If you ask me to pick one highlight of my recent Auckland trip, it’d be the Sandringham Food and Spice Tour. I have attended more than a few food tours since I started travelling, and this food tour could just be the most fun, interactive and educational of the lot.
Sandringham Food and Spice Tour Begins with India
It was a Sunday afternoon tour in Sandringham, Auckland Little India, less than 30mins Uber drive from the CBD. And I came hungry ━ as instructed by the reminder email sent a day before.
The tour was run by Mary, a lady who wore a bright blue Kurti and donned a joyful demeanour. I later learned that she owns and runs Eat Auckland Food Tour business all by herself. How cool is that?
A Warm (Spices) Welcome
It wasn’t even a minute after reaching the meeting place that Mary put little treats on my hand. The first was her homemade Srilankan Roasted & Spiced Cashews, which I ate immediately without taking pictures. It was so flavourful.
A (Spicy) Little Pick-Me-Up
The second was her homemade Roasted Curry Powder.
It’s made of 2 tbsp fennel, fenugreek seeds, cumin and 4 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 cardamom and cloves each. These spices are dry-roasted in a frypan until they are golden. Then let cool and grinded before stored in a container to be eaten as a snack.
Mary said that the spice mix is her go-to fix in the winter mornings or the days when she feels cold and lousy. I plan to copy this recipe to prepare myself for the next winter.
We were also given a piece of paper with the Sandringham Food and Spice Tour itinerary ━ complete with the name of the places and the key items we would observe or eat/drink there. With these few things at the start, Mary has set the tour to a higher (and fun) standard, and it got me even more excited about the afternoon.
A Cheat Sheet to Party Pleasing Mango Lassi
Next, Mary gave us each a cup of Mango Lassi to try. Lassi is a famous yogurt-based drink from India, usually mixed with spices and fruits. The Mango Lassi was delicious, but even better was how easy it was to make it.
The Mango Lassi was made of equal amounts of yogurt and mango pulp (Mary used Kishna brand for the yogurt and Akshar for the mango pulp, both can be found in the Indian grocery store), with 4 tbsp of cardamom ━ all mixed well together and let chill in the fridge for a while. Thanks to Mary, I now have a easy-peasy dessert recipe to bring to the next potluck gathering.
Next, we were treated with St Anthony’s Dhal Wade (vadai), each with a generous dollop of green coconut chutney. It was so tasty I could easily eat a few more, but I was mindful that we had yet to move from the meeting point and decided to phase myself.
We then did a DIY Pani Puri-making session before packing up from the meeting station and officially starting the walking part of the Sandringham Food and Spice Tour.
Chicking The Spiced “KFC”
The first stop was Chicking, the Indian KFC, as Mary called it. At first, I was sceptical about it.
I don’t like Australian junk food joints as they lack any flavour, even salt. On the other hand, KFC chicken with Indian spices didn’t seem appetizing. But after eating four pieces of chicken nuggets that were supposed to be shared with everyone on tour that day, I was convinced that Melbourne needs a Chicking outlet stat!
We then made a short stop at Khan Halal Butchery, where we got to check out South Asian-style marinated BBQ meat and goat meat which are not easy to find in the regular markets in Australia and New Zealand.
Award Winning Biryani from Bawarchi
I have been to Bawarchi in Singapore and Melbourne before, but I am unsure whether any of these restaurants were related, including the one in Sandringham, our next stop. Mary told us that this deli-style restaurant was one of the most UberEats Indian food in Auckland. And we will soon find out why.
Though Bawarchi got many options of mouth-watering dishes on display (ranging from both North and South Indian, Indo-Chinese to Srilankan), they are famous for their award-winning Biryani. So much so that people usually get a family pack-sized Biryani from here.
Lucky for us, we also get to try the famous Biryani as a part of the Sandringham Food and Spiece Tour.
So what makes Bawarchi Biryani so special?
Well, a few things. Firstly they used their own aged Basmathi rice. The meat is marinated and cooked in masala until really soft; it gives the taste and colour to the Biryani. Saffron is also added as the colouring, and finally, I could also taste Ghee which undoubtedly elevates the taste of the Biryani.
We had a small bowl of Bawarchi Chicken Biryani, drizzled with homemade raita and accompanied by Thumbs Up. It’s the Indian version of Coke, and according to Mary, it is best paired with Biryani. I have had Thumbs Up before, and though I never liked it before, I could see how it enhances the whole Biryani eating experience.
We then had Mumbai street food in Satya and Indian grocery haul in Valley, with a stopover at Shub, the Indian sweet store.
Tandoor Roti
The last part of the Indian section of the food tour was learning-by-observation of the tandoor roti-making session. It’s made by flattening the dough onto a large stone and then sticking it into the side of the kitchen oven, which I assumed is the modern version of the clay oven used to make the roti back in the day.
Watching these chefs baking multiple Tandoori Rotis in their own rhythms was so fascinating. It was also obvious certain skills are required to be a Tandoori Roti baker.
The Srilankan Bits of Sandringham Food and Spice Tour
After all the Indian food and grocery shopping, we moved on to the Srilankan feast. We started with The Taste of Srilanka and ended at St Anthony’s, where the Dhal Wade we had at the start of the Sandringham Food and Spice Tour came from.
I browsed the glass display and realized that I had tried every single snack displayed on the day, with Seeni Sambol Buns being my favourite of the lot.
A Piece of Lavariya The Srilankan Dumpling
Thankfully, the one we got to try from the store was another kind of Srilankan treat. The one I had never eaten before, a traditional Srilankan dessert dumpling, called Lavariya. It’s made of string hoppers with caramelised coconut filling. Mary gave us a piece of Lavariya each and told us to keep it to be eaten later after the tour ended. It reminded me of Indonesian Kue Putu, and when I had it back in the hotel, it tasted quite similar too.
Since Mary told us to eat the Lavariya at home, I thought St Anthony’s would be the last stop for the Sandringham Food and Spice tour. But it was not; we continued the spices trail to Afghanistan.
Ending Sandringham Food and Spice Tour with Afghan Treats
The tour ended at Paradise, an Afghani restaurant that could easily be mistaken as a Sports Bar due to the decor and multiple mounted TVs playing sports in the background, except that it has no alcohol. The place was also jam-packed at 5 PM on Sunday, a surefire way to know the food would be good. We shared a sizzling hot plate of chicken kebab on a hot plate and talked about our favourite food and parts of tour.
Carrot Halwa (Gajar Ka Halwa) came next, which I find interesting to be served in an Afghani restaurant. It’s a winter dessert originating from Punjab, made of grated carrots, milk, sugar and spices and, at times, topped with chopped nuts.
Alas, it was delicious, a perfect final delicious piece of the Sandringham Food and Spices Tour.
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Wow now that’s a tour I would love to go on
You are going on a food tour soon right?? See u then!