i'm conflicted as i start to write this next post. i had such a good time and the food was so good - i want to tell everyone about this place so they will thrive and it'll still be there for us to stay when we go back to NZ. and on the other hand i want to keep it a secret - because if everyone knows about it we might not be able to book into it! but i guess that's a good rock and hard spot to be between. (right: our 1st view of kaimata.)
they have a chef come in for breakfast and dinners, lunch is on your own. you can bring in your own groceries and stash them in the common kitchen's pantry/fridge and cook them yourself, or you can drive into town. portbello's the closest i think, and it's abut 30-40 minutes away, depending on your driving confidence on those 1-lane gravel roads.
we were met by a bottle of otago peninsula pinot noir and otago makes some fantastic pinots. every one i had was full bodied, with a robust nose.dinner that night was wonderful. we had venison our host kyle had shot. dinner was with the 2 other couples that had booked into the retreat.
but 1st we had NZ cheese and crackers, with a tomato pesto, a basil pesto and a jam-like spread i don't remember
prawns on the heat
salad: the prawns, avocado, salmon chunks and something that looks like cantelope but i'm pretty sure that's not what it was. sadly i failed to write down this dish in my notes :-(
the prawns were tasty once matt helped me off with it's legs, head and shell. the salmon was great. and long-time readers know i'm not a huge salmon fan, but these were grilled and firm pieces, not mushy.
main: the above mentioned venison. in this case deer, with brocolli, carrots, a potato well, it wasn't puree, and it wasn't mashed, chunky-mashed? a bit of garlic and a beet. i think.
dessert: was an orange foam kind of thing with zest and orange slices up top, probably a raspberry coulis and i think those are apple wedges.
chef chris harris at work in the kitchen.
(note to chef: i apologize for not remembering everything, please feel free to correct or expand on anything here, chef!)
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