BEST SPECIALIST RESTAURANT
SPONSORED BY ANTIPODES

CHEF OF THE YEAR
MONIQUE FISO
HIAKAI
SPONSORED BY CUISINE

ADDRESS:   40 Wallace St, Mt Cook, Wellington
CHECK WEBSITE FOR OPENING HOURS
DEGUSTATION:   $155pp seven courses
WEBSITE:    hiakai.co.nz
CONTACT:   04 938 7360
SCORE:   19 / 20

For all its glorious celebration of food and its origins, Hiakai likes to downplay its efforts. Its unique style has earned it an accolade or two, they say – which is a modest way of stating they’ve earned some big gongs, such as being one of Time magazine’s ‘Greatest Places’ of 2019. And that was just months after chef Monique Fiso found an address she could finally call home after various pop-ups got diners paying attention to her ethos. Hiakai – the Māori word for hungry – trumpets Māori and Polynesian ingredients in modern and innovative ways. So what will Monique pull out from the pātaka (pantry) for your tasting journey? Red matipo leaf syrup, kiekie flower gin, karamū berry vinegar perhaps. Or maybe manono bark which in its latest incarnation is used in a hokey pokey-ish ice cream.

IN BRIEF Leading the charge