KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * * *
The snapper was - there is no other word for it - divine. Steamed whole and presented on a white dish, paddling in a shallow pool of lime and lemon juice, caressed with a hot, spicy sauce, three forks stripped glistening white flesh from one side of the backbone.
I moved to flip it over so we could enjoy the rest. Sue grabbed my wrist: "Don't! You mustn't turn a fish over," she ordered.
"Why not?" I asked. "Does it spoil the flavour or ruin the sauce or something?"
"No," she said. "It's a well-known fact. Every time you turn a fish over on a plate, a fishing-boat capsizes."
As well-known facts go, that one's right up there with the butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon that causes leaky home syndrome in Grey Lynn.
I flipped the corpse and three forks attacked once more.
We were at KaiMana, which sounds vaguely Aotearoan , which it is vaguely meant to. It's a three-way pun. Kai for food; Mana means much the same in Thai and te reo; Mana is the chef.
Mana Kaewkhantee, who migrated here about eight years ago, opened tiny Joy Bong in Grey Lynn and moved it to K Rd a couple of years later. He turned the longtime Kwan's Thai spot, over the road from Ponsonby's revived Post Office, into KaiMana about a year ago.
It's popular already - the little room might have been all-but empty when we arrived at 7 on a Monday night but it was near filled within half an hour, two waiters bustling, but coping with the flow, and the kitchen keeping the meals coming at a steady clip.
Here at Viva we'd like to suggest that the crowd may have been drawn by the news that KaiMana (ahem) won Best Thai and Best Overall in our annual Gourmet Takeout Awards.
The three of us might have begged to differ with the Lady Editor's decision after the entrees. We shared platters of shrimp money bags, fish cakes and spring rolls. Tom said he thought the mixed veges in the first looked rather too much like something from a supermarket freezer. This might have been a trick to keep them for himself. Sue and I weren't inspired by the other two run-of-the-fill renditions.
All changed, however, with the main dishes. Mana runs a much shorter menu than most Thai eating-houses in this country, which are about the same size as the Auckland phone book.
He reserves a chapter for specialities derived from his home region, the high, hot and dry Isaan plateau. "Derived from", for he majored in Royal Thai cuisine at Bangkok University and does not slavishly adhere to Mother's and Grandmother's recipes.
It's said the north-eastern region's weather and dramatic landscape are reflected in its food. Isaan delicacies rely on simple ingredients and straightforward preparation but are fiery, devilishly highly spiced.
Knowing this, we agreed to answer "Medium," when the waiter asked the inevitable three-chilli question as we ordered. As Sue says, you want to taste the flavours, not fight the fire.
Our curries were a mixture of the seared and the sweet. Tom picked keng phad yang, duck roasted in a red curry with coconut milk, large red grapes, herbs and spices.
I insisted we had at least one Isaan dish - grilled beef strips seared and lying on a colourful salad, with traditionally sticky rice. And rendered our previous decision redundant by biting into tongue-scalding chili. Once past that moment, it was a delight.
And then, of course there was that snapper - even if we must apologise to the families of several offshore trawlermen who are regrettably no longer with us.
Address: St Marys Bay Rd, Ponsonby
Phone: (09) 378 1776
Web: www.kaimana.co.nz
Open: Lunch Mon-Fri, Dinner 7 days from 6pm
Cuisine: Thai-Isaan
From the menu: Tom Ka Kai (coconut lime soup with chicken, lemon grass, tomato, mushrooms, herbs) $9/$18; Kai Phad King (chicken stir-fry with ginger, spring onions, mushrooms) $19; Banana, coconut milk, palm sugar, sesame seeds $10
Vegetarian: Goodness, yes
Wine list: Limited, supermarket
