Restaurant review: The Hobbit

Ruapehu Bulletin, 6 August 1991, Page 11

Restaurant review: The Hobbit

BY FOODIE TOO A pleasant, relaxed atmosphere, good food with a varied menu greeted us at the Hobbit Bar & Restaurant when we visited last week. We visited on a quiet night and found friendly and efficient service - and first impressions of the menu was that there was too much to choose from. . Our guests chose the chicken fingers and chicken satay to start with and found them tasty appetizers. Mrs Too chose the seafood chowder and deemed it delicious - creamy and flavoursome. I picked the seafood fettuccini which was quite tasty and the best bet for taste and gap-filling.

I continued the seafood theme and chose the Hapuka steak which was dished up with a spicy tomato and onion chilli sauce which was adventurous enough without blowing the taste buds out the back door! I broke somebody's rules and supped on Nobillo's Cabernet Sauvignon followed by the Australian Oxford Landing Claret.The first may have been more suited to the dinner in question but I'm sure it was more delicious. My partner picked the Chinese Pork - a pork steak topped with a Chinese-style smothering sauce with vegetables. "Actually, delicious," was how she described it. She sampled the

vegetables on her own, the rest of us choosing the salad, and decided they were tops. The salads were no after-thought and included many different tastes blended amongst red cabbage and green peppers. Our friends chose the vegetarian lasagne and, in contrast, the pepper steak cooked medium rare. The first was a large slice of layers of spinach lasagne and tomato, potato and other vegetables with the obligatory cheese sauce. The steak was cooked just right for the diner's taste and was smothered with cracked pepper. Discussing the appetites of ski lift operators, we decided the time was ripe for the in-

troduction of "liftie bags" to replace the dated doggie bag. They could prove useful with the Hobbit mains which were quite generous. However, we battled on and decided to sample the desserts, trying the apricot crepes which were a very nice finish to a hearty meal. Our host Phil Jackson managed to twist four arms and we sam- t pled the Babich vintage ■ port at the bar following 1 the meal which added j, to the overall contentment of a good night out.