Reviews

"... what arrives is such a beautifully bejewelled slice of terrine, with flavours and textures to match, that it would not look out of place at Logan Brown or, for that matter, any Michelin-starred palace in Europe "

David Burton

Cuisine Magazine

Review of Charlie Bill restaurant in 'Cuisine' Magazine, July 2008. Read the full review.

Hidden Gem

Excerpt from David Burton's review from 'Eating Out', Dominion Post, 12 April 2008

Five stars for Food *****
Five stars for Service *****

For 19 years, till recently, chef Hemi Tahu was content to remain an employee, giving his all to posh hotels and winning them awards.

Hemi was one of the first Maori chefs to begin incorporating flavours of his childhood, such as pigeons and hinau berries, into successful competition dishes for the then Plaza International (now the Duxton Hotel).

But that was 10 years ago and now that indigenous ingredients have been pounced upon, and duly misunderstood, by every hotel resort chef from Queenstown to Roto-vegas, we are no longer finding too many coxcombs of piko-piko fanned across Hemi's gorgeously presented plates.

For diehards who insist on having their food flavoured with bush medicine, Hemi offers horopito-rubbed lamb (which ought to purge one's candida most effectively). This comes with a beetroot-shallot tartlet and a fondue of tomato and goats feta.

Such mains, fast-cooked to order, have a straightforward bistro appearance, but many of the cold entrees and desserts are magnificent assemblies, relying on elaborate componentry, such as sable leaves of shortbread and a geometrically perfect brunoise of peeled plum, prepared well in advance.

An entree rather prosaically titled "king prawns with roast capsicum, courgette, tomatoes, palm sugar and lemon dressing" promises little. Yet what arrives is such a beautifully bejewelled slice of terrine, with flavours and textures to match, that it would not look out of place at Logan Brown or, for that matter, any Michelin-starred palace in Europe.

... I was delighted to pay a set price of $65 for three courses. Considering that main courses are creeping up around the $40 mark at our top-end restaurant, and entrees around $25, Charlie Bill's prices might almost be considered a bargain.