Restaurant review: Madam Woo, Takapuna

Pork Hawker Roll, left, and Beef Redang at Madam Woo. Photo / Nick Reed

Address: 486 Lake Rd, Takapuna
Phone: (09) 486 8601
Rating out of 10: Food: 8, Service: 7, Value: 7, Ambience: 8

Some years ago, a CNN online poll placed beef rendang top in a list of the world's 50 most delicious dishes. I'm with the majority here and regard it as one of those benchmark dishes with which most of us compare restaurants. It can be pretty disgusting; tough, chewy meat in a dark red over-spiced glop but, at its best, with beef slow-cooked to tenderness and the coconut milk and spices reduced to an almost paste-like consistency, it is a treat.

I claim no authority as to the authenticity of Madam Woo's version, a concept I find elusive when it comes to food, but it earned a place in the higher ranks of the examples I've encountered. The meat was deeply coloured and tender and the coconut and spices were carefully blended with both present but neither dominating. This didn't really come as a surprise as Josh Emett and Fleur Caulton have an enviable reputation and their original Madam Woo, in Queenstown, flourishes.

The Asian street food bandwagon is one of the strongest contemporary styles in Auckland but, according to our sister publication Viva, Emett discounts suggestions the menu here is fusion and insists it is purely Malaysian, although you can argue that is a fusion cuisine in itself.

You certainly get a wide choice. At the convincing urging of our server, we began with three hawker rolls from what could be considered the starter side of the menu, which also offers wontons, dumplings and satay. All three; of pulled sticky pork with pickled cucumber, percik chicken with toasted coconut and soy and sesame eggplant, displayed vibrant flavours in a moist roti, living up to the billing. This is one of those sharing-style meals and there was some chagrin when one of us realised he had missed out on his pork and prawn sui mai, delightfully piquant little dumplings served in a steamer.

The beef rendang came with a pretty nasi lemak of coconut rice, peanuts, delicate crumbed egg and crispy anchovies but the star attraction from the more substantial sections of the menu, described as "family favourites" and "big flavours", actually turned out to be the shredded duck and cabbage salad, which received unanimous applause for its lightness and freshness of flavour and texture. The sides of steamed pak choy and confit garlic and a tasty little dahl also went down well, with the one major disappointment being the sambal banana prawns that were dried-out and tasteless, with a dressing that tasted more burned than caramelised.

I regret I often do sweeter-toothed readers a disservice with my reluctance to sample Asian desserts but here we plunged in. To our disappointment the Portuguese tarts were not available, prompting the inevitable poor-taste jokes, but the suggested mango sago turned out to be light and not too syrupy. The toasted black sesame and chilli icecream had a neat punch and the crispy fried bananas with strongly flavoured ginger icecream were well received.

The trend of eating out for a fun occasion is much in evidence here and on our Saturday night visit there was a crowd that North Harbour stadium might envy. Madam Woo doesn't take bookings but since it recommends that customers wait in the bar, it needs to ensure that the drink-serving gatekeepers to the restaurant are rather quicker at taking notice of those waiting thirstily, let alone actually getting them a drink. I wasn't sure whether our young neighbours at the bar were first going to faint or just give up.

This was a shame because the rest of the service was terrific, observant and engaging without being intrusive, and absolutely in keeping with the lively modern buzz of this welcome addition to the Takapuna eating scene.

Our meal: $246 for nine dishes ranging from hawker rolls to three mains plus four desserts, four glasses of wine and two beers.

Wine list: A decently varied list. The cocktails were going well and there are good beers. We enjoyed the reliable Spy Valley Marlborough pinot gris and were impressed by a wine we had not previously met, the d'Arenberg Hermit Crab viognier marsanne.

Verdict: Lively food, lively atmosphere with plenty of variety in the menu to keep you going back.