welcome back to my WIML series, where each week i detail out how i spent the prior week as an american temporarily living in new zealand! this past week exploring auckland was spent going to new restaurants, trying my first coffee jello latte (??), and wandering around the city! this post summarizes february 24th – march 2nd.
favs of the week:
Activities
Milford to Takapuna coastal walk
this was such a nice little walk along the beach! took me about 40 minutes and the views were gorgeous.
Eats
Azabu’s spicy pork gyoza
you know when you order potstickers and they’re only half filled? well that was not the case here. These were packed with flavorful pork filling and served with a delicious spicy-ish sauce.
drinks
Caretaker’s spicy blueberry marg
This cocktail isn’t on the menu – and that’s because Caretaker does not have a menu! you tell the bartender what you like / don’t like, and they make a drink to match your preferences. so fun!
all the details:
Activities
- Golf practice / lesson: i might be catching the golf bug?
- Milford to Takapuna coastal walk: a short, flat walk along the beach. views of Rangitoto (the volcano) the entire time!
- Takapuna beach: hung out here for a bit on Saturday. a nice beach relatively close to Auckland city.
- Takutai market: This market is held in Takutai square every Saturday morning. they have a ton of vendors ranging from food to jewelry to flowers and more.
- walks around the city: been taking walks around the viaduct / tamaki drive recently. so nice being next to the water!
- Sala classes: tried their lower body (aka red) class as well as barre. really liked both!
Golf
Milford-Takapuna walk
Takutai market
Walk views
Eats
only including those worth mentioning here 🙂 tried lots of new places this week! definitely heavy on the asian food this week, too.
- ham and cheese croissant – daily bread. This was maybe the best ham and cheese croissant i’ve ever had. more on croissants around the world!
- seoul sundae w/ strawberry – Seoul 1946. This was v good!! this cafe was very cute / authentically Korean.
- spicy pork gyoza – Azabu (mission bay). these were unreallll. packed with pork filling and loved the yellow pepper sauce is came with.
- california spider roll – azabu (mission bay). very good sushi (and that’s from a girl who doesn’t love sushi all the time). wish they were cut into smaller pieces though lol.
- karaage chicken – Azabu (mission bay). this was so yuuummm we loved it! super crispy chicken and sauce with it was excellent.
- Tuna Sashimi Tostada – azabu (mission bay). really liked this. a little messy / hard to eat, but worth it.
- Yakiniku – Azabu (mission bay). beef filet with japanese chimichurri. super flavorful and cooked perfectly.
- ham and cheese crepe – sweet as crepes. got this from Takutai market. so good!! would def get again. they had a ton of sweet options as well.
- chicken tikka masala – spice club. this is hands down my favorite indian takeaway spot. I tend to get this quite often when Clay is on call! they have an amazing dinner deal – a curry of your choice, rice, naan, and a drink for 21.99nzd, which is around 12usd! It’s also so much food so I always get two meals out of it.
- crispy rice and spicy tuna bites – yours truly and clay. lol we made these on sunday night and they’re always a hit. We love Moribyan’s recipe!
- Eggs on toast – chuffed. This cafe in the cbd has amazing food. Clay got the french toast which was a definite 10/10.
- Volcano Chicken – Pocha. This Korean fried chicken was soooo good. super crispy and spicy, which we love!
drinks
coffee, alcoholic, etc!! only those worth mentioning.
- Coffee jello latte – Mibo. Definitely wins the award for the most interesting drink I’ve had lately. I saw someone on TikTok recommend it, so I had to try it for myself. It’s literally just a block of black coffee jello topped with vanilla oat milk. it was good… but not something I will be getting often as it’s not really what i’m going for with a coffee and it’s a process to eat. If you want to see my tiktok about it, click here!
- Umami Margarita – Azabu (mission bay). Super interesting sounding, but the miso flavor wasn’t really strong. Still good though!
- Fuego sour – Azabu (mission bay). Clay’s drink order, but had to mention. it’s a spicy pisco sour and was super good!
- Iced matcha – Seoul 1946. this literally tasted like grass to me lol. and I like matcha! but maybe I needed to get it sweetened.
- spicy blueberry marg – Caretaker. this no-menu bar is such a cool spot! speakeasy vibes with inventive cocktails is how to best describe it. the bartender asks what you like / don’t like, and he/she comes up with a unique drink just for you. my drink was just what I was looking for – a tequila based drink that was slightly sweet and spicy!
etc
reads:
- American operator: a tier one story by jeffrey wilson and brian andrews. the fourth book in the tier one series! finished this one pretty quickly. Highly rec this series if you’re into action / thrillers.
- Red specter: a tier one story by jeffrey wilson and brian andrews. This is the fifth book in the tier one series. even better than the fourth book somehow.
- How to win at travel by Brian Kelly. brian kelly, aka the points guy, just came out with this book to share his knowledge of the travel industry. I’m nearly finished with it! even as someone who has traveled a fair amount, I feel like I’m learning a lot from it.
Currently planning:
- My parents visiting us next week!
- Melbourne for the F1 race
- Clay’s fam visiting us following F1!
- Clay’s 30th in indonesia… eeeep
stay tuned for part five <3
More week in my life content to come! if you have comments or questions, please let me know below.
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