Restaurant Review - Heather's Restaurant & Bar - Skotel

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 401, 27 August 1991, Page 11

Restaurant Review - Heather's Restaurant & Bar - Skotel

BY

FOODIE

TOO

It's hardly the thrill seeking of bungy jumping when you go out to a restaurant but there is a little bit of excitement to be enjoyed when you can go somewhere new. So it was for four Ohakuneites last week when we headed for the Skotel at Whakapapa - which is less distance away for us than for some folk crossing their city to eat out, and a much more pleasant drive. It adds something too when you arrive in the village, with the Chateau lights blazing and snow lays all about.

Heather's Restaurant and Bar, which is in the ski club-like Skotel, provided all the ingredients of a good night out, good wine, great food and live entertainment. First impressions of the place was of a "Cobb & Co" style family restaurant. After some drinks at the bar we ordered our meal from the counter, choosing a mixture of regular and blackboard menu dishes, then found a table to suit. Sampled first up was the French onion soup,

* bean soup, shrimp cocktail and deep firied mushrooms. The French onion soup scored top marks with full flavour, spoonfuls of onion slivers, and gratinated with bread and cheese (too often missed with this old favourite). Mrs Too got boring and said the seafood chowder was "actually, delicious" though she added that it had good flavour and "warmed the cockles of her heart". The shrimp cocktail pleased, being nicely presented with a generous serving of shrimps and a very nice sauce. The mushrooms were fine, and were served with a homemade tartare sauce. We sampled the Esk Valley Chennin Blanc 1989 along with the meal, which was described on the wine list as offering a tropical fruity taste and a touch of oak. For someone like me who enjoys wine but is not an expert, descriptions of the wines is a great help when included on the wine list - it's good to see. Mains sampled included the beef stroganoff which was served a plenty with sour cream and beetroot (how many ways are there to say "delicious"?) The roast of the day was also

tried, which was tender, lean lamb and lots of it. I think I picked the best though, with Ihe chicken breast Skotel, which was pan fried with a lemon, honey and coriander sauce. For something this more-ish there must be a twist, so I suppose it can't be that good for you (makes it all the more appealing somehow doesn't it?) More tropical fruity oak flavours followed with another bottle of the Esk Valley, then we moved into the desserts. We tried the cheese board with a New Zealand selection, the fresh waffles with hot Morello cherries, and the Coupe Tongariro. The cheeses were "Mwuaa!" (is that how you spell it? that alternative to delicious isn't in my dictionary), the waffles were cleaned up tout suite and the Coupe Tongariro, with sultanas and mandarin segments soaked in rum was a tasty treat too tempting to be anything but sinful. Be wamed - if you're driving include this dish in your alcohol limit calculations - or choose something clsc! Topping off this great night out was the live entertainment from a piano man who was also proficient with the flute and the guitar, and put up with his audience talking far too much.