Over the weekend, I attended my first Taste of Auckland. I was so incredibly excited as it really is a foodie’s heaven! Held over four days, Taste showcases some of the best restaurants in Auckland. Each restaurant offers 2-4 dishes, costing between $8-$20. I only tried three meals from three restaurants – iVillage, Harbourside and Depot. Next year I will be trying more!

I have never been to iVillage Indian restaurant before, so I was excited to try a dish from their menu. I decided on the ‘Lamb Gilafi Kebab’ consisting of lamb mince on skewers with coloured bell peppers, which was delicious! Quite spicy for me, but I still scoffed them down nonetheless. My friend had the ‘Gol Guppa‘ which are mini poories with spiced potatoes doused with mint and tamarind water. I had never heard of or seen these before, so I was more than happy to try one! So light, but very flavoursome.

From the Harbourside stand, the ‘Smoked Ora King Salmon’ stood out the most. Served on grilled Vienna bread with a beetroot and mint salad, pickled grapes and horseradish cream, it was perfect. Everything went well together and I could have easily eaten another three!

Lastly, we couldn’t go past the freshly shucked oysters and Cloudy Bay Tuatuas (clams) at Depot – they were both spot on! Plus great meeting the owner of Depot, Al Brown – he was there shucking the oysters!

There was many other foodie things on offer including:
– Dilmah Tea Garden (we tried their tasting plate consisting of four Dilmah teas and four small bites made by AUT University students – delicious!)
– Fisher and Paykel Chef’s demonstration kitchen
– MINI tacos from The Lucky Taco (best tacos in Auckland)
– Kapiti tent serving ice cream, cheese toasties and cheese
– Plus exhibitors like Ranga Gingerbeer, Culleys Hot Sauce (so spicy!), Brandhouse (the ARTA Tequila was to die for), sweet treats from The Baron, Whitestone Cheeses, Limoncello, Petal Cupcakes and delicious vegetables, dips and small bites from Fresh Combinations.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first Taste of Auckland. It was great trying dishes from top restaurants, meeting product owners and of course tasting different foods! Will definitely be back next year!

[See below for my photo diary of Taste. Check out the links above if you have time and if you have any questions about the products, feel free to ask! Hope you enjoy x]