What a palava. Good grief, you'd think I was suggesting we go out to one of those places that were in fashion a while ago now, where you had to cook your own dinner on hot plates provided. No, none of that, I had recommended we go to Ancestral. A swanky new Chinese fine dining experience recently opened up on Courtenay Place, to high acclaim. It seems my dining partner had got stuck in his head that it would be no better than a Chinese takeaway, only more expensive and perhaps with some grasshoppers thrown in for good measure.
No, this would not be An Idiot Abroad dining experience, and I should also clarify, that my dinner date is not an Idiot. But, it did take some persuading early on, to just get him in the door. Once in the door, I'm very happy to say, he was suitably impressed and made great friends with the Invernesian at the front desk. I'm not so sure the waitress will be keen to be friends however. After our waitress dutifully explained the menu we told her we were going to completely disregard her advice. The menu at Ancestral is split into six courses of increasing size and spicyness, and another for sweets. We ordered straight from the fourth course then another from the sixth. Of course, our waitress was unphased by our approach, and commended us on our choices.
Our choices were the duck slow roasted for 20 hours with 13 spices. Divinely crispy, not too fatty and packed full of flavour. We ordered sides of fluffy steamed jasmine rice and Chinese greens with sesame oil and garlic. The bok choy wasn't available, but we were assured the replacement of choy sum was even better, and not so stringy. Oh, my, I'm a convert.
The glassed garden in the centre of the building is a beautiful fresh air addition to a high street dining experience. Not only does it bring in natural light, but it is also a haven for the smokers and diners not worried by the smoke or the grill. I can assure you, there were no insects being skewered and grilled, nor was there any whole carcasses being hung to dry. Despite being transported to another world with our meal, as our waitress quite aptly put, we are still in Wellington after all and this is fine dining.
So, my dining partner now relaxed, even after reading the wine list prices, we can get on and enjoy the duck and sides. And enjoy we did. The dish was intended to share, which was a more enjoyable dining experience otherwise we'd fall into our normal habit of competitive ordering. Now you might think why on earth would you need 13 spices and 20 hours to cook a duck . Of course, the 20 hours had concluded by the time of ordering, unlike the more expensive whole de-boned duck to share amongst five diners, which does require advance notice. The spices of the duck dish did not compete for attention but did utterly cut through any fattiness and render the bird utterly tender and moist.
Temuera Morrison and possy were at the table next to ours. I did manage to prevent my partner from taking photos of him and asking for his autograph. I would have told you about the star attraction at the time of our dining, but I don't believe in broadcasting where the celebrities are at the time. I believe they deserve to relax and enjoy their precious privacy when with family or friends. I understand this is a reason celebrities enjoy their time in NZ, that they are afforded some anonymity. Unless, of course, you're married to royalty. The lesson here perhaps, is be nice to the bouncers & staff!
So, back to our meal. The duck was delicious, and by the end of the dish we were fighting over the last morsel. Which, as it turned out, was completely unnecessary. As to come was an impressive tray (not just a dish) of wagyu beef, crispy salad and a pastry brush of red rice vinegar and rock sugar reduction. I can't imagine anyone not being wowed by this dish. That is a strong statement to make. I don't do it lightly. I imagine even vegetarians would approve of the treatment these impressive beasts receive in their happy lives on the rolling hills of Gisborne. Typically the dedicated Wagyu farmers administer massaging of these beasts throughout their days grazing to allow the fat to be dispersed amongst the muscle. The result is such an amazing tenderness and flavour that I declare it is the best beef we have ever enjoyed. I can't imagine it being improved on. However, I am happy to be proven wrong of course.
Accompanying the wagyu beef was a light salad of crispy green apple marinated in lime and chilli, baby celery, spring onion and ginger. We disregarded proper protocol of keeping the rice in the rice bowl, just so we could soak up the last of the pepper sauce left after the wagyu had gone. Had we a secluded room, we may have thrown caution to the wind, and licked the plate clean. One of us was sorely tempted to do this, and with the attention on our neighbour, we may just have gotten away with that too!
To drink I went for a Beefeater 24 gin and tonic, not persuaded to mix sake and gin in a cocktail. Maybe next time. My partner had a glass of 2008 Central Otago Pisa Range Estate Black Poplar Pinot Noir.
On departing, my partner thoroughly star struck and giddy, we joked with our waitress that we hadn't had our bill sorted, so we thought we'd just do a runner! She was rather taken aback, perhaps she hadn't experienced our sort of humour and wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Now, to clarify, we don't do runners, or recommend it, unless you've been very friendly with the bouncer!
