Degustation at Kermadec

On Tuesday night Dons and I went to Kermadec Fine Dining Restaurant on the Viaduct for their degustation menu. As it's my birthday next week we thought we would have an early birthday dinner to celebrate as on my actual day I'm coming off night shift so will be no good for anything then. I got a voucher off GrabOne which was $120 for both of us instead of each so all we had to pay for was wine...and champagne of course. It really was a lovely experience. We had a fantastic waiter and the place, instead of feeling stuffy and pretentious, felt comfortable and an easy space to be in. So here are the course we had... (note the photos were taken with my iphone so could have been better but really weren't too bad)

Yellowtail kingfish sashimi, hadjiki, pickled peach, sesame, mirin dressing

The picture above was taken halfway through eating as I totally forgot to snap a photo. This course was lovely and refreshing and a great way to start the meal.

Chamomile infused Marlborough salmon, watercress, young vegetables a la grecque, salsa verde

Yum. yum and yum. I LOVE fresh, raw salmon and this course did NOT disappoint. The salmon was perfectly complimented by the accompaniments and had a lovely flavour from the infusion.

Seared Scallops, sweet corn, duck egg, bacon crumb, truffle mayonnaise

The most amazing course of the whole dinner. We both could have eaten just this over and over again. I loved how they got the perfect caramelisation on the scallops without overcooking them at all. All the flavours worked beautifully together. YUM!!!

Crispy skinned Hauraki Gulf snapper, courgette and crab beignet, court bouillon in its entirety

This course had a hard act to follow after the divine scallops. We both thought the fish was a touch overcooked and I had a bone in mine which was no big deal but a bit of a faux pas for such a fancy restaurant.

Wild red venison, sweet corn custard, pickled shitakes, thyme popcorn, Puy lentils, sauce Rouennaise

Neither Dons nor I eat venison but as we were there with the voucher we were unable to change this. While it was better than I thought and very tender, this was my least favourite course. For me the flavours weren't quite right but I was glad that I tried it...


Now I totally forgot the photo of the dessert can you believe it!!!! It was small and a perfect end to the meal and was...Fraisier, Sable Breton, Heilala vanilla cream (fantastic), violet espuma, strawberry consomme (fresh and delicious), wild thyme honey ice cream (repeated a little afterwards and for me the flavour was far too strong)