Within minutes of reaching Auckland International Airport, I was reminded why it’s good to be back in Auckland, even if it’s for work. Auckland airport staff are the best; they have always been friendly and welcoming, contrasting with *cough…* Indonesian or Indian airport staff. I even fell in love with the teeny tiny Beagle sniffing my luggage to find something illegal.
Illegal-item-less, I then was picked up on Uber by a Telsa, whose driver showed off his fancy car by taking his hand off the wheel multiple times. Under different circumstances, I’d be freaked out, but it seemed all in good fun in Auckland.
Once I reached the hotel, I chit-chatted with the concierge about my delayed flight, and she, in return, told me about her friend’s local flight that got cancelled earlier; by then, Qantas’s f-ed up didn’t seem that bad after all.
I checked into room 905, showered and Googled for a restaurant-Auckland-CBD but started to doze off and thought how good it would be to eat in the hotel restaurant instead. So I tried the hotel website only to be informed that it was fully booked. So I put on my clothes and was ready to embrace Auckland CBD, but I decided to first put my name in the downstairs restaurant for tomorrow night.
That’s when Katsura’s manager said they had an opening for a Japanese grand seafood buffet in an hour.
I had never had a Japanese buffet outside of Japan or as a non-breakfast, and it felt like a “hell yeah” moment.
I sat at the corner table an hour later, ready for the buffet. I started with Sashimi, moved on to New Zealand grass-fed beef teppanyaki, then two plates of Sushi (including Purple Rice and Fried Chicken Sushi), then Miso and Soba, followed by Egg fried Rice, Japanese Ratatouille, Chawanmushi, Mentaiko Udon and Takoyaki. I then took another serving of soba (my favourite of the night) and finished the feast with a dessert of Dorayaki, Botamochi, vanilla ice cream and a spoon of Sake Creme Bruele, which sounded better than it tasted.
All for NZD100.
Taking a lift back to my room, I thought of the younger me, who had dreamt of doing the things I did on the day many times. Of going on a work trip, eating in a hotel before going up to sleep in the same hotel instead of returning home to everyday life.
Life is good. Life is six pillows-on-the-white-linen-bed good in Auckland.
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