The Spinoff Members

dom-road-feature-.png

Dominion Road has made a name for itself as a destination for authentic, regionally-specific Chinese food. How did it get here?

Chinese, but not a Chinatown: The rise and rise of Dominion Road

nut-ranking.png

Would a pistachio beat a pecan in a fight?

Pretty much every common nut in Aotearoa, reviewed and ranked

teatalk-straight-fp.png

Bubbles, pearls or boba – no matter what you call them, they've taken New Zealand by storm. 

‘Just like the pie’: Bubble tea is here to stay

FeatureImage_NonAlcBubbles.png

There’s plenty on offer beyond Grapetise these days – but is any of it any good?

The boozeless bubbly of Aotearoa, reviewed and ranked

FeatureImage_KFCconstruction.png

The iconic 'No left turn except access to KFC' road sign has vanished. Joel MacManus investigates.

What happened to the Queenstown KFC road sign?

FeatureImage_KoreanGoods.png

From fried chicken and franchises to fusion and fine dining, Korean cuisine has taken over Tāmaki Makaurau.

The inside story of Auckland’s Korean culinary boom

funeralfood.jpg

'Pākehā don’t have a base camp like marae, or the tradition of dedicated ringawera in the kitchen, but we improvise.'

What I ate while I grieved

YumChaFeatureImage.png

How and what to order, from tea to egg tart.

A beginner’s guide to yum cha

veg.jpg

Since taking part in growing kai from seed to harvest, my appreciation for every vegetable I eat has deepened.

Where does kai come from? Learning in the māra

nutrition-story-shanti.png

After household bills are paid, one in five in the working-age population doesn't have enough income for decent kai.

Who are the New Zealanders who can’t afford nourishing food?

Gabis-Feature-images-8.png

Price hikes, disappearing products and sourcing struggles – could this be the new normal for the chocolate industry?

Nobody panic, but we’re in the midst of a global chocolate crisis

0a8c5efa-7562-4a3d-b25e-18bf27fd4cdc_850x510.png

Outdoor dining seems like something a country with a very nice outdoors should be good at.

Why do we make it so hard to dine outside?

grimace.png

It's not just a bad ad, it's a symbol of everything rotten in our lives.

I hate the sexy Grimace bus

FeatureImage_David-Seymours-school-lunch-1.png

Samples of the new cost-cutting kai were served up at parliament today. So how was it?

David Seymour’s new school lunches, reviewed

deer-ranking-1.png

Factors include: taste and difficulty of hunting.

The seven types of deer in New Zealand, ranked by a deer hunter

roty.jpg

'Running a restaurant – sometimes it feels like you’re running a charity for rich people.'

Five reflections on a part-reverent, part-riotous Metro Restaurant of the Year

NTQCljqF-image2.jpg

An impassioned culinary defence of the hot chip, and a guide to some of the capital's finest examples.

Good hot chips are an art form – here’s where to find Wellington’s best

junk-food.png

With a health crisis driven by preventable illnesses, the government can take one big step now.

Smoking ads are banned in New Zealand. Why are junk food ads still allowed?

FeatureImage_NewZealand_OliveOil.png

A global shortage means imported olive oil is more costly than it’s been since the late 90s. Can local producers compete on price now? 

Olive oil costs heaps at the moment. Can local producers come to the rescue?

boilup0310.jpg

For this Year 11 social studies class, the cuts to Ka Ora, Ka Ako funding hit close to home.

Why free school lunches matter – and what one group of students is doing to save them

Farm-House-in-the-hills.png

When he died, my friend Doug got no media obituary. Hardly anyone outside his tiny rural community knew him. But everyone inside that community did.

A life story

FeatureImage_TomtomtomtomCruise.png

I watched all 46 of Tom Cruise's films over the past 12 months. The question on everyone's lips: why?

‘The mission is clearly possible’: On watching every single Tom Cruise movie ever made

swimmingSafely.png

How a little jar of seawater ends up as a red cross that ruins your day-at-the-beach plans – but keeps you safe from swimming in sewage.

A trip to the beach with the poo detectives

CoverStory_FeatureImage_Johnsonville_850x510.png

coverstory_secondaryfeatureimage_johnsonville_1785x665-1-png

CoverStory_SecondaryFeatureImage_Johnsonville_1785x665-1.png

After two decades of promised redevelopment, Johnsonville Shopping Centre remains neglected and half empty. 

Who killed the Johnsonville mall?

NewZealandHouse-Samoanpattern.png

Has the country changed all that much in three decades? Loveni Enari compares his two New Zealands.

Returning to a different New Zealand after 32 years away

FeatureImage_murder-mystery-train.png

A dark and stormy night of mushrooms and murder, sorbet and suspicion, and more fedoras than you've ever seen in your life. 

I survived five hours on Christchurch’s first murder mystery train ride

FeatureImage_SpeedyPuzzle.png

Speed puzzling is like a marathon for the mind – intense, demanding, surprisingly exhausting. But does turning it into a sport destroy it as a relaxing pastime?

The need for speed: What I learnt competing in an online jigsaw puzzle competition

TT100_NZTVShows_FeatureImage_MegaList.png

Presenting our full top 100 countdown for your reading pleasure.

The complete top 100 NZ TV shows of the 21st Century

TheSpinoffTurns10_850x510.png

thespinoffturns10_1785x665-png

TheSpinoffTurns10_1785x665.png

Told in one crucial moment from every year, by The Spinoff’s founder Duncan Greive.

The epic inside story of The Spinoff’s first 10 years

Don’t know your 50% sugar hazelnut milk teas from your double Oreo cake cream with cheese foam? Liliana Mañetto Quick takes us on a tour of the wonderful world of bubble tea with a love letter to Wellington’s Hi Tea.

strong

HoN-Hey-Boba-Hi-Tea-Header

Liliana Mañetto Quick takes us on a tour of the wonderful world of popping pearls and bubble tea with a comic love letter to Hi Tea.

The Spinoff

KaiJune 12, 2021

Hey Boba, Hi tea: A comic explainer on the joy of bubble tea

Loading...

KaiJune 12, 2021

Hey Boba, Hi tea: A comic explainer on the joy of bubble tea

More Reading

Loading...