We’re lucky enough to have an incredible array of cuisine here in Aotearoa, so when we asked our food obsessed friends for the one best thing they ate this year, we knew we were being a bit cruel.

“Don’t overthink it” we cautioned - the strongest culinary memory that pops into your head first, that’s what we want to hear.

For many of us, 2022 has been a year of rediscovery - the pleasures of dining out again, the hunger to travel and experience new flavours. From the heart-warming bowl of pho that cures your emo hangover, to the farmer's market German sausage that takes you straight back to a holiday - these are the dishes that lingered in our minds long after our bellies. 

Grace Ko, Baobei designer

Okay most delicious thing I've put in my mouth this year is the date labneh from Kisa on Cuba Street in Wellington. The labneh is whipped to perfection (really fluffy but dense with flavour), the date jam sitting on top adds intensity and sweetness, and the dried orange on top is the most immaculate mid-bread break. It's vegan and gluten-free so we're all safe and can keep our dignity.

Tom Adam, chef and co-owner of Wellington restaurant Margot

Tamarind crab with ginger, lemongrass, chilli and fresh herbs made by our dear friends Taylor and Georgia when we had a South East Asian night at their house. I just love crab! This particular crab dish was the right balance of umami, spicy, fresh and saucy AND you have to eat it with your hands so it's fun and interactive. You really have to work for the good bits, so it tastes even better when you get the meat out. You also can't get crab in New Zealand very readily, so it's not something you eat all the time.

Juno Meirs, co-owner of restaurant Margot

Tom's parents live in Nelson, along with one of our best mates, so we spend a fair amount of time there - but we were away in the UK for nine months, then got back to Wellington in the midst of the first big lockdown and after that had several trips cancelled due to Covid, so by the time we got back to Nelson it had been almost two years.

One thing we always do in Nelson is go to the market on a Saturday, each getting something different to eat, and my favourite is the German sausage stall run by Doris. She makes all the sausages herself and they are DELICIOUS. You get a big old sausie, some mustard and sauerkraut & it just truly tastes like a holiday to me, even if I'm actually only there for a couple days.

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Connie McDonald, photographer

It’s gotta be the wild mushroom and chicken broth (a special take on a rosół) that I had in Węgierska Górka, South of Poland. Cooked for days. The collagen was glistening on the surface! I was staying at a school there, and would walk from the school to the principal’s house twice a day for my hot meals. The meals were sumptuous and incredible, mostly done by the principal’s husband (who looked SO much like Matt Gibb from Squirt/Studio 2). 

Also - on the subject of broths - my friend Mya Pickering Cole made the perfect lamb shank broth in her pressure cooker. I’m passionate about marrow, and sucking it out of the bone was incredible. Moments like that just stay with you. So I’ll cheat and say two broth experiences as my equal number ones.

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Rebecca Wadey, Ensemble co-founder

Food has been one of the things I've been able to rely upon for consistent pleasure over the past few years; when all else is uncertain and quite frankly a bit shit a delicious meal makes everything better. And I like to tell myself that eating out loads is important for the local economy. Honestly, I'm deserving of a damehood for my service.

Lots of honorary mentions including the lamb ribs from Lillian, the fried Jerusalem artichokes from Bar Céleste and the chilled cucumber at Aigo Noodle Bar, but I've narrowed down my stand-out dishes to two persimmon meals. Perhaps it's the annoyingly short season that makes persimmon so desirable, I can't binge on it?

The persimmon kimchi at Ockhee in Ponsonby is utterly exceptional, and so was the persimmon on seeded bread with sunflower butter and avocado I had at Floridita's in Wellington. We haven't even had summer yet and I'm strangely hankering for winter!

Eda Tang, Stuff Pou Tiaki journalist

I feel tentative to share this because recently these have been selling out before lunchtime. However, Mizu Bread has been there for me this year and the shop owners have seen me in many states as I repeatedly visit in times where needed is a treat. If I'm lucky, I'll get to enjoy one of their cream puffs, layered with buttery, airy pastry, oozing with vanilla bean custard.

Yawynne Yem, writer

Hanoi Eatery - into Queens Court (entry next to Nandos on Queen St lol) has given me the best pho I've ever had in my entire life. And I’m Khmer so I can really judge. Hanoi Eatery is like the Titanic blue diamond of hidden gems. The soup in their pho bo vien (P3) is like a hug from your Mum when you’re sick. The noodles are always the perfect texture, perfect amount of spring onion and coriander. 

Most importantly, you can really taste and feel how much love and history has gone into perfecting their family broth recipe. Each spoon sip gets better! It feels illegal that it’s just $16 for a giant bowl. Honestly, I’ve gone back so many times and taken so many friends now that the amazing Le Thi Bich (who runs the restaurant with her daughter) gives me a Vietnamese condensed milk iced coffee with my soup.

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Zoe Walker Ahwa, Ensemble co-founder

I don’t know if it was the ‘best’ in the sense of taste, but the kitschy cakes we had for Ensemble’s second birthday party in August were absolutely the most memorable. Frothy, retro-style cakes have been very ‘cool’ this year but I’ve always loved them for their nostalgic value and slight ridiculousness. I especially loved the hot pink, piped sheet cake that I got from Otahuhu cake makers Decor Cakes – who for years have been pumping out the original frosted concoctions that others are now copying.

James Bush, fashion designer

So much of the enjoyment of food is about the environment in which we consume it and Customs Cafe, Wellington, is just a lovely place to be. The staff are knowledgeable and interesting and they combine simple ingredients in unexpected and exciting ways.

The Ruby Kraut is easily the most delicious thing I have eaten all year. The Fix and Fog everything butter holds you close, while the Ruby Kraut, hot Sauce and Pickled Peppers treat you mean but keep you keen. On a dusty Saturday morning or a crisp Tuesday, the deliciously unexpected contrast of flavour always leaves me wanting more.

Lara Daly, Ensemble publishing coordinator

For years I was an almond croissant snob, but once I experienced one these perfectly flaky, nutty, oozey-in-the-middle pistachio croissants from Mibo Bakery, I was converted (shout out to my friend Meg Alexander for introducing me). Often the only thing that gets me out of bed on a Sunday is the thought of biting into one of these - and yes, it’s worth waiting in the long line of yoga pants for. I’m dying to try one of their black sesame croissants, it's always sold out so it must be good!

Tyson Beckett, Ensemble and Stuff style reporter

A much anticipated long weekend eating my way through Melbourne in May was abruptly curtailed when I got food poisoning mid flight across the Tasman. But by some miracle I managed to pull myself together enough to get the Ploughman’s lunch at Florian Eatery and it was everything I'd been dreaming of. It's essentially just a plate of pickles, cheeses and cured meat but those happen to be my favourite foods and I hadn't eaten in the 72 hours prior.