I live in the cultural melting pot that is Mt Albert, a stones’ throw from Auckland’s Sandringham, which has become somewhat of a little Calcutta in our city. You can sample the most amazing Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indo & Singaporean cuisine here, from the North Indian inspired Top In Town, Sri Lankan 7 Siri, to the hugely popular Paradise.
Within walking distance from my home you will find Chinoiserie, a quaint little eatery that is the brain child of brothers Jasper & Ludo Maignot, and Jasper’s partner Celeste Thornley who are also the owners of neighbouring café, L’oeuf.
The restaurant has been there for a fair while now, and whilst I have been desperate to try their menu, I’d also promised Christian that my first outing there would be with him on one of our very rare dates. Last Wednesday night, he was enviously going out for dinner to the Ponsonby Food Court with a friend so I decided that I could wait no longer and told him that I was going to take Ethan there for dinner, so that I could sample the tofu gua bao. Bao is a Taiwanese snack food, consisting typically of a slice of stewed meat and other condiments, served between flat steamed bread.
Octo-lacto Fraser joined Ethan & I for dinner and it wasn’t long after we reviewed the menu that we were up at the counter ready to order. Chinoiserie is a cool, no frills dining experience where the chefs pride themselves on flavour and food instead of flashy tableside service. Sherita is one of my favourite features of the L’oeuf/Chinoiserie family and she doted on the three of us while we waited for our meals.
Fraser accompanied his gua bao with Szechuan peanuts.
Szechuan or Sichuan is a province in South-western China. When referenced in dishes, it refers to the style of cuisine that would typically be found in this province. Sichuan cuisine is bold in flavour, using lashings of garlic & chilli.
Our gua bao arrived, served in little bamboo eco-friendly boats. The slaw that sat atop the slices of lovingly seasoned tofu was sufficiently coated in sesame dressing, topped with peanuts and served with satay made in-house. Whilst deceptively small, these little buns are not only jam packed full of flavour, and are incredibly filling.
In terms of décor, the interior of the restaurant & bar is reminiscent of a Chinese opium den. There is a hand painted Chinese dragon motif painted along the entire left side of the restaurant, which only serves to throw your imagination directly into a scene out of Kurt Russell’s ‘Big Trouble In Little China‘.
After the lacklustre experience that was New Flavour last week, Chinoiserie is a breath of fresh air. It is affordable, local and has a sincere focus on fresh and tasty ingredients. Go here now – or wait for the first Sunday session! Announced earlier this week by Chinoiserie as Feb 22.
Love,
Charli x
charliespinoza.com 