Pop-up Elite Event: Street Eats

Fantastic event and turn out! I love the plethora of food to pick from, and the ability to get small nibbles from a wide variety of stands to make up one meal.
The only reason why this didn’t get 5 stars is because of the smoke. It was really hard to breath, and with the crowd it made it worse. I didn’t to stand outside for most of it because of this. I think this is more a building issue, but they need to figure out how to improve ventilation.
I am loving how little food carts and food trucks are developing more and more around the city. I want to see more!

A fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon, (cheers Alex!) although one found oneself getting fuller and slower as the day progress for some unfathomable reason…
As others have described, there was a good range of street food vendors including Judge Bao, Acho’s and an Argentinian crew whose name I can’t remember. However, the weird thing was that there were more actual indoor restaurants including Orleans, Ima’s, Monsoon Poon and the Cut (a restaurant is never heard of in the Rydges) than street food folk. I’m not sure this is a good thing for future events.
I’d be tempted to pare it back to genuine street food and food truck vendors who deserve the exposure, especially as the scene is just taking off in New Zealand. But that’s just my view. I realize that one person’s samosa is s other person’s pork bun…

Great city event, Shed 10 was filled with BBQ smoke, crowds of people and local musicians. You had to choose carefully, some plates were better than others. I headed straight for Orleans fried chicken with buttermilk maple glaze and Judge Baos’ infamous Black Betty. Both excellent. It was a dessert at Ima’s that was the most intriguing — a huge pan of finely shredded filo with goats cheese, pistachios and rose syrup, delish!

Look, any event that gives me free food is gold in my book. Thanks, Unilocal for another opportunity to sample the best of Auckland fare!!! This elite event was a pop-​up offering some of us Elites entrance (and some splash cash) into the Street Eats food fare held as part of Restaurant Week.
Street Eats itself was hectic, smokey, and didn’t seem to have enough places to sit — it seems to have outgrown its space at Shed 10, not necessarily a bad thing, as it’s always good to see lots of people show up for an Auckland event. The downside was that even though the big doors of the shed could be opened, it still didn’t seem to offer sufficient ventilation, making hanging out indoors result in burning eyes and coughing, from time to time. Hopefully the organizers consider this for next time around.
There were lines for food at many of the vendors, local restaurants from Auckland and a few of our favorites from the Street Food Collective, but none of the lines we experienced were overly long, giving it just enough suspense without seeming like a bother.
The food itself was pretty fantastic. I tried the fish finger sandwich from Fort Greene, with handmade fingers, artisanal bread, mushy peas, tartar sauce, and some nice pea shoots. It was lovely, though a little on the salty side. Thankfully there was a San Pellegrino stand where I could get an amazing grapefruit soda to quench my thirst. I’m dying to try their vegetarian sandwich which wasn’t on today, and I’ll definitely be scoping the SFC schedule to see when I can hit them up next. Way to earn yourself a new customer Fort Greene!
I moved on to the sweeter side of life after this, and hit up Le Garde Manger for a classic nutella crêpe. Again, very nice. Sarah H. got a savory crêpe with tomato, cheese, and egg that looked super yummy. I’ve been wanting to hit up this unassuming French restaurant on upper Queen Street for over a year now, and my experience here solidified my need to check it out for real.
Finally, I hit up L’Assiette’s stand to try out the beautiful-​looking medium sized macaron I kept seeing people carrying around. It didn’t let me down — I tried the salted butter caramel flavor and it was out of this world. One of my pet peeves with macaron is when the ratio of cookie (?) to filling is off — too much filling usually. These were perfectly balanced and did not disappoint. I heard the pistachio flavor was also pretty ace! L’Assiette is a little creperie that is literally around the corner from my place, and I’ve never managed to go in. I can promise I’ll be back for more macaron (I didn’t even know they sold them), and I’ll be trying out their crepes as well.
At first I thought it was a bit silly that the event was made up of 90% stalls from restaurants within a 5 block radius of the Shed. However, now that I think about it, it was a perfect opportunity to hit up a number of places I haven’t made it to yet, and test out whether I’d like to go there for a full meal. Nice marketing tool, folks, and you got me. I’ve got 3 places on my list to go to soon!
Thanks Alex, for putting together this fun little pop up!

First time to the Auckland Street Eats. Thanks to Unilocal Auckland! Finally got to meet some fellow Unilocalers in Auckland.
From what I heard, I agree that this even has outgrown the venue. Really good turn out, good to see that Auckland’s are embracing street foods. Nice and cosy in the tin shed, but may be a little too smoky in certain parts. I always feel this kind of events should be outdoor in the summer.
Thumbs up for the number of food stands and food trucks that showed up. Good variety of food. Pretty much covered all the continents! The highlight for me was Ryan’s kitchen. I loved their panko + wholemeal crumbed chicken. Not something that you feel guilty after eating. The «6-​minute egg» in it has restaurant quality. To finish, the eton mess is to die for.
Also tried out a whitebait sandwich (M&Ls) and a burger from Salash deli. No complaints with those.
Great event. Thank you Unilocal Auckland and Alex

Held in the very cool, open space of Shed 10, Street Eats comes alive for another year with a different range of restaurants, cafes and food trucks in one spot to feed a hungry Auckland. First time going– was gutted I missed it last year, but this one was a goodie.
Highly recommend coming when it opens or early before the mad crowd gets packed in. So many options as well– definitely do a walk around and see what looks good or smells tasty. Don’t forget to check the outside area before you choose– with more stalls as well as tables and other seating options.
El Faro was dishing out paella from a huge pan with lots of fragrant spices and bits of chicken and chorizo– tasted decent and perfect to keep the hands warm on the little chilly morning. Y Not Restaurant did a real fresh prawn and pork summer rolls as a nice bite. We couldn’t pass up dessert either, especially after spying so many people with a pot of something delicious looking. Glad I asked cause the Eton mess from Ryan’s Kitchen were awesome– with it’s mix of crushed meringues, whipped cream, marshmallow, coconut and choc bits, almonds and a choice of strawberry or chocolate sauce. Great textures and the best way to end the Street Eats day– yummy

Soo hard to choose ! Serious FOMO !! Do I get something from Mexico or Orleans ?
Or do I wander and get more hungry till I can’t stand it anymore and dive in !
If you answered yes to any of the above then what did you get ?
I made the choice and went to a unknown place called The Cut its on Federal st in the Rydges hotel. They had a few options one being a egg roll with beef short rib and sirricha Mayo — seriously good !
I also found Fort Greene and went for a Kahawai fish finger sandwich with mushy peas, tartare and artisan bread. I could’ve chowed on a few more of those .
Billy apple cider also had a stall and for $ 5 a can was quite a good deal and the cider was pretty good, made from Fuji apples –was sweet like a good pressed Apple juice. just thing for all these eats !
Thanks to Unilocal Auckland and Druinie p ! You guys rock !

I had been fantasying all week about Street Eats, a food event held annually in Auckland. Think pop up versions of your favourite restaurants showing their take on street food and of course, a line up of food trucks and food stands.
Today, I attended my second Street Eats, but there was a twist. Unilocal Auckland held an Elite event, where ten of us met at 11.30am sharp, received envelopes (like a golden ticket) and ventured into Street Eats with only one thing on our minds: food.
We did a quick squiz around all the restaurants and food stands to see what looked appetising. Here’s a taste of what we tried (also check out my photos):
— Orleans («Old Bay Seasoned» Fried Chicken with ranch milk, chipotle maple glaze and scallions)
— The Cut (Short Rib Eggroll with BBQ beef, cabbage slaw and sriracha mayo)
— Judge Bao (‘Black Betty’ bao with ChinKiang black vinegar braised free range pork butt, sesame and spring onion)
— Le Vietnamese Kitchen (Pork and Prawn summer rolls, chicken skewers)
— Billy Apple Cider ($ 5 for a can of delicious cider)
— Acho’s (Pork belly bun — Japanese slow cooked tender Pork Belly with fresh veges and Acho’s original BBQ sauce)
— Mexico (Taco Dorado with prawn, tomato and oregano with avocado, jalapeño crema, slaw and agua chilli)
— Fort Greene (Smoked Kahawai fish fingers with mushy peas, tartare and snow pea shoots on sliced artisan bread)
My two personal favourites of the day were definitely the ‘Black Betty’ bao from Judge Bao — so good that I went back for a second one! They also had a 2 for $ 15 deal which I loved. I also was stoked to try Billy Apple’s Fuji red apple cider, which was not too sweet and very delicious.
If you’re a keen foodie, I highly recommend coming here (for either brunch, lunch or dinner) and definitely bring your family and friends — with so much choice on offer, there is really something for everyone!
Thanks to Unilocal Auckland for our entry and food. Can’t wait for next year!!!