Kauri Cliffs

LW's Lovely Mum is staying with us from Scotland. Last time she was here, we took her to Kauri Cliffs, a beautiful and luxurious hotel and golf course on the coast near Matauri Bay, which has a restaurant that's rightly famous for its fare. The food was superb, but the weather was so appalling that we couldn't see out of the windows, so fierce was the driving rain.

So, yesterday we decided to go back. I'd met the executive chef, Barry, before, and he's a really good guy, and he's agreed to put on something special for us.

The weather was spectacular. The sky could not have been bluer (unless you live in Rio, apparently), and we arrived at the front door to be greeted with a glass of champagne to sip on the deck, looking out, over the golf course to the sea.

We were then presented with a tasting menu that Barry had devised, and off we went, with 5 courses of really amazing food.

"I'll have the scallop, please"

"and then the salmon?"

"followed by the beef- medium rare"

"and then the lemon tart and the sorbet?"

The service was impeccable, the food light, fresh, and delightful, we had a couple of excellent wines, and hours to eat, chat, and relax. Even so, I was amazed that, at the end of the meal, when Barry came and said hello, and I had a quick wander around the kitchen (really amazing setup) I realized it was 4 hours later!

I won't do a breakdown of the various courses; they were all good, well balanced, beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. (At this point I may as well announce my aversion to the word "flavorful", along with "healthful" it is one of the most nauseating words to have been made up in the last few years. There. I've got that off my chest. Sigh.)

Suffice to say, we had a brilliant meal, and will happily go back another time to do that again. Thank you Lovely Mother in Law (she paid the bill!) and thank you Kauri Cliffs!