Kebab Hunt

Those of you with whom I’m also connected on social media will be familiar with my most popular social media output – Kebab Hunt.

I travel a lot with work, Sure, I’ll have my snout in the Koru Lounge trough sometimes but, mostly, work travel is not luxurious or even comfortable, nor very rock n roll. It’s A to B. Stumble into a motel / hotel. Deliver exceptional learning experience. Travel back. Rinse and repeat. Remind myself to blink now and then.

The kebab hunt is, what I believe young people refer to as, my ‘thing’. The challenge is wherever and whenever I am, I need to find a new kebab place. There are some rules (I’m not a monster). No delivery. If I have a rental car, I can drive. If not, I gotta hoof it on foot. Sometimes it’s a challenge in a small town in the rain with a 10pm arrival, so maybe I need to get creative with a daylight arrangement or a stop-off enroute home.

It keeps me awake. It keeps me alive. It exercises me. The ritual distraction of it humanises what otherwise can be a very draining side of what I do. I’m not complaining; I love what I do.

In a facetime with my mid-20s daughter recently, it turns out that her and her friends are always interested in the next instalment. My contemporaries prod me to make it my next book.

I should also stress I do not literally order a kebab. The default order is whatever variation of mixed kebab iskender / salad + fries. Effectively, a breadless kebab.

Best one in NZ so far after many years of hunting was in Tokoroa and, given that there are 2 places in Tokoroa, I bet you’ll be surprised which one it was. I was training 40km away in a dairy shed in Mangakino. I had my car. Recently, a court found them guilty of a bunch of employment offences relating to wages, conditions, and immigration. My reviews will be once-over-lightly and glib. I'm not a forensic detective.

I have not really been taking it seriously, hence establishing this page. I do not wish to give me myself an onerous task, nor a homework assignment, but I’ll make sure I generate enough content so over time the collective hunts might be book-worthy. And to keep me honest, I’ll be posting my hunt trophies here. I’ll be supporting local businesses and you may like to do so too. I’m pretty chill. The worst review I would have ever done would have been, “Great value for money. Ample portions”.

It's not really about kebabs. I write about workplaces, people-skills, and leadership. Business travel is a big part of what i do but not everyone. It's a peripheral view into my work's impact on my life - mindset, family, health, fitness, etc.

The hunt is on...

Sam's Kebabs, Ormiston (Auckland) 20Nov2024

Wasn’t planning to dine here. Again, it’s an Auckland kebab place which are supposed to be out of bounds but, again, my business travels and work schedule meant I was staying in a motel in my home town. So, technically, tonight is allowed under my rules.

I flew in from Tauranga after the motel key debacle and the Devonport Road Kebab salad double-header. Arriving at 8pm, with a 90-minute drive home and my client tomorrow being 10 minutes from this very airport led me to book a motel nearby.

If I’d been to Ormiston before I did not remember it. And, as it turned out, I had been to Ormiston before. I discovered this at 4am the next morning when I went to the Snap Fitness Gym. It’s on the 2nd floor of an expansive shopping centre. I remember struggling to find it last time. Much easier at 4am. This gym chain is supposed to be 24/7 so I was left wondering as I exited the elevator as the gym was pitch black. I keyed myself in successfully and instantly the motion sensors kicked in. Not only did the lights some on instantly, EVERYTHING DID. Lights, music, TVs, equipment. Quite an experience alone at 4am.

Google told me the night before that there were 2 kebab places within 3km of my motel. I’m doing this same crazy thing next week after a flight home so I figured to figuratively flip a coin. Kebabiya, it was. 3km later, Kebabiya is no longer there. Google seemed pretty certain so I naturally doubted myself. Walking around the block of the google pin turned up no kebab place but the dim sum place seemed twice as large as it was. I think the dim sum place ate Kebabiya?!

Anyways, off I drove to option B – Sam’s Kebabs – Afghanistan kekabs. A first for me.

Ormiston on a Wednesday night was jumping in general, and Ormiston Pak n Save was jumping in particular. Around the corner was a quiet (it was near closing time) slightly bigger than a ‘hole in the wall’, one table outside eatery. Lots of Afghan colour décor and effects. The only non Afghan thing was Kenny Rogers music. Not complaining. Noticed.

If you’re looking to wolf down volumes of food, you won’t get that. My mixed-meat salad in black plastic tub with clear plastic lid was great. Such fresh salad, despite being pretty late in the evening. Genuinely conversational service from the young man behind the counter. Couldn’t say if he was Sam of Sam’s Kebabs but he acted as if he was.

Curly fries were a novelty but the basic fries were a treat and very fry-driveable. I might return next week and test other dishes…

Tauranga Double-Header Part 2: Abrakebabra Tauranga 19th November 2024

Part 2 of a Tauranga double-header. Last time, I wrote of Turkish To Go Devonport Road Tauranga, and the motel key mix-up meaning the food remained packaged for too long.

Turkish To Go is directly across the road from the place I’m reviewing in this post – Abrakebabra Tauranga. This is a chance for market forces to come into place – supply and demand, deadweight loss, and other economic terms that sound vaguely familiar to me. I was only there one night for only 15 minutes but it seemed like this market had decided. Abrakebabra was jumping on a Tuesday night round 8pm. It’s got indoor-outdoor floor with the sliding glass frontage opening up. Timber décor. Couples in conversations at tables of substance. I have dined inhouse here on previous visits in the ‘before times’. (Before I started reviewing kebab salads).

OK, it’s more expensive so the supply and demand thing comes into play again. The food prep space is so much visible from the dining and waiting areas. I do like that. The staff are younger and clearly staff but they’re very onto it. They clearly see me after placing my order with them, walk across the street and into the other place where I place ANOTHER ORDER, then 15 minutes later walk back in to pick up.

These chips had cardboard packaging compared to the organic-Styrofoam substitute of the other. Better ventilation in the cardboard box design meant I think that they survived the key delay better.

All other things being equal (another economic term – ceteres parabus) I def recommend dining in here and will do next time. Unless, Tauranga has another kebab place nearby…

Turkish To Go Tauranga 19th November 2024

This is a double-header. Devonport Road in Tauranga not only has 2 kebab places but they are directly across the road from each other, with big glassy frontages so you can see into each from the other.

Why would I not go to both on the same night?

One of the major influences on the ‘business ‘travel’ aspect of Kebab Hunt is how well the food travels in a rental car to a motel. Some of that is down to the food and some to the packaging. The other variable is time which you can’t really blame the outlet for. On this night, both places got pinged timewise due to the motel.

Firstly, the motel was great. I’m sure the staff are friendly and provide service. But, I was a late arrival. I knew I would be and, as I always do, I communicated and learned their process for key pickup etc. Lock box location – check. Combination – check. Key in the envelope – check. Any advice of which room the key fitted – nope. There’s clearly some paperwork missing. The key has a number embossed on it: ‘20’. I try room 20. Key works. If you don’t believe me, ask the guy who was already in room 20 organising his socks. We laugh. Could’ve been a lot worse. Not room 20. The 20 on the key must have symbolised the 20th anniversary of the guy who cuts the keys?

I ring the after-hours phone number on the website. No response. Leave a message. I walk back to the lock box to check if the paperwork had fallen down the back. Nope. There’s a phone number on the door for “emergencies”. Not the same phone number that’s on the website. Super-friendly guy answers and goes into automatic pilot mode for all the other after-hours calls he’s taken. Mate, I’m less impressed by the milk you left in the fridge (a major selling point based on his spiel) as by all I need is the room number. 25.

All good. Minor inconvenience. Bit of a story. He’d forgotten to insert the paper with the key. “My bad”. The real victim here were the 2 kebab salads but especially the fries.

I’ll review the kebab place across the road in my next post. This one, Turkish To Go, is one of 4 Turkish To Go’s in Tauranga. This one is on Devonport Road. On this might it’s empty except for a homeless person. The owner behind the counter calmly asks him to leave. Later, I see him providing him a full meal. I gather the unspoken agreement might’ve been not to come inside.

The owner has a directness that some customers might not be into. He’s super efficient and direct but maybe not awash in enthusiastic pleasantries. My credit card, working fine only 3 minutes earlier in the other kebab place did not work in his machine. I did all the tapping, sliding, and restarting to no avail. He ask permission to do it for me in a way that made me think he might’ve done this for a few drunk people in his time. I was not drunk. He too could not work the card. Re-starting the machine did work.

Given the delay, it’s hard to be fair judging the food. It definitely passed the value for money test. Volume value for sure.

The décor and atmosphere radiated genuine Turkish. A photo of Attaturk is one feature I haven’t come across before.

Recommend

Reb Beach Kebabs, Hibiscus Coast, 8th November 2024

My original, and still general, intention with these kebab salad reviews was to justify writing about business travel and its impact on me. That said, I arbitrarily and unilaterally decided to review my local. In fairness, I had worked this particular Friday a ninety-minute drive from my house. I feel that’s enough to qualify my Friday-night takeaways as a business travel meal.

The nearest kebab places to my semi-rural location are in Millwater and Red Beach. Today, we’re looking at the Red Beach one – the titular Red Beach Kebabs.

The shopping precinct containing Red Beach Kebabs isn’t really Red Beach Red Beach. That’s further away. This is a shopping precinct with a 4 Square, a gas station, and a Dominos. There’s a fish n chip place, an Indian Restaurant, and Couttas Bar & Grill where I bought my son his first legally-purchased official-drinking-age beer. Red Beach Kebabs is on a site that used to be the other Red Beach fish n chip place about 20 metres away from the other fish n chip place. Market forces did its thing, there is only the one fish n chip place remaining – the very decent Red Beach Takeaways.

And, so was created the circumstances into which Red Beach Kebabs inserted itself. Prime corner real estate, visible from the busier of the roads. Drive by and you can’t miss it, and, as my review will reveal, you should not miss it.

Before I get to the food, I have to praise the service – it’s military-precision personified. They are never not busy when I’m there and that is almost always Friday night rush hour. They have 5 staff in the narrow space between counter and cooking area. They clearly have well-proven processes. Everyone had total ownership and control of their demarked responsibilities, as well as the inter-relationships between them. It was almost like a dance watching their physical inter-changes. I had a complex order with customisations and the young chap on till was a maestro, unfazed. Prior to my turn to be served, he handled a long mob of customers efficiently and effectively. I barely noticed a wait. I’d hire this guy based on this as an audition for any number of roles.

I said earlier that this was the closest kebab place to my house. It’s still a 15-minute drive. So, the salad and the fries needed to survive the trip. I bought extra fries – one to assess how it travelled, and one to fry-drive. Clean, crisp and seasoned with being car-messyers, the fires get the highest marks. They also made it home with minimally negative effects.

A great ratio of meat to salad, with a distinctive mint-garlic-yoghurt sauce. This sauce may well be made in-house. It was a delight. Great portion size and value for money. Extra marks for the click-in design of their choice of clamshell container. I did have to think for a minute how to unclick it but it helped its journey home, allowing venting without drippage. Excellent bagging of our various containers and bottles into the complimentary fabric carrybag. Not every shop offers this and as an often-pedestrian business traveller, it’s a pain to juggle these things on even a short walk to a nearby motel.

Always enjoy their fare. Easily the best service under pressure of any place so far. Very competitive prices. And, with their obvious systems, they could franchise I reckon. Although, with a geographically stuck name, maybe they’re happy where they are? That said, KFC is well beyond Kentucky so there’s still a chance for Red Beach Kebabs to evolve into RBK.

Highly recommend. 

Kebab Sanatci, Hamilton, 4 November 2024

I pre searched the internet for a kebab place in Hamilton close to my motel, my client, and my gym. It suggested Kebab Sanatci – good online reviews. Walking to my gym, I passed a Turkish restaurant which presented well, and signs decreed anything could be a takeaway. I gave it serious consideration but the web presence of Sanatci won me over. I was probably influenced by any one of the 4 beggars on the street at 5:30pm within 50m.

This not a slam on Hamilton but I missed my turn as I drove to Sanatci because multiple police cars were responding to the robbery at the gas station on the opposite corner – maybe it was 7:30pm by this time.  Was it the thrill of proximate violent crime, but dang this place had the best mixed meats of my recent kebab salads. And the best service bay far. It’s not a flash place and lacks the cliché kitsch but the simplicity and the process brings together a very presentable boxed salad that travels well. Great fries. At $19.99 great value.

Recommend. 

Ishtar Restaurant, Papakura, 31 October 2024

I had originally decided that Kebab Hunt was limited to my business travels, so Auckland outlets were ineligible. Straight away I got a late offer to MC an awards dinner in Karaka. I live about as far North as Auckland goes, whereas Karaka is about as far South as you can go. Given the late night that awards dinners often become and I had a full day workshop in South Auckland the next day, I opted to stay in a motel rather than go aaaalll the way home and allllllll the way back again. So, whilst Ishtar Restaurant in Papakura is technically not an out of town kebab, it may as well be.

I was not spoiled for choice. Ishtar was the only place Google said would be open between the venue and the motel at midnight. And it was open. And pretty busy. Big and welcoming. A couple of families doing the family thing at tables. Kids wandered and played chess. Dads watched the cricket on TV. More than the usual mediterranean merch was all round the front.

The service warrants special mention here. She was a machine. And upsold me to a can of Red Bull. At midnight. On a school night.

I still had quite a drive in a strange neighbourhood in darkness and it was Halloween. And it was right before Guy Fawkes. It was an interesting drive and the fries were very much up to the task.

Pretty standard salad. Very tasty meats. The winner though was the fluffiest pita. Borderline naan. That and the hummus were the stars of the show. Even on a night of Halloween and Guy Fawkes.

Recommend. 

Kapadokya Palmerston North 16 October 2024

I’ve been to Palmy many times and I’ve been to Kapadokya a bunch. In at 6:30pm, it’s jumping yet still the staff are still friendly and efficient. When it’s ready, they don’t call my number, they personally hand deliver it to the table where I’m waiting.

No fork or serviettes is my only gripe but I did get a reusable fabric carry bag for my 3 containers. A stroll back to my distantly parked rental car can be messy, hot, or damaging if I’m juggling hot boxes. With the bag, I and my food got back to the motor lodge in one piece, plus I’ve got somewhere to put my gym gear after my 5am trip to Snap Fitness tomorrow.

The tabbouleh is the best I’ve had so far as part of the meal. I might be inclined to order some of that as a separate extra next time. Nothing untoward about the hummus. There might be slightly less food in the box that what you might expect but it’s a big box and it’s so good. I’m here to stuff my soul not my tummy.

The fries sparkled as I fry-drove back and were still rocking for quite some time back in my room. And, surprise surprise, a hidden aioli tub which was fab.

Palmerston North city has several kebab places from which to choose. I saw them as I drove around trying to find a carpark….

Highly recommend. 

Kawakawa: Istanbul Kebab

Stopping in Kawakawa enroute home after Kaitaia was not in my plans but now that I’m on this kebab hunt campaign, the part of my brain that notices things notices kebab places. Coopers Beach had a kebab food truck as I zoomed through at legal speeds heading South. It was open and I could’ve turned around, but it was still pre-dinner time. I made a mental note for next time. However, it did spark the thought that a roady-kebab might be a go, given I wouldn’t be arriving home until after 8pm. It would also be my first chance to assess a kebab salad with some miles on the clock. Siri, my travelling partner in crime, assured me there was a new kebab place in Kawakawa where I’d need to stop for petrol anyways. It’d be great to stop there for something other than a spectacularly ornate Dutch toilet. Hey, that place is great and functional, plus a real winner if you’re a fan of people taking photos of toilets you’re about to walk out of.

I was early, it was open and the guy was instantly friendly and helpful. I ordered my usual and it was ready swiftly. I did have my skull-candy earbuds in, so I might’ve nodded a few times when he double-checked what I was asking for. I’d ordered fries to accompany my mixed meat kebab salad and I thought he was confirming that or asking about chicken salt so I’m generally saying yes to anything at this stage. This will be relevant later.

Back to the car, I shifted gear around and binned some trash. I’m a tidy kiwi by default, obsessed by spatial efficiency, and if I’m fry-driving, things better be where they need to be so I can access them safely braille-style. I also shifted the 2-for-1 Red Bulls I’d grabbed from the petrol station. I took a photo of the meal on the black passenger seat which, in daylight, really made the meal in a white clamshell container pop.

The fries were freakin’ awesome – medium sized, crisp exterior, fluffy interior, and critically for fry-driving, near zero grease. My steering wheel thanks me.

I’m very aware than these meals are best consumed instantly but these reviews are business traveller reviews. Sometimes you gotta buy and drive.

3.5 hours later, I’m home but I’m still not eating. I need to prep for the next day’s trip to Palmerston North, plus smash through the pre and post admin tasks that have been piling up when I’ve been in front of clients delivering learning. So, by the time I peel off the rubber band ensuring the structural integrity of my salad’s clamshell container, it’s pretty late.

Two bites in, it’s great. Even cold. It must have been dazzling when fresh.

However, and this is me, not them or the salad, my first two mouthsful revealed that the salad is layered on a bed of fries. And, they understandably did not thrive for their experience. Then, I flashed-back mentally Sixth-Sense-style and realised that the server's questions were about these fries. Not only did I not want extra fries but, given I was ordering fries separately did I really want fries embedded with my meal like CNN journalists? ”No” would’ve been the correct answer.

No regrets. Never surrender. And $20-ish = tremendous value for money. If they are new, I wish them great success.

Highly recommend. 

Kaitaia: Turkish Kebabs & Pizzas

My prior trips to Kaitaia have been touristy, and with the kids when they were much younger. Plus, it’s been a while. Business travel is dipping in and out of places. One positive or negative event can colour the whole trip, memory of it, and the story that gets on-told about it. I spent very little time in town that wasn’t working indoors but my impression was almost of hustle and bustle.

I was to deliver training in Kaitaia on the Tuesday but was training in Auckland on the Monday. Flying is an option but too much of a roll-of-the-dice with the weather Gods for me to risk it, so I chose to drive up after Monday’s gig. That gig was 75 minutes further south than my home and Kaitaia is about as North as you get in New Zealand without getting salty wet. This is def the longest I’m Ok with driving not flying, especially doing it on consecutive days.

Contrary to past legend, Kaitaia has traffic lights. It also has a Pak n Save of substance, plus a KFC and McDonalds indicating that people with calculators who calculate markets, populations, and growth, that this town has even more potential.

So, knowing in advance that my kebab’s haunt Turkish Kebabs and Pizza closes at 8pm, and with my phone’s map app being helpful, I had 20-minutes of wriggle room to get there. Otherwise, I might be playing KFC and McDonalds off against each other to see who could create the closest facsimile of a kebab for me. I made it with 13 minutes to spare. I burned 7 minutes stopping in Wellsford to zip into a 4 Square to grab some Red Bull (not sponsors but they are clients, as far Foodstuffs the cooperative behind 4 Square). Which of the 2 nearly next-door 4 Squares? That’s my secret. There’s a kebab place right there too. Note to self for future.

$23 is upper-middleish for a large mixed kebab salad so I was expecting better than average and it certainly was. It was a 1km drive to my motel and it travelled well. My concern was with the fries as their style is thick and fluffy. I’m normally preferring a medium fry with a crisp exterior and fluffy interior. I’ve not sold my soul to the McDonalds fry structure. It’s all very subjective. The fries not only survived but out-performed expectations. Perhaps a longer drive might’ve sent them into soggy oblivion, but I’ll thankfully never know.

The salad was great. Worth it. The hummus initially weirded me out but it grew on me. I’m guessing it might’ve been more tahini that I’m used to. Maybe it’s more authentic?

Recommend. 

Morrinsville: Saz Kebab and Pizza 2nd October 2024

Morrinsville itself seems on first arrival to have its civic act together. One stray Coca Cola can rolled in the wind as the only evidence of street trash. I saw no obvious graffiti. Funky art cow statues adorned most every corner of the main drag. I’m sure that Morrinsville, like Twin Peaks, has its own dark dirty secrets but as a business traveller rolling into town at dusk (like that Coca Cola can) any drama was not for me to find. I was no special agent and I don’t like coffee, even if it is a damn fine cup. My prey was kebab and I’d already searched ahead of time to ensure it would still be open. Saz Kebab & Pizza was open and the service was efficient if not effervescent. But if I was after effervescence, I’ll go find a full can of Coca Cola. (Note to self – pitch Coca Cola for sponsorship?)

My motel was a mere 400m and the weather favoured me, so I parked up, packed out, and trekked off on foot.

Standard offerings in terms of salads and sauces. I go for all salads and the sweet chilli + garlic yoghurt. Side of fries.

The fires had an aioli dip at no extra cost but they did not travel well, despite it being only a 400m stroll. That would be my only critique. Otherwise fine.

And, at a sub-$20 for a large mixed meat salad, tremendous value for money. When I asked my clients about Saz, the general vibe was positive.

Recommend.