Auckland’s food scene is still evolving. As a friend here recently said, “There are still a lot of guys in Auckland who think a nice meal out is a sausage, some chips, and a cheap beer.”
But as the foodie scene — and foodie tourism in particular — encroach on the “shaky isles,” New Zealanders are embracing more adventurous cuisine. And wherever a foodie scene begins to blossom, so do foodie tours, like the one we took today with Zest Food Tours of Auckland.
Like similar tours we’ve taken all over the planet (in Seattle, in Lisbon, in Brussels, in Barcelona), this Kiwi version of the tour combines ambulatory sight-seeing with gustatory thrill-seeking. It works like this: your tour guide leads you from eatery to eatery, explaining what makes each stop unique. In addition to giving you an opportunity to sample the eats, the tour gives you the opportunity to meet and interact with the people who are doing the cooking or running the restaurant. As a result, you tend to meet people who are very passionate about the wares they’re selling.
While we liked today’s tour, we’d have to say that this was the first foodie tour we’ve taken that involved more walking than eating. So much so, in fact, that I’d advise Zest to amend their advertising: instead of a “walking and eating tour,” this one really should be described as a WALKING! (and tasting) tour. In the end, we had more than enough walking … and not quite enough food. (Not that I’m in danger of starving. Last night’s dinner with Tony and Marlene involved more great food than most folks eat in a week. But that said: you should leave a foodie tour feeling peckish, and today, when I got home, I felt compelled to eat half a bag of Tim Tams. Not a good sign.)
We started off at a local coffee shop, downing flat white coffees and remarkably good date and orange scones. I’m not big into scones; in the states, they tend to be dry and tasteless. But at the Shaky Isles coffee shop near Fort Street on Princes Wharf, the scones were moist and crumbly, and the bits of dates and orange made for an appealing combination. The berry muffin, though, was bland as could be: a little dry, and not sweet enough. After only a pinch or two, we left it on the plate.
From there, we tried Devonport chocolates — handmade truffles, filled candies, and bars infused with local flavors. We were given half a truffle each (!) along with a large chocolate caramel and a plastic shot glass of creamy hot chocolate. The samples were delicious, and the chocolates were fresh. Still, given that our truffle had been sawed in half and the caramels were actually out for public tasting today, we left feeling the folks at the chocolate shop were a bit stingy with us.
Next, we walked for about twenty-five days before coming to the Fish Market. There’s lots to see here: from cases of live, freshly-prepared, and frozen fish to aisles and aisles of local products. Our guide, a chef by training, was knowledgable about them all, and that was satisfying … but, once again, the samples were not. We were, after all, at a seafood market. Would you expect the samples served to be crackers, cheeses, kiwi fruit, anzac biscuits, and spreads? (Okay, okay — there was a bit of smoked fish on the platter … but not much.) Again, the food was good, but the portions were very small … and it seemed odd to spend so much time talking about how delightful and rare New Zealand green-lipped mussels are … and then be served a bit of brie.
From there, we walked about four hundred and thirty days to our lunch date — Euro, a swanky waterfront joint owned and operated by a New Zealand Iron Chef. Given the option of a caesar or a calamari salad, we took Option Two, and were rewarded with a surprisng and beautiful combination of greens, fresh seafood, and dates. Following our little salad course, we jumped right to dessert: a modest little blueberry crumble, served in a cocktail glass and topped with a bit of handmade vanilla ice cream.
All in all: nice. Just … nice. If you’re shopping around for a foodie tour of Auckland, I would say the one operated by Zest is … nice. Our guide was nice. She introduced us to nice people. We had some nice samples. We had a nice chat. And our tour gave us a nice overview of the Quay Street area. (Lots of it, in fact. We covered a lot of ground. A. Lot. Of. Ground.) But still — we left hungry, and that, I think, is a bit unpardonable when one is on a foodie tour, yes?
(And before you say it: no, I’m not one of those horrible Americans who eats at Cheesecake Factory and thinks every meal should be a buffet. On this and other tours, I’ve been quite happy with tiny servings of really good food. The problem with the Zest tour, I think, is that the ratio of walking and talking to tasting and savoring is not quite right. My verdict: you could pretty easily put this walk together for yourself, and, in the process, get a bit more to eat while spending less.
Add comment