Kia Ora Sept Issue

Travel Auckland
This page: Fried
chicken and fruit
at the Papatoetoe
market; under the light
illumination at Silo
Park market.
Papatoetoe Night Market
An episode of the television show Sidewalk
Karaoke was being filmed at the market the
night we went, and the excitement of the
contest had us grinning like loons – alongside
hundreds of other families and locals of all
generations. Fun, inclusive and buzzing,
Papatoetoe Night Market has an atmosphere
all its own, and it’s a terrific place for travellers
to sample Māori and Pasifika cuisine,
alongside Kiwiana and Asian favourites.
There’s a stall that sells hāngi – steaming
piles of chicken, lamb, pork, kumara, potato,
pumpkin, cabbage and stuffing, slow-cooked
the traditional Māori way.
Another offers rewena bread and a boil-up
of pork bone, puha (a leafy green) and potato
dough balls. There’s even a spot selling the
humble bacon and egg roll.
Kai moana (seafood) is well represented,
with plenty of stalls offering Samoan-style
raw fish salad alongside mussel, paua and
whitebait fritters. Barbecued meat is cheap
and plentiful at stalls with such charming
names as “Hungry Islanders”.
Many locals head straight for the Pasifika
food stalls for a comforting taste of home
– chop suey, pink potato salad, steak and
mushroom sauce, hot doughnuts – while
others run a mile, saying they can eat
Island-style “any night of the week”.
For an Asian spice kick I recommend the
pork belly, pickled veges and crushed
peanut bao from BAO.
One bonus of the Papatoetoe market is a
large range of stalls selling everything from
socks, perfume and manicures, to fruit and
veges, second-hand clothing and T-shirts
emblazoned with Southside slogans.
FRIDAYS, 5.30PM TO 12AM, UNDER KMART
(HUNTERS PLAZA), GREAT SOUTH ROAD.
Seasonal and occasional
night markets
Over the summer months, night markets and
food truck stops pop up in almost every
suburb of Auckland, from Green Bay to
Te Atatu to Point Chevalier.
Close to the central city, Parnell’s La Cigale
French market runs an occasional food truck
stop with offerings such as Judge Bao, The
Rolling Pin (dumplings) and Guerrilla Grill.
The Silo Markets run markets throughout
the summer at the city’s Silo Park.
There is a rotating roster of food trucks,
plus stalls offering everything from secondhand
books and records, to vintage and
designer clothing – which is all too easy to
buy after you’ve stopped by the all-important
craft beer stall.
36 Kia Ora