During my semester abroad, I compiled a list of foods either unique to New Zealand or very common in the country. For each food (or drink), I've provided my thoughts on the taste.
L&P: a lemony carbonated drink. I don’t like carbonation so I wasn’t a fan of L&P.
Sausage: I don’t really like hot dogs, so I didn’t really like the “snag” as they say in NZ.
Fish n’ Chips: Fried food is nowhere near the top of my favorite foods list, but there were a couple of really good fish n’ chips places in New Zealand. However, I usually just ordered the “fish” because I don’t like fries. Fish n' Chips would come wrapped up in a bunch of paper so it was like unwrapping a present when you sat down to eat. If you just ordered fish, it would come in a paper bag like in the picture below.
Kumara: similar to a sweet potato, but with a bit more squash taste/texture. I like sweet potato and I liked kumara.
Whittaker’s Chocolate: New Zealand’s most popular brand of chocolate. Upon first trying their Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Caramel bar, I thought Yum! but I didn’t notice a difference from, say, Ghirardelli. I should do a taste test when I’m back in the US.
Update: my favorite flavor is a Tip Top and Whittaker’s chocolate collaboration: Salted Maple Cashew Milk Chocolate bar. Believe me, it's SOOOOO GOOD.
Update: The Canadian inspired artisanal bar (maple syrup, waffle, pecans) is similar the previously mentioned flavor, but it’s not quite the same. What a shame that my favorite flavor is limited edition. :(
Update: still haven’t compared Whittaker’s to other US chocolates, but I have been thinking about it
Fired Mars Bar: a Mars bar that has been fried. For someone who doesn’t typically like fried foods, I was hesitatant (not to mention the atrocious nutritional content of such a food), but I can’t deny, the fried Mars bar was yummy! I still felt super unhealthy eating this warm, gooey mess of chocolate, nugget, and caramel).
Ice Cream from a Dairy: I tried ice cream from a couple dairies (flavors: sea salt caramel, boysenberry). It was alright, maybe even good, but nothing special.
Gelato: Most of the gelato I tried in NZ was the flavor sea salt caramel. Boy, was it GOOD. Maybe I just never had enough of it in the US or I’ve just been lucky with the places I’ve tried in NZ, but I am definitely a fan of their gelato.
Hokey Pokey ice cream/Hokey Pokey chocolate: ice cream or chocolate with honeycomb pieces (or imitation balls of sugar) in it. My take on hokey pokey flavored things: meh. I think it was a little over-hyped.
Tim Tams: chocolate cookie/biscuit covered in chocolate. They’re alright. I’d probably go with a chocolate bar instead.
Pineapple Lumps: gummy candy (pineapple flavored?) covered in chocolate. I didn’t care for the taste.
Meat pies: a savory pie filled with either meat and/or vegetables. They are delicious (if bought from the right place)! Warm and hearty, NZ pies make for a great snack or meal, especially if you’re on the go.
One Square Meal (OSM) bars: the bast way I can describe them is probably by saying OSM bars are New Zealand’s version of a Cliff Bar (although Cliff Bars are sold in some stores). My opinion: yum! I really like these bars, but I’m wondering if I’ll get sick of them soon..
Update: I didn’t get sick of them and ended up bringing two boxes along with a 1 kg bag home…
Fejoas (fruit): I now understand why the locals have trouble describing them! About the size of a kiwi fruit, fejoas are interesting. For texture (NOT TASTE) imagine a pear with a tomato center. The taste was sweet and strong, but I honestly can’t think of words to describe it further. They are pretty good, but they aren’t my new favorite fruit or anything. I’ve had three since the season started and I think I’ve had my fill.
Pavloava: ok, not much to say
Fergburger (the burger to eat when visiting Queenstown): I thought the burger was delicious and it lives up to the hype in my opinion! Even my family approved when they visited me at the end of the semester.
ANZAC biscuits: basically oatmeal cookies with coconut used to celebrate ANZAC day which honors the Australian and New Zealand soldiers in WWI. Oats and coconut are two foods I love but somehow I never thought to put them together. I enjoyed these treats (not much of a surprise though)!
Other foods that tasted great:
Ambrosia apples: I will be sad to leave this country knowing that these apples are only available here. They are crisp like Honeycrisp apples, but sweeter/less tangy in my opinion. Ambrosia apples have replaced Honeycrisp as my favorite type of apple.
Hummus: I was indifferent about hummus before, but after trying a few flavors/brands in NZ, I decided I really like hummus. NZ has a strong hummus game with many brands boasting a large variety of flavors ranging from lemon-garlic to pumpkin-kumara to beetroot.
Update: The US brands of hummus I thought I enjoyed do not taste the same, what happened?? I would almost say it tastes bad, no wonder I wasn’t a huge fan before! Well, I’m now on a mission to find good hummus…