VOP: Waiheke Celebratory Weekend

It’s been a quiet-ish winter for Poncentric but a recent family trip to Waiheke put some warmth and joy into a slow July.

We had cause for a double celebration – wedding anniversary and birthday – so it called for something very special.

Firstly there was the accommodation. We wanted something that was a bit special with sea views and close to Oneroa. Checked out a few sites and stumbled on Be My Guest and found this little beauty.

Perfect. Not only was it a lovely 4 bedroom house with awesome views but it was only a 1 minute walk to Oneroa Village.

Secondly there were the dining requirements for the Friday night and Saturday lunch. Friday night was easy as we are all big fans of the Oyster Inn. But for the special celebratory lunch we needed to go up a notch. In the end it was a toss-up between Mudbrick and Cable Bay Winery. Deb had always wanted to go to Cable Bay so that got the nod.

So onto the 1 o’clock ferry Deb & I jumped as the advance party. I should note that it was an awful weather weekend so we weren’t sure what the ferry crossing would be like. As we waited to board Deb said “should have bought some Sea Legs!!” It the event it wasn’t too bad. Even managed a fairly average selfie haha.

Caught the bus up the hill to the village ($2 – well you would splash out wouldn’t you!). Driver said “where’re you going”. “29 Waikare Rd” said I. So off we go. Now I’m not sure whether Waikare Rd is even on the bus route but soon enough the bus pulls up on the side of the road and I look out the window and see 29 on the letter box. Thanking the driver profusely we alight at the door.

Then we spy the delightful Café Delight right there. How good is that? Even better, our house is the lower level of the café. And it had Allpress coffee. How good is that?

We popped in for a late lunch (as you would); the seafood chowder was very tasty and I couldn’t resist the honey & lemon semolina cake (unusual but yummy) and of course the obligatory flat white. Most enjoyable. And a great view!!

Boy this is a long story and we haven’t even got to the first dinner!!

Anyway to cut a very long story down to a long story, the family progressively arrived and got ready for dinner. A short 2 minute walk had us at the Oyster Inn where we enjoyed a lovely meal in convivial surroundings.

I always find it hard to resist their oysters so I had the Battered oysters, wasabi tobiko mayo – with no sharing haha.

The rest tucked into an assortment: Hapuku & kafir lime ceviche, chipotle mayo; House-smoked Ora King salmon, crème fraiche, chives; a gorgeous chicken liver pate (that I didn’t get the full description of!!). All were so scrummy not that old “no sharing” was allowed to sample!!

Main time and my choice was easy – Line caught fish & triple-cooked chips. Others had the more healthy options: Market fish, roasted in masala spices with cauliflower puree, coriander & mint, Savannah fillet steak, beer battered onion rings & roasted bone marrow and the Wild mushroom risotto, truffle mascarpone. And we had assorted veges and the obligatory bowl(s) of shoestring fries!! All were declared tasty and very yummy.

As always there was always room for pudding and I was drawn to the Toffee & ginger pudding, caramelised banana, vanilla ice cream (no surprise here!!) Others had the Choux buns, vanilla ice cream & warm salt caramel – now they were a treat though I could only observe from afar – Mr. No Share was not allowed a taste!!

It was a lovely evening with the family and as always the staff were attentive and helpful.

TO BE CONTINUED………………………….