Every year my colleagues from my faculty go out somewhere for Wellington on a Plate. We are group of foodies and always want to go somewhere good to eat. One of my workmates chose Apache and I was happy to go there as I have never tried this place before. I had heard good things about this place but never got around to trying it.
Starter
Tasting platter of fresh rice rolls, Island Bay Butchery popcorn chicken and green prawns
The Popcorn chicken can be found on their evening menu and usually it comes with peanuts, but as I have an allergy I got them without. The chicken was very nice and had a good flavour to it. I think the chicken would of benefited with some kick of spice though. The prawns were nicely cooked with a good crisp skin on them. They had a good flavour and the salad underneath was nice and went well with the prawns. Finally the vegetarian rice rolls were alright. However, they did need to have a sauce to go with them and were more on the bland side.
Festival Dish
Island Bay Butchery braised lamb neck jungle curry with kūmara, long beans, peanuts and coconut
I also got this with Rice noodles instead of rice because the rice they serve is brown as I am not a fan. The braised lamb neck was beautifully cooked and very tender. The long beans were blanched and had a crisp texture. The kūmara was a great addition and added to the sweetness of the curry. The curry had a really nice flavour, however it really did lack a kick or any spice.
Apache salted mandarin soda
This drink came with my fine dine plate. It was very nice and refreshing. It had a really nice mandarin taste and was easy to drink.
Overall this is a nice place to eat. However, I do not have a strong need to go back. I feel the menu is slightly “dumbed” down, more fusion like or catered more for the blander palette. I think this is a real shame as there is a lot more potential in this place and menu.
Website; Apache
Trencherman's Travels 