Amisfield Lunch & Hike

Kuah and I decided to try the course lunch at Amisfield. Reading a lot of the reviews it seemed people either loved it or hated it. Being a picky eater wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the food or Kuah would end up eating both our portions. But it looked like, either way it would be a fun experience.

We arrived a bit early so were able to take advantage of a complimentary wine tasting before lunch. There was a bubbly rose that I quite enjoyed. We finished our wine tasting just in time for lunch.

We had a gorgeous view from our table. The only problem was the sun getting in our eyes as the lunch drew on. Thankfully they were able to lower a curtain enough to block the sun from our eyes but not so much we didn’t get to enjoy the view.

It was a set course menu, with some items we were familiar with and other that were new to us.

Menu

First Course

• Greenbone
• Baby paua
• Eel on vogels

Second course

• Daikon

Third Course

• Truffle Brioche
• Blue cod, whitebait

Fourth Course

• Red Deer
• Crayfish

Desserts

• Rhubarb tart
• Kawakawa

The first course may seem a bit macabre to some people. Especially those who only buy food in the supermarket or restaurant and don’t see where it comes from. But it actually tasted good. It was a small cone you take out of a dead greenbone fish’s mouth and eat it in one bite. It had seaweed, horseradish and parsley amongst other things. The main flavor I got was horseradish which I like.  It went together beautifully in one bite but probably wouldn’t be as enjoyable if you took small bites.

The second 2 parts of the first course I didn’t eat but Kuah enjoyed. Baby paua is a baby abalone which I can eat but don’t really enjoy. However the sauce that came with it was delicious. The last bite was eel, which I know from my days in Japan I don’t like.

The second course, daikon, was one of my favorites. I really enjoy pickled daikon but am not a huge fan of it’s taste when not pickled. Thankfully the chef here likes tangy flavors and this daikon dish had great flavors. It had several layers of daikon presented in different ways so there were many textures and flavors in the dish. Kuah prefers daikon in a stew, but for me this dish was a winner.

The third course was truffle brioche and blue cod whitebait. I don’t like whitebait so the chef was kind enough to make me a dish of blue cod without the whitebait. I really loved it, especially the sauce which was rich with a bit of a tang. Kuah enjoyed his with whitebait. At the beginning of the meal they offered us the opportunity to pay for extra truffle in our meal. We did and this was the course where they added it in.

We both thought the bread was fine but not as good as reviews had said. There was nothing wrong with the bread it’s just that we prefer a chewy to soft textured bread. The presentation of it was fun. There was a bed of rocks, some that were actual rocks and others that were made from butter. You could use you knife to find which ones were butter. To offer a different flavor option they also served it with a paua salami.

The final course consisted of red deer with a crayfish sauce. I ate a bit of the deer but did not like the sauce so gave most of it to Kuah. I wish I had known what the flavor of the sauce would be before they poured it on. Kuah really enjoyed the pumpkin puree that came with it. It was a fun texture and very flavorful.

The final 2 courses were desert. First there was a rhubarb tart. Up until this point in the meal the daikon had been my favorite course. But the rhubarb tart knocked it our of first place. It had a super thin crust a gel layer and an ice cream in the center. Like many of the other courses it had the perfect amount of tartness for me. This is definitely a restaurant where tart and tangy reign, which perfectly aligns with my taste buds.

The last dish featured a kawakawa leaf that had been coated in honey and was served over ice cream. Kawakawa is native to New Zealand and is know for it’s medicinal properties. I was worried it might be bitter but it wasn’t at all. It was fun to taste it but if I went back I’d ask for a second rhubarb tart instead of the kawakawa leaf dessert.

Stuffed from a delicious lunch we headed across the street to the Lake Hays trail. The full loop is 8 km, or about 5 miles. It is a beautiful walk with part of it along the lake and part of it a bit up a mountain looking down on the lake. By the end of the walk I was a bit worried I had stressed my foot. Thankfully by the next day it felt fine. So we decided this was a great to train my foot on.

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