Arriving in Auckland, we found our hotel in the Parnell district and a nice Indian restaurant across the street. The next day, our only day in Auckland and last day in New Zealand, began somewhat differently than we had planned when it became clear that Nina had developed an ear infection. Finding medical help away from home can be daunting and the fact that it was Saturday complicated the situation. However, a helpful pharmacist across the street recommended a walk-in clinic about a mile away that was open that morning. The doctor there prescribed an antibiotic and urged Nina not to fly the next morning unless she could fully clear her ears. Fortunately, a day of rest and medication did the trick and Nina was able to leave with us. This did, however, mean that Nina was not up to our day walking across the city or the wonderful dinner we had planned for that night; however, troopers that they are, Haywood and Ted left Nina sleeping at the hotel and soldiered on.
We spent the afternoon walking through the Parnell district and visiting the Auckland Museum, which is also a war memorial. There we explored the great exhibits on Pacific Island and Maori culture as well as the exhibits commemorating New Zealand’s involvement in many of the world’s military conflicts. An interesting fact: New Zealand had a larger proportion of its young male population die in World War II than any other allied country, 1 in 5.
That night we had dinner at Merediths, an exquisite restaurant recommended by Brad Farmerie, the chef at Public where Taylor worked. Because I have been accused of not providing enough descriptions of the food we had on this trip and this dinner was certainly one that deserves a full description, I will describe it in detail (sorry no pictures). On Fridays and Saturdays, Merediths offers only a 7-course degustation menu. The headings below are the restaurant’s descriptions. The text is what Haywood and Ted came up with and could remember later – we had to develop our oral history skills.
Smoked duck & beetroot sandwich
These two canapés were served on a folded napkin resting on a wooden tray. The bread was very thin slices of brioche that had been buttered and then toasted at low heat until crisp, but not brown. Between the bread slices was a slice of red beet, duck paté, and tidbits of smoked duck and pecorino cheese. Interestingly, this was the only cheese in any dish we were served, and its presence was undetectable. (Being hypercritical) This was a nice, but hardly perfect start to the meal. Ted found that the flavor of the beet was overwhelmed by the duck. Also, we encountered ourselves and observed other diners having the problem that it was hard to bite the sandwich, which seemed naturally to be two bites in size, without squashing it thus causing pate to squeeze out onto one’s fingers.
Ceviche, grapefruit, tomato & cucumber
Served in a shallow white bowl, this was something of a salad. Thin slices of white fish, that had been soaked in Japanese mirin (a variety of rice wine) covered the bottom of the dish. Arranged on the fish were bite-sized pieces of radish, tomato infused with vinegar, salted cucumber that had been pressed to remove its liquid, grapefruit sections, and a quenelle of cucumber sorbet flavored with lemon verbena. All of this was draped with a thin, translucent sheet of agar, which added sparkle to the dish, with purple-colored sprouts scattered on top. This was a completely successful dish: by far the most elegant looking dish of the meal and with flavor combinations that worked well together.
Hen’s egg, bacon, smoked potato & tapioca
We agreed that this was one of the two best tasting dishes of our meal. It consisted of an egg cooked sous vide (i.e., sealed in a temperature-controlled water bath) so that both the white and the yolk had both just solidified but neither was hard (the so-called 70-degree [CHECK TEMP] Celsius egg) resting on a thin puree of smoked potato. For some texture variation, this was surrounded in the bowl by a ring of cooked, but not sweet, tapioca and topped with a scattering of puffed buckwheat. A smoky, bacony flavor came from bits of perfectly cooked, lean bacon, crumbled bits of black (blood) pudding, both of which were arranged in the tapioca ring. To finish the dish, the server poured several ounces of bacon-flavored stock over the entire dish.
Quail, chicken, coconut & peanuts
The focus of this dish was quail prepared two ways. There was a confit leg, which had been rolled in ground chickpeas and deep fried. There was also a medallion of quail roasted with a soy glaze. Both were sitting on roasted chicken kidneys. Separating them on the plate was pumpkin puree on which were scattered bits of roasted peanuts, enoki mushrooms, edamame, a square of cherry gelée, and a quenelle of coconut cream. We liked the quail in this dish, especially the confit piece. The other elements all seemed fine, but somehow the whole here was just the sum of its parts.
Akaroa salmon, miso, kumara, horseradish & sweetcorn
On one side of the plate was the salmon, which had been miso glazed and cooked to perfection. We had gotten this same excellent salmon at the farmers market in Dunedin. The salmon was sitting on a puree of perfectly creamed corn and had several kernels of corn scattered on it as a garnish. Next to the salmon and nearest to the diner was a breaded, deep fried scallop. In the final corner was a round of light, fluffy kumara (sweet potato) on top of which was horseradish foam. This was a dish that combined successes and failures. The salmon, creamed corn, and kumara were all excellent and complemented each other nicely. Ted thought that the horseradish foam was a nice accompaniment to the fish; Haywood is not fond of horseradish and so did not try this combination. Unfortunately, the foam was on top of the kumara and we both found the combination of horseradish and kumara to be unpleasant. Finally, the scallop – we both love scallops – was just bad. Deep frying it had made it tough and had done nothing good for its flavor. We noticed, as we were leaving, that this dish was being served to others with scallops that had not been deep fried; perhaps someone in the kitchen actually tried one.
Free range pork, apple, toasted muesli & kohlrabi
This was the second plate that we both agreed was among the best. The plate consisted of perfectly prepared pieces of pork cheek and pork belly at the top of the plate with a crescent of apple puree below. The pork belly was sitting on a slice of oven-roasted kohlrabi. On the puree was one bite-sized, cooked piece each of turnip, pressed apple, and radish. Above the meat was a scattering of the toasted muesli, which added a texture element, on which was a bite-sized piece of black sausage.
Dark chocolate, tropical fruit & coconut
To one side of the plate was its centerpiece, a bar-shaped parfait of dark, rich Verhona chocolate that had been rolled in coconut (bringing to mind a Lamington, which is a well-known dessert here). This was sitting on pieces of freeze-dried, tropical fruit that had an intense, fruity flavor and were chewy when they became hydrated in the mouth. On top of the chocolate was a square of passion fruit gelée. Arranged in a semi-circle covering the other side of the plate were quenelles of sweetened coconut cream (2), mango sorbet, and banana ice cream. We liked all of the pieces of this dish and most of the combinations that they made. The one unfortunate combination was the passion fruit gelée with the chocolate. Neither of us liked it; however, the placement of one on top of the other suggested it.
Some General Thoughts
Overall this was a great meal, not quite the best we have ever had but certainly up in the top ten. Although several of the dishes fell somewhat short in their totality, all had elements that were superb, and, for several, the whole emerged transcendently as far more than the sum of its parts. The platings were all uniformly attractive. Some might question the repetition of several elements across dishes—coconut cream and blood pudding come to mind – however, when these elements reappeared they had always been changed in some way, and we found that they provided an interesting continuity across dishes. Also, our personal preferences would have been to have had somewhat less protein and more vegetables across these plates.
Complementing the food was service that was attentive without being fussy or intrusive. We appreciated the fact that our server was happy to go back over explanations of the dishes when we could not remember some detail, clarify elements of the dishes that we did not understand, and even asked us for feedback after the meal.
Taylor had been told that Merediths was WD-50 done right. WD-50 is a committedly modernist cuisine restaurant that was part of the food odyssey that Ted and Taylor took several years ago. After experiencing Merediths, we think that Wylie Dufresne does not need to worry about competition from this quarter; not because the food was not excellent, but rather because, although there are unusual elements, it is nowhere near as playful or deconstructionist as that at WD-50.
Goodbye to NZ
As this is being posted, we are in Sydney waiting for our flight to Los Angeles. This has been a long, lovely trip. It is sad to see it end.