With a new restaurant popping up every other week on the East side, living in Austin definitely gives you a pretty great range of different and unique dishes. Living in Auckland, however, is on a whole other level! I didn't expect New Zealand to have such a diverse food culture and enjoy so many different cuisines, but they definitely do and it makes me so happy. Here are a few food-related finds from my trip so far...
#1) huckleberry - organic grocer
This store in Browns Bay has the most amazing selection of organic produce, snacks and beauty products. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find a lot of healthy vegan options while I was abroad, but this grocer actually has more selection than I had back home! They also have a cafe and bakery with fresh pastries and kombucha on tap. The Austin hipster inside of me is freaking out right now. Definitely a great find.
#2) gingersnap - gelato shop
Right off the beach in Browns Bay is this AMAZING gelato shop and cafe. Lots of the flavors are award winning and they have a ton of vegan options as well. It was the perfect snack for a day at the beach. The prices aren't as high as I expected either. A cup of coffee is around 4-5 dollars and my gelato was the same price.
#3) pavlova and hockey pockey
Barbecue's are really popular in New Zealand, and a super common way to have get-togethers over the summer. Everyone gathers at someone's house and brings meat and a side dish. They chuck everything of the grill and hang out until it's ready to eat. I've been to quite a few barbecues in my time here, and for dessert we usually have pavlova or hockey pockey (among other things). Pavlova is a traditional Kiwi dessert made with meringue, cream and fruit. Recently I had some pavlova topped with passionfruit and it was really good. Hockey Pockey is also a popular Kiwi dessert. It's vanilla ice cream with bits of honeycomb mixed in. Having the two together is amazing.
#4) &sushi - sushi bar
Downtown Auckland isn't the most exciting city in the world, but it does have a few hidden gems. This restaurant was actually a pretty random find, but I'm so happy I found it. The restaurant is in Newmarket, and it has a really fresh and open atmosphere (that sounds like a food blogger description, but it's true!). It's essentially a buffet style sushi bar. You pick up a plate, a pair of tongs, and select the rolls you want from the case. It was pretty reasonably priced ($7 USD for 6 items) and all of the pieces were so unique and different. Everyone who works there is really nice too and they're great at making suggestions if you're unsure of what to get.
#5) the coffee club and common ground eatery - cafes
These two cafes are pretty different, but I like them both equally. The Coffee Club has free wifi, comfy seating and some really awesome desserts. Common Ground has more of that "hipster" coffee shop feel with minimalistic decor and a billie eilish soundtrack. Coffee is definitely taken more seriously here in Auckland than it is in the Texas. Lots of people go to cafes often, and everyone has a favorite drink. In Austin, people will pretty much just drink whatever you give them. We have a few independent coffee shops, but not nearly as many as Auckland. I swear there's at least two on every block!
#6: poké poké
This New Zealand chain can best be compared to Chipotle in terms of how you order at the counter, pay, etc. However, instead of paying extra for guacamole you pay extra for raw fish and build a poké bowl from scratch. You're given a choice of bases, proteins, sauces and toppings and what you choose is completely up to you! All of the ingredients are fresh and you end up getting a lot of food for the price. My bowl was $13 NZD (about $9 USD) and it was a really big serving! I wish we had this restaurant in the states, I'd definitely become a regular if we did.
I've already had so many amazing meals here and it's only been two weeks! I'll be sure to post about new restaurants I find on my "Eat" page in the future, so look out for that!
Comments