Auckland, my home town.

Every city in the world has its own unique expression of time and place. Sydney is brash, like a big night out, or maybe your older and much drunker sister on a big night out. All smeared make up, broken stilettos and half consumed champagne. Melbourne is your sensible university friend, a touch more genteel. Well mannered and most definitely well spoken discussing the nuances of Carvaggio whilst enjoying an excellent meal in a not too shabby Italian laneway establishment with a glass of reasonably priced Chianti. London sits some where in between the those two, whilst my home town of Auckland is your youngest sibling. The one that you invite out for dinner at a nice restaurant and who steals the night and the glory with zealot like gusto, running off with it like a thief in the night. All the while claiming ownership and success of the evening, conceptual rights and royalties to boot. Now don't get me wrong I love Auckland. It has all the nuances of a big city mixed with a diluted shade of a rural country town and combined with an environmental rawness that creates uniqueness on all levels. I visit as often as I can and more often than not as I fly over the Tasman sea I always seem get quite reflective and prose-y. More so as the steep dark cliffs and white caps of the wind battered west coast come into view. Having arrived in Australia from Auckland over thirty years ago I spent a long time in denial of my origins often thinking that it was somehow inferior, cringe worthy and behind the times. Yet with age and reflection things change. Auckland is a remarkably interesting and relaxing city that now possess a new form of self confidence, it knows who it is and doesn't for a moment care what you think about it. Gone are the days when Australian chefs were imported to create new "hot" dining venues, as the chefs here are world class. The food and wine of New Zealand is fantastic with a progressive individual style, vibrancy and a sense of regionality and seasonality. We have enjoyed many great meals from everyday cafes to deliciously fresh, zingy and spicy Asian to the most enjoyable Turkish meal I've had in a long time.

Enter Phil's Kitchen

Having spent the first two days of my five day trip stuck back in Sydney, cooking for clients, I had to make an effort. Grabbing an early flight from Sydney after little more than three hours sleep I arrived into glorious twenty eight degree sunshine determined to make the most of the time I had left. Enter Phil's Kitchen. I hadn't heard of Phil's kitchen until it appeared as a "like" on my Instagram feed. Having an inquisitive look, the food looked great. Website checked, they were open and had space. Our two quickly grew to a five. So with barely three hours on the ground, no sleep and running on empty we headed out into the balmy Auckland evening.

Driving though the almost prozac-ly well adjusted middle class of the North Shore and down over the Harbour Bridge we turned off at Shelly beach road and headed down though the up market, perennially hot and hipster suburb of Ponsonby. Restaurants heaved and bars were packed (even on a Tuesday) as "Lumber-sexuals" prowled the streets looking for the ever new and greater hipster experiences. Leaving this thriving modern day fashionista Garmorah we headed to the nearby suburb of Kingsland a mere ten minutes away, a suburb on the rise yet still not yet anchored on the hipster map. Driving past the restaurant, painted intones of black my heart did flutter with the weight of my dinning companions expectations, as a rather muted facade greeted us. The restaurant, located on a narrow shopping strip, is a small, yet longish room with a bar and smallish kitchen that separated the outdoor area at the rear to the front dining area. High backed banquettes, chairs sat amongst dark timber tables simply set, sans cloth. On first inspection it would easy to dismiss this place as a modest suburban restaurant, however this would not do justice to the solid service and remarkable food. This is the "Hedone" of Auckland. An unassuming dining room in an unassuming location from which the food shines like a beacon.

This was an unusually hot and humid Auckland evening and a Tuesday to boot, the first night of the mid week trade. The outside dining area had a steady flow of traffic but our rather rumbunctious five were seated alone in the front of the restaurant. Drinks were delivered from the small but effective wine list and food was ordered from the menu.

I began with the dish of Pan fried Scallops with Strawberry Gazpacho and Crispy Kale ($21NZD). I must divulge that I am not the greatest fan of the whole fruit/meat/seafood combination. On occasion it works for me, dependant on the skill and steady hand of the chef. In this dining room it was a hit. The scallops were perfectly seared with a golden crunch, delicious. The strawberry gazpacho wasn't as strawberry as I had feared. Rather, a clever use of the sweetness and acidity within the berry, combined with the tomato to create a gazpacho like none I've tasted. It added just enough complimentary sweetness to match and yet contrast the salty scallop. Crisp kale added crunch to the dish whilst the softness of the duck crackle-lings added an interesting note. This is clever food served in a clever manner.

If the scallops were good the the duck (Smoked Duck, Freekeh, Roasted seeds and Cherries. $39.50NZD) was superb. Tender, juicy and perfectly cooked, just blushing on the slightish more medium end of medium rare. Well rested and perfect. In the hands of a lesser chef this dish could have been just ordinary. The simplicity of the ingredients beguiled the complexity of what was placed in front of me. There was a cerebral playfulness in the simple menu description, which was oxymoronically pitched against the complexity of texture, flavour and appeal . Just let me add, at this point, that there is a real soulfulness and generosity to the portions. This is not tiny portions on big plates, this is a well measured meal that will not leave you eating toast in your boxer shorts when you get home at eleven. The duck had been carefully smoked adding an extra dimension of flavour that complimented the earthy freekeh, seeds and nuts. The cherries added sweet and sour that contrasted the richness of the meat. Once again, devilishly clever food.

I continued the fruit theme for dessert, as late summer in New Zealand is blessed with magnificent stone fruits. As is my pleasure, and once again at the mercy of the wine list and my enjoyment of a good bottle, coupled with no sleep and a plane flight, have left dessert as only a fragment in my memory. The dish I did choose was the"Valronha dolce chocolate ice cream, dolce salted caramel,roasted white peach & Almond". Once again a very interesting interplay with chocolate and the intensely ripe late season peaches. Imagine an Eton mess without the Eaton or the mess. The ever present underlying cloying sweetness was cut with the acidity and bitter notes (from the charing) in the peach and bitter notes in the salted caramel. My only want would have been for a cooler component to the dish as everything was, at least temperature wise, the same. Still this is minor when considering the dish in relation to the other dishes around me and in context of the meal itself. Again, clever food.

Valronha dolce chocolate ice cream, dolce salted caramel,roasted white peach & Almond

The wine list is short and intelligent and a product not only of the menu but of the nature of the restaurant itself. Mostly New Zealand wines with a smattering of Australia, France, Italy and Spain, complimented with a short yet interesting beer list. There is an excellent selection by the glass (unfortunately, yet not unexpectedly, the Champagne is the only wine not offered by the glass) We began with The Framingham 2014 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlbrough ($14NZD) which had the classic new world intensity of passionfruit and tropical fruits with an excellent minerally edge of acid that provided excellent balance. The wine worked well with the scallops yet I also enjoyed the Sileni Estates "The Plateau" 2013 Pinot Noir Hawkes Bay($13NZD) with this dish as well. This is a really food friendly Pinot Noir, ripe and smooth with good structure yet not over bearing it provided an interesting contrast to the sweet, salty acidity that was in the scallops and complimented the strawberry nuances in the dish. Well thought out.

For the duck with its smokey and cherry components the Pinot worked well having a great weight that suited the dish. I did however move on to the Il Faggio Montlepulciano d'Abruzzo 2013. A solid workman like, light to medium bodied red wine with notes of berries, cherries and chocolate that works well with food, rather than against it. The wine wasn't as tight as id expect but danced a beautiful line of fruit and acidity with the smokey, gamey, and fruit driven structure of the duck dish. On such a hot summers evening a beautiful Gamay or Beaujolais would have done the trick as well. Over all an intelligent list that works within the confines of the restaurant.

So how does Phil's Kitchen sit in the world of restaurants? Well, many years ago I worked as a Chef for a Frenchman in rural New South Wales. The Frenchman (as I call him) had set up a beautiful garden restaurant out the back of an art gallery, in what was then, the middle of no where. The food was classic french fare based on such french masters as Paul Bocuse, Jean Fleury and the Haeberlin brothers. As there was only a small budget the focus was on the plate, diners enjoyed beautiful hand crafted food with excellent service. The dining room itself was comfortable, well presented and well fitted out yet lacked the big budget big design feel of its contempories. However with focus, drive, skill and generosity he turned this modest endeavour into a great culinary success. Case in point Phil's Kitchen which is an unassuming dining room in an unassuming location. It is comfortable and well set out. But the plate that is placed before you is the key, the rabbit from the hat and the success in the making. The food is dramatic, interesting, complex yet with simple and assured direction. This is a dining room of confident food, clever cooking and fantastic technique aided and abetted with enthusism, energy and generosity. The service is professional, friendly and well timed. It is almost an insult to say that this is the best food that I have had in Auckland, as this is world class cooking. But having said that, it is the best food I've had in Auckland. So go and be surprised.