Hey friends! Long time no blog! I know, I’m sorry - but I’m back with a vengeance, and a little more “cultured” this time around.
As you can tell from the title of this, I went to the Auckland Food Show today.
For those who don’t really know what it is, from what I know of it, is that the event basically spans over three days in July (this year is from 26th-29th July) at ASB Showgrounds, has lots of different food stalls, live cooking demonstrations and lots of places to explore and great food to both look at and enjoy.
A friend of mine went last year, and this time around, I joined her to see (for myself) what all the fuss is about. Turns out, she was onto something because damn there was a lot of things! I tried a lot of different food, some I liked more than I was admitting, and some - well, let’s just not go there...
I have never really understood the whole ‘salted caramel’ thing, and today was a test for me, so to speak. I had said to my friend that I wanted to see if today could convince me otherwise - or whether I would remain a heathen stuck in my ways.
Salted caramel has been absolutely everywhere in the last few years, and today was no exception! I wasn’t sure what to make of it once I was inside, but I was determined to keep an open mind - and not knock it until I had tried it. I’m known for being somewhat critical of things that are in front of me, and will often have to stop myself from saying something silly in response to whatever I’ve seen or experienced.
Yes, I know, I have a problem. I have many of those, but that’s what makes this life I live all the more interesting. Going about things to see if my mind can be changed or if I can find something new to be excited about.
Anywho, back to the salted caramel thing...
I tried some pretzel snack thingie, and I’ll be honest, it wasn’t terrible. Considering I’m not a fan of pretzels anyway, this wasn’t totally bad. It still wasn’t enough to aid the mind-altering I was after - so it was onto the next thing!
I must’ve tried about three things before my friend pointed it out and said: “you know, this is the third thing you’ve tried with salted caramel in it, surely you’ve made up your mind by now...”.
Truth is, I still have no idea whether I like it or not. If I’m honest, I still don’t really understand it, but I’m a lot more relaxed about this fact and am somewhat more educated about it.
Something else I tried today was tea. Those of you who know me well will know that I am not a huge fan of it, and coffee is totally ruled out as a beverage option for me. I mean, I like the smell of coffee, I just cannot stand the taste of it as a drink, doesn’t matter if it’s got chocolate, or a tonne of sugar in it, if it’s got coffee - I won’t go near it!
I mean, I don’t really like the taste of tea anyway - and before you ask, yes, I have tried it previous to today, and those times still weren’t enough to help change my mind about it. Today, however, I thought I’d try it again and see if there’s something of the tea variety that I would actually see myself enjoying.
I tried a few hot teas, with different flavours, and nope - nothing. Not a single thing. I mean, I’m sure they were lovely, and perhaps people who actually like tea would like them - but me, not so much.
However, the one cold ‘tea’ I tried was actually quite nice. I use the word ‘tea’ in inverted commas because as soon as I finished drinking, the person at the stall told me it didn’t have any tea in it at all. I remember jokingly saying to my friend that “maybe that’s why it’s the only one I like cause it doesn’t have any tea in it!”
She rolled her eyes at me. Something she’s great at doing - mostly because I’m dramatic as hell!
I also tried a couple more Korean food things today! Look at me, being all adventurous and stuff - yay! I loved exploring new food and trying to change my already open mind about things I may have previously dismissed.
I have tried Korean food once before and wasn’t too keen on it. If I’m honest, I don’t know nearly enough about it to form more of an informed opinion of how I feel about it - and as my friend lived in Korea for a year, I enjoyed hearing what she had to say about the things we looked at and tried.
Kimchi wasn’t something I knew a whole lot about if I’m honest. It was something I had only heard about from youtube channels I watch regularly - so my knowledge of it was pretty damn limited. I mean, I’m keen to try things all in the name in food, and while I knew it would be spicy, I was willing to give it a go!
Holey actual damn! I mean, far out, I didn’t expect it to be quite as spicy as it was. That being said, it didn’t taste terrible, and given the chance, I’d definitely try it again. It was definitely a good place to start, and I’m thankful the experience wasn’t a bad one for trying something new.
In addition to the food stalls and free samples and the amazing smells and colours that are absolutely everywhere - there are also live cooking demonstrations during the day - which I loved! I think that was probably my favourite part of the day, to be honest.
The particular demonstration my friend and I went to was lead by Nadia Lim, a well-known NZ chef who was a contestant on our version of Masterchef and has since gone on to do some pretty incredible things. It was amazing to be in the presence of someone as knowledgeable about food and all the good things, and even though the time we spent in the cooking theatre with her was fleeting - I channelled my inner fangirl and got a selfie with her afterwards! It was so cool to meet her briefly, even if I was my usual, awkward self!
I feel like I could go on and on about the food show, but I think I will leave it at this for now. Stay tuned for more posts about the adventures I’ve been on - this Auckland thing is rather eye-opening and fascinating in terms of things to see and do!
With love,
Tessa.
PS - here's some photos I took, along with the selfie of Nadia and I.
