The 7 Dishes You Have to Eat in New Zealand!

Diving into the ocean to catch your own shellfish all sounds rather intrepid, but it’s just another summer day in New Zealand. On dry land, the options are just as bountiful: there are lush forests with native herbs like horopito; gardens with rainbows of organic produce, and acres of stonefruits in sprawling orchards. New Zealand’s natural beauty is revered around the world (as is its political stability), but over the past decade or so, the local culinary scene has found a distinct character that is evocative of its geographically blessed location.  “We have many different types of geography and climates throughout the country—rolling hills, flat plateaus, alpine, and subtropical areas—which provide a variety of microclimates,” explains Marisa Bidois, Chief Executive of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand.  “Our small but fruitful landmass provides a vast array of edible resources and the base for creating outstanding dishes and flavors.”

Al Brown, who is perhaps the most quintessentially ‘Kiwi’ chef there is, believes that the abundance of nature requires no need for ‘smoke and mirrors.’  “Our ace of cards in the culinary deck are our four distinct seasons, fertile soils, and our distance from the source—be it from the sea or the land,” he explains.

Growing up in New Zealand in the ‘90s (in a now-unthinkable life before the Internet), imported ingredients were considered superior: foie gras from France, truffles from Tuscany, an Alaskan king crab. But as the cultural zeitgeist has evolved, there has been a shift in perspective, and local chefs are redefining the country’s culinary identity using ingredients sourced from the country’s land and coastline.

Brown’s eatery and oyster bar, Depot, is a perfect example of casually refined local fare. On the menu, you’ll find fresh Bluff oysters, served with nothing more than a lemon wedge; adventurous charcuterie boards with wild rabbit rillettes and popcorn duck tongues; and crowd-pleasing plates including hapuka sliders with lemon mayo and rocket, and duck fat yams served with sumac, mint, and yogurt.

“Global influences from all cuisines can be found at any level of eating experiences, however, there is still a great value placed on nostalgic dishes that most of us have grown up with, such as roast lamb with mint sauce, pāua fritters, and pavlova,” says Brown.  These nostalgic dishes are an essential part of experiencing the wild and wonderful South Pacific dreamland, and various interpretations of the classics can be found in both formal and casual establishments throughout the country. If you’re planning on making the journey down under, dine like a local and become acquainted with these national staples.

PāuaPāua (the Māori word for abalone), is a rare type of shellfish that is unique to New Zealand and is found along rocky coastlines in shallow waters.  It’s one of the most expensive ocean delicacies in the world (going for upwards of $100 USD per piece in Asia), with a calamari-like texture and an appearance similar to oysters.  Some of the country’s leading restaurants offer distinctive pāua dishes, including Logan Brown on Wellington’s lively Cuba Street strip, which serves pāua ravioli with coriander, basil, and lime beurre blanc.  Further south at Amisfield (Queenstown’s most iconic vineyard and restaurant), you can sample pāua pie with mānuka smoked potato on a tasting menu with matching wines, all produced on-site.  For more casual affairs, many fish and chip shops around the country have pāua fritters listed on chalkboard menus, where they come wrapped in newspaper (typically mixed in with deep-fried snapper, fries, and sachets of ketchup), and are often taken to a nearby beach for a sunset dinner.  The elusive mollusks are also prized for their metallic shells that are polished and sold in souvenir shops, reincarnated as jewelry or art.

Ice Cream and Chocolate Milk
Dairy is one of New Zealand’s biggest industries and the artisan ice cream scene has grown to rival some of Italy’s best gelato.  The unofficial national flavor is hokey pokey: caramelized honeycomb mixed into velvety vanilla; and most “dairies” (corner stores) serve it by the scoop along with other classics like orange chocolate chip, boysenberry, and jelly tip.  In Auckland in particular, “designer” ice cream has flourished, and places like Giapo and Aqua S have become Instagram gold, serving glossy swirls topped with toasted marshmallows, Afghan cookies, freeze-dried raspberries, and whipped meringue.  Chocolate milk is also considered a staple, and the national devotion to the drink made headlines in 2014 when Lewis Road Creamery launched a line of flavored milk that was so successful, it required supermarkets to hire security guards, and a black market emerged online where it sold for triple the price.  Four years on, the hype remains, and new flavors like gingerbread spice and caramel and butterscotch are just as coveted as the original.

Canterbury Lamb

Some of the best restaurants across America and Europe serve lamb that has been flown all the way from New Zealand’s South Island (it’s one of the country’s main exports, along with venison and beef), but there is no better place to try it than close to the source.  The visionary duo behind Orphan’s Kitchen (who “look to the bush, the ocean, the orchards, the fjords, and the plains for exploring national flavors and identity”) offers a modern rendition on the classic, with feijoa, cabbage, labneh, and horopito.  Translating New Zealand’s natural resources into innovative dishes is something that co-founder Tom Hishon has down to a fine art. “I always try to capture an ingredient’s key qualities, without overworking it,” he explains.  “To a diner, a dish may appear simple and inviting, however, there’s often a lot of technique and time spent trying to create a pure and honest outcome.” Bistro-style restaurants around the country will typically feature a lamb option on the menu, and it’s a staple for Sunday night roasts, served with mint sauce, root vegetables, and Pinot Noir.

Pavlova and Updated ’80s Desserts

Christmas in New Zealand would not be complete without a pillowy pavlova topped with fresh cream, strawberries, and kiwifruit. The meringue-like dessert is generally seasonal (available in summer, which is the dead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere), but some key restaurateurs keep it on the menu year-round, including Euro in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbor, which has a feijoa pavlova with coconut crémeux, sorbet, and wild hibiscus bubbles; and Floridita's in Wellington, which serves a brown sugar pavlova with whipped cream and tamarillos (a tangy local fruit).  Desserts that have traditionally been considered quite “1980s” have undergone a renaissance, and are popping up on menus around town.  Items like ambrosia, bombe Alaska, pavlova, and banana split sundaes have made a bold return with a contemporary spin.  Culprit’s boysenberry marshmallow ambrosia is one to try, as is Orphan’s Kitchen’s avocado bombe Alaska, served with lime and Kahikatea peppercorn, (a native pine). 

The Kiwi Burger

“A Kiwi burger is different for us because it’s all about sourcing local and high-quality ingredients and doing simple things well,” says Adrian Chilton, co-founder of Burger Burger, the retro home of fast-food classics that rival America’s best diners. On the menu, you’ll find a section titled “jazzy burgers,” which features the Kiwi Classic: grass-fed beef, aged cheddar, pickles, cos, tomato, and the two defining ingredients that make it local: fried egg and sliced beetroot.  McDonald’s has released limited-edition Kiwiburgers since 1991 (along with an ultra-cliché TV ad that jingles through 46 stereotypical cultural norms), but the place to go is Burger Burger in Auckland, or Fergburger in Queenstown (just be prepared for a long line of apres-ski diners).

Kumara

Kumara is a variety of sweet potato that is rich in antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins.  It’s usually served roasted or mashed with red meat dishes and is available as a healthier alternative to potato fries at upscale fast food joints.  Try Rosie’s fire-cooked kumara with herb butter and stracciatella; Ortolana’s kumara gnocchi with lamb, yogurt, olive, and mint; or Culprit’s kumara soup with pork bacon.

Seafood

Collecting and preparing your own seafood is common in New Zealand, and there is an extensive variety for the picking: Bluff oysters, tuatuas, green-lipped mussels, whitebait, scallops, salmon, koura (which is similar to lobster but closer in size to a prawn).  “Being a small island nation, every city is close to the coast, so we have an abundance of seafood,” says Kyle Street of Culprit fame (which serves a star dish of Cloudy Bay tuatuas with chorizo sauce and fried vermicelli). Seafood has always been an integral part of the country’s culinary character and is a key category for many chefs, who often have entire sections dedicated to raw and cooked seafood.  Peter Gordon’s glossy restaurant atop Auckland’s Sky Tower, The Sugar Club, offers several options: spanner crab, crayfish linguine, monkfish, and Mount Cook Salmon (something that is carried through to his menus designed for Air New Zealand).  At home, locals cook seafood in its freshest form, with not much more than a dollop of butter, crushed garlic, and a squeeze of lemon. As Al Brown attests, “food cooked with a heart and intelligence is all about restraint, as the product does the ‘showing off’ for you!”

Porridge

Cafes throughout the country offer soul-warming concoctions with delicious local fruits, nuts, mānuka honey, and superfoods.  If you’re visiting Auckland, head to Parnell Markets on a weekend morning and locate The Porridger’s stall, where you can sample popular flavors like matcha blueberry with toasted coconut; ginger with pear and apple stew; and Banoffee with toffee sauce and Whittaker’s peanut butter chocolate.