Last night of conference and we decided not to go to the conference dinner, instead we decided to save a bit of work money and go somewhere else where we could digest what we learnt and debrief about everything we saw. We decided to go to Abracadabra from a recommendation from an ex-colleague now living in Rotorua.
We decided to order some tapas before we had our mains.
Fried Calamari
Calamari strips tossed in a chermoula seasoning & served with garlic aioli
This was really nice. The calamari was cooked nicely and nicely seasoned. The garlic aioli was a good addition to the dish. Had a bit of kick in it too.
Guacamole Dip
Homemade corn tortilla chips served with fresh guacamole
The guacamole was definitely made on site and was nicely seasoned and fresh. The corn tortilla chips, were good, I was surprised how thin they were though. As you usually do not get homemade corn tortilla chips that thin.
Chips & Rattlesnake Salsa
Homemade corn tortilla chips served with our signature rattlesnake salsa
Again the same tortilla chips as the guacamole. The rattlesnake salsa was really nice and had a really good kick to it. A very nice amount of chilli added to it.
Moroccan Chicken
Moroccan seasoned strips of free range chicken breast served with garlic aioli topped with harrisa
These were also very nice. They were nicely seasoned and also had a good kick to them. The aioli tip was nice with the addition of harrisa.
Chicken enchilada bites
Six crispy free range chicken, cheese & spring onion enchilada bites served with chipotle cream
These bites were wrapped like in small sausage bites. They were very tasty and nicely seasoned. The chipotle cream compliments the bites very well. Overall very nice.
Bus-station kefta tagine
Spicy lamb, chilli & garlic meatballs covered with a rich tomato & chorizo sauce, served in a traditional moroccan tagine. Topped with two free range poached eggs, sour cream & harissa, served with toasted ciabatta.
This was beautifully presented and looked very homely. When I took my first try of the dish I was very impressed. The tomato sauce was well seasoned and nice amount of sweetness and with the added slices of chorizo, this sauce was out of the world. The meatballs were very tender and you got four of the them in the tagine. They had a slight kick of spice but were nicely seasoned. The addition of the two poached eggs (which were nicely cooked), sour cream and the harissa was a great combination of flavours. Unfortunately there was not enough bread to soak up the sauce, but the toasted ciabatta was a great addition.
Sticky date & walnut pudding
Homemade sticky date & walnut pudding served warm with butterscotch sauce & Kapiti vanilla bean ice cream.
I was looking forward to this. It was presented nicely. However, the sticky date and walnut cake was more on the dry side and unfortunately the butterscotch did not make the cake any better. However, the cake did taste nice, as was the butterscotch sauce and was not too sweet. The ice-cream was very nice and complimented everything else on the dish.
Overall a very nice dinner at Abracadabra. The service was very good and the food came out quite fast, especially for a table of seven. The Tapas were very nice and I was very impressed with my tagine. Everyone was very happy with their meal and impressed with what we had at Abracadabra.
Website; Abracadabra Cafe & Bar
Trencherman's Travels 