MooChowChow

MooChowChow is one of my favourite Ponsonby Restaurants.  This is a recent (within the last year) addition to the local scene.  It's a very cool Thai Restaurant which I've been to 3 times in the space of a month. Just the name is enough to make it worth checking out, surely?!  It's perfectly Ponsonby as far as urban eateries goes so I decided it was probably a blogworthy location for all Auckland food lovers. We even took my parents here while they were over from Canada and it did not disappoint.

My favourite waiter

I had a look at Mehran's Dineout profile, but looks like he missed this one so I'll try to do it justice.  (Mehran for those who don't know is my crazy friend from Chicago who inspired me to get blogging - he's a food and wine lover from Chicago, who was here for only about 8 months and did 61 restaurant reviews!  Check out his rather colourful Auckland dining experiences on Dineout if you're feeling adventurous:  Mehran's Dine Out Reviews for Auckland)

As for MooChowChow, its Thai with a modern twist.  The chef did a stint at Longrains in Sydney, which makes sense, given the non traditional Thai style tapas coming out of the kitchen. There's no green curry chicken or pad thai here, just lots of interesting little dishes to share. And get this, the food menu is less than a page and the drink list is 7 pages! 



Caramalised Pork Hock and Chilli Vinegar



Unlike Mehran, I didn't ask the waiter his name, but he was really good all 3 times.  Funny, flirty, and good at making recommendations on the dishes - mostly he pulled faces at some of the more average dishes and pushed us toward the more interesting ones - good man.  My favourite dishes would have to be the 'Caramalised Pork Hock and Chilli Vinegar' and the 'Grilled Beef Short Rib in a rich red peanut curry'.  Yummy yummo - do I really need to share?! Both were melt in your mouth with a punchy asian salad on the side. All was matched with a nice Alsace Pinot Gris (or a Pingpong long for Jo!).



Beef Short Rib - Sensational!





Lots of empty plates



Everything was great and although the buzz and atmosphere could be mistaken for a Thai night market, it's pure Ponsonby.  Plenty of beautiful people, relaxed seating, stools around big shared tables and the back of the restaurant is basically a temporary structure that's painted in my favourite fushia colour.

Definitely give this place a go, especially if there's a group of you so you can try a lot more of the dishes!



happy patrons