William Chong

Website: http://ima-ibn.co.nz; Email: info@ima-ibn.co.nz; Ph: 09 300 7252; 57 Fort St, Central Auckland; breakfast $5-18, lunch $12-22, dinner mains $24-32.

Rating: AA+

(A=return customer, AA=worth going weekly, AAA=so awesome so awesome so awesome)

We like trying out Mediterranean food. This is because, in general, it’s far removed from our own ethnic cuisine experiences (i.e. chips and chopsticks, pies and chow mein). So after our last exciting experience with Mediterranean cuisine, I discovered Ima and Ibn, a gem of a restaurant tucked within the increasingly gentrified Fort St, oddly juxtaposed between convenience stores, parking buildings and worldly attractions of the red-light district type.

Co-owned by Israeli Yael Shochat and Palestinian Khaled Masroujeh, we were intrigued by their story (“Ima and Ibn” translates to “Mother and son” in Hebrew and Arabic respectively), as well as their dishes listed on their online menu: traditional, apolitical, and epitomising what Shochat terms the “cuisine of the sun”. It sounded fascinating; we decided to drop by for dinner.

The first thing you notice in this place is the warm, coppery glow, which comes, you discover, from patterned light panels in the ceiling. A painting of ‘Ima’, surrounded by a bevy of foodstuffs sits prominently on a backdrop of sienna and red-ochre walls. Dozens of recipe and cookbooks perched on wooden shelves hint at a lifelong passion, and it feels as if you’ve entered a space oddly familiar, and as homely as your own mother’s kitchen.

Their dinner menu was geared towards quality over quantity, with five entreés and five mains to choose from – for those well-acquainted with Mediterranean cuisine it might not have been too much to choose from. For us, however, we mulled excitedly over a veritable Med-spread collection: from North African brik (almost like a poached egg within a tuna-filled wonton) to Jewish-style chicken liver paté, from lamb kubeh on hummus to market fish and Israeli couscous. Our waiter Robin was affable and knowledgeable about the finer details of each dish.

For mains, C went for the Mezze platter. It looks modest in the photo, but the antipasto-style plate was huge. We loved experiencing the variety of flavours and tastes on offer. C’s favourite were the feta and spinach pockets, while I was quite partial to the chickpea balls and the Turkish hummus.

For my main, I ordered a Middle Eastern plate: an assortment of salads, Lebanese-style rice (fragrantly spiced and moistened with olive oil), and haloumi cheese on top. I’m always fascinated by haloumi (it’s the only cheese you can fry or grill because of its high melting point), and order it whenever I can.

We stuffed ourselves with all of the above, which unfortunately meant not giving desserts a try this time. But on another day I’m sure it’d be great to give the Middle Eastern dessert platter, or the Knafeh (a Palestinian sweet pastry thing), or even some homemade ice-creams and sorbets that they had on offer a good go.

All in all, Ima and Ibn seemed to have a genuine sense of a warmth, and a professional touch to their traditional meals. I have to admit it wasn’t easy on the wallet, but for such authenticity, freshness and an amazing variety of Mediterranean cuisine, C and I both agreed it was worth every cent.