Who says lavish dinner parties can only be held on a Friday or Saturday night? Well the Garden of Unearthly Delights doesn’t with a brand new experience to the program in 2024 with The Garden Feast on Monday nights.
The first edition sold out last week and last night, the sold up sign was put up again.
On a perfect summer night, we ventured into the garden and made our way to the piano bar area which was the perfect setting for the garden feast. Being surrounded by trees just added to the ambience. And luckily, no possums in sight for the entire night.
A welcome tequila mixed cocktail style drink welcomed us on entry as we made our way to our shared table.
On this night, the dining cuisine was a collaboration by Rewi Spraggon, Tama Salive, and Rob Elliott. Rewi Spraggon is a Māori carver, musician, chef and Hangi Master; Tama Salive brings his 34 years of experience leading kitchens across NZ to craft Kai Māori flavours and together with large-scale event producer Rob Elliott, their feast pays homage to shared Māori customs.
The start of the feast was done through a customary hangi ceremony which captivated everyone in attendance with the number of phones capturing the moment. Food is prepared in the hangi for six hours (three hours to heat the rocks up to 700 degrees, and then another three hours for the food). A very entertaining and hilarious MC then welcomed us all and then it was time to start the dining feast.
The first dishes to come out were the entree being ika mata which is kingfish, coconut cream, lime and coriander. This was one amazing dish and one of the best I have ever eaten. The flavour was absolutely divine. I would have just been open happy diner enjoying a main course of this. The chefs totally hit the spot with this dish.
The mains were up next and this is when the feast by name was proven with so much pork belly and sides placed on our shared table to share. The main dish was Hakari which was pork belly, kumari, carrot, parsnip, potato, chargrilled broccolini and katakana stuffing. This was another delicious dish. The pork belly was so tender and both the pork belly and sides all had an incredible earthy and smokey flavour.
Amongst the food, we were treated to performances by garden artists such as Charlie Caper who is on nightly at 8:15pm in the garden. And a NZ themed dinner isn’t complete with Split Enz songs being played by the Piano Bar resident artist, Mr Trevor Jones. And sung in gusto by the special MC.
Even though we were all full, it was time to squeeze in dessert. Dessert was a Hangi burnt sugar steam pudding. Light in texture and not to sweet, this was a beautiful dessert that tasted amazing. Soul food at its best. A perfect way to end our Garden feast.
With two sold out Garden feast sessions, this was truly an incredible outdoor dining experience. A feast for the senses indeed.
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