etcetera ... Bracu restaurant

Cured tuna

So tell me, why would you drive all the way into the city when you can have this?

It’s a perfect summer’s evening and we’re seated on a balcony overlooking olive groves.  We’ve opted for an early dinner and a few diners are smattered around the old villa that holds the restaurant. Conversations are low and unobtrusive.  I feel the day’s work and cares beginning to melt away.

So begins our evening at Bracu restaurant.

A last minute change of mind brought us here. I‘d been charged with a dinner venue for just the two of us. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the choice of restaurants in Auckland and I’d got to the stage of overthinking where to go. Then I thought about Bill driving home from work mid-week and having to drive back into the city for an evening meal. Why not stay local and have a bit of a splurge? We’d been to Bracu for brunch and had always been meaning to go for dinner. Now was the night to try it.

Fifteen minutes’ drive later and we’re there. An amuse-bouche is set before us with handmade bread and the estate’s own olive oil. With a glass of wine in hand, the relaxation vibes are really kicking in.

Not normally one to order seafood, I surprised myself by choosing (and enjoying) the cured tuna. It came with paper-thin apple spheres; tiny cubes of apple jelly; avocado and nasturtiums – exquisite little bursts of taste to complement the fish.

Bill opted for the heartier Rabbit and Duck terrine, which came with a delicious thick slab of homemade brioche and (I think?) a flavoured butter. There were so many extras on each dish, it was hard not to sound like an annoying child with constant questions for the staff. I am chiding myself for not photographing the actual menu presented and taking notes. I mistakenly trusted my memory to work and it proved me wrong yet again.

My main course of beef (meltingly tender), cauliflower, mustard and burnt onion was perfect. The cauliflower was so silken in texture it was hard to imagine it had once been tough and knobbly. The highlight though was the crispy, whisper-thin dried cabbage leaf – amazing.

Bill chose the lamb rump. Take a look at the photograph above - it tasted every bit as good as it looked. We shared a salad of fresh garden leaves and radish with buttermilk dressing.

Lastly, my favourite part of a meal – dessert, yay!  All the preceding dishes had been so good and the desserts were no exception. We decided to split the dishes as I couldn’t decide between the two berries on offer. Bill commented that in the time it took for him to photograph the strawberry terrine placed in front of him, I’d wolfed down half of the raspberry and dark chocolate dessert and was impatiently waiting for half of his. All I can say is that he’s lucky I didn’t eat ALL of it.

We found staff to be friendly, relaxed and knowledgeable (I was impressed - they had so much to remember!). When it came to choose a syrah for the mains, the wait staff were more than happy to talk us through a couple of options and offered us a taste to help us decide our own personal preference and we opted for two different choices. Picking wine by the glass has its advantages.

Pleasantly sated, we set off on the short trip home watching the sun go down over the Bombay Hills as we left.

This was such a pleasant and relaxing experience that we can't wait to return.  Why would we drive all the way into the city when we have this on our doorstep?  Why, indeed?

etcetera ...

Admiring someone else's plate

A Taste of Auckland

I took the resident hobby photographer along to the Taste of Auckland culinary festival last Thursday (for his photography prowess, not his conversation skills L). Fortunately, those exhibiting had conversation in abundance for me so I didn’t feel lonely. The threatened rain stayed away until we were heading home and little plops began to fall.  Good timing.  

Euro's lamb dish

I’d done some research beforehand to save time dithering on what I was going to sample, so off we headed to Euro for my “main course” of lamb, while Bill chose and slurped his way through their wickedly good sauce of jalapeno crème fraiche, dotted with a small helping of crab and prawns.  He won on that round. My roasted lamb rump was fine but I thought it would be great.  The mint and pea panna cotta accompanying it was the real standout both for taste and attractiveness.

My wine pick from the Vilagrad Winery stand was a 3 Brothers Wairarapa Pinot Noir and strangely enough for me, this was the only glass or taste I had all evening.

Make mine a Prawn Cocktail please

Reversing my own meal order and returning to starters, I visited Mexico for the tall cocktail of Prawns in Chipotle Mayo with baby cos lettuce, green gazpacho and candied lime.  The latter stole the show for me, with its sweet twist giving a fresh touch to the dish.  Bill had the beef skirt tacos with green tomatillo, candied pepitas and nasturtium leaves, which he found just “okay”.  Top marks though for Mexico’s colourful stand design.

And so to my favourite part of any meal, anytime, anywhere  (I scour the dessert menu before anything else – don’t tell me you’re not the same?).  There was no way I was savouring any dessert other than that from Kermadec chef, Juan Balsani.  After his demo at the NZ Food Bloggers’ Conference at the Chocolate Festival in Wellington, I have been waiting for this. 

The chocolate I've been waiting for...

If there was any reason I wish I had not taken Bill along, it was precisely at that moment when, chatting with chef Juan, he (jokingly, okay?) told him that I had his photo on our walls at home.  I wished I’d worn sharp stilettos with which to force a long hole for me to drop into with my scarlet face (and given Bill a quick, sharp kick on my way down!)  I recovered enough to immerse myself in the delicious experience of breaking open that chocolate globe to spoon up the glorious silky chocolate inside, combining it with the taste texture sensation of cocoa powder and green pepper tuiles, balsamic poached strawberries and polenta crumbs.  Maravilloso!

For the record, Bill did another round of mains and dessert at Depot with a BBQ pulled pork slider with apple slaw and pickled jalapenos and, to finish, his favourite sweet – lemon meringue pie with cream – which looked so appealing with its perfect peaks.  He was more than happy with his choices.

We headed home out of the city and over the hills after a thoroughly pleasant evening meandering around food tents, listening to cool music from the Nairobi Trio or Peter Urlich and tasting whatever took our fancy from places we'd really like to visit.  That’s what Taste of Auckland is all about.