Thanks to the offerings at a stall in a food court in the heart of the city, diners can go on a culinary journey around China at one little eatery
Pop Hut, which used to be located at MidCity Mall, has relocated to the Atrium on Elliott food court and is offering customers specialties from around Asia, ranging from Hong Kong’s egg waffle, Japanese oden, Taiwan Braised Pork Rice and Xian’s rou jia mo.
The eatery was opened in 2017 by Mike Zhang and Sunny Hu, originally from Guangzhou. It started as a bubble tea shop, and later expanded to include the food offerings they have today.
“Initially, we wanted it to cater to students," Sunny said. "But later we found that white-collar workers in the city and tourists from around the world were also interested. There was a demand for traditional Chinese food, so we saw an opportunity to offer a menu that’s exciting and allows customers to explore delicacies from different regions of Asia. In fact, many people from Western cultural backgrounds enjoy Asian food—for example, our rou jia mo and fried dumplings are very popular among New Zealanders.”
“But everything we do, we are still keeping the focus on students and what they like.”
Since the founders have lived in Guangzhou, Beijing, and other cities for many years, they’ve been exposed to a variety of regional cuisines. Now, they aim to recreate authentic flavors using traditional methods.
For example, egg waffles, a food originated in Hong Kong, are now extremely popular in all parts of Asia.
In Hong Kong, these egg waffles, shaped like a giant bubble wrap made from crispy batter, are an iconic street food.
You will see customers holding paper bags with these puffy waffles poking out as they munch on them.
While the original version is just the plain waffle, Pop Hut has created new flavours and accompaniments to go with them.
One of the most popular is a waffle that is smothered with ice cream, bubble jellies that burst in your mouth, Oreo cookies and banana slices.
From Xi'an, there’s the city’s signature rou jia mo - sometimes called a Chinese hamburger.
This is a burger that predates the Western hamburgers by 2000 years or so.
Rou jia mo originated from the Shanxi Province, and consists of spiced chopped meat stuffed into a flat bread that is similar to pita.
However, unlike the original version from Xian that uses mainly mutton or beef, this juicy delight at Pop Hut uses pork - like the rou jia mo popular in other Chinese regions.
A crowd favourite at Pop Hut is oden - a dish that originated in Japan, which you can find at many street corners, including convenience stores.
The stew, which features an assortment of fish cakes simmered in a soy-sauce-based dashi broth, is a comforting street food to have when the weather turns cold.
At Pop Hut, you can choose from assorted fish cakes, sausages, tofu, and eggs, among many other ingredient choices.
Having oden is about enjoying the different textures and tastes of the different juicy, chewy ingredients, which is what many people love about this winter meal.
Other exciting items on the menu also include liang pi cold noodles, Taiwan sausage, dumplings, hot and sour potato noodles, braised pig trotter noodle soup, and crispy fried chicken wings.
To accompany the meal, customers can enjoy Pop Hut’s milk tea range that has everything from classic to oolong, watermelon, chocolate, matcha, and even cheese milk foam tea.
POP HUT Atrium on Elliott Food Court, 21/25 Elliott Street, Auckland CBD. (Ph: 09 3779216) Business hours: 11am to 7pm (7 days)
This article is brought to you in partnership with Pop Hut.
