Takeout stakeout

IN: By the time we finally arrive home, after a one-and-a-half flight from Nelson to Auckland, preceded by a three-hour delay, dangling in no man’s land with Air New Zealand, I am experiencing “operational issues” of my own. Sorry to all the passengers in the house but due to issues beyond my control, there will be no dinner tonight. I apologise for any inconvenience caused. The real joy of Uber Eats of course, is that we don’t need to add another leg of trave,l to our already protracted journey up the North Island, to get sustenance. We are told our order will arrive just after 9pm.

OUT: “Your order is on its way.” These are the words we want to see, more than anything. Bang on the estimated time, 20 minutes after ordering, there is a hum of a small motorbike in the driveway. A pillion passenger hops off and delivers the goods. It’s hot and fresh and we are ready.

THE TAKEAWAY: The menu starts with a heading: “Most Wanted Dishes” and includes pad thai. I beg to differ. While it’s often sublime as street food in Thailand, pad thai does not travel well in my experience and would never be classed as a favourite, given the choice. And there is plenty of choice at Krung Thep Thai Street Food. Instead we go for a sharp, piquant tom yum broth with prawns, pork gyoza, beef massamun and chicken larb. Our taste buds zinging. The broth is delicious, the larb perfectly okay but lacking punch (order “Thai” hot next time), the gyoza a little lumpy and too burdened by batter to resemble the delicate morsels I anticipated. But the massamun comes romping in as the clear hero, with fall-apart beef bursting with flavour. We also had plenty for lunch the next day. Happy travellers, at last.