Let's eat: Fine dining elegantly contrived

Watch the sun set from Mudbrick's courtyard and enjoy its new summer menu.

Mudbrick Restaurant
Church Bay Rd, Waiheke
Ph: (09) 372 9050
mudbrick.co.nz

The professor is a hell of a good sport about getting on the back of the Vespa. When we took it to Waiheke a couple of weekends ago, not once did she say, "Look, I've just won a bloody medal from the Royal Society. Don't they have corporate cabs here?" Or if she did, I couldn't hear her for the sound of the wind rushing past.

With summer impending (though not arriving), I decided it had been too long since our last visit to Mudbrick, which offers diners a grandstand view of the inner Gulf and the city beyond that is sublime at any time and sensational at dusk.

Mudbrick, established more than 20 years ago, is surrounded by lavender and ornamental olive trees and the interior of rough-sawn wood and brick flooring makes an attractively rustic setting for a Sunday lunch.

I've had bad dining experiences on Waiheke in general and at Mudbrick in particular, but this was not one of those. The new summer menu is full of striking juxtapositions - scallops with bone marrow; clams and cherry; duck breast and churros - that suggest imaginations given free rein.

It bears saying that this is fine dining at its most elegantly contrived: you get an eel mousse with puffed bulgur wheat for an amuse bouche and a plum sorbet between courses.

This may be worth keeping in mind if your idea of a Sunday lunch is bowls of pasta and salad and a block of parmesan for you to grate yourself. Mudbrick is the kind of place that made my Mum say, "Crumbs! Can we have bread and gravy please?"

That said, our meal was mostly excellent, though I would urge avoiding the sickly raspberry vinaigrette that comes with the local oysters.

My attention was taken by an entree of Canterbury veal done three ways: a shumai-style dumpling; slices of rare sirloin; and shaved tongue. Cashew cream and nutty lumps of dried apricot made for a wonderful combination of textures, and the meat, particularly the tongue, a criminally underused cut, was sublime.

Across the table, the kitchen's take on the ubiquitous goat cheese was a sweet surprise: icecream with a toasted granola full of pumpkin seeds and brightened by little cubes of melon.

The Professor's default preference for the fish dish was a good choice: crisp-skinned snapper was cooked to moist perfection and rimmed with a creamy Thai-style red-curry sauce with hints of mango and coriander, which could be included in a mouthful to an extent dictated by the diner's preference.

But for me the hit of the day came as three rich ravioli of sweetcorn and Italian black truffle - the tastes of the two came in successive waves, the truffle first - topped with crisp shallots, like tiny onion rings and drenched in a decadent brown butter sauce.

Of pastry chef Monika Ederer's desserts, the pineapple soup with tiny chewy marshmallows and improbably wonderful hints of coriander, was the highlight.

I'm not sure that the quality justifies prices that nudge or top The French Cafe's: some of the service was uncertain and if the Professor didn't restrain me I'd be knocking an entire star off because they bring you a teapot full of water and a teabag, instead of a pot of tea. I also think it wouldn't kill them to shout you a bread roll or two.

But this is classy dining and a worthwhile reason for a visit to Waiheke, which should be on every Aucklander's summer to-do list. We don't know how lucky we are to have such a jewel so close at hand.

Verdict: Fine dining with a wonderful view.

Cheers

Gin fling

The words "gin" and "tasting" don't usually mean a serious sit-down analysis of 10ml pours of the spirit once known as "mother's ruin". But that's what a roomful of gin lovers were given at a private gig in Canterbury last month. Paul Donaldson amassed 32 diverse gins. Seager's was surprisingly intense; Sipsmith was my fave of the night; Tanqueray was every gin lover's bone-dry dream; and Ferdinand Saar Dry Gin Riesling Infused was delicious. The other three chart toppers were Junipero from San Francisco, Boodles London Dry Gin and Lighthouse Batch Distilled Gin; go the 42 per cent+ ABVers.

Hot Dog
If you're looking for the ultimate bottle to impress at a dinner party, check out Dog Point wines, whose makers celebrated 10 years in October by tasting all 40 wines they have made. They proved that good Kiwi vino can go the distance. Dog Point was founded by former Olympic rowing champ Ivan Sutherland and former Cloudy Bay winemaker James Healy. The top wine was the 2006 Dog Point Section 94, which shows what a little oak and a lot of thought can do. The new 2012 Dog Point Section 94 is also fab. dogpoint.co.nz

- By Joelle Thomson, joellethomson.com