We also had the especially fine salad (watercress, rocket, and pear with a smidgen of what tasted like walnut but may have been toasted cashew) and Rice's famous "son-in-law egg" which has been lightly fried and comes with prawn crackers to pick at.
This was all so good we tarried over dessert, which is not something we usually do: superb meringues with a whisper of coconut and lemon lime curd for me; white chocolate and nut baklava with lemongrass syrup for Megan. Excellent.
Even after coffees we were reluctant to pull ourselves out of Rice's comfortable plastic chairs - but I wanted to have a look at what now occupied a club I used to go to. (It is now an Asian eatery. Even the nearby Angus Steak House has moved on.)
Rice started off many years ago in an unpromising location but knowing exactly what it was doing.
And so, as phases come and go (are we past tapas yet?), it hasn't had to do much other than keep its standard high and make deft changes to its snappy, but focused, menu. It's nice to know that some things don't change.
