New Zealand Fast Food and Takeout Chains Worth Checking Out

New Zealanders have an adventurous spirit that is easily seen through their cuisine. Fast food, though not one of the best indicators of culture, is designed to appeal to the locals' taste preferences. With New Zealand's diversity and taste for adventure, it's no wonder that the fast food outlets offer a variety of choices including adventurous flavor combinations.

One of the most famous pizza institutions in New Zealand is Hell. With its gourmet pizza options and colorful names after the seven deadly sins and hellish destinations like Mordor, Hell takes pizza to the next level. Hell offers over twenty gourmet pizzas and one of its most loved creations is the Grimm pizza which includes chicken, cream cheese, apricot sauce, pine nuts, rosemary, and spring onions. Hell is also affordable with its double size gourmet pizzas priced at $16 NZD.

As for burgers, New Zealand has two local chains including Burger Fuel and Burger Wisconsin both of which strive to provide gourmet burgers with wholesome ingredients.

Burger Fuel offers grass-fed beef, chicken, fish, tofu, vegetarian, and vegan burgers with a variety of toppings. The burgers are pricy at $6.50-$10.90 NZD each; however, the servings are large with the majority of beef patties weighing in at 1/3 pound and a whole butterflied chicken breast on each chicken burger. The burgers are served on whole-wheat sesame-seed buns made especially for the franchise and each burger comes standard with Burger Fuel's own tomato relish and garlic aioli. Over twenty combinations are on offer including the famous "bastard" burger which comes loaded with a 1/3 lb beef patty, melted cheddar, beetroot, mango, avocado, rasher bacon, salad (a mix of green lettuces), relish, and aioli. Other favorites include the chignition pear chicken burger which comes with chicken breast, brie, fresh pear, salad, relish, and aioli. Each burger also comes with a special paper burger-holding device called the doofer which helps keep the toppings and sauces from falling and dripping out.

Burger Fuel's fries are also worth checking out as they offer both russet and golden kumara fries. Kumara is a native sweet potato in New Zealand and has a mild flavor which fries up crisp on the outside while remaining tender on the inside. All fries are accompanied with garlic aioli dip and are large enough to share (if you really want to).

Burger Wisconsin serves grass-fed AngusPure beef, chicken, lamb, pork, falafel, and fish burgers on sourdough buns made of a combination of wheat and rye and come standard with salad, relish, and mayonnaise. Favorites include their signature Chicken, bacon, and avocado burger and chicken, camembert, and cranberry burger. The prices are similar to that of Burger Fuel at $5-10.90 per burger.

In addition to the 18 burgers on menu, Burger Wisconsin also allows customers to create their own burger by choosing their preferred combination of meat, toppings, and sauces. Russet and kumara fries are also on offer to accompany your meal, or enjoy by themselves.

Japanese cuisine is loved by nearly all New Zealanders and St. Pierre's of Japan delivers with its sushi, bento, and bap sandwich outlets. The sushi, while not the best, is made fresh and is a good choice for eating on the run with most combinations costing an average of $7 NZD. The miso soup, served hot in a cup with a lid for sipping on the go, comes with a good amount of tofu and seaweed in a miso broth which is mildly salted. Hot dishes are also available such as teriyaki chicken on rice. St. Pierre's bento outlets offer donburi bowls and soba and udon noodle soups. The chicken katsu bowl is a favorite as is the chicken kushiage bowl. Quick, hot, and satisfying, the bowls are a good meal at less than $10.00 NZD for most bowls. Bap sandwich outlets serve flatbread sandwiches with fillings such as chicken, cranberry, and brie as well as their signature chicken schnitzel with Japanese mayonnaise. The sandwiches are best served toasted and come with a good amount of filling to keep patrons satisfied.Other more familiar chains are also worth checking into such as McDonald's, KFC, Subway, and Burger King. The menu offerings are significantly different than in the U.S. and you may just find a new favorite New Zealand specialty.

Diners should be open minded about food while travelling in New Zealand in order to get the most out of their culinary journeys as unfamiliar flavor combinations and tastes abound. What appears to be a disaster on a plate could turn out to be your new favorite dish.