Babi & Briny

As Wellington On A Plate draws to a close, we are going out to our first event of the festival. We were supposed to go out last week to I Wanna Go Back to the Eighties, but the event was cancelled for reasons undisclosed. Way back when I was looking through the programme in June, I thought the event at Bambuchi looked like a fun evening, so I booked tickets and put it in the diary.

On a Thursday evening we assembled early for the first sitting of Babi & Briny – a feast of Longbush pork (babi) and kaimoana – seafood to you – (briny). No further clues were given at the time, probably as they hadn’t finalised the menu yet!

We were seated at communal tables, and introduced ourselves to our neighbours. We started with a  glass of prosecco, and an amuse bouche of mussel and spiced deep-fried fish:

This was followed by a raw trevally, sliced sashimi-style with chili, Thai basil, and black pudding; and octopus salad:

The main course was brought out in stages, and by the time they were all on the table we’d served ourselves, so no picture. The main event was the Longbush pork, which had been cooked for 14 hours. This was delicious, accompanied by Bambuchi’s own hot sauce. Sides of rice and watercress with kina dressing were good, but a rather misplaced roasted brussels sprouts dish marred the overall effect and should probably have been left off the menu.

The final course was a banana and coconut dessert:

We’ve been going to Bambuchi regularly for brunch, but only once before for dinner, and this feast has firmly cemented them as a good nearby go-to place; especially as many of our more local eateries have now cut back on evening service.