10 Best Foods in Auckland You Must Try

Hangi is a traditional Maori dish with a rich, smoky flavour. Meat such as chicken, pork, lamb or venison is cooked in a deep hole underground with red-hot stones. Veggies like potatoes, kumara or others are placed on top, and then the entire subterranean oven is sprinkled with water and sealed off with more vegetation to steam for several hours.

Hangi is typically prepared on special occasions, though many restaurants and eateries offer hangi for travellers to experience the true taste of New Zealand culinary tradition.

Fish and chips is an English deep-fried fish dish that became popular in New Zealand when it was introduced by British settlers. Though whitefish, such as cod, haddock and pollock, are traditionally used in fish and chips recipes in other countries, New Zealand fish and chips recipes often use hoki, shark, bluefin gurnard, blue cod and terakihi.

Fish may be sliced thick or thin and dipped in water and flour batter, beer or milk, along with vinegar for a light, airy texture. Lemon, salt, malt vinegar and other condiments are used to complement the unique flavours of the batter and fish. Traditionally, fish and chips were served in wrappings of newspaper, but that’s very rare these days. 

New Zealand whitebait is one of the most prized seafood delicacies in the country. Different than European whitebait, New Zealand whitebait is made of the sprats of slim, narrow freshwater fish that have a delicate taste.

Whitebait fritters, an omelette dish with whitebait, eggs, butter, salt, pepper and lemon juice, is the most common preparation of whitebait. Some traditionalists prefer egg whites with whitebait, since strong flavours can easily overpower the light, delicate natural flavour of whitebait. Whitebait fishing in New Zealand is a seasonal activity with a legally fixed and limited period, making it a delicacy that commands a high price.

New Zealand meat pie is a hand-sized pie with diced or minced meat and gravy, as well as savoury vegetables or cheese. Beef, buffalo, cattle, camel, deer, goat, hare, pig, rabbit, poultry and sheep are often used in meat pies, though some traditional recipes include offal, such as brain, heart or kidney.

The crust is made from a shortcrust pastry that uses fats like lard and butter to form the shape and add heartiness and crispiness to the dish and complement the juicy, tender meat. The meat pie is an iconic dish in New Zealand, especially with the rugby and football leagues.

A lolly cake, or lolly log, is a traditional New Zealand sweet cake or confectionery that is available in most restaurants and supermarkets. To create this dessert, lollies or fruit puffs ( similar to soft, chewy marshmallows) are added to a base mixture of malt biscuits with melted butter and condensed milk.

The log is then rolled in coconut or powdered sugar and refrigerated. As a traditional dessert, lolly cake recipes are often altered and passed down through generations. Lolly cakes are similar to fifteens, a traybake confection that’s popular in Northern Ireland.

Pavlova is a meringue-based cake with a crispy, crunchy crust and light, fluffy filling that with a marshmallow-like consistency. It is typically topped with fruit, such as strawberries, kiwi or passionfruit, and whipped cream. Though it is an important part of the national cuisine and traditionally served during celebratory and holiday meals, pavlova is a popular dessert all year round.

In the summertime, pavlova is favoured for its light, airy consistency and is paired with fresh fruit for a refreshing treat. Pavlova was believed to have been inspired and created to honour the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, and is one of New Zealand’s national desserts.

Rewena bread is a traditional Maori sourdough potato bread that is fermented for several days for a sweet and sour taste. It is made with a potato starter that ferments and leavens the bread, giving it a distinctively tangy or sour flavour. Maori potatoes, also known as taewa, are commonly used in rewena bread. Kumara, a type of sweet potato, is also used for a different balance of sweetness and tanginess.

Though the recipe is simple, rewena bread is a dish that takes time to master and is one of the best-loved dishes in New Zealand. Rewena bread is crumbled over the hands in Maori culture to break the taboo of visiting a cemetery.

Hokey pokey ice cream is a distinctive ice cream flavour in New Zealand that combines plain, rich vanilla ice cream with solid, flavourful lumps of honeycomb toffee known as hokey pokey. Similar to caramel, honeycomb candy is a combination of sugar and golden syrup that’s heated and then baking soda is stirred in, leading to a frothy, aerated texture that hardens into a honeycomb.

This light, sweet toffee has a crunchy consistency that works well with the smooth, simple flavours of the vanilla ice cream. ‘Hokey pokey’ was a slang term for ice cream in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially for the ice-cream vendors on the street, known as ‘hokey-pokey’ men.