In this fortnightly series, Viva’s resident dining-out editor shares advice on where and what to eat.
Nothing Else Matters (other than finding somewhere to eat near Eden Park)
Hello Jesse, could you give me two or three recommendations on Dominion Rd please? We are staying at an Airbnb for Metallica
in November and will have a couple of meals to take care of while we’re there. We enjoy your reviews, which we read from sunny Marlborough – thanks for telling everybody about Arbour, it’s now much harder to get in but we are happy and very proud for them to get such a glowing review from you!
Hi James, thanks for the kind words.
$$$ – head to Cazador or Parro, both are totally brilliant.
$$ – choose between Ooh Fah and Tapsi, the best pizza or an authentic Middle Eastern feast.
$ – Chongqing Noodles (go for the pork mince and pea), Pho Yen Vietnamese soup shop or Makassar Corner (Indonesian, pretty close to Eden Park)
I’m very jealous of you getting tickets to Metallica. Were you named after the lead singer? Think of me when Kirk Hammett plays the solo to Blackened – my favourite moment in metal!
What’s happening at The French Cafe?
Sid and Chand Sahrawat, the team behind The French Cafe. Photo / Babiche Martens
Jesse, any idea what’s happening with The French Cafe? I know they changed their name a while back but are they still doing what they always did?
Hi Alvin, yes, I’ve had difficulty keeping up myself.
For a few months, the people behind what is technically called “Sid at The French Cafe” opened up Anise, a pan-Asian kitchen with the very high standards you’d expect from this crowd. They continued running The French Cafe from their beautiful function room out the back, and last summer made the decision to temporarily move it all back into the main dining room as a seasonal project.
It must have worked for them because The French Cafe (for many years the most famous and hard-to-book restaurant in Auckland) is now permanently back in its old home. Anise is no more, and Sid Sahrawat’s fine dining team have the run of the kitchen again. It’s pricey as you’d expect for food at this level, but they’re doing a Tuesday Test Kitchen at a lower price point (which books out fast) and a weekly roast duck meal, which looks like a lot of fun. If you haven’t been for a while, you should try it out, Alvin. The food is great, but the wine and service are just as impressive.
Bored with pad thai?
Rad na, a Thai dish, is a good alternative to pad thai. Photo / Getty Images
Jesse, this is an odd one, but I wonder if you could give me some help with Thai food. We go out with my family quite often and I always end up ordering the pad Thai, which I love – but I feel like it might be a little unimaginative with such a huge menu to choose from. Could you help me pick another dish that I might enjoy?
You’re lucky to have a group of people to eat Thai with! I often get it at my desk at work and feel like I’m missing out on the best part of the experience: lots of dishes of different textures, from which you can take a little bit of each. Something deep fried, a fresh salad, a soup, a curry, some noodles … this is the sort of eating you should aim to do with your family.
However, there are times when three people order a green curry and you realise today is not going to be a feasting day. On such occasions, I’m going to point you towards “Rad Na”, a lovely cousin of pad thai, which I think will be right up your alley.
You still get the wide rice noodles (arguably the most cravable part of Southeast Asian food) but it’s just a little soupier than a pad thai, thanks to a sauce made with plenty of stock and traditionally a little oyster sauce.
I think my local (E-Sarn Thai on Hobson St) puts in a secret sweetener beyond the traditional palm sugar – it tastes almost fruity, like they’ve squeezed in some pineapple juice – but I’m sure your restaurant will have its own delicious version, with some decent veges and one or more meats fried up in the mix. Be brave next time, order some rad na, and let me know how you enjoy it.
Do you have any restaurant-related questions or dining-out dilemmas? Jesse Mulligan is here to help.
Email Jesse at Viva@nzherald.co.nz and tell him what you need. Where and what do you like to eat? How much do you want to spend? If you’re visiting, where are you staying while you’re in town? Who are you eating with? Does anybody have access issues?
What you’ve asked, and what he’s shared.