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- By Helen Perry
Foodies who haven’t dined at Queen Bee, Pukekohe don’t know what they are missing!
Formerly known as Shalimar, the restaurant has a fresh and elevated cross-cultural menu,
which came as a surprise when our party of four dined there recently.
Intending to try the Indian menu, we changed our minds on seeing the diverse range of
starters, pasta options and European mains.
I was sorely tempted by the seafood bouillabaisse, featuring green lipped mussels, clams, calamari, fish, whole tiger prawns and crab all cooked in a saffron-infused tomato broth and served with sourdough bread. However, I finally decided to share the seafood platter for two with my husband.
At $64.99 it was exceptional value – less sumptuous servings are usually priced at a great deal more elsewhere. In fact, this platter was eye-popping.
It came with two oysters, crispy calamari, cured salmon, garlic prawns, pan-fried fish, a small dish of steamed mussels in broth, a dish of marinated olive sand pickles, pita bread and a coleslaw.
Initially, I thought the coleslaw an odd addition but on working our way through the plate, I appreciated the fresh ‘veg’ acting as a palate cleanser between each flavour.
Beautifully presented, delicately cooked and almost more than I could eat, this dish alone would see me go back.
But next time it may be hard to look past the perfectly cooked venison Denver leg, chosen by another in our party. It came with polenta cake, roast vegetables, greens and a plum jus, all for $38.99.
Another member of our group opted for the slow-cooked confit of duck leg and breast, served on potato and kumara rosti with baby carrots, wilted bok choy and honey jus, all
priced at $42.99.
Many other dishes caught our eye including the prime eye fillet with fondant potato,
caramelised baby beetroot, wilted greens and mustard brulee, exceptional value at $38.99.
I wish I could list the whole menu, including some of the tempting Indian and fusion dishes but readers should try for themselves. Between lunch and dinner (not to mention desserts) I’m picking most will find the selection and the pricing more than pleasing
The beautifully presented meals and exceptionally fair pricing at Queen Bee will have me returning for more soon.
PS: All too soon, as it happens. More recently, I was part of a group of 10 who dined at Queen Bee – not a single one of us was disappointed with their meals. In particular, I just had to mention the bouillabaisse which was so packed with seafood we didn’t mind that it
was somewhat messy to eat.
