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City opens up for its Iconic Eats

Just a few days before Auckland’s hospitality scene reopens under the new traffic light system, Mina KerrLazenby finds the perfect guide to its favourite dishes.

It’s the perfect foodie storm – Auckland’s hospitality sector set to reopen mere days after Iconic Eats releases its 2021 edition of its Auckland foodies’ list. A comprehensive guide to the city’s most covetable plates, spanning 100 dishes from all four corners of Ta¯ maki Makaurau, it provides the ultimate dining inspiration for a post-lockdown bite.

The list is far-reaching; highlighting littleknown bakeries alongside lofty fine-dining institutes, and lunchtime hotspots alongside dessert-driven bars.

The likes of Baduzzi, Cotto, Eden Noodles and Azabu making the list will come as no surprise to seasoned Auckland diners.

Integral to Auckland’s food scene, those big-name restaurants house some of the city’s most iconic dishes, like Depot’s fish sliders or Federal Street Deli’s chicken salad sandwich.

Ahi, Ben Bayly’s fine-dining haunt at Commercial Bay, has made the list with its revered scampi corndog – a dish famed as a prerequisite to any Ahi dining experience.

‘‘People come in, and they order their corndogs before they even get served their water, or order their drink, or get their jacket taken,’’ laughs Bayly, Ahi’s head chef and former My Kitchen Rules judge. ‘‘The standard sequence of service has been completely thrown off.’’

Bayly credits the corndog – succulent scampi meat rolled in a loose corn fritter-style batter and fried in canola oil – as Ahi’s take on ‘‘fast food but fancy’’.

‘‘It’s probably my proudest thing we’ve achieved here. People know it, people Instagram it. It’s delicious, it’s visually pleasing, it’s quick and easy. It ticks a lot of boxes.’’

Alongside the big guns of Auckland’s dining scene are some new trailblazers and lesser-known venues.

Daisy Changs, an unassuming Asian fusion restaurant in East Auckland, amassed the most attention on the list and raked in close to 100 nominations.

Owner Carmen Holmes, ‘‘blown away’’ by the news of the nomination, said she couldn’t be prouder of the success of the business.

‘‘Given New Zealand’s fabulous hospitality scene we knew there would be some big hitters that we’d be up against,’’ she says. ‘‘We are delighted that our chef Jakrapun Imthongbai is being recognised for his cuisine; he is a very talented, yet humble man who deserves all the accolades.’’

With a menu comprised of hawker rolls, dumplings and bao buns, Daisy Changs serves up Asian street food that is at once elevated and approachable.

Imthongbai’s nominated dish, his take on traditional Thai drunken noodles, is a comforting plate encompassing rice noodles, eight-hour braised beef, makrut lime and eggs.

The noodles come with a hefty serving of garlic and a nice chilli kick and, says Holmes, are ‘‘hugely popular’’.

‘‘We believe it’s the fresh ingredients and the amazing flavours and aromas that come through; they are sweet, but spicy. They have a wee ‘kick’ to them, and once you start eating them you can’t stop. They’re addictive.’’

For some, exotic dishes inspired by far-flung places have given Aucklanders the opportunity to indulge in a taste of other cultures at a time when travel is off-limits.

Filipino eatery Hapunan has been recognised for their glorious adobo del diablo, and Nasi Kandar Kuning from Nasi Kandar – the stomping ground for lovers of Southeast Asian cuisine – was nominated for being ‘‘so authentic it will transport you to the hawker stalls of Malaysia’’.

Bali Nights, a new opening in Ponsonby, has garnered acclaim for its ikan bakar jimbaran, a classic Indonesian dish that sees a whole grilled snapper smothered in a succulent and smokey Balinese sauce.

Owner Adriana Ferdian said the dish is beloved not simply because of its memorable flavours, but because of what it represents.

‘‘Auckland itself is a melting-pot of culture, and we’ve found that Aucklanders especially love to try new flavours,’’ she says.

‘‘Whether they’ve been to Bali or not, we think the ikan bakar jimbaran encapsulates the whole romance of travelling to a faraway tropical paradise, eating what the locals eat, and being immersed in a new culture.’’

Relatively new to the city’s dining scene – Bali Nights opened earlier this year in the months-long period of freedom between Auckland’s lockdowns – the restaurant is one of a few to become a hit at a time when it was only just finding its feet.

‘‘We’ve definitely been affected by lockdown; with takeaways-only we are running about 30 per cent of our usual revenue.

‘‘The support from the community has been heart-warming, and quite frankly, a lifeline.’’ Recognition via Iconic Eats’ sprawling list brings a muchneeded pick-me-up to restaurant owners after months of strain brought on by the Delta lockdown. Innovation and a willingness to adapt have also been key to navigating this difficult period. Daisy Changs’ chef, for example, began cooking streetside from midday to 2pm daily – according to Holmes, people love watching their food being cooked for them – while Bayly at Ahi began incorporating meal-kit boxes into his delivery service.

The restaurateurs agreed it was exhilarating to be able to reopen their doors later this week. Josh Hazel, head chef at Rothko, the on-site restaurant at Matakana’s Sculptureum, which was nominated for its grilled scampi, has dedicated much of Auckland’s lockdown to planning a new and revitalised way of work for when hospitality reopens.

He says the programme will kick off with ‘‘our New Year’s Eve extravaganza, our dining series events and our five-year birthday celebrations next March’’.

‘‘We have some exciting events on the horizon.’’

Focus | Food & Drink

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2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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