New Zealand has been my number one bucket-list destination for over a decade. I absolutely love volcanoes, so going to the North Island had always been on my list. We went to New Zealand as the adventuring portion of our honeymoon a few months ago. Twelve days was not enough time to see everything, but we covered off a lot of territory, hiked some amazing trails (including the infamous Tongariro Crossing), enjoyed some delicious New Zealand wine, and of course, took a culinary adventure. Not only is New Zealand the master of the land and sea when it comes to cooking in the kitchen, with the massive cultural diversity, including European and South-East Asian influences, you can essentially find whatever it is you're craving. Speaking of cravings, I was always wanting (and had at least 4 or 5) one of the most notorious items you can get at almost any cafe, diner, coffee shop or supermarket - meat pies. These delicious hand-sized pies are pastries typically filled with minced meat and gravy, and there's no shortchanging when it comes to stuffing those pastries. These buttery, flaky and savoury pies come with all kinds of fillings - maybe you want a traditional minced meat with mushrooms, onions and cheese? Or seafood? Chicken and jalapeno? How about bacon and egg? Yes you can have any and all of them! We had so many varieties of pies, but some of the ones we enjoyed were the award-winning mince meat pie and venison pie from Fast and Fresh Bakery Café in Taupo and the chicken and jalapeno pie and creamy mushroom pie from Cactus Cream Café in Whanganui. New Zealand pies are so good you'll eat it all before making it to your next crosswalk. Having one of the longest coastlines in the world and surrounded by ocean, it's no surprise New Zealand is known for it's seafood. While we were venturing around the North Island, we drove through The Coromandel. We decided to get a snack from a small fish and chip shop, Coromandel Takeaways. They'll cut and serve fresh whole fish, oysters, mussels and other seafood varieties to take home, but if you're looking for some good fried food, they serve some of the best fried fish you'll ever have. We enjoyed fried lemon fish, which was cooked in a thin crispy, flavourful batter. Lemon fish reminded us of a combination of Mahi-Mahi and Halibut. It's a beautiful white fish that isn't very oily, lending itself well to frying. We also had fried mussels, which were fairly large in size and a great tasty bite. When we reached Auckland for the last few days of our trip, we spent part of it wandering the Auckland Fish Market. I get such joy discovering sea life I've never seen or heard of before. It's wonderful to stroll and observe the fish up for sale, watch a massive crayfish be removed from it's tank for an evening's meal, and take in the aroma of the ocean. We decided to order some afternoon delights from Azabu. While the price of sashimi was more expensive than what you can find in British Columbia, the freshness and quality more than made up for it. I'm not 100% sure what was on the plate other than salmon and tuna, but it was all fantastic. We also had a soft shell crab bao, which was equally tasty. For those unfamiliar with soft shell crabs, they're crabs that recently molted from their hard exo-skeleton. Typically the mouth, gills and abdomen are removed, and then the entire crab is cooked. In this case, the crab was fried in a thin crispy batter, and served in a bao with cabbage, sambal, coriander and tartare. Because we had only two days in Auckland, we wanted to make most of having local-inspired dishes, and also get to try something that brings forth creativity. So we went to Culprit. Culprit is a great place showcasing local farmers, producers and suppliers, and serving creative and fun, yet simple dishes. We ordered from the tasting menu, so we could enjoy a bit of everything. Everything on the menu was absolutely flavour-packed, and even if a dish seemed very simplistic, there was always something that would make you say "Wow, that's so unique!" or "I didn't think that would work, but it totally does!" One of the most memorable dishes was the monk-fish infused panna cotta, which doesn't necessarily sound appetizing up front. However, that beautiful silky-smooth texture and hint of fish flavour with some lemon to bind it all together absolutely worked. It was such a tasteful surprise. Other honourable mentions go to the wild paua (sea snail) fritters, trevally sashimi, and pressed pig face. I even suggest you order the chicken liver parfait donuts. Seriously, I know chicken liver sounds disgusting, and I'm not one to bounce of my seat for liver, but they taste exactly like a mini-donut drizzled with pinot noir syrup. Last, but not least, there was one tasty dessert I was on the hunt for that my co-worker told me out -Hokey Pokey ice cream. Hokey Pokey is a New Zealand staple, which the ice cream is vanilla with chunks of honeycomb toffee. What's not to love about that? Nothing! We swung by Corner Cone while strolling around the downtown core and it did not disappoint. If you're ever in New Zealand, be sure to treat yourself!
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