Chambers Restaurant Old Library Chambers Building 109 Cambridge Terrace Phone 795-634 B.Y.O.

Press, 29 January 1986, Page 39

Chambers Restaurant Old Library Chambers Building 109 Cambridge Terrace Phone 795-634 B.Y.O.

(By

MAURICE HUNTER)

There is something to be said for a restaurant which is set deep within a building. Coming in from the street where the temperature has been in the 30s all day, Chambers was cool and restful. The decor is also restful — soft lighting, table linen and comfortable high-backed chairs in muted brown. Even the waitress, looking as though she spent much time in the sun when not waiting at table, toned in.

Shelves of books and prints of scenes of old Christchurch preserve the theme of the old library. And the menu, containing a foreword in the form of a welcome from the owner, Mr J. McSherry, is followed by Chapter One, the menu proper. Being mid-week, we had no trouble obtaining a table without a reservation, and it was pleasant, on being presented with the menu, to be given only one piece of additional information, the composition of the soup of the day.

All too often there are so many additions to the printed menu that it stretches the memory when ordering the meal. An appetiser of veal and herb terrine with hot kibbled wheat toast and cranberry and port sauce at $6.25 was tempting but I opted for avocado and ginger mousse ($6.75).

It arrived in a ramekin garnished with a large prawn fixing me with its beady little eye. This was soon demolished but I lingered over the mousse and Dutch rye bread, both because of the delightful flavour and consistency and the size of the serving.

This was followed by the soup of the day, a delicious blend of chicken and asparagus, lightly thickened and served piping hot with crouts and garnished with cream, chopped chive and paprika ($3.95). My wife chose gazpacho, a nicely chilled blend of tomato, cucumber, peppers and garlic with an identical garnish to mine ($4.25). I refused a sample because of the cucumber and peppers, but she said it was just spot-on.

From there to the entree, for which we had a choice of exotically prepared chicken pieces called Brochette de Poulet ($7.25), or baby button mushrooms entitled Mushrooms Persillade ($6.50), but my wife’s final vote went to Coquilles St Jacques, Nelson Bay scallops in white wine sauce served with mushrooms and spring onions with Hollandaise sauce ($7.25). It was highly succeessful, all the flavours combining to a harmonious whole.

Because I have never had much luck with salmon dishes, I felt that I should give it one more try and ordered Saumon au Crevettes, New Zea-land-raised salmon fillets, lightly grilled with lemon and prawn sauce ($8.50) — and I was glad that I

did. It was mouth watering.

Selecting the main course was not easy, everthing sounded delectable. We were offered orange roughy ($15.75), fillet steak ($15.95), vegetable crepe ($11.75), roast pheasant ($19.25) and venison ($17.75) all with attractive descriptions of the method of preparation.

In the event, my wife chose Poulet aux Fruits, chicken breast stuffed with mango slices, rolled and baked and served with orange and Grand Marnier sauce ($13.25). As with the previous courses, this left nothing to be desired, the chicken being tender and the blend of flavours exactly right. It was accompanied by a comprehensive side salad with French dressing, optional dressings being Thousand Island or roquefort. My choice of Veal Asperges, milk-fed veal, lightly pan fried and served wwith asparagus tips and Hollandaise sauce ($18.50), was also delightful. The tender succulence of the veal was enhanced by the asparagus and Hollandaise so that no one flavour dominated.

Being curious to know why veal, which few of us rate all that highly, should be the second most expensive course, I later phoned Mr McSherry, who assured me that the veal he uses is indeed milk fed and comes from the only farm in New Zealand producing veal of a qualify which is regarded as a delicacy in Europe. By this stage, we felt well enough fed but, in the interests of research, we soldiered on with dessert. My wife’s order of home-made ice cream was really rich and creamy, and eminently satisfactory at $6.50. My yoghurt brandy snaps, filled with fruit yoghurt and english custard mix, and served with ice cream and fruit ($4.75) were a little too crisp to handle with the tableware provided and I finally resorted to Nature’s provision, fingers, but they lost nothing because of that. (The brandy snaps, not the fingers.) Coffee, at $1.50 a cup, completed a most satisfactory meal. Being prepared to criticise, we were hard pressed to find fault.

While some would have considered the service to be a little on the slow side, we felt that it was

better to wait a little rather than have the chef sacrifice quality for speed. And, of course, in view of the generous portions, a reasonable space between courses definitely, helps the digestion. In paying our bill of $78.20, it crossed my mind that restaurants reviewed in this feature are sometimes placed at a disadvantage. Because they are being reviewed, we all tend to go right

though the menu to give as comprehensive a report as possible. In this instance, for example, if we had had our normal size meal, the cost would have been closer to $3O each. I was interested to note that Chambers offer a pre-theatre set meal of a choice of two soups, two entrees and four main courses, including tea or coffee, for $14.50 between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.