The White House, Wellington

The White House, Wellington
Sunday 17 February

We left Kaikoura on the Tranzcoastal Train, which goes through stunning (as usual) scenery, including the Marlborough Wine Region (oh, to get off the train and linger longer), and with some nervousness boarded the ferry to the North Island. The first time we crossed the Cook Strait, in 2002, we experienced our first and only episode of seasickness. But today the Strait was as calm as it gets, and we had a pleasant journey and bask in the sun on the upper deck.

Our friend and colleague Judy met us at the ferry, carried us and our ponderous baggage to the hotel, and gave us tips on where to eat in Wellington. Her first suggestion was the White House, and we managed to call and get an immediate reservation. Then an easy stroll along the harborside (past Te Papa Museum, through another clever kiddy park, and with views of lots of ships, kayakers, helicopters, and clever public sculptures) brought us to Oriental Parade and the White House.

The restaurant is on an upper floor, with an excellent view over the harbor. It's a nouvelle, white-tablecloth, attentive-service kind of place, which happened that night to be filled with Americans. After a quick glance at the menu, we saw that once again we would be having both red meat and fish, so again a Pinot Noir; but to celebrate our arrival on the North Island, we had a Martinborough wine, 3 Paddles from Nga [w. macron] Waka vineyards. And our attentive server brought us a fabulous amuse-bouche to go with it, a Tarakihi ceviche with tomato, coriander, and red onion.

Holt couldn't resist a new oyster, so we ordered a dozen Clevedons. They are small and musky, and, surprisingly for this place, had some bits of sand and shell still in them. Nothing wrong with the sweetbreads and mushrooms, though, served with a luscious buttery brown sauce.

Then a very clever palate-clearer: shot-glasses of mojito jelly topped with citrus foam. Effective, elegant, and I bet we could do it at home.

Our main choices were beef and lamb (what else?). The lamb was a loin crusted with harissa, served on crushed fresh peas with its own jus, mint syrup, and a fresh tomato coulis, all very flavorful. The beef was a mignonette wrapped in bacon and topped with a spoonful of truffled sauce soubise (onions); it sat in the middle of an oxtail jus, and was accompanied by cute little manicotti stuffed with oxtail too.

We walked back along the harbor, replete.