Hayama (Auckland, New Zealand)
This was my last trip to the airport before Coronavirus hit New Zealand, I was on my way to Gold Coast and had a quick bite before flying. I planned to sleep on the plane as I was quite tired and needed some good rest, so I grabbed something to eat so I can have my snooze time on my economy seats without being bothered what to choose for dinner.
I tried most of the airport restaurant and one of the places I haven’t tried yet was Hayama, a Japanese restaurant that sells typical Japanese fare like sushi, sashimi, donburi and ramen. They also serve non-Japanese dishes like Tom Yum and Laksa. I had seen bad reviews of this place in Zomato but most of them points to the sushi, sashimi and ramen, but even so I tried this place but avoided those items, instead I grabbed some Pork Curry Katsu NZ$18.50 which was surprisingly satisfying.
First of all serving size was huge, it was served with two large pork katsu servings on a big pile of rice and a nice miso soup. Pork was cooked perfectly, still moist but very crispy on the outside. Curry sauce was good, I guess you can’t go wrong with these as these are premade curry blocks from your Japanese specialty grocers.
Was it something special? Well it will not blow your mind special, but it was good, satisfying and very filling. It was seasoned really well so I there is nothing to complain with it. Having said that, if you’ve seen bad reviews on Zomato or Trip Advisor then see what they were and try to avoid the item not the place (if its food related), because you might be missing something like Hayama, while others hated the ramen and sushi, they have this Curry Katsu which I reckon is good.
Sushi Bar Hayama
Address: International Terminal, 1st Floor, 139 Ray Emery Drive, Mangere, Auckland 2022, New Zealand
Phone: +649 256 6200
Website: http://www.hayama.co.nz/
You make a good point about going one step further when reading bad reviews. I like to see what folks like and dislike about a place when I use food apps. We’ve discovered some really awesome places over the years thanks to those apps! Hayama sounds decent…especially given that it’s airport food!
Yeah Airport food is a hit and miss, but you will never know until you try them. People have different opinions so it might have a positive response from you
Wow, I wish our airport had offerings like this. Even if not mind-blowing, it sounds pretty good!