Very unlikely you could cross an ericaceous plant with a rosid. More likely he meant that the taste is like a cross between kiwi and pear, like I might say that chickoo (sapodilla) is (ie tastes like) a cross between a date and peach. (Utterly delicious things, unfortunately never seen them here. Perhaps they don't travel.)

Kiwifruit is not the only edible member of the Actinidia family. Two in particular are hardier than the standard kiwifruit, Actinidia deliciosa and produce good fruit. I suspect it might be one of those. (A. deliciosa includes the yellow kiwifruit the NZers have tried to trademark as Zespri.) The hardy ones are (1) Actinidia arguta, which and produces grape-sized berries sometimes called baby kiwis. They aren't hairy, but inside they look just like a kiwi, but paler green than the normal one. (2) Actinidia kolomikta is also grown in Britain, mainly as an ornamental, as it has a striking green/pink/white variegation to its leaves. It's even smaller fruits are sometimes called kiwi berries.

For all of these you need m and f plants to get fruit.