World in a Day Foodie Discovery Tour: Western Suburbs
Date: 09/07/2011
Start Time: 9:00am
End Time: 4:30pm approx.
Price: $110
Our venture into Auckland's western suburbs will be a day of
surprises and delights. Our day will include a visit to a
Swiss bakery, a specialist European food importer, Indian food
supplier and the makers of New Zealand's premier ice cream, plus a
beautiful "non-food" extra! Lunch is at an outstanding
Malaysian restaurant.
The tour includes transportation, morning tea/coffee, lots of
tastings, a banquet-style Malaysian lunch and an information
pack to take home.
Join Us!
Here is our Inaugural Tour: World in a Day:
Western Suburbs, 24 April, 2010
"An informative and wonderful day. Thank You. Really
enjoyed the ethnic/cultural experience." Sandy, tour
participant
We had a sold out tour for this first foray into Auckland's Western
Suburbs. Is it true that people are friendlier in the West? If
the hospitality that we enjoyed is anything to go by, then we would
absolutely agree!
Our first stop was at an artisan Swiss bakery. The choice was
wonderful...hazelnut filled pastry, sourdough and organic breads,
brezels (pretzels), quark cheesecake....and we loved the
tastings!
After a reviving coffee, we moved on to an importer of European
foods. The small retail shop located at the warehouse has an
excellent supply of smallgoods, cheeses, pasta, tomato
products....even dried cod. This friendly family-run business
was one of the first to import such products. We owe them a
big vote of thanks for taking action when they missed the flavours
of their heritage. Our cuisine is all the better for it.
We got to see into the warehouse.......and then tasted the
delicious products so generously provided by Vlasta.
I discovered an amazing small shop during my explorations,
which I just had to share with the group. So next we took a
short break from food shopping and tasting to journey to Italy and
shop for ceramics, glass jewellry and Venetian masks.
A short "pit stop" in a South African food importer, then onto an
importer of spices and foods for the cuisines of Pakistan, India,
Sri Lanka, the Middle East and Pacific Islands. We definitely
needed more time to explore the shop and learn about how to use
these products.
Spice and food shop Storeowners and Hosts Zia and Huma Quereshi and
daughter
Thanks to the recommendation of fellow-foodie Alexia Santamaria, we
enjoyed lunch at Auckland's best Malaysian restaurant. Again,
this family-run business gave us a warm welcome and the most
delicious food. Many of the group had not tried Malaysian
food before, so this was a new experience for them. The
cuisine is a merging of Malay, Nonya, Chinese, Thai, Chinese and
Indian influences. The hit surprise dish of the lunch was
Coffee Pork Chops!
A person always has room for ice cream, and no matter how full we
all were, we thoroughly enjoyed our tasting experience at this
award-winning ice cream maker.
Jane came in especially to open up the "factory" and tell us all
about this family-owned business. All the ingredients are
natural, and many are organic. Yes, we did taste all eight
flavours on offer!
The finale of our day of foodie discoveries was a tasting of
award-winning sherry and port. Again, a family-owned business
with a proud heritage.
Our thanks to all the businesses that we visited for giving us such
a warm welcome and sharing their passion for their food
products. We shall return!
"Thank You, was a real treat. Well Done."
Louise.
"Well organised, friendly hosts and beautiful food."
Johanna.
Ready to book? Click
here for our online booking form.