A bit sophisticated, a bit of individuality seen from the menu. The governor really captured me by its simplicity and freshness.
The cozy decor easily recalled me of other Cafes in Herne Bay Area such as Zus&Zo. You will enjoy as much as i do sitting on the comfy sofa that put out like a long bench while taking a glance of the view on the Jervois street.
For dinner, we would like to try a few plates to share. Surprisedly we were offered free cheese platter to try:) Then came the drink to pair the cheese on the right time. It was quite a pleasure to start.
Bread came in three different types. All sourdough style. Impressive! With Matakana olive oil to soak in was such a soothing tip. Well, we always try to support the local artisan food products. Thanks the Governor thinks the same.
The focaccia was nicely toasted with anchovy and sliced shallots. We shouldn't have ordered it if we knew there would be bread basket:) However it was quite enjoyable. Then the chicken liver parfait hit our tastebuds in a beautiful way. Red wine jelly on top brought out all the nice sweet flavour, mousse-like chicken liver parfait could even go with the focaccia, or anything. Last dish was the cockle soup, if I may say. Fresh seasonal cockle lay out full texture, then the chewy shrimp, savoury pancetta all displayed in this big soup bowl. Only wish we could hold this by the shore, eating it up with the sea breeze. Hmm, what a call for summer time to come.
As for dessert, the honey cake came up two madeleines with blue cheese. If this could be right out from the oven, the result would be a completely different thing. I did sense the Madeleine was a bit dry, apparently it was put outside for quite a while. What a pity.
Overall we still feel to come back for breakfast or a brunch, to witness more. What comfort me here in New Zealand is that any Cafe, bistro, eatery is well qualified. You can't find one going too wrong. So feel courageous to try something new like the Governor. You will meet your own favourite. read more