Rice

By EWAN McDONALD for viva

Hangi can be a designer cuisine - ever been to the Opononi Axemen's Carnival at New Year? - but it's not often featured on the ever-elegant pages of Viva. Just once in seven years, when Tame Iti briefly claimed the Karangahape roadbed.

At rice, in the concrete-and-steel heart of the CBD, chef Amanda Morris takes a cross-cultural approach to an Aotearoa tradition. Wisps of crunchy golden kumara chips on top of delicate strips of lightly smoked lamb, strands of dark green, almost blue puha on wild rice. The meal is centred on a giant white plate. This is not what you're offered at the Opononi Axeman's Carnival.

Of course, rice is not a restaurant that gives a fig, or a steamed potato, or a hunk of meat for tradition. When it opened in July 2001 you could almost hear the eyebrows raising: it won't last. People won't be interested in a place that serves only meals based on rice. And, for heaven's sake, in the middle of the CBD? That part of town closes at 6pm.

Well, rice has survived, and more, because it was a very clever idea that incorporated a number of social factors that were banging into one another in a very happy accident in inner-city Auckland just after the millennium. Rice creators Amanda Frecker, formerly of Finz and the Yacht Club, Penina Macpherson and their black-clad staff exuded style out front; in the open kitchen Morris, fresh from Cibo and the French Cafe, created outrageous versions of classic dishes from international cuisines.

It quickly became incredibly cool, partially because of the architectural award-winning interior ("the restaurant aesthetically competes and cohabits with a mass of concrete greys. The design concept engages the streetscape, subtly separating the activities of the busy urban world and the ceremony of dining without breaking the visual frame. Rich colour reminiscent of international spice markets is interspersed with soft explosions of light as a fluid expression on approaching, entering and orientation of the restaurant," as I pointed out while we were looking for a carpark).

The cocktail bar was heaven-sent for after-office or pre-clubbing, though the leftover smoke can be a trifle offputting for diners as they arrive, and we were a little surprised that they couldn't do the favourite caipirinha because they didn't have the vital ingredient, cachaca.

And, as this part of the city has infilled with apartments, an intelligent and cosmopolitan neighbourhood enjoys a restaurant that offers something different from the steak and chips or traditional Italian or everyday Thai of more conventional eateries. Two years on, the concept is still unique, food based on 20 types of rice or their derivatives.

Taking our waiter's advice, we shared a tasting plate: five flavours, with matched dipping sauces, including a glorious ceviche; utterly delicious barbecued pork wrapped in witloof; aubergine caviar and rice dumplings ditto; the salt and pepper squid, however, was gluggy, doused with lemon aioli.

Those of tender sensibilities can have the head and tail of their steamed baby snapper removed before it arrives at the table, stuffed with kaffir lime leaf, coriander, lemongrass, paddling in a Thai red curry. It's close to the wharf and Ann swore her superbly cooked specimen was so fresh that the staff had nipped out to catch it just after she'd placed her order. Its side dish of sticky rice, sadly, was dry; you know how rice goes when it's been dished up and left sitting?

My hangi lamb was tender - not a large meal, it was small but perfectly fumeed - and the wild rice and puha provided a gutsy balance. All the same, it came across as a clever idea rather than a carefully constructed meal.

A dish of tempura kumara and mushrooms was, like the baths down the road, tepid; again, we felt they had been cooked too long before they were served, and the large chunks spoiled the expectation of tender, crisp morsels in crisp batter.

Service is top-notch, all those words that you like to find in this paragraph like prompt, efficient, knowledgeable (especially the wine choices: Patutahi gewurztraminer for the snapper, Mills Reef cab-sav for the lamb) and unobtrusive, with a clear explanation of the specials. The only puzzling moment was after a second bottle of mineral water turned up, open; I don't recall asking for it.

Rice was one of Viva's 10 A-list restaurants for last year. Our impression now is that the service and style still have the verve of those early months, but the kitchen needs to rev up that passion, that devotion.

Open: Mon-Fri breakfast, lunch, dinner from 6pm, Sat-Sun 10am-late

Owners: Amanda Frecker

Chef: Amanda Morris

Food: Rice of many races

On the menu:

Eye fillet tataki, seaweed salad, ponzu dressing $14.50

Peking duck pancakes, scallions, sprouts, longrain $16.50

Vegetarian: miso oden, egg, enokitake, jasmine rice $17.50

Olive-crusted veal rack, spinach and mozzarella ravioli $23.50

Chocolate and lime custard, langue du chat, preserved limes $10.50

Vegetarian In spades

Wine: Discriminating Kiwi-loaded list; sample the sakes

Smoking: In the bar, close to tables

Noise: Sounds like Celine Dion

Disabled: access / toilets Ground floor, no steps

Rice was and is a very clever idea: an ultra-cool restaurant where the menu is based on revising classic dishes from international cuisines and pairing them with 20 kinds of rice. As its second birthday nears, it needs to find the verve that marked its early months.

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