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Cafe Masi; a superior brew from the Coffee Queen.
Move over Starbucks, coffee connoisseur Silo Tabuakovei is the official coffee queen in the capital. And she knows what constitutes a superior brew.
She judges a good brew from the roast of the coffee beans, how fresh and how coarse the grind and how fast the water sieves through the coffee. Too fast and the coffee will be weak, if the roast is burnt the drink will be bitter. How hot the milk is also an important consideration.
The Wellington cafe owner learned her craft from coffee guru and roaster Tony Gibbs and she perfected her method with Reds Cafe whose owners produce Coffee Supreme.
By the time she opened her own cafe, The Vault, Silo had a reputation. She was the most sought after barista with patrons singling her out for their ritual coffee fix.
Leading food magazine The Cuisine quotes Silo as saying: Its important to have good food, wine, service and coffee. A great coffee is like a good whisky at the end of the night or a glass of full bodied wine.
Her peers in the hospitality industry voted her Outstanding Barista of the Year in the Wellington Felix Awards in 1999.
She took top honours for her professional and passionate coffee making skills and for elevating coffee making to a true art form.
But coffee is not the only reason Silo is considered among the best in the business. She owns Cafe Masi in Willis Street bang in the middle of Wellingtons Central Business District where she averages between 150 to 500 customers a day.
To complement the club sandwiches, muffins and rolled rolls, Silo has
devised a menu that encapsulates some of her mother's favourite recipes
with a delicious selection of healthy lunch time snacks. Her gourmet
meals
have that familiar Pacific zing.
Tandoori chicken in a creamy yoghurt marinade, seasoned with garlic, coriander and chillies, wrapped in banana leaves then steam baked in the oven. Served with roti and tamarind chutney this popular favourite has regulars clamouring back for more.
While she does not subscribe to using dollops of coconut cream, taro and kumara she disguises them cleverly in the blender or as deep fried chips.
Silos kokoda (raw fish) comes on a Chinese soup spoon with the orange salmon roe on one side of the white fish cubes marinated in lemon juice and coconut cream. Carefully sprinkled on top are finely chopped red capsicums with chillies and green coriander leaves.
So there is a wonderful symphony of colours, aromas and flavours concocted by a gourmet who knows her craft.
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