Auckland Food Tour

The title of this blog, "in search of the pomerac," comes from a trip we took to Trinidad about 3 years ago. On this trip, while being driven around the remote rainforested areas, our driver stopped to pick up some pomerac, a local fruit I had never had before. Upon hearing this, he insisted I try, and bought one for me from the roadside stall.

It was red and vaguely pear shaped, and tasted like a mix between an apple and a rose. There is a photo of me eating it--I am smiling, excited, trying something new, and I hope I always look that way. 

This morning, in pursuit of this same adventure, I went on a food tour of Auckland, New Zealand. 

It was hosted by Zest Food Tours of New Zealand, and kindly set up with the help of Tourism Auckland. My tour guide was Kerry Swan, a fantastic and fun woman who I spent the day laughing and eating with. 

We started at the Parnell Market, a Saturfay food market overflowing with fresh produce and delicious offerings. Near one stall, a boisterous man named Terry overheard me say I had never tried passion fruit before and, just like our driver in Trinidad, gave me one to try.

The outside of the passion fruit gives nothing away of the delicious center!

Kerry told me a lot of people use passion fruit as a dessert topping, squeezing the juice over tarts and ice cream. Terry helpfully advised you could also add it to vodka if so inclined.

The passion fruit was just the beginning! We picked up some coffee and wandered the market, sampling so-good-they-look-fake grapes, spreads, pastries, and cheese.

Everyone had samples to share, and there was a band playing soft background music as we wandered the outdoor stalls. 

Eventually we headed out to the CBD--center business district--of Auckland. I have spent some time here, but my tour with Kerry showed me just how little I had scratched of the surface. It was also a good reminder of how touring on your own often means you accidentally miss the best spots. It turns out there is a whole world of delicious coffee and food just off the main drag of Queen street, which I had never seen.

We walked through an old movie-theater-turned-coffee-shop on Imperial Lane. Having just had coffee at the time we continued on our way, but I came back here later on in the day after our tour was over and am actually sitting in one of the tables by the open door as I write this.

Our next stop was at the Devonport chocolate shop, where I was more than happy to sample any and everything they were willing to give me. The woman there have me some background on the company, which makes their chocolates by hand, and I learned there is such a job description as "chocolate polisher," who shines up each piece. I'm definitely in the wrong business!

While we were in the store a woman came in and bought a life-sized chocolate shoe!

My favorite chocolate by far was their salted caramel and dark chocolate mix.

We strolled through the city some more as Kerry pointed out different restuarants and cafés. There are a lot of clever ideas at work in Auckland, including something called "third wave" coffee, involving scientific looking brewing contraptions, and a restaurant that sends you to their neighboring bar if they are full, and calls your cell phone when your table is ready.

There are also more markets! I was amazed to see one right in the middle of the Britomart precinct down town. They are a great way to spend an afternoon, and at the next one I sampled raw honey, fancy granola, and of course more cheese.

At the market they had a stall making mussel fritters, a New Zealand must have, involving chopped up mussels fried with pieces of bread. My photo doesn't do it justice.

After the market we settled in to lunch at a charming little place called Ortolana. It is owned by a couple that also have a farm, and many of their ingredients come directly from their farm to the table, as you can see from this note on the menu:

It is the kind of place where you can just tell the owners love food, and the menu reflects it. I had the crayfish ravioli, adding another food I had never eaten before to the growing list for the day.

I also stole some of Kerry's fish, with couscous.

The restaurant had a completely insane array of desserts, which I took greedy drooly photos of. The desserts are sold in a neat little shop next door, so if you wanted you could just go in and pick something up while out for an evening stroll, or if you are in the restaurant they just go over and get it for you.

They also make their own ice cream bars, which is what I ended up getting. I went for the "Bar Alaska," which is wrapped in a meringue sort of marshmallow coating and flambed.

It was an incredibly delicious lunch. Every now and then I think "how different could one food be from another," and then I have something like this that has been crafted with love and I remember. The depth of flavor is what really gets me--my ravioli was fresh and light even while being made with delicious butter and garlic. 

The prices weren't too bad either, for how fancy the place seemed. My dish was $20, which for New Zealand, I have learned, is actually pretty standard for anything above street food. 

This restaurant is right down town, in an area filled with fairy lights and small shops. 

Kerry and I sat in our cushioned seats eating our fancy handmade icecream bars and chatting about Auckland and life. I really enjoyed my time with her.

When we parted ways she recommended I stop by the Wynyard Quarter, a reclaimed rail line along the harbour that now hosts new restaurants and a Saturday craft market. It was just a short walk away, and I perused the art and clothing on offer, and watched some kids swim in the sea.

I've never gone on a food tour before, and I really loved it. It was such an interesting way to get to know a new city, and it gave me a whole new perspective on Auckland and all it has to offer.

I think it would be most fun to do a food tour like this on your first or second day on a new city, as then spend the rest of the time re-exploring what you learned, and knowing where to go to get the best coffee.

After the tour as I walked around down town before catching a bus back to Epsom, I felt like a new person. I wasn't just a tourist anymore,  I knew what was down those side lanes, and what a flat white is, and how to eat a passion fruit, and now nothing could stop me.

Thanks, Kerry, Zest Food Tours, and Tourism Auckland for helping me find the pomerac once more!

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Book Online at www.zestfoodtours.co.nz

Call Zest Auckland at +64 9 362 0588

Kerry Swan, Director of Zest Food Tours of Auckland Ltd., email at: kerry@zestfoodtours.co.nz

A Proper South African Braai

Warning: If many pictures of giant piles of meat will bother you, it is probably best not to read on! The are lots of them.

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South Africa is serious about meat. I've never seen so many different animal species available for consumption before, and often all at the same table.

The pinnacle of this, in my opinion, is the South African "braai," which is the Afrikaans word for grill. It is similar to a barbecue, the go-to social gathering across the country, and has a whole series of foods and customs based around it.

In Port Elizabeth, our host Antionette Muller and her very welcoming family treated us to the full experience.

You can have a braai any day, but I learned from Uncle that they are often on Fridays and Saturdays, and also Wednesdays which are referred to as "little Saturdays."  I was advised that on Fridays you might have chicken, and then meat on Saturdays. Note that chicken is not included in the meat section.

The braai starts with wood. This is important--charcoal is frowned upon, and you will be judged for using it. South Africa is making good use of / revenge on their invasive tree species populations by cutting them down and using them for braai wood. Sadly, I forget which braai wood Uncle said he liked to use best.

Burn, baby, burn!

The group we were with agreed that any day was good for a braai, but that it was most fun in winter when it got dark early and you could see the flames against the sky.

Braai-ing is a big social event, and we all sat around the fire. It had to be pulled near the garage at one point because it was raining, but that didn't stop the festivities. 

After some time of enjoying beer and wine around the fire, the coals were ready to be used to Cook a Pile of Meat. In this case there was a grate lowered down over top, but there is also a hand held method that is Iike a big flat metal grate sandwich that can close meat between it and go over the fire.

So much delicious food was put on the fire! Steak, lamb, bacon, sosatie (skewers of lamb), kebabs, bratwurst, sausages, and chicken all at once. The very long coiled sausage is called boerewors, which literally translates to "farmer sausage."

Finally, the bread! The dough was hand made by friend Max Benson, and then grilled as well. It's called roosterkroek, which means "grilled cake." 

Beautiful!

Once everything was grilled, it was put into some kind of covered metal pot that could be kept warm in the oven.

Oh yes, we also had potatoes with feta cheese. Nom nom. 

The food was delicious, and we had such a fun time with Antionette and her family. 

We had another braai at her house in Cape Town for New Years. Apparently braai-ing at new years is a South African tradition. At her house she had a "brick braai," which looked like a combination between a brick oven and a chimney. Once again wood was lovingly stacked, burned, and then covered with meat.

In additon to the other meats there was also sausage wrapped in bacon, and the very best steak I have ever eaten in my entire life.

While braaing, our friend mentioned not being able to hold a flashlight well while also cooking, and I remembered the head lamp I've been carrying around for six long months on this trip without ever using. My dad had given it along with other flashlights and a bunch of batteries for the previous Christmas, and I had brought it on our trip imagining various scenarios where I would use it. Of course, a New Year's braai in South Africa wasn't one of them! I was able to dig it out of our bags and it was put to good use cooking our delicious food.

I think I ate more meat during our 3 weeks in South Africa than the entire previous time on our trip. I ate pigs, cows, ox, chickens, sheep, goats, ostrich, and kudu, as well as whatever was in that biltong (basically beef jerky, but better). 

When I was looking up the name for boerewor online to write this, I came across a braai recipe for beef in biltong sauce. That is literally a meat covered in sauce made from another meat. It is insane.

But part of me thinks it might be kind of good.

I blame you, South African braai!