Maori restaurant celebrates

Press, 5 December 1985, Page 47

Maori restaurant celebrates

(By

HANS PETROVIC)

Te Waka 0 Maui, the first and only Maori restaurant in New Zealand, celebrated its first birthday last month with a splendid hangi evening, which was further enlivened with entertainment by the staff and guests. To mark the significance of the occasion, the restaurant was blessed by the Maori elder, Mr Hohua Tutuangeahe. The evening was

also attended by the member of Parliament for Sydenham, Mr Jim Anderton, who surprised diners with his singing ability, and the director of the Te Waipounamu district of the Department of Maori Affairs, Mr Bill Edwards. Visitors from Hawaii and Australia were also present. The evening’s fare, which was similar to that for a normal Saturday, comprised seven courses, starting with fish roe, and pork braun, mussels and marinated fish, a seafood chowder, and climaxing with hangicooked fish, chicken and pork. A choice of desserts followed. A traditional welcome from members of the staff started the evening’s proceedings, which included an 'explanation of the Maori carvings that had been specially done for the restaurant, and a demonstration of poi twirling. Most noticeable during the evening was the

friendly, communal atmosphere, with the entire staff — from the Dutch manager, Mrs Estelle Ward-Übels, to the Maori cooks and waiters — joining in all the activities.

“We have this sharing, communal feeling, which is typically Maori,” Estelle said.

“Visitors from all over the world have been captivated by our friendly atmosphere, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings, when there is live entertainment in which they are encouraged to take part.

“We have had groups from China who felt at home in these surroundings. The other night, we had 28 handicapped people from Australia who totally enjoyed it,” Estelle said.

Besides curious customers from the Christchurch area, groups of overseas tourists were one of the main sources of visitors to the restaurant, she said.

“Many pakehas, however,

are still wary of Maori food,” Estelle said. “Some of them seem to expect the food to be greasy, but it’s not like that at all.

“We serve a wide variety of foods, including lots of seafood, pork and lamb, plus a selection of vegetables besides the traditional kumara and cabbage. “Some people have said that this is not really Maori food, but it is food as eaten by Maoris today — without the fern roots and things like that. The Maoris used to eat a lot of seafood, and still do.

“We spent a lot of time developing our hangi. “Sometimes, a hangi cooked in the ground can be very smokey and dirt flavoured. Instead, we have chosen to heat ours by gas, but we still use river stones and sacks for the proper preparation. “We tried it out on 36 local Maori elders about six weeks before we opened. They all approved of it, with only one saying it had a different taste.

“But it’s not all hangi at the restaurant. Besides the standard menu, there are always the chefs specials: flounder, oysters, sun-dried eel — things you can’t get all the time. This keeps it varied,” Estelle said.

Te Waka 0 Maui is open for dinner from Tuesday to Friday, from 6.30 p.m.; and for lunch, 11 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., Monday to Saturday. The restaurant is in Carlton Courts, at the corner of Papanui Road and Bealey Avenue, with car parking at the rear. It has a 8.Y.0. licence. (Phone 553-655). The average price for dinner is about $2O a person.