Tuesday February 13
After a magical morning spent sailing on the 47-ft. yacht Manutara (as we were the only passengers, our captain gave us the helm for most of the trip), and our afternoon swim at the bathing beach (temperature tolerable in six inches of the surface, ice cold below), we chose a patio table at Bully Hayes to further enjoy the blue skies and view over the long harbor of Akaroa.*
And what better to enjoy them with than a 2005 Akaroa Harbour Chardonnay? It was nice and varietal, but also had that fruitiness that New Zealand wines are famous for. And we were set on having seafood, starting with the Seafood Platter: a large prawn, a crayfish (normal-sized, not a Kaikoura giant, above), one steamed and four smoked mussels, smoked scallops, some squid, and a little pot of creamed seviche.
On our sailing trip, we had seen the sea pools in which Akaroa salmon is farmed, so we ordered it here. It came as two sides of a steak with the center bones removed, basted with "Mediterranean" pesto (green and herby, but not entirely basil), served with a "tart" of potatoes on polenta, and dusted with bell-pepper confetti. Also tasty was grilled groper (apparently the same as grouper, which is NOT the same as most Atlantic grouper, but what the hell), served in a lime cream sauce with tiny new potatoes and a confetti (the chef must like them) of cucumber with tiny pink shrimp.
After a coffee, we walked over to the Akaroa Cine-café (two theaters, 16 seats apiece; spaghetti bolognese a bargain if you buy a movie ticket) and saw a good French comedy, "Hors de Prix" ("Priceless"). Maybe there are significant French aspects to Akaroa after all.
*Courtesy of the Department of Redundancy Department. Guess what Aka-roa means.
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