Another Lunch at Bar Centrale

BAR CENTRALE

Cuisine: Italian 

Address: 51 Willow St, Tauranga

Phone: 07 574 8200

Website

Drinks: Extensive cocktail list, wines, craft beers

Reservations: probably for dinner 

 

It was a sunny day, we were at a loose end, so Cohen and I headed back to Bar Centrale for some Italian snacks and a drink. There were a number of things on the menu that I'd been eyeing last time were there and I wanted to check them out.

 

Also, as Cohen is a sucker for a Negroni and as it's not a drink that's ever been high on my list he promised to guide me through them. That's because Bar Centrale have a couple of pages of their drinks list dedicated to the Negroni...

 

So we started with Negronis from their list:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cohen had a Classic Negroni (Gin Campari, sweet Vermouth, orange $18) while I opted for a White Negroni (Gin, Italicus, Lillet Blanc, Dry Port, Lemon  $18). Both were refreshing and excellent, perfectly made as their cocktails tend to be - the bartenders at Bar Centrale are serious specialists. I really like the idea of a bar exploring a particular drink at some length like this. To be presented with a bit of history and a road map to discovering the evolution and variations of a classic combo is a classy concept

 

OK, food. We we hit their sharing plates menu.

 

POLIPO Octopus, Oven Baked Fennel, Preserved Lemon, Olive Oil   $19

OX TONGUE SPIEDINO Shallot, Lardo, Salsa Verde                            $10
FISH BALLS SPIEDINO Fennel, Lemon, Caper Butter                         $10

FRITTATINA DI PASTA Croquette, Pasta, Carbonara                          $6 each

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we were very very happy. I love tongue. I know others don't but I bloody love it. And their tongue is not only delicious but remarkably inexpensive. Great stuff. Meanwhile, the croquettes are essentially the Italian version of Mac & Cheese bites which have recently been popping up on a lot of snack menus. The only difference is that the "mac" here is spaghetti.

 

The fish balls aren't balls but are otherwise extremely tasty and the octopus was tender (it's a cold dish). I'm not sure sure about eating octopus in general. It was Cohen's choice and certainly well-prepared but I think in deference to the creature's intelligence and character I'll be giving up munching on our eight-tentacled friends in future.

 

All in all - excellent lunch. Great service. Great spot. Great food and drinks. One of those sunny afternoons sitting on the terrace when you feel happy and lucky to live in Tauranga. 

Quick Pasta at Volare

VOLARE Ristorante & Aparitivo Bar

Cuisine: Italian

Address: 85 The Strand, Tauranga

Phone: 07 5786030

Website

Drinks: Wine, beer, Aperitivi, leaning Italian

Reservations: for Dinner upstairs

 

It's nice to have Volare back. And let me apologise immediately for this somewhat scrappy blog. We weren't planning to go there and didn't really eat much. And I forgot to take pictures of the pasta till we'd started tucking in. So sorry to y'all and sorry to Volare for not doing justice to some really good food.

 

After nearly 20 years Volare is something of an Italian institution here in Tauranga and has been closed for renovations (and I assume earthquake strengthening) for several months. Now it is back and very much the same, the main restaurant upstairs and a bar downstairs. We popped into the bar at around 7pm on a lovely sunny Friday evening and sat on the (new) deck.

 

From the drinks list we had:

 

Amaretto Sour       $16

Bellini Prosecco      $15

 

The was nothing unusual about either drink - both were well-made and made us feel very Italian!

Food-wise, we were just there on a whim and checked out a couple of pasta dishes, one from the bar menu, one from the restaurant menu. They were perfectly happy for us to order from either menu downstairs.

 

TORTELLI (V) $26
Homemade pasta, ricotta, pumpkin, lemon in brown butter and sage

CARBONARA $18
Maccheroni, Pancetta, Parmesan, eggs, pepper

 

SORRY AGAIN FOR PICKING AT THESE BEFORE TAKING PHOTOS - THEY LOOKED REALLY GOOD BEFORE THAT! (What happened was I hadn't even considered writing about stopping in here since we were just passing and hadn't ordered much but then I took one bite of the Tortelli and thought Holy Crap this is fantastic so I called for a halt and we took pics.)

 

Carbonara

Tortelli

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dishes were both excellent. The Tortelli was pretty much textbook perfect pasta, with a lovely pumpkin/ricotta filling, tender pumpkin caramelised at the edges and spot-on brown butter sauce. Absolutely delicious.

 

Meanwhile you could actually quibble about the Carbonara. It had both a little onion and a little parsley in it. I know some folk even more anal retentive than me who would consider this absolute heresy and who would insist that proper Carbonara should only include cheese, eggs and ham. Frankly I didn't care since it tasted fantastic.

 

The only thing I'd mention that we noticed that was different is that Volare used to offer a bigger range of small plates downstairs which filled a few early evenings for us. Perhaps that will start again when the restaurant settles back in.

 

There is big competition at the moment in the Italian sector down in the CBD, what with both Bar Centrale and Sugo hitting the market. Volare is a little more unassuming. But that doesn't mean its food is in any way lesser. They really know what they're doing. 

 

Funnily enough, as we walked to the car we passed Sugo on Wharf Street and watched a waiter deliver their version of what we had just eaten:

Massimiliano buffalo ricotta tortellini, burnt butter, pumpkin, sage, parmesan, pine nuts ($24) 

Looking at it, aside from the pine nuts, I would not have been able to tell the two dishes apart. 

Surely this can't last but for the moment it's an Italian Fiesta in the CBD!

Chicken with Chilli Jam (easy Thai food #1)

'Tis the season for cooking Thai! 

Of course you can cook Thai food all year round but some important herbs are noticeably seasonal in New Zealand so the menu of possible dishes increases markedly during summer. The two main seasonal things I use are lemongrass and basil. Lemongrass you can get away with because there are frozen stalks available all year and they'll do for a lot of things. But basil...

Thai Basil is one of the essential tastes of Thai cooking and it absolutely has to be fresh. Actually Thai cooking uses two main types of basil:

Thai Basil is the one that tastes of aniseed; it is quite widely available and you can grow your own during summer. Katikati's Liberty Growers sell it at the Tauranga Farmers Market and you can find it at Gilmours and good herb suppliers.

Holy Basil leaves have a slightly "furrier" surface and look "rougher" around the edges; it is damn near impossible to obtain unless you grow your own and has a slightly bitter, "dirty" taste. 

Thai Basil

Holy Basil

 

 

 

 

 

Because Holy Basil is relatively rare, many Thai dishes you find in New Zealand use Thai Basil for what should authentically be Holy Basil. This is one of them. But I must confess I don't actually like Holy Basil that much so I'm more than happy to make the switch.

Bottom line, there's a long winter when quite a few Thai dishes aren't really worth cooking (unless you have a greenhouse and year-round supply of these groovy herbs...).

But now summer is here! Last week I found a bag of Thai Basil at Gilmours, so I immediately made two of my absolutely favourite dishes. Or at least my Not-At-All-Authentic versions of them. Both are incredibly simple. And absolutely delicious.  

I'll start with the chicken one. You will - as the name suggests - need Chilli Jam. It is available from all Asian stores under several names, sometimes Roast Chilli Paste and this particular one Chili Paste With Soya Bean Oil. It is cheap and lasts forever.

CHICKEN WITH CHILLI JAM 

(Kai Phat Nam Phrik Phao)

 

INGREDIENTS 

• 400g boneless chicken thighs  
  
• 1/2 red capsicum
• 1/2 carrot
• 1/2 red onion
• 3 Tbs cooking oil
• 2 Tbs garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbs Chilli jam
• Big handful Thai Basil    

Sauce

• 2tsp Fish Sauce
• 2 Tbs Oyster Sauce
• 60ml coconut milk
• 1 tsp white sugar

METHOD

• Mix the sauce ingredients.
• Slice chicken and vegetables.
• Get a frying pan quite hot.
• Add oil and fry garlic and chilli jam until garlic starts to brown, a minute maybe.
• Add chicken, fry for 2 or 3 minutes till it changes colour, stirring.
• Add vegetables, fry for another minute or 2 until just starting to soften.
• Add sauce, stir in, cook for about 30 seconds till it's reduced and coating everything.
  
• Quickly stir in basil, maybe save a few leaves to garnish.
  
• Serve with rice.
  

NOTE: The uncooked mixed sauce smells quite unpleasant to some noses. That'll be the fish sauce. I once gave some premixed sauce to a friend so she could cook this and she threw it away because she thought it was "off". Don't worry - the smell disappears with cooking.

ANOTHER NOTE: Thai cuisine is one of the few to cook garlic to a "nutty" brown stage. Here, as soon as you see the garlic get a hint of brown when frying, add the chicken. 

MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: Neither of these two Basils are much like the Basil you use in Italian food, often called Sweet or Genovese Basil. It is not a good substitute. Save that one for tomatoes and mozzarella. 

FINAL NOTE: Success here comes from cutting the vegetables into slices of a size at which they all cook evenly. I find cutting carrots into thin oval slices on the diagonal and then in half works well (see the pic). Other veges can be added or substituted - if adding broccoli, beans, green capsicum or slower-cooking veges, give them a quick fry or blanch in advance.

The Nest review

THE NEST (2020)

Director: Sean Durkin

Starring: Jude Law, Carrie Coon, Oona Roche, Charlie Shotwell

Runtime: 107mins

 

The Nest has been anticipated with great excitement since director Sean Durkin's first film, the striking Martha, Marcy May Marlene, now ten years old, is highly regarded as a work of great subtlety and precision. That same precision carries on here. There is clearly not an accidental shot in the film. Everything is exact and exacting. That doesn't, however, make it much fun.

Of course not every film is meant to be fun. And since this is a film about a marriage crisis, fun is definitely not on the agenda. At all.

Law is a wide-boy financial trader, Coon is his horse trainer wife. They have a couple of kids, one hers, one theirs. But Jude's work life seems to be going less than well in America so he drags the family back to England to "start again". He reckons he can get really rich there and immediately buys a country mansion, sends the kids to the best schools and generally tears through money to bolster his perceived status. 

It's no surprise that when his one big deal falls apart - he does seem to bank his entire fortune on one long-shot idea which seems less than sensible or realistic - things in the marriage get strained. Simultaneously bad things happen to her favourite horse, leading to a slow-motion emotional train crash. Meanwhile the daughter has turned all snarky and the young boy seems so fragile that you seriously doubt for his safety. It's often the innocent who suffer in films such as this - think The Ice Storm or many others - allowing for parental redemption...

Good points: the film is directed like a horror film. Spooky music, spooky camera, strange things bumping in the night (what did happen to that horse?). This is an interesting approach. Especially with the big slightly threatening house it keeps you expecting something supernatural or genuinely horrible. On the downside, there is a slight feeling of disappointment when nothing of that sort actually occurs.

Also very good is the music which presents variations of jazz and is continually unsettling.

Also very good is the acting. All the actors are very subtle and serious. Jude is his usual slightly irritating self but as the status and money obsessed husband I guess that's intentional. The kids are good. 

In fact it's all good. From the camerawork to the music to the script to the cast it's all top notch. It's also very steadily paced and not much happens. Many descriptions call this a thriller. Nope. It's a slow very serious drama. It's a minutely-observed, unflinching study of a marriage falling apart. Make sure you're in the right mood before you start.

G&T Flights @ The Barrel Room

THE BARREL ROOM

Cuisine: Gastropub

Address: 26 Wharf Street, Tauranga

Phone: 07 5780603

Website

Drinks: Extensive range of beer and wine

Reservations: for events 

I've been feeling so sorry for the various hospitality establishments down in the Tauranga CBD on Wharf Street that I try and go down each week and spend some money at them while the street is being torn up and chaos is ensuing. It must be seriously messing with business and it would be a shame to see any of them fall over.

There's good sushi, Dumpling Delight - which does about as good cheap Asian eats as you'll find in Tauranga - The Hop House, which keeps doing interesting tastings, music, and the like, and new Italian restaurant Sugo has just taken over where Rye used to be - there's also Thai and Teppanyaki, and noodles at Pho Vina: lots of choices, all of which are no doubt suffering from the extended street upgrade.

(NOTE: There seems to be an Italian renaissance occurring downtown, what with Bar Centrale, Volare reopening and now Sugo. If any restaurateurs are reading this - after the pan-Asian and Italian booms, can we have a French bistro please!) 

Anyway, this isn't a new thing particularly but I thought maybe I could lure a few of you down that way by pointing out the pleasure to be had in a Gin Flight at The Barrel Room.

It isn't really for serious gin drinkers, it's just a bit of fun if you happen to be down that way. They do three different gins on a paddle, each with different garnishes. It costs $20 for the 3 mini-G&Ts.

When Cohen and I dropped in and sampled them this week they were doing Scapegrace Gin and the three pours were:

Scapegrace Dry / rosemary

Scapegrace Gold / fresh lime   

Scapegrace Black / freeze-dried plum

I believe the tonic in all three was East Imperial Old Fashioned.

Cohen and I enjoyed comparing. We both agreed that the Gold with lime was the best of the three, though the rosemary and dry would suit some tastes. The freeze-dried fruit was fun and rather nice but completely overwhelmed the gin. 

But "fun" is really the word here - this isn't a serious taste test, it's just an entertaining way to try a couple of things you might not try otherwise. And the paddles do look good! 

Of course The Barrel Room also do a whole lot of other things, including regular music, and I think many will be surprised at what an extensive and serious wine list they have. You'll even find rarer varieties such as Albarino, Pinot Blanc and Gruner Veltliner represented - it is a very impressive list for an pub.

I should also mention that their menu has also become a lot more modern and sophisticated since the place opened - there's some very good gastropub grub on it - and of course they have a bunch of beers, this being essentially a craft beer bar. Also, for cider drinkers such as me, it's good to note that they usually have an interesting cider or three available, even if they do lean towards flavoured varieties.

Greenland review

GREENLAND (2020) 

Director: Ric Roman Waugh

Stars: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccerin, Roger Dale Floyd

Runtime: 119mins

 

 

It's the end of the world as we know it. Only slightly cheaper than some previous ends of the world. We've seen this many times now and it's really only the variations on previous efforts that are interesting. 

 

The two most obvious references here are 2012 and War Of The Worlds (the Tom Cruise one). So we have a ground eye view of the coming disaster and a family striving to get to the last safe place on earth as civilisation crashes around them and other people behave badly. 

 

The threat to the earth this time is a comet passing close enough for bits to fall off. This leads to some pretty impressive scenes of flaming meteors crashing into things and blowing up. Not into famous things. No instantly-recognisable monuments are initially downed. But the flaming bits keep getting bigger and don'tcha know it there's going to be one so big it will lead to an "extinction level event". 

 

So Gerard, along with wife and kid, push everyone else out of their way because they've been chosen to go into one of the special bunkers that have been built in Greenland to save a few privileged people in the face of just such an event. Why the family qualify is never explained or questioned. Nor why you'd build these bunkers in Greenland. Can it be just a coincidence that Donald Trump tried to buy the country? Perhaps he saw an advance copy of this film and wanted to get in early...

 

Actually, the family being chosen was one of the neater touches: Gerard and family receiving word that they are to be saved while their friends won't be. But it's glossed over in seconds. What the hell, they ditch all their mates swiftly enough, kicking them to the curb while they quickly drive off, and then spend the rest of the film insisting that they deserve saving at the expense of everyone else. 

 

Franky I'd have left them to burn. Perhaps this is a subtle metaphor for white privilege, but if so the message is grab it with both hands, screw everyone else. 

 

Along the way there is increasing destruction, though nothing of the budget and scale of 2012, and the family meet the expected crazies a la War Of The Worlds. Of course it all becomes increasingly silly and the more it goes on the more you keep asking - why? What sort of world will be left anyway? Why should these people be saved? Why not just have a nice cup of tea and wait for the inevitable?

 

 

Sous Vide Cooking #2 - Pork Chops

 I finally got a new sous vide machine. My previous one, a cheapy from The Warehouse, expired under the effort of making 48 hour short ribs. Actually I think it was just generally old and exhausted.

So I got a new one on Trade Me from an outfit called Pro-Cision NZ. (Start price - $100 / Buy Now $159). It certainly looked different from any sous vide machine I'd previously seen, what with the bend in the middle 'n' all, but it has been working just fine, easy to use and (as far as I can tell) accurate. Their service was, I should say, exemplary,

 So... pork chops. Pork chops, of all food, are the thing I reckon benefit most from soud vide cooking. Steaks are fine and it makes things much easier if you have a crowd, but they are eminently cookable in a regular manner. But pork chops are - in my humble option - a bitch to cook properly. They always dry out around the edges. It is just damn near impossible to get them cooked through the right amount. Not any more. Sous vide means perfect pork chops every time.

(NOTE: I also realise that you might not like your pork chops the same way I do. Some people do like them more cooked, medium-well, or even well done. I've put a temperature chart at the bottom of the page - check it and adjust your sous-vide temperature accordingly.)

This week it's pork chops in Berbere spices. That's because I was chatting to The Spice Guy at The Tauranga Farmers Market and last week we were talking about Berbere spice, the Ethiopian spice blend - it just happened that I'd bought some out of curiosity from Vetro a few days earlier.

Oddly the two blends were completely different colours, the Vetro one brown, the Spice Guy one red. It's the extra paprika apparently and he swore that some Ethiopian punter had declared his to be "the most authentic they'd found." So I used that. As you can see, it is very red...

I have to say that it was also very mild, just the slightest tingle of heat despite a bit of chilli and cayenne in the blend. There's also coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek and half a dozen others and all in all it was a very smooth mix with nothing individual really standing out and just a hint of the same sort of flavours you get in a Jamaican jerk seasoning. I liked it, though I'll probably add an extra heat hit next time!

SOUS VIDE PORK CHOPS IN BERBERE SPICE

Ingredients

• 2 Pork Chops
• Berbere spices (or any other spice blend you fancy of course)
• mayonnaise    

Method

Set the sous vide cooker to 140°F / 60°C. I like pork chops cooked for 2 1/2 hours, though unless they're really thick they should be cooked after an hour. I find the extra time tenderises them to the degree I like. (See the chart at the bottom of the page)

1. Sprinkle the chops with Berbere spice (it also contains salt so I skipped the usual salt).

2. Seal them in a vacuum bag.

 

3. Drop them in the "bath". They should sink, or at least half sink. Make sure they don't block or crowd the sous vide machine's "bits".

 

 4. After the desired time take them out and remove from bag.

 

5. When ready to eat, smother the chops with a thin layer of mayonnaise. I know this sounds weird but it helps get a nice quick crust on them. It's an "internet hack" I came across and it really works. I used Kewpie Mayo.

6. Fry, in a very hot pan for about a minute each side. Maybe hold them on their side and crisp the fat. Serve and enjoy. (I know, I forgot to take a picture of the final dish. Bugger. We just ate them straight away. With a salad and some chips. And they were good. Really good!)

These temperatures and times are from Anova, who make very good sous vide machines and have "The World's Largest Sous Vide Recipe Resource".

SOUS VIDE TIMES FOR PORK CHOPS 

Rare: 130°F / 54°C, 1 to 4 hours - Tender, juicy, and a little slippery.

Medium-Rare: 140°F / 60°C, 1 to 4 hours - Tender, juicy, and meaty (This is what I do)

Medium-Well: 150°F / 66°C, 1 to 4 hours - Quite firm and just starting to dry out.

Well Done: 160°F / 71°C, 1 to 4 hours - Firm, a little dry and tough, but still moist.

NOTE: times just affect the texture, not how well-cooked the food is. The chops becomes more tender the longer they are cooked, until the fibres start to fall apart and you head more towards the "pulled pork" area. (These times won't do that, even 4 hours.)

The Espresso Martini

       

I have a friend called Graham Clark who plays in a band called Brilleaux. This post has very little to do with him. Not much at all really. But since I figured it was time for Tuesday's Cocktail and I was looking for a little pick-me-up I naturally reached for an Espresso Martini, a drink that has become absolutely ubiquitous in restaurants and bars over the past few years. And that took me to Graham's son Jason.

Jason is one of the world's leading cocktail-makers. He has won competitions. He has had all sorts of amazing adventures representing brands of high-end spirits. Currently I think he is a world brand ambassador for Talisker. That's pretty high cotton whoever you are...

Amongst other achievements, Jason has also written the definitive book on coffee cocktails, The Art & Craft Of Coffee Cocktails. It's a fascinating exploration, written very approachably and anecdotally but also very seriously. Jason really knows his stuff.

Of course the book starts with the most famous of all coffee cocktails, The Espresso Martini.

Allow me to quote his introduction:

Originally called The Pharmaceutical Stimulant and the Vodka Esspresso, the infamous Espresso Martini was created at Fred's Club, London, in the late 1980 by Dick Bradsell. [...] When a model approached him and asked for "something to wake me up, and f*** me up," Dick's response was to combine vodka, fresh espresso, coffee liqueur and sugar, and shake it to a frothy mix of bittersweet invigoration, strained into an elegant glass.  

Just as every good cocktail-maker adds their own little touch, I have adapted Jason's recipe to suit my taste: he uses a sugar syrup made from brown sugar - I prefer my coffee with white sugar and my martinis too so I've used regular simple syrup. And I've tweaked the coffee liqueur by using Kahlua Salted Caramel Coffee liqueur which gives an extra hit of complexity to the final product. It's also just fine with regular Kahlua or other coffee liqueurs - experiment!

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Ingredients

• 40ml Vodka
• 30ml fresh espresso
• 20ml Kahlua Salted Caramel Coffee liqueur (or other coffee liqueur)
  
• 10ml simple syrup (50/50 sugar/water)
  

Method

• Make the coffee in advance and allow to cool
• Shake all ingredients with ice
• Strain into a martini glass

NOTE: Yes, make the coffee in advance so it's cold when you put it in the shaker.

ANOTHER NOTE: The traditional garnish is three coffee beans (like the picture on the book) but I can't see the point of inedible garnishes so have dispensed with them.

LAST NOTE: Since there is nothing fresh in this it keeps really well. So you can make a big batch of the mix (don't shake it) and keep it in the fridge. Litre milk bottles are very good for this - simply pour it out in 100ml lots and shake it whenever you need it! 

Sea Fever review

SEA FEVER (2019)

Director: Neasa Hardiman

Stars: Hermione Coerfield, Dougray Scott, Connie Nielsen

Runtime: 95min

 

I missed this when it came out late last year but films crop up all over the place these days and the other day it did for me. Essentially what you've got here is something heavily reminiscent of The Thing, with perhaps a touch of Alien, but set on a small fishing boat off the Irish coast. It's not going to change the world but it's a taught and engaging, if derivative little ride.

This is the very definition of "B-Movie", which isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. Scott and Nielsen are the "old-timers" on hand to run the ship and make selfish financial decisions that put everyone in danger, but the whole thing is anchored by the remarkably grounded performance of Hermione Coerfield as the new scientist on the boat. She is very low-key and her determination and solidly logical approach really gives the movie a believable central core.

Essentially a bunch of regular character types are on the fishing trawler when they get stuck to something in the sea. A creature? They free themselves but the bigger problem is some bright blue goo that is seeping through the hull and into the boat's water supply. And into the crew...

Soon bad craziness is occurring and they're devising tests - a la The Thing - to see who's infected. It is tense and claustrophobic and, thankfully, nobody does anything uncharacteristically stupid to drive the plot. It's a small scale but well-handled feature, breaking no new ground and slightly disappointing when it comes to the finale, but it does get an extra star for being Irish, which gives Sea Fever a slight but distinctively different feel to the many other outings in this genre.

I would suggest that if you're looking for sea-bound thrills in the Alien vein you might also want to go further underwater and try exactly that - Underwater with Kirsten Stewart, which has a considerably bigger budget and really is worthwhile. I found that one to be a lot of fun despite low expectations going in. It was easily good enough to meet them and keep me well amused on a wet afternoon, with both enjoyable character interplay and inventive creature work: the Big Bad was ultimately 1000 times better than in Sea Fever.     

 

His House reivew

HIS HOUSE (2020)

Director; Remi Weekes

Stars: Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Matt Smith

Runtime: 93min

 

His House is the feature debut of director Remi Weekes and marks him out as someone to watch. There is a calm assurance about the direction which means that even as events in the film spiral out of the protagonists' control the story is still clear and controlled. This is a very impressive piece of work.

The story centres on a Sudanese refugee couple Rial and Bol who are given asylum in Britain. They are still effectively on "bail" so have strict conditions including not working and not leaving the house which is assigned to them. There are tensions from the unfriendly reaction of locals. A group of black street kids tell her to "go back to Africa".

Even before the couple move into their house your heart has been broken by their situation, making the slow reveals that the film springs on you even more potent. 

We have already learnt from the incredibly concise and well-handled opening that they have a dead daughter. Both seem to be suffering PTSD from the terrible conditions in their homeland and the brutal journey. And the couple seems to have brought something with them on their travels as the two are tormented inside the run-down house by ghosts and apparitions who live in the walls but can inflict real physical harm.

Using elements of Sudanese myth the couple are haunted by an ‘apeth’ or ‘night witch’ who has risen from the ocean and wants them to atone for their sins. Or is it their imagination? There is a twist and there is a real examination of guilt going on as the film keeps its delicate balance between the internal and external, the real and the supernatural.  

There is so much to admire here. The cinematography is subtle and outstanding; the direction, the blocking, the sparse yet potent dialogue, are all spot on. Even the colour schemes add to the effect, with a brief shopping centre trip being as unnerving with its white sterile strangeness as an early Cronenberg film.

Bottom line: excellent stuff. From a pure horror perspective it may not shock and scare the way a film like Hereditary did but this is little gem of a story. I can't wait to see what Remi Weekes does next.

Lunch at the White House

WHITE HOUSE RESTAURANT

Cuisine: New Zealand
Address: 15E Minden Road, Te Puna 
Phone: 07 552 4443
Website 
Drinks: Fully licensed
Reservations: Recommended

 

Owners Jo and Penny have been in hospitality around this area for what seems like ages. 30 years? Dunno. It must be around that long. First, if my mouldering memory serves, over at Blue Biyou in Papamaoa, and most recently taking over Phil's Place from its original AC/DC drumming owner. In between there was a lodge in the Papamoa foothills and other ventures.

 

What's been clear in each case is that they know the area and people's tastes and have a no-nonsense approach to food. Nothing weird, good fresh ingredients not messed with too much and cooked properly. And personal welcoming service. Their latest venture in Te Puna is opposite the Nourish cafe up on a small hill. It is wooden and white, with a light open European feel and serves food and drink from midday every day except Monday.

 

Jim, of the most excellent Finer Wines in Katikati, has half a dozen wines from there on the White House winelist so suggested we join him for lunch the other day. He's a bit of a seafood fiend and had been raving about their bouillabaisse. 

 

As it happened we ended up going the full fish monty, all of us eating naught but our tasty little fishy friends. It turned out the pan-fried fish of the day was John Dory - my favourite fish in the world - and the fish and chips fish was Gurnard which Jan loves, so we had those and all shared a plate of squid to start...

 

Salt & Pepper Calamari (GF) $19

resting on julienne salad garnish with aioli

Seafood Bouillabaisse (GFO/DF) $39

mussels, prawns, scallops & fish in a tomato & fennel broth served with toasted ciabatta

Fish & Chips $32

beer battered fish, served with beer battered chips & fresh salad

John Dory $?? (I forgot)

pan-fried fish, sweetcorn cake, fresh vegetables, spicy tomato salsa

And everything was cooked just right. Every bit of fish was moist and not overcooked. Jim reported that the Bouillabaisse was again brilliant. The chips were crisp, the vegetables still with the right amount of crunch. The calamari was unusually tender and perfectly cooked while the little salad accompanying it had a fantastic curry oil dressing, transforming it from a throwaway plate-filler into something quite special.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

(The only thing that didn't sit for me was the salsa with the John Dory which I thought clashed with the corn cake, but the fish was so good I wasn't really worried...) 

To go with that, or at least to drink alongside it since we all felt like something red despite the pescatarian nature of the meal, we had one of the wines Jim supplied for the winelist.

Infame Carmenere Reserva Chile 2018    $49

 

It was seriously good, with terrific aromatics - lots of berries on the nose. The flavour was also berry, with smooth integrated tannins and a touch of spice but without any of the darker chocolate notes you sometimes get, a really well-structured wine with lovely texture. (You can of course get it direct from Finer Wines.)   

All in all it was a very pleasant afternoon. As I said earlier, Jo and Penny know their audience. This is essentially hearty fresh food for middle New Zealand and its popularity attests to how well it is judged and executed  All the meals are of a decent size - essential for the Kiwi mindset - and, like I said earlier, feature good ingredients cooked and presented simply and well. 

This rustic approach is in many ways this is the exact opposite of Clarence Bistro in town where I ate a couple of weeks back, which has a very small menu (last time we were there it didn't feature lamb, pork or chicken at all) and leans towards carefully plated fine-dining presentation, each ingredient carefully curated, with options for food starting at $69 for two courses. 

I don't say that to suggest that Clarence is overpriced, just that there is a minimum spend. You could certainly drop that same amount for 2 courses at White House Restaurant - and some might think that overpriced for such "casual" food - but there are also many other options...

White House has a huge menu that includes an extensive list of snacks and light meals, sharing plates, pizzas, main meals and desserts. There's also a separate vegan menu and children’s menu. They are set up for anyone, whether you want lunch, an afternoon glass of wine and nibble of pate (they do very good pate) or a full dinner. Relaxed and laid-back, this is already very popular and will no doubt continue to be a  hit over these increasingly sunny summer months.

Penny & Jo

White House at night