A walk on Otahuhu's tasty side

GLYNN CHRISTIAN samples the sensations on a munchie stroll at Otahuhu.

The gaudy pavements of Otahuhu's Great South Rd, from King St to the clock roundabout, offer a maelstrom of sarongs, pareus, plastic flowers, paper leis and creative tailors: not much for the gastronome tourist.

But stand on the corner of King St and Great South Rd, face back to Auckland, and delicious things beckon ...

Find Double Happy BBQ at 278 Great South Rd. It offers barbecued chicken wings at 80c each, great walkie-munchies.

Turn into King St to the Asian Supermarket - at No 1. It is the brightest and tidiest of its kind, with all the usual delicious and appalling things. Target the right wall for beautiful, brightly printed tins of biscuits, $17.90 for 900g, $11.50 for 600g including chocolate ones. Good presents, marvellous storage afterwards.

Turn back and cross Great South Rd diagonally. At 281 the fruit and veg shop offers vari-coloured taro piled high, and next door the culturally sensitive Indian Tasty Food Takeaway serves daily specials with either rice or taro. Next door again The Fisherman's Catch displays whole fish you choose yourself - it smells as bracing and fresh as the seaside.

No 311 is the S E Asia Food Centre, a gem. I bought Kentucky Seasoned Flour, which is crammed with good and bad ingredients, but makes fried chicken taste special. On an opposite shelf is pandan essence, the flavour of the pandanus or screwpine. Used alluringly by Thais as their vanilla, it can flavour rice, custards, ice cream or drinks. Fresh lemon grass, Thai shallots and round, white, true eggplant fruits are here, too.

The Kiwi Bakery, at 321, offers mountains of the yellow buns beloved by Pacific Islanders, and luscious coconut buns - light white buns put in sixes onto trays which hold a pond of sweetened coconut milk. Essentially they are buns with saturated bottoms rather than iced tops. Irresistible.

Turn right into Mason St and Choice Indian. Their specialty is a kaleidoscope of those amazing Indian sweets and snack mixtures. Both need much explaining, so try to shop when it is quiet. On the bottom shelf of the refrigerated counters are iced lassi, the whisked yoghurt drink, and blocks of paneer, the very fresh milk curd used instead of meat.

On a few doors to the newish Ethnic Food Court, airy and light and, joyously, with an open-air terrace at the back. The smells coming from some of the ingredients used here play havoc with uninitiated appetites. Yet the scene is warmingly domestic. A grandmother cuts chillies with scissors (great idea). A child is slicing herbs. Rotis - the Indian flat breads - are encouraged by buttered fingers to morph from a ball to a disc and then fried. Someone stirs a curry, hand on hip, entranced by the music from a small radio. The food seems universally excellent and the customers a good mix of Kiwis and newcomers.

First stall on the left is the Indian Roti Shop, offering elegant curries and something less usual called Murtabak, stuffed roti. Next there's a Malay Pork Roast stand and then another specialising in Malay Noodle dishes. The Spice Garden offers unusual Szechuan foods. Across the court, Kra Tip cooks fiery foods from Thailand's Issan region and from Laos. They will also fry ice cream for you, serve banana in coconut cream, offer Sticky Black Rice with Thai Custard, a sinful, silken concoction of coconut cream, palm sugar and egg yolks. Auntie's cooks Indonesian style, Kebab Babylon is Middle Eastern, and the last foodstop on parade is Thai. No other food and drink is allowed but cold drinks are available.

Finally, drive further along Great South Rd to the Manurewa Rd corner and The Hangi Shop. As well as a classic hangi mix of assorted meats and veggies, and a choice of bacon bone or beef boil-ups, there is excellent steamed pudding with custard and cream by the slice. Rewena bread by loaf or slice is somewhat sweet and made with potato yeast. From Thursday to Sunday there is a less common Maori bread - flat like pizza and torn into pieces like roti. The Hangi Shop delivers catering orders, so you can have a hangi and still have lawns to cut. Shame.