Review: Point Restaurant (葡點) *CLOSED*

[Added 8 August 2012: This eatery is now sadly closed, having been open for only around 4 months.]

It was the photo of a grilled quail which drew us in.  On this cheap and cheerful stretch of Dominion Road, dominated by noodle and dumpling places, animal organs here, rice and lentils there, this little bird seemed almost too exotic to belong.  I was sure that if we tried to order it, we would be told "sorry, we've run out".  The last place I tried to order anything interesting, I was rejected three times before I found an item I could actually have.

Modern and clean look.

Well, I have yet to be told that a dish is unavailable at Point Restaurant. This is probably because most of the offerings at this Macanese eatery consist of noodles or rice, baked or fried (or boiled, in the case of rice porridge), with a repeated selection of accompaniments such as bacalhau (Portuguese salted cod) or BBQ pork.

The fried rice here is one of its strengths, but fortunately the menu also has some non-rice or -noodle dishes.  The Deep Fried Soft Shell Crabs with Wasabi Mayo appears under the "Yummy Snack" section and was beautiful cooked, while being very affordable at $8.50.  The whole Grilled Quail was also a tasty treat.

Partially eaten: Deep Fried Soft Shell Crabs with Wasabi Mayo; Fried Rice with Combination Meat, Cashew Nuts, Pineapple and Curry.

Grilled Quail with Five Spice Salt.

Our favourite fried rice so far is the Combination Meat one pictured with the Soft Shell Crab above, but the Seafood with Tomato Sauce Fried Rice is also pretty good.  I thought it would be like a Spanish paella, but it is definitely fried rice, with less liquid and some egg fried with it.  The seafood reminded me of "Mini-Me": apart from normal mussels, prawns, and squid, it also had tiny versions of the mussels, less than 10 times the size of the regular ones, and little shrimps as well.

Seafood with Tomato Sauce Fried Rice.

We found the noodles less exciting, though we have by no means tried them all, and the Fried Udon with vegetables was not bad.

Garlic Mushrooms and Vegetables with Fried Udon.

The main weakness of Point Restaurant is that there isn't a lot of vegetables to be had.  What dishes there are, the vegies tend to be a minor ingredient, or covered in cheese, and there isn't anything I would refer to as "green leafy vegetables".  Then again, I have felt a lack of vegetables in many other restaurants, even in, say, vegetarian Indian restaurants.  I don't really have anything against cheesy bakes anyway, even the mildly curried and sweetly coconutty ones.

Steamed Mix Vegetables Baked with Cheese and Coconut Curry Sauce.

Although no one was hungry after the large portions we were served, we couldn't go past trying the Serradura for dessert.  Named after the Portuguese word for "sawdust", this pudding looked like tiramisu, but was simply whipped cream layered with biscuit crumbs, garnished with grated chocolate.  Plain, yet enjoyable.

Serradura, or Macanese "Sawdust" Pudding, made of whipped cream and biscuit crumbs.

Point Restaurant is the only eatery I know of in Auckland specialising in the Chinese-Portuguese fusion cuisine of Macau.  It doesn't have the egg tarts and meat jerky slices sold from the sides of cobbled streets, which I've come to associate with this Chinese Special Administrative Region, but it does offer a large variety of other delights such as baked rice dishes and Portuguese sausage, all without breaking the bank.

Panda Recommends

Entrees: Deep Fried Soft Shell Crabs with Wasabi Mayo ($8.50), Grilled Quail ($12.00)
Mains: Combination Meat, Cashew Nuts, Pineapple with Curry Fried Rice ($12.50), Seafood with Tomato Sauce Fried Rice ($12.50)

Vegie Pandas
Limited choice, but be aware that you can look beyond the Vegetarian section for suitable dishes.

Menu - page 1

Menu - page 2

Restaurant Details

Point Restaurant (葡點)
Unit 4, 583 Dominion Road, Balmoral, Auckland
(09) 623 4279

Opening hours:
Mondays closed.
Tuedays to Sundays 12 – 3pm, 5:30pm – 9:30pm

Point Restaurant is in the same complex as Banzai, next to Aji Ichiban.

View Nom Nom Panda in a larger map

Review: Lunch @ Morita

The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question How can we eat? the second by the question Why do we eat? and the third by the question Where shall we have lunch?

                            -- Douglas Adams, Chapter 35, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I can tell you about a sophisticated place you could go for lunch.  You've probably even heard of it already, if you follow the Metro Restaurant of the Year awards, since the French-Japanese fusion restaurant Morita made it into the Top 50 shortly after opening in 2011 (and again this year).

Tucked away in a corner of a dead end street, I would never have stumbled across this hidden gem by myself.  Now, I don't make a habit of visiting award-winning restaurants for lunch, but a curiosity as to what French-Japanese food might taste like, coupled with the persuasion of a very reasonably priced lunch menu (complete with photos on the restaurant website), made me go out of my way to find this basement venue.

Dark yet elegant interior.

For food court prices, you can have lunch in one of the city's best restaurants, where even tap water is served in a wine glass from a classy bottle.  I also love it that the mains always come with a salad, so you feel that you are getting a balanced meal.

I generally order the less Western sounding options, which are definitely not pure Japanese.  The omurice pots, for instance, are basically tomato risotto with an omelette on top.

Tomato and egg omurice pot, served with a side of salad.

The donburi sets, which are extremely good value and not featured on their website, are just a little different from what you might expect, though it's hard to put a finger on why that is.

Teriyaki chicken donburi set, served with (clockwise from top right) fish nanban, salad, pickles and miso soup.

I should probably give their less interesting sounding items (like pasta) a go as well, but I struggle to forego the tried and true in this case.  Whatever you order though, I am sure you will enjoy it.

Panda Recommends

You can spend up to $70 on a lunch at Morita (four course business lunch with wagyu steak), but I stick to the more affordable items.  The hayashi rice ($11.00) is fantastic, and the donburi sets ($9.90) and omurice pots ($10.00 - $16.00) are all delightful and great value for money.

Vegie Pandas
I thought the Vegetable Kakiage Don ($9.90) would involve a mix of tempura vegetables, but it was all onion, which I guess fits in with the French theme.  The tomato and cheese omurice pot ($10.00) is a good choice.

Lunch menu outside the restaurant.

Special lunch menu (not on the restaurant website).

Normal lunch menu

Restaurant Details

Morita
12 Swanson Street, Auckland Central
(09) 337 0506

Opening hours:
Mondays to Fridays, 12 - 2pm, 6 - 9pm
Saturdays 6 - 9pm

Morita has a corner basement location.

View Nom Nom Panda in a larger map