Eating in New Zealand

Last Friday I had the opportunity to visit Acacia cafe in New Lynn as part of the entourage of teachers holding their Christmas dinner there. Some quick research via google revealed some articles in New Zealand Herald that covered the place… and both places the cafe as slightly above average. Hmm, encouraging signs indeed…

Instead of the usual a la carte, tonight’s dinner was a packaged affair at $30 per head. Only if said head is not involved in the teaching profession, that is. And given that the price covers both a main and dessert, if I was the cafe owner I’d probably not want to give the group too much say in the matter. Best put something forth that can be prepped in advance somewhat to make use of bulk savings and reduce wait time and such…and indeed, one peek at the menu confirms my suspicions!

Apart from the usual fare of steak, lamb shanks, pork bellies, fish and chips / fish of the day… there weren’t many options to pick from ^_^ Having said that, when the food did arrive the presentation that came along was not too shabby.

The mushroom steak sauce coupled with medium steak was OK. They had cooked the meat towards the medium-well spectrum and, coupled with the wait that is usual with serving large groups with people (you know, the dishes are already done but they need to wait for everyone else’s food to be done too) made the steak even more cooked than I’d usually prefer… but the peared croquette of baby potatoes were a nice touch! Nice to see some creativity for the staple side.The mushrooms probably could’ve been of a larger specimen (for I like my mushrooms to be slightly sprawling than petite on most days) but I was a little bit too hungry to care at this point…

For dessert my pick was the Eggnog Creme Brulee… and I really disagreed with the amount of ‘burn’ they applied to the sugar crust. I don’t mind a bit of smokiness but the bitterness was slightly overwhelming for me, especially when the eggnog taste also happened to be subtle within the creme brulee itself. Not one to discard decent desserts however, I gobbled it down like a good , hungry boy. The Strawberry cream definitely made a sweet contrast with the creamy eggnog.

Overall, I’d say this cafe does its food well, and in particular cares about its preparation (the way they presented their dish gives them the benefit of my doubt). I further suspect that their hidden strength lies in the usual fare that people order from the cafe, and not the packaged & rushed menu that they had to contend with tonight. Stepping away from the cookie cutter function menu would probably reveal to my tastebuds several tasty surprises… and I am definitely looking to try this cafe when I can round up some friends! (takes about half an hour to drive from where I’m usually at to New Lynn, so will need more bodies to justify the trip out!).

Merry Christmas to you all, and please stay tuned for more food in the coming weeks :) Both in the literal sense and on this blog, of course!