Lunch Out

A beautiful Indian summer day for the first event of the year.  Pleasant courtyard and plenty of umbrellas.  A menu of gazpacho, beetroot carpaccio, pork belly and lemon meringue pie appeared a bit underwhelming at first sight – but you can be wrong in these things.  Our chef, Hayden McMillan, is one of a small group hailed as the ‘up and comers’ in Auckland and now we know why. 

The gazpacho opened proceedings.  Not your usual gazpacho – tomatoes, onions and capsicums were suppressed and watermelon, almonds and almond oil came through, together with wonderful small, spicy ‘flavour balls’, one of which was cape gooseberry but the others are now beyond recall.  Served with Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie, a modest, pleasant wine which was all that was required.

Carpaccio of smoked beetroot with Meredith goat’s cheese, sweet onion and crostini followed, accompanied by St. Clair Sauvignon Blanc 2010.  A delicious blend of flavours and the sauvignon blanc, which was an unexpected pairing, proved to be an excellent match for the flavours of the dish.

Next, crispy skin pork belly, beautifully cooked and lifted way above the ordinary with accompaniments of anise, chorizo, medjool date and smoked chipotle gel. Domaine Terres Georges 2007 GSM was the wine match.

Then to the dish which caused most discussion – lemon meringue pie with passion fruit sorbet.  Expectations of a sweetish, gooey filling and a ‘real pie crust’ were dashed and we were rewarded with a deconstructed version – drier, crumbled, sharpish lemon and passion fruit flavours and even some pastry crumbs.  It was a split verdict, probably based on how easily you could abandon your preconceptions (or loyalties).  However, even those of us who enjoyed it had to admit that in terms of presentation a deconstructed meringue presents a challenge – there is a real risk of a plate resembling a bomb-site.  The Muscat Baumes de Venise 2006 accompanied.  First thoughts were that something sweeter and less restrained was needed for a full-blown lemon meringue pie but the arrival of the bomb-site with its drier, sharper character changed that and the match proved very satisfactory.

Coffee and lots of talk concluded proceedings and we all departed into the late afternoon sunshine feeling well rewarded and well disposed to everyone.

Please view the menu here.