Happy As A Hippo - Wellington On A Plate
By
Anto Coates
It’s said that hippopotamus kill more
people each year in Africa than any other wild
animal.
This is surprising for two reasons. Firstly
because hippos are herbivores and count such vaunted killers as the African lion
among their contemporaries. The second reason it’s surprising is because we
humans are somehow exempt from these killing stats – we kill people with far greater
enthusiasm and frequency than these lumbering ungulates, who accidentally
trample unsuspecting tourists who get between them and the water. I’m not sure
we’ve shed the ‘wild’ tag just yet.
But despite their reputation, the
hippopotamus does have a pretty jaunty name. It’s fun to say, especially in a
French accent – “Eee-poe-po-ta-moose!” It would make a very catchy name for a
restaurant, especially if that restaurant then decided to serve
French-influenced cuisine and embrace local dining promotions with two and
three-course set menus that included a glass of Ata Rangi wine. Luckily for me,
this turned out to be exactly the case and I had my first taste of ‘Wellington on a Plate’ at
Hippopotamus Restaurant at the Museum Hotel.
The Museum Hotel has a lot of character and
a rich history. The owner Chris Parkin is a keen motorcyclist and has some
beautiful bikes on display in reception (with notes indicating that he takes
them out for a spin occasionally too). Hippopotamus is up the lift on Level 3
and its dining room basks in the midday sun, to such an extent that our host
Timothy kindly offered to lower the blinds slightly for us. Sadly we couldn’t
linger due to my girlfriend’s work commitments, so we briskly ordered the
salmon to precede the sirloin for me and the tortellini before the fish of the
day for her (snapper). See full menu below.
In what seemed like no time at all (but was
actually about 10 minutes), our entrees arrived looking like a condemned
gourmand’s last meal. My salmon was a picture with finely diced tomatoes and
onion salsa enveloping it, and my girlfriend’s tortellini looked (and tasted)
delicious. As items on a set menu they offered great diversity – the funky
blue-cheese influence on her tortellini was strong without being dominant,
while the oily salmon sat beautifully with the acid of the tomatoes and the
fennel salad.
The Crimson Pinot Noir 2008 hadn’t really
impressed me when I tried it at our Martinborough tasting last month (in
contrast to its sublime big brother, the Ata Rangi) but it went even better
than expected with the salmon. With just the right amount of time between
courses for a quick debrief, the mains arrived, again well presented. My
sirloin had a delightful miniature gravy jug next to the meat and came with
a side of crisp golden fries, aioli and mesclun salad. Crucially the steak was
cooked exactly to medium as I’d ordered it, a seemingly lost art in these days
of experimental fusion cooking.
Unfortunately my girlfriend’s snapper went
a little bit awry – not dry and horrible, but perhaps lacking a little
freshness and with just a hint of that rubbery texture that reheated frozen
seafood often gets (not that I am levelling that allegation at the kitchen, to
be clear). She found all the solace she needed in my fries and aioli.
The table service was again immaculate as our
plates were cleared smartly and the very reasonable bill made its appearance –
40 mins all up. Our coats were brought for us and we trotted out into the
sunshine vowing a return visit for one of the hotel’s legendary cocktails and
an assault on the full menu before too long.
Hippopotamus
Wellington on a
Plate lunch menu
Starter
Salmon carpaccio with shaved Wairarapa fennel and red onion salad, drizzled
with tomato and citrus salsa
or
Kapiti Kikorangi tortellini with creamed leek and walnut froth
Mains
Sirloin steak served with homemade fries, mesclun salad and red wine port
jus
or
Catch of the Day on saffron boulangeres potatoes with chive beurre blanc
or
Baby summer vegetables risotto with parsley foam
Dessert
Classic apple tarte tartin with Kapiti vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce
or
Selection of Kapiti ice creams
Lunch wine:
Ata Rangi 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and Ata Rangi
Crimson Pinot Noir 2008
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