7 April 2010

MOVING ON....

In the past two weeks Auckland has seen the closure of two long running restaurants; Ariake and The New Orient.

Ariake provided Aucklanders with their first taste and experience of the wonder of fine Japanese food. The first site, tucked into a basement in Lower Albert St, was a mysterious place where diners were served an array of food delivered with the care and style that Japanese food demands, and everything was delicious and excitingly new.

The New Orient, upstairs above an arcade in Elliott St, offered Chinese food that was beautifully presented, albeit the cuisine that Kiwis had come to expect in such restaurants; sweet and sour dishes, lemon chicken, fried garnished rice, whole steamed fish and much, much more.

As someone who has been writing about restaurants for more than 23 years, I am not surprised by the closure of both these stalwarts. Restaurants must continually work at progressing their business. It’s a bit like a website; if you return and nothing has changed, you have no reason to visit again. And these places each had their own formula which they sadly stuck to for more than 30 years. New Zealand is privileged to have a vibrant and diverse restaurant and café industry and these places were unfortunately overtaken by a hipper, more savvy type of Asian restaurant that suits today’s worldly traveller and diner.

But there’s also something missing in the Asian dining scene. In my travels to various parts of the world I’ve enjoyed stunning Asian meals in equally stunning surroundings. I remember more than a dozen years ago I was in London and was invited to a sneak preview of Tamarind, an Indian restaurant opening in the Shepherd’s Market precinct. I had lived in London twenty years before and usually dined out on Indian or Pakistani curries in tiny corner shop or basement restaurants, where the food was spicy and fragrant and we usually took our own beer and ate in basic surroundings. So I was stunned by the dramatic décor and spectacular presentation of the food at this exclusive Indian restaurant. It was colourful and sophisticated with knowledgeable professional service to match.

I have returned to London several times in recent years and always seek out fine ethnic eating. The meals can be a revelation, in dazzlingly decorated settings; authentic food often made with ingredients sourced in Asia, and always an appreciation of western tastes without corrupting the original cuisine. Think Alan Yau’s Chinese dim sum, Kiwi chef Nic Watt’s innovative Japanese food at Roka, or David Thomson’s divinely unusual yet authentic Thai food at Nahm in the Halkin Hotel. And an absolute plethora of Indian restaurants that are so sharp they seem like nightclubs.

The same can be said about Asian eating in Paris, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Sydney or Shanghai and Hong Kong. They tell me that by the year 2016 one third of Auckland’s population will be Asian. So why, in contrast to the rest of the developed world is our Asian eating scene in New Zealand concentrated on cheap or economical eating? I have no problem finding delicious Asian food and not for a minute would denigrate much fine authentic cooking. We have a tradition in New Zealand cities, like most around the world, of recent immigrants setting up small food operations, driven by the need to find self-employment and to recreate the food they enjoyed in their homeland. The food is good, and they often provide exactly the experience an adventurous traveller would find in a hawker centre or as street food.

But, with the exception of less than a handful of places we are limited to economical eating out and can find no lavish, well decorated stylish Asian restaurants with equally stunning food. We can eat Korean, Hong Kong barbecue, Cantonese, Thai, Vietnamese, Laotian, Malaysian, Cambodian, Japanese, Indian and more. But it’s mostly in scruffy surroundings or food halls and comes with uninformed and sloppy service. Try getting the server to explain the composition and origin of any dish, or to translate the specials marked on the blackboard!

I believe we’re now ready to embrace even more authentic and sophisticated eating. I wish restaurateurs and their investors would move up several notches and recognise the growing refinement of our multi-cultural appetites. Maybe there might be less closures?