The thing that I love about Ha Ha Bar as a dining destination is that it is situated on the water, has a world renowned chef and has a sophisticated ambience about it, but doesn’t come with the price tag that you would expect from such a restaurant.
Ha Ha Bar’s recently recruited new head chef, Chef Lovemore, is from Zimbabwe. He was a chef for seven years in Botswana where he enjoyed exposure to international chefs, cuisine and gastronomic cooking. He decided to broaden his culinary horizons by moving to New Zealand, where he rose in prominence and was one of six chefs awarded ‘New Zealand Beef & Lamb Ambassador 2010’.
Now at Ha Ha, Lovemore relishes the opportunity to be using fresh produce and it certainly shows in his cooking.
For entrée, we were presented with the Tempura Stuffed Courgette Flower with a mushroom medley, cream cheese citrus, carrot, salsa, crustini and lettuce and the Salmon Sticks – sesame coated salmon on heirloom tomato slab.
The courgette flowers came in a pair and were crisped to perfection. The mushroom medley is creamy with just a hint of spice and overall, the dish was quite delicate. It was the perfect entrée dish as it is light, but still leaves a feeling in your belly of wanting more.
The salmon sticks were soft inside, with the sesame seed coating adding a crunchy bite. The tomato salsa complimented it perfectly and added a zesty tang.
Shortly after we had eaten the entrees, our grand mains are presented to us. The Eastern Chicken with authentic eastern flavours of Africa infused in the stuffing of a chicken breast, grilled and served on roast potato and steamed vegetables looked absolutely mouth-watering. As did the Duo of Pork Tenderloin and Belly Cooked Twice with apple cider jus, kumara, potatoes, seasonal vegetables, pickled vegetables and chimmy.
The chicken was rolled and I was expecting it to be slightly dry – boy was I wrong. The chicken was tender and moist and the roast potato cakes literally melted in my mouth. The seasonal veggies were a bonus extra, making the meal very satisfying and leaving our bellies very full. The spices stuffed in the middle of the chicken was crumbly and melted into the chicken.
The pork tenderloin and belly was a real pleasure for the taste buds. The bottom pork belly layer was crunchy and chewy and the apple cider jus provided just the right amount of moisture and gave it that traditional pork belly taste.
For a pleasurable dining experience that isn’t going to break the piggy bank, head to Ha Ha Bar located on Emu Bank.
