Opium, City

Opium's pyramid chocolate trifle

Herald rating: * * * * 1/2

I'd seen pictures of Opium after its million-dollar-plus makeover. So I wanted to see if the food matched the great interior design.

Amarbir, my little Indian mate, had said the seating booths reminded him of the tea houses in Bombay — and I've always liked a good booth; you can create your own little world in one.

The entrance to Opium is spectacular — soft lighting creates glowing surfaces; lots of red and gold. Very sumptuous oriental.

We were seated on an upper level and looked down to a beautiful display of flower arrangements around a head of Buddha. Over to our right a student of Buddha with a parasol sat gazing to the same point.

Amarbir gave me a short lesson in the derivation of the name Buddha. The Hindi word budhi, meaning awareness of your space on earth, came about when the great man sat under a tree and refused to be moved by the authorities.

So we claimed our little space in Opium — and later claimed a space in another part of the restaurant when I needed to stretch out.

The small but perfectly formed menu showed a real Asian fusion thing going on. From ikan bilis (Malaysia) to Sichuan cuttlefish, crabmeat with a Vietnamese dressing, teriyaki crayfish.

It was good to see a mainly New Zealand wine list but we decided to stick with beer. I had a Tiger ($7) and Amarbir a Heineken (same) in long, elegant glasses.

And in the Asian tradition we decided to share three entrees. Six fresh oysters in their shells with seaweed delicately flavoured with sesame ($18) were a joy. Six melt-in-the-mouth crispy prawns in a coconut batter ($22) came with a great creamy dipping sauce, and a plate piled high with pork mince and runner beans was a treat.

If we weren't truly dedicated to tasting as many dishes as possible — in the interests of research, you understand — those three may well have done. But we had wok-fried whole fish ($27) and honey soy chicken ($28) to come. And pudding, which was where I nearly came unstuck, but luckily had seen two comfortable-looking sofas in a room off to one side. As I stretched out on one later Amarbir noted that I was claiming a lot of space. Too right. I completely understood at that moment the Romans' need for lounging during their Bacchanalia.

The soy chicken was probably the highlight of the meal. I usually stay away from ordering chicken in restaurants — too bland and it's easy enough to cook at home, but Amarbir's choice was a goodie. It was moist and tender and its glass noodle, choy sum — one of the myriad Chinese cabbages — and hot mint were perfect accompaniments.

The whole snapper with snake beans, cashew, chilli and coconut salad was fragrant and fabulous.

We decided to investigate that room with the sofas for a sticky each and pudd. Somehow the elegance and decadence of the place meant it was all right to take my shoes off, put my feet up. However, the ever-polite Amarbir sat upright on the other sofa. We talked about space and time. How lucky we were to have both that night. "Space is all we've got," he said in his philosophical way. "Time is earthly, space is universal."

My pyramid chocolate trifle ($18) arrived in a tall glass with a long spoon. Amarbir's mango and tapioca pudding with mango and palm sugar caramel ($13) seemed a much healthier alternative. I managed about three spoonfuls before admitting defeat and sinking back into the sofa to sip my Peter Lehmann sticky ($10) while Amarbir had one by Villa Maria ($13).

It had been a memorable meal in beautiful surroundings — a worthwhile exercise in investing time and the payoff was the space thing.

Overall: Great space and food to match
Where: Opium, 297 Queen St, City
(09) 379 0888
Our meal: $222 for two. Three entrees, four beers, two bottles of mineral water, two mains, one side dish, rice, two desserts
The wine: by the glass $10 and $13