The Sugar Club by Peter Gordon - Not quite the sweetest thing
Mama's birthday dinner feels like it happened a million years ago already. In reality it has just been three or so weeks. Although it was Mama's birthday, and it should've been us surprising her, she had made surprise dinner reservations for us.
Generally our go-to restaurant for any family occasion is Soul. Mama had already warned me that we wouldn't be dining at Soul during my stay, as a pipe had burst in their ladies' powder room, and it would be closed for the two weeks that I was in the country.I didn't quite believe her, and I was suspicious right up until we walked into the base of the Auckland Sky Tower. Definitely wouldn't be dining at Soul then...
We entered into the glass-bottomed elevator. If you're scared of heights - you should probably take the stairs down after your meal…But first you have to get 53 levels up, up up…
…until you arrive at The Sugar Club!
There you will perch among low hanging clouds.
And add to the dizzying heights with cocktails like 'The Sugar Ladies'.
Unfortunately 'The Sugar Ladies' didn't taste quite as sassy as I would've expected, but onto the menu! The concept at The Sugar Club is that the dishes are portioned as what I would describe as entree size. One chooses several of these dishes, instead of an entree, a main and dessert.
Cheers Peter! Unfortunately that doesn't quite work for the SoulFood family's style of eating. See we are all for tasting as many different dishes in one sitting as we can. But we really can't eat that much. Not even three of four "small" dishes.
So upon recommendation of our very kind, Scottish waiter, we chose two savoury dishes each, which we would all share, followed by three desserts. All good things come in threes!
The "entrees" (shhh! Don't tell Peter we messed up his concept…). At the back there - the 'Grilled NZ and Atlantic Scallops - cacao tamarind paste, radish, sourdough crisps & cocoa soy nibs'; beside the 'Paddle Crab and Otago Saffron Linguine - pine nuts, aged parmigiano reggiano'; and in the foreground, 'Parmesan Gnocchi - fresh polenta, grilled sweetcorn, portabella mushrooms, eggplant, laphroaig whisky parmigiano, pine nuts'. Uff!
The clear winner by miles was the Paddle Crap Linguine! A touch of sweetness from the crab, and pine nuts mixed with the parmesan tang…let's just say we had to fight for our third of the plate!
As our mains, Papa was a bit selfish as he wanted to try Peter's signature dish 'Beef Pesto'.
Which he seemed pleased with.
This of course meant he only got to taste a forkful of the 'Octopus - smoked mash, deep-fried capers, piquillo pepper yuzu dressing', which quite frankly didn't look so appetising, but was my second favourite of all the dishes.
And the 'Day-Boat Fish - clams, coconut, tofu, eggplant, curry paste & coriander'. This dish was all just a bit too much for me. The fish, the creamy coconut, the rich tofu and eggplant and intense coriander...
Then there was a quick palate refresh before the desserts. Which I can't really remember the description of…
This was something of a deconstructed steamed pudding, atop some gelatinous plate.
But the dessert Mama had chosen was the most out-there by far. I suppose this could've been a savoury dish just as well, since it was a kind of basil granita, with olives, tomatoes and unidentifiable crumbs…pistachio perhaps?
This was a nice touch! But overall none of the desserts knocked our socks off. It was an interesting, enjoyable experience, but we all came to the conclusion, that for value for money and flavour-wise - Soul would remain our go-to!
There was nothing "warm" about The Sugar Club. In a physical sense, with the air-con running, when we were already sitting beside the glass facade, we were cold.
As well as the interior.
It's all very cool and sleek - club-like and exclusive I suppose. But it just didn't have soul. The bathroom on the other hand…
Now that I would gladly visit again!
Thanks for organising the evening Mama, hope you had a splendid day. Love you to the moon and back!
Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x
Generally our go-to restaurant for any family occasion is Soul. Mama had already warned me that we wouldn't be dining at Soul during my stay, as a pipe had burst in their ladies' powder room, and it would be closed for the two weeks that I was in the country.I didn't quite believe her, and I was suspicious right up until we walked into the base of the Auckland Sky Tower. Definitely wouldn't be dining at Soul then...
We entered into the glass-bottomed elevator. If you're scared of heights - you should probably take the stairs down after your meal…But first you have to get 53 levels up, up up…
…until you arrive at The Sugar Club!
There you will perch among low hanging clouds.
And add to the dizzying heights with cocktails like 'The Sugar Ladies'.
Unfortunately 'The Sugar Ladies' didn't taste quite as sassy as I would've expected, but onto the menu! The concept at The Sugar Club is that the dishes are portioned as what I would describe as entree size. One chooses several of these dishes, instead of an entree, a main and dessert.
"Peter has designed the menu to encourage you to order, and taste, a wider range of flavours and ingredients than you might otherwise experience in one meal. He recommends that you select three or four small savoury dishes and, to round off your meal, a delicious dessert."
Cheers Peter! Unfortunately that doesn't quite work for the SoulFood family's style of eating. See we are all for tasting as many different dishes in one sitting as we can. But we really can't eat that much. Not even three of four "small" dishes.
So upon recommendation of our very kind, Scottish waiter, we chose two savoury dishes each, which we would all share, followed by three desserts. All good things come in threes!
The "entrees" (shhh! Don't tell Peter we messed up his concept…). At the back there - the 'Grilled NZ and Atlantic Scallops - cacao tamarind paste, radish, sourdough crisps & cocoa soy nibs'; beside the 'Paddle Crab and Otago Saffron Linguine - pine nuts, aged parmigiano reggiano'; and in the foreground, 'Parmesan Gnocchi - fresh polenta, grilled sweetcorn, portabella mushrooms, eggplant, laphroaig whisky parmigiano, pine nuts'. Uff!
The clear winner by miles was the Paddle Crap Linguine! A touch of sweetness from the crab, and pine nuts mixed with the parmesan tang…let's just say we had to fight for our third of the plate!
As our mains, Papa was a bit selfish as he wanted to try Peter's signature dish 'Beef Pesto'.
Which he seemed pleased with.
 |
| Probably because he matched his meal? |
And the 'Day-Boat Fish - clams, coconut, tofu, eggplant, curry paste & coriander'. This dish was all just a bit too much for me. The fish, the creamy coconut, the rich tofu and eggplant and intense coriander...
Then there was a quick palate refresh before the desserts. Which I can't really remember the description of…
This was something of a deconstructed steamed pudding, atop some gelatinous plate.
But the dessert Mama had chosen was the most out-there by far. I suppose this could've been a savoury dish just as well, since it was a kind of basil granita, with olives, tomatoes and unidentifiable crumbs…pistachio perhaps?
This was a nice touch! But overall none of the desserts knocked our socks off. It was an interesting, enjoyable experience, but we all came to the conclusion, that for value for money and flavour-wise - Soul would remain our go-to!
There was nothing "warm" about The Sugar Club. In a physical sense, with the air-con running, when we were already sitting beside the glass facade, we were cold.
 |
| You really should' have to wear your jacket inside. |
It's all very cool and sleek - club-like and exclusive I suppose. But it just didn't have soul. The bathroom on the other hand…
Now that I would gladly visit again!
Thanks for organising the evening Mama, hope you had a splendid day. Love you to the moon and back!
Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x
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