A new ghost in an old machine
Britomart’s latest restaurant newcomer, focuses on traditional Chinese cuisine with a Kiwi twist. Mina KerrLazenby takes a taste of Asia.
It’s an early Thursday evening, barely grazing dinnertime, in Auckland’s Britomart precinct. Most restaurants are groggily preparing for the night ahead, but Ghost Street, the week-old Chinese restaurant sequestered in the basement of the Stanbeth building, is humming.
It should come as no surprise really; news travels fast when its owners are some of the best in the biz.
Ghost Street, named after Beijing’s famous food thoroughfare, is the latest restaurant to come from Tony McGeorge and partner Krishna Botica.
The duo are already renowned hospitality gurus, with past endeavours that include Vietnamese stalwart Cafe Hanoi, Northern Thai joint Saan and inner-city dumpling bar Xuxu.
Chinese fare is an expected next step given their repertoire, but when I ask McGeorge if his aim is to authentically check off all Asian cuisines, to ‘‘collect them all’’, as it were, he laughs.
‘‘Even trying to check off a tenth of all the cuisines in Asia would be an impossibility, it’s far too complicated, far too complex,’’ he says.
‘‘I wouldn’t even want to say that we’re doing authentic Chinese food because it’s so subjective,’’ he says, ‘‘and authentic experiences vary depending on where you are from’’.
He has a point; Asia’s vast continent boasts classic dishes that vary depending on the region’s available resources, culture and traditions.
When the Ghost Street idea was first birthed around two years ago, McGeorge and executive chef Nathan Houpapa embarked on a three-week trip to China for menu inspiration, and fell ‘‘particularly in love’’ with the Xi’An and Chengdu regions.
‘‘We made a decision quite early in the development process to take a multi-regional approach to the menu design,’’ says Houpapa, describing how he had been inspired by the Western cities’ ‘‘hot and numbing’’ flavours of dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorns and fermented chilli-bean pastes.
Back in New Zealand, McGeorge and Houpapa were presented with the task of replicating those meals in a way that catered to New Zealand resources and culture.
‘‘We don’t say that we do fusion cuisine,’’ says McGeorge, ‘‘because the majority of the dishes at Ghost Street are what you would consider to be traditional, but being based in New Zealand means a few things have to be different.’’
Local ingredients are different to those in the Xi’An and Chengdu regions and so the team have had to improvise: a different cut of meat here, a herb swap there.
While not technically deserving of the title ‘‘authentic’’, to an untrained tongue the dishes are pretty darn close.
The snapper dish, which sees fillets poached in a fiery broth before being finished with red and green Sichuan peppercorns and dried chillies, is a menu standout, while the hand-pulled biang biang noodles are sure to be a fan favourite.
Just one week in and it’s already a dish that’s ‘‘flying out the door,’’ says Houpapa.
McGeorge describes the menu’s ethos as ‘‘punchy’’.
The underground space – rustic and approachable, boasting repurposed timber tables – is gritty but welcoming, the music is upbeat and the service is warm and friendly.
It shouldn’t be assumed that Ghost Street’s immediate warm reception is down to its owners simply having contacts in the right places.
Good news travels fast and, when that news concerns an enticing new inner-city restaurant with lauded Chinese food, it travels fast enough to get crowds moving within mere days. Much like its applauded Asian-centric sisters, it’s clear Ghost Street is set to make an impression on
Auckland’s hospitality scene.