i love how this place occasionally does @grabone_nz vouchers for their degustation menu, which is great for a poor student like me who also wants to experience the high life.
first course was the salmon which was fresh, the green apple gave a nice crunchy, tangy and refreshing component and the miso sauce complimented the dish nicely. the scallops were one of my favourite courses of the night. it was different to the one i had a few months back (they change it up every once a while), which was exciting. the charred corn gave it a smoky flavour. i’m a sucker for anything charred. third course was the wild venison tartare. i’m not a big fan of forking raw chunks of meat into my mouth but the pickled red onion helped me get through this.
i was able to try both the pork belly and eye fillet for the main course. both were very yummy, but the crackling was more chewy than crispy (i guess nothing can beat a chinese roast pork) and the shiitake mushroom shocked the hell out of my tastebuds because it was so sour (pickled?).
the final two courses were both desserts, the first being more of a palette cleanser. i seriously can’t decide which one i like better. the passionfruit curd was so light (almost like a foam) it felt as if i was eating a cloud and the yoghurt that accompanied it was frozen with nitrogen, making the dish super refreshing. the chocolate mousse was rich and decadent, the berry sorbet cut through perfectly and the macadamias gave it a crunch.
if you do decide to give this restaurant a try but don’t want to commit to a whole degustation menu, you can order à la carte on @firsttable and get 50% off the bill!