The charm factor

A bit of charm goes a long way, as I recently discovered during two quite different dining experiences.

After months of good intentions, I’ve finally got round to trying KungFu Noodles at 636 Dominion Road (Balmoral), a north western Chinese restaurant that had been recommended to me for its tasty kebabs and handmade noodles. Rumour has it that Shaolin monks run the place, although none were in evidence during my visit.

Despite being warned that the upstairs dining rooms were little changed from their earlier incarnation as a shopkeeper’s residence, I was somewhat taken aback when led up a very dark, dingy and narrow staircase into what may have previously been a bedroom. The carpet was filthy and badly stained, and the room smelt like wees. The sensory assault continued when a table load of Chinese patrons swooped in and noisily power slurped their lunches down right behind us.

Undeterred, we got ordering.

North western China is predominantly Muslim so – unlike most of the Chinese regional cuisine I have tried - lamb, rather than pork, features heavily.

I’ve got to take my hat off to the Chinese. Unlike us Westerners, most whom turn our noses up at the mere thought of variety meat, the Chinese waste nothing – not even chickens’ knees.

You’d think that eating chicken’s knees would be a knobbly and unfulfilling experience but you’d be wrong. They were surprisingly nice in a mildly cartilaginous way. The knees were threaded onto needle sharp thin metal kebabs, which I’m sure must have been hidden from sight when the restaurant was given its health and safety grading, and tasted charcoally and delicious.

The only thing to get the thumbs down were the deep fried battered lamb chunks, mainly because whatever flour they used resulted in a weirdly soft batter. The taste was fine, but the flaccid texture failed to win any of us over.

Although I liked Kung Fu Noodles’ food, the overly aromatic ambience of its upstairs rooms means I’m unlikely to be a regular customer.

A few days later I enjoyed an eating experience at the opposite end of the charm scale; Mapiu’s cafe.

Before you go rushing to Google Maps, Mapiu is the only settlement in the 63 km wilderness on State Highway 4 between Te Kuiti and Taumaranui. Apart from the cafe, it boasts a community hall and a primary school attended by 22 kids. It’s not the sort of place you’d expect to find a cafe, much less a good one.

The cafe is run by a retired couple, who make all of the food (pastry included) themselves. The husband looks after the customers, while his wife bakes 35 pies and all sorts of tasty cakes, biscuits and slices every day.

All of it is good old fashioned, tasty Kiwi home cooked fare prepared with care and a clear sense of pride in what is made. My steak pie was chock full of meat (no gristle, fat or excessive gravy here!), and was served on bone china with a side dish of homemade tomato chutney. The fruit crumble slice was filling and tasty, and the coffee was good.

Mapiu cafe is located in the former general store which, the proprietor informed us, used to be owned by his father. Memorabilia and object d’art adorn the interior, creating a deslighfully quirky ambience.

As much as I love trying weird and wonderful food from other cultures, Mapiu’s cafe provided a welcome opportunity to reconnect with excellent and unpretentious traditional Kiwi food in a lovely setting. What a fantastic find!

The cafe's interior was charming; almost like a little museum.

Downtown Mapiu.