A seat at the table: Apache

Thistles and Kiwis,

We enjoy eating out, and it is good to go back to a place you have enjoyed before but haven’t been to for a while. Apache, “a Vietnamese inspired restarurant infused with elements of France” recently moved to new and bigger premises on Tory Street, is one of those restaurants. The move has not only given them more tables, but has taken them away from an area with a lot of construction going on to a more central location.

We ordered the prawn and pork dumplings, with green apple kimchi, ginger and coriander, which were so fresh tasting and full of wonderful flavours, and imperial fired pork rolls with shiitake, coriander, dưa góp (a type of quick pickle) and peanuts that were tossed in spices from the ‘small dishes’ section of the menu.

We also enjoyed the shaking beef, so tender and full of flavour, with red capsisum, carrots, onion and courgettes alongside the meat. A bowl of coconut rice came alongside the poulet au caramel, chicken thighs roasted with salted chilli caramel, green beans, mushrooms, lemongrass, ginger and kaffir lime leaves. Both dishes were excellent with melt in your mouth meat, a decent amount of vegetables and perfectly served. We enjoyed a Waimea Esatates Riesling alongside.

Verdict? Excellent. Return? Yes. Recommended? Yes!

Entered in Wednesday Words and Whimsy hosted by Min.

Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer, good food and pretends to garden.

You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis.

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Published by Thistles and Kiwis

Loves summer, sunshine and cats. Beginner gardener, likes eating, cooking and reading about food

32 Comments

  2. Looks like a delicious meal was had! I’m glad to hear their new location seems to be a good move for them!

    As an aside, as someone living on old Apache territory in New Mexico, USA, I was confused about the restaurant’s name! Turns out there is similarity between the French “apache” (a Parisian gangster or ruffian) and the Spanish transliteration of the Zuni word “apachu”, meaning enemy.

    Thanks for inspiring me to learn something new today!

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    1. My dear husband is a meat eater (no meal is complete without meat type person – though I can get him to eat fish!) but have to say that the beef was excellent and for a change, lots of vegetables too.

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    1. My mum loved willow pattern too! In fact, we ate off willow pattern plates, drank out of willow pattern cups and had lots of serving dishes too. I got a bit tired of it by the time I left home, but now would like one small bowl as a memory.

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  9. No dessert?

    I love the name, and the idea of Hanoi meets Paris. The food looks beautiful – I am drooling over the dumplings. May I ask about the shaking beef?

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