Doing ribs right at Fern & Kiwi
PUBLISHED November 5th, 2012 12:46 am | UPDATED April 1st, 2016 02:27 pm
It turns out New Zealand does a lot more than sheep. Whilst making my way to Fern & Kiwi Bar and Eatery, Clark Quay’s latest addition, I wasn’t entirely sure what distinguished New Zealand cuisine from other Western favourites. My first thought was ‘meat’. Platefuls of lip licking goodness later, I discovered they don’t just ‘do meat’, they do it very, very well.
Most people seem to be drawn in by the downstairs bar and late night live band, but it really is worth climbing the stairs and tucking into some of the hearty grub in the upstairs restaurant because this isn’t just another Clarke Quay bar.
The food is healthy, rustic, well portioned, high end pub grub – an all-time favourite of mine!  Sitting down with Head Consulting Chef Mathew Metcalfe, I found out that he has redesigned some of the restaurant appliances and equipment to better accommodate his cooking style and to make life a little easier for us punters. This doesn’t sound like a huge deal, but when you’re faced with the mission of elegantly demolishing some tasty ribs whilst sat opposite a date, it can get uncomfortably messy. What you need is a chef-designed, easy eat, rib rack!
Meet the entrée of Brazilian Classic Pork Spare Ribs ($16 for 8)! Chunky, meaty and served with accompanying barbecue and orange glaze, rather than being saturated in sauce, these really are some of the best ribs I’ve ever had, and they speak for themselves. Also not particularly fatty, as far as ribs go. Be put off from the stickiness of ribs NO LONGER! Metcalfe has cracked it. I was stolen by these juicy ribs and have since been back to devour many more. Fern & Kiwi also do a main course order of ribs… just make sure you come hungry!
With pleasure we sampled the New Zealand Beef and Venison Sliders ($15) served with lemon aioli and beetroot relish. These well balanced little bite size chunks are perfect for sharing and a great starter recommendation! Again, these slider boards are Metcalfe merchandise.
If I had to pin point one thing that Fern & Kiwi does best, that would be understanding complimentary food flavours. I have no doubt that most things on this well thought out menu are worth a try, but another to add to the ‘must consume’ pile is the Canterbury Plains Rack of Lamb ($37), complete with mash and pea salsa, leaving you with a warm belly feeling of a rustic English countryside pub. Priced a little more steeply at $37, but just delicious!
I’m a sucker for savoury, but leave room for some of the enchanting deserts Fern & Kiwi has to offer. This Trio of Mini Ice Cream Cones ($14) is just full of flavoursome surprises. As you can see by the portions this place really welcomes sharing and at a reasonable price.
I should mention that Fern & Kiwi are also offering some dirty cheap drinks deals at the moment, including free Broken Shed Vodka drinks for ladies, and $5 for men, on Wednesdays from 9pm-11pm for the next few weeks ahead!
On this occasion, food and photography compliments of Fern & Kiwi.
