Рецепт What’s new with Taste of Auckland this year?

by Ang Sarap

Taste of Auckland 2017 what’s new at this year’s biggest food expo in Auckland? I have been at this event for three years in a row now and I kept on coming back because of the new producers and products that I will discover. While most of this year’s exhibitors are nearly similar to last year’s one, there were new exhibitors on the ground that I haven’t seen during the last two years event. The big names in the food world are also featured this year like Nick Honeyman from Paris Butter, Simon Gault from Giraffe, Nic Watt of True Food & Yoga and Ganesh Raj from The Tasting Shed’s. It is definitely a foodies’ paradise and if you haven’t been into one be sure to give it a go next year as you will discover a lot from live cooking demonstrations, discovering artisan food and beverage producers, enjoy free shots on liquor exhibitors and most important of all a smorgasbord of delicious food where you can free to try or buy. I was thrilled to see some of my favourite restaurants featured this year like Tok Tok, Miss Moonshines, Euro Bar & Restaurant and Art Wok, then to top it all up our Prime Minister was also on the venue at that time giving some of the wonderful products a try And in a typical New Zealand fashion, nobody is treated like a celebrity (apart from the All Blacks) so our Prime Minister just freely roams around without being hassled by the public, she was also very accessible without any bodyguards that will hinder you to do so (If this was in other countries, either people would flock or body guards will prevent you to come near), so if you want to have a quick chat or a quick selfie it will never be a struggle. Anyways coming back to the event, like I said there where new exhibitors that I tried but my favourite was the middle marquee just near the entrance where they feature barbecue grills, this so far was the best exhibitor what they have done this time was set up tables where they ask guest to be seated and the exhibitors served what they grilled in a semi degustation style. It was a big change to the usual format where you go into the booth and grab whatever you want. It was a relaxed atmosphere here away from the people struggling to get their way into some samples with the others. Broil King staff served at least 5 different grilled meats like pork, chicken, beef, sausages and salmon where they used ingredients from the producer’s products on the venue. What’s even better is that this is just a taster, meaning no crowns (Taste of Auckland currency) involved to enjoy all of this. After that amazing tasting we started to go around and see what else was there, we visited some of our favourite brands like Puhoi Valley, Good George Brewing, Perfect Pork and Silver Fern Farms then we head of and grabbed something from Tok Tok and Miss Moonshines. We started with Miss Moonshines after seeing their amazing barbecue pit. It was quite a sight and it indeed grabbed a lot of patrons like us. We first grabbed what they called “From the Meat Dome – Hawke’s Bay lamb” (12 crowns) basically two tender slices of lamb served with fired pumpkin and chimichurri. Then we also had this Beef short rib (11 crowns), a grass-fed beef short rib served with dog sauce and pickles. The lamb was great, it was tasty and not gamey at all, beef was amazing as well but the serving size was quite a let-down, it was similarly sized as the ones they give as samples. We then visited Tok Tok, again this place was quite popular, I guess people know they serve real good food because these guys already won the “Best of Taste Award“. From here we had some Crispy pork steamed bun (10 crowns) served with apple cucumber kimchi and this amazing Crispy quarter duck (15 crowns) served with orange, ginger, Vietnamese mint & spiced salt. Once you tried their dishes I guess you will understand why they won the award, it was definitely tasty, the serving was perfect and it was priced reasonably. We then washed all that down with some Puhoi milk. We first grabbed several of the tasters like the Colombian Espresso Milk, Real Belgian Chocolate Milk and Spiced White Chocolate, it was not enough so we grabbed full bottles of them. Like I said some of the exhibitors were the same but with the new players in the market plus our favourites and some big-name food personalities this event continues to surprise me year after year. So, if you are a food lover, foodie, blogger or someone who just want to try some new stuff then this event is for you, it will have something for everyone and I can assure you that you also will find your favourite. Now who’s excited for next year? For more photos of the event please feel free to scroll down below. Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Like this:Like Loading... Recommended