The Blue Breeze Inn (Auckland, New Zealand)

Perhaps this is one of the best, if not the best Asian fusion restaurant in Auckland, great set of menu which consists of mouth-watering dishes mostly fused with the Chinese cuisine. We were here a couple of months ago and had a great time, I got to pass by this place many times in the past when we dine in at Ponsonby Central but never bothered to pay it a visit until a colleague of mine recommended them. I am really glad on that recommendation as this place really rocks! I love the menu, I love the dishes and the flavours were amazing.

The drinks here are also a must try affair as they specialize in Rum, which means they have a variety of cocktails to choose from, all with the Polynesian theme that is perfect with the Asian dishes that they serve. Drinks menu like I said was impressive hence we tried many different varieties.

We started with the Ginger Honi (NZ$ 18.00), as described from their menu “Catch a wink from a playful stranger, pour it into a glass – and you’re looking at a Ginger Honi. Lashings of Gosling’s famously luscious rum, freshly squeezed lime and our house made ginger beer create an effervescent cocktail fizzing with honeyed sparkle.” Basically, a very potent ginger beer and rum deconstructed served on separate glasses, this thing gives you a refreshing kick, a good match to any strong dish or seafood dish.

Then we had this Mr Lava Lava (NZ$ 17.00), “Mount Gay Eclipse rum jived up with Java coffee beans to put some pep in your step, married with rich chocolate and a shot of espresso. You’ll keep up with the jungle drums on this one.”. Now if you feel quite lazy or sleepy this one will give you that boost, good with any dessert.

Next up was this Blue Breeze Negroni (NZ$ 17.00), as they described, “Like your classic Negronis? We’ll you’re gonna go apeshit when you taste this. Because instead of Gin, we use El Dorado five-year-old rum, and we age that delicious, boozy rum in our own bourbon barrel for a month. Look for the vapour trails as it boldly sails out from the bar. Not today, gin, not today…”. Now as described if you like Negronis then this is way much better, tastier and a more masculine take on a classic.

Lastly, we had this Lady Lychee (NZ$ 17.00), Sweet, refreshing, mild, I like this one a lot, it’s like a soft drink liquor instead it’s not, good with any salty dishes. As described on their menu “When fresh lemon meets our chilled Butterfly tea, the tea’s dark, blueberry purple suddenly blushes a neon pink. Topped up with bubbles and lychee liqueur, this frosty, effervescent cocktail tastes of cut lemon and juicy tropical nights. Gorgeous, quenching colour alchemy.”.

Enough of the drinks let’s start with the dishes, first with our appetizers. No Asian dining for me is complete without a serving of shumai so I grabbed some Pork and Prawn Shumai ($12.00 / 4pcs), this one is a very dense shumai, good texture, nice bounce to it plus its serving size is good, probably each piece is for two bites, very tasty, one of the best shumais in Auckland.

Another appetizer was this Black Pepper Lamb Wonton (NZ $14.00 / 5pcs), definitely this flavour was a first for me, never thought of having lamb in a wonton before but this was executed really well, the peppery taste blended really well with the lamb on that nice mildly spicy sauce.

Our last appetizer was this hefty Steamed Bun with Roasted Pork Belly and Pickled Cucumber (NZ$ 10.00), this was highly recommended and when you try them you will know why. That salty pork belly with fork tender meat and fat plus crispy skin on a soft mildly sweet fluffy bun is a perfect good combination of flavours and texture but take it easy as this can fill you up quickly, if that happens then you can’t enjoy the other delicious dishes this place has to offer.

Now let’s go to the mains, first is my favourite, Steamed Tuatua with house XO Sauce (NZ$ 26.00), these large shellfish are half the size of my palms, very meaty, very tasty, its one delicious dish. The sauce was amazing too, mildly spicy, savoury and semi-sweet, warning you might need a lot of rice for this.

Another seafood dish we had was this Stir-Fried Prawns with sticky pork, finger lime, chilli and ginger (NZ$ $30.00). Large size prawns in another great sauce infused with bits of sticky pork, sauce is with a kick but just enough to give you a zing and still showcase the flavour of the prawns.

Then we have this fork tender Braised beef shin and fermented chillies (NZ$ 30.00), another mildly spicy treat. A perfect dish for those who wants a good portion of beef.

Finally, we had this Stir-Fried Egg Noodles in XO Sauce and Pork Belly (NZ$ 28.00), very strong yet really good flavours, pork belly was slightly crispy, noodles were mildly fishy (in a good way) must be from the belachan / terasi which is used on South East Asian cuisine. This one goes perfectly well with their rum cocktails.

During the course of our meal we had this Greystone Pinot Gris 2017 (NZ$ 62.00) as our wine of choice, perfect with any Asian dishes as it is quite refreshing, peachy with pear hints and a bit of lemon. Great palate cleanser after every strong flavourful bite.

I enjoyed this place very much and if I have more space in my tummy, I would still continue ordering as every plate they deliver was an A++ grade dish, everything was well thought of. With regards to the service, it was impeccable, while it took time for some dish to arrive, it is understandable as this place is quite busy and food is prepared fresh, so if you are planning to dine in here time it when is off peak. I highly recommend this, I would bet you will enjoy it as well.

The Blue Breeze Inn
Address: 146 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, Auckland 1011, New Zealand
Website: https://thebluebreezeinn.co.nz/