Last month the Dominion Road Business Association launched a campaign to showcase the diversity of food available on Auckland’s iconic strip, with a series of menu guides involving famous New Zealand faces to be rolled out over the next six months. With over 100 restaurants from one end of Dominion Road to the other, it’s one of the largest concentrations of international food in the city and the association wants everyone to know, and experience it for themselves.
“Judging by the amount of cars and general buzz in the evenings, many people are already aware of what Dominion Road has to offer as an international food destination,” says Gary Holmes, Manager of the Business Association. “But we want to share it with everyone, as well as encourage regulars to get adventurous and try places they’ve never been to. We’re really excited about what Dominion Road is adding to Auckland’s culinary offering; increasing the cultural diversity in cuisine is creating an overall breadth and quality of food for our city that is world class.”
Dominion Road is becoming a physical representation of the ever increasingly multicultural nature of Auckland, and the Business Association hopes that by encouraging people to experience different cuisines it will help foster further inter-cultural understanding. “Food is a great entry point into a culture,” says Holmes, “and we love the thought of New Zealanders expanding their cultural, as well as culinary, horizons.”
Many of the eating establishments on Dominion Road aren’t showy and people can walk past unassuming restaurants not realising what dining treasures lie inside. The Dominion Road Dining guide involves New Zealand celebrities visiting some of these places and writing up a brief guide on the best dishes to check out. Sometimes customers can be overwhelmed by choice, so celebrities have spoken to the owners and tried out their personal recommendations of popular and interesting dishes.
These guides are posted outside restaurants and published on social media to encourage people to go and explore this incredible melting pot of cultures and food just ten minutes’ from the central city. Carly Flynn, one of the celebrities involved in the project says: “I’ve really enjoyed being part of this. We went to a place that looked like a standard Indian restaurant, only to find it had a whole Nepalese menu as well. We tried Nepalese dumplings for the first time and they were delicious, as were the curries and other dishes – it was such an adventure right on our back yard! The owner was lovely and it was fascinating to hear how he’d come here 15 years ago from Nepal and brought his little slice of his homeland to Auckland.”
Keep an eye out for posters and dining guides on restaurant fronts along Dominion Road over the next six months and https://www.facebook.com/DominionRoad/ and @dominionrdakl on Instagram for updates.