"Fleurs Place"

"When British television chef and restaurateur Rick Stein was told he could choose to go anywhere in the world to write a travel article for English newspaper the Daily Mail, he chose Fleurs Place in Moeraki, New Zealand. The restaurant, run by the inimitable Fleur Sullivan, was 'Just one of those places that keeps cropping up in conversations' whenever there was a gathering of 'foodies', he said.

Set in the sleepy little fishing village of Moeraki on the Otago coast, Fleurs Place has an unbeatable setting. There's water on three sides, fishing boats bobbing in the harbour, the famous Moeraki boulders across the bay and, to the north, the open sea. Fleur uses only the freshest of local ingredients - indeed, fishing boats land their catches right into her restaurant."

And so it was that Fleurs Place was one of three reasons why we have been staying in Moeraki for the last two nights. This very popular and very busy little restaurant miles from any major towns or cities is usually fully booked for lunch & dinner every day it is open (Wednesday-Sunday) We had booked for dinner and it was a short five minute walk from the camp ground around the harbour to the restaurant.

The dishes we had were all amazing with lots of flavour & the freshest of ingredients & seafood. I had Seafood Chowder then Blue Cod wrapped in Smoked Bacon (those are mine on the left) & David had Scallops followed by Panfried Moki. I couldn't help myself & finished with a Cream Brulee! We both couldn't help ourselves and went back for lunch the next day! Totally decadent but hey, you only live once!

The "seaweed" metal work above the bar was very interesting & that's Fleur on the right. I did get a photo taken with her, she was very obliging, but it's not good enough to add to my blog :) I only used my cellphone for photos as I didn't want to look a total tourist with by big camera at dinner!

The inside of the restaurant had a eclectic mix of furniture, photos, mementos & other associated  bits & pieces related to the history of Moeraki & the fishing industry that would have been the mainstay of the community here before Fleur arrived on their shores.

We had lunch the next day upstairs and from the balcony we watched this guy fillet the blue cod for the restaurant, how fresh is that. The local seagulls obviously know what happens when he steps outside, they patiently waited around the outskirts of the table. You can't quite see our van here but it's parked up in the trees, just above & to the left of the anchored boat.

As we walked back to the camp ground a dinghy arrived below Fleurs with another load of fresh fish, the fisherman is carrying a blue bin up the stairs to add to another two bins waiting at the top. There is definitely a hive of activity happening around Fleurs Place most days.

We've been to Rick Steins restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, UK & we thoroughly enjoyed it there too but we both thought Fleurs was much more down to earth with a friendly atmosphere & probably fresher fish! We certainly didn't see any of Rick's fish being filleted outside his front door!