Cheap Eats Auckland CBD: Popa's Pretzels

My previously regarded cheapness, coupled with a desire to continue content on my blog has given birth to The Student's Guide to Even Cheaper Eats, in which I endeavour to satisfy my tastebuds and stomach during my schooling years in Auckland CBD with a meal on no more than $5 a week.

Popa's Pretzels has earned itself a large and ever-growing reputation as a popular cheap eats destination for people within the city centre keen for a hot, light meal. Located very conveniently opposite the Aotea Centre and only a couple of minutes' walk from the Auckland City library, its position on the corner of Rutland street makes it easily accessible and very noticeable for passers-by. Despite rivalling the very popular Toro Churro next door, Popa's has still earned itself multiple excellent reviews online, and it was inevitable that the food, photos, and menu would draw me in as a customer with only a few coins to spare.

Again armed with my sister, I was armed with a total of $6.30 this week, I arrived with general expectations for the place. The shop itself, much like the surrounding food vendors, operates in a tiny venue large enough to fit only the counter, a desk to work upon, and a machine to cook the pretzels and present it hot. The shop had several people already cuing and others as they awaited freshly-baked orders. The menu itself, hung on the door of the shop, is much more varied and expansive than what is offered online, which resulted in my sister and I hesitating somewhat for which ones to order.

MENU AND ORDER

After several minutes of deliberation we came to a conclusion that the best approach would be to sample their main attraction: the pretzels. We selected one savoury (cream cheese and zaatar, $4.70), and one sweet (apple and cinnamon, $4.50), and were given an option for a topping of cheese, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds for the savoury (we chose sesame). The pretzels were made fresh and baked to order, and was presented hot within a few minutes. The woman at the counter was much younger than I first expected from the comments online, but was very friendly and delivered excellent service with a wide smile.

FOOD

The photos online were quite flattering when it came to the size of the pretzels; they weren't as big as I'd expected, but were fat from the fillings and decently-sized nonetheless. The scent of the pretzels were incredible, especially from the apple and cinnamon, the sugar on top making it heavenly.

As for the taste, it was generally as expected: the dough was springy, and the filling was decent. The cream cheese had melted to liquid and oozed whenever we took bites, and was a good flavour pairing for the zaatar (a Middle-Eastern herb). Though the cheese itself wasn't too salty the pretzel had been seasoned with salt on top that was slightly too strong for my liking, though that's my preference than bad food on the restaurant's part. Another personal error had been to choose the sesame seeds: while we had been contemplating between that and the cheese we had favoured it in fear the cheese would become too salty and dominate the flavours, but we had not expected the sesame seeds to be so abundant: as I don't like too many sesame seeds (such as on buns or breads), it was still enjoyable.

The apple and cinnamon pretzel was gorgeous in so many ways: apple and cinnamon makes a very good combination for any sweet filling or dessert, and the combination packaged in the chewy pretzel dough was an excellent choice (if I do say so myself). Something I never thought I'd say, however, is that I had hoped for it to be sweeter - no complaints of the flavour overall, though. I had just been craving something particularly sweet that day.

FILLING-NESS

Unfortunately, one pretzel itself was not all that filling. While this could have been due to cravings for more food (it was a damn good sweet pretzel), it would have been nice to see a slightly more generous portion. However, for that price, it isn't something I can complain over. It was enough to be just satisfying, and any extras would have been more for the sake of enjoyment than being full. Nonetheless, it was a good feed for a good price, and definitely one of the more tasty things I've had for the past couple of weeks.

OTHER COMMENTS

If the food and the price isn't incentive enough to go, both staff members working had been very good looking. (Would it be justified I gave extra points for the cute boy working the dough?) I shall withhold further comments: any more and there will be the Alex-from-Target debacle all over again.

RATING

19/23. Unfortunately lowered as it had not been as filling as I'd have liked. Totalling $9.20 for two, a few extra dollars could have bought another pretzel to split (but unfortunately, not for the stingy like me).