A touch of true Kiwi ingenuity has proven popular in Rotorua, with a tourist attraction adding new food options to its menu.
A drive-through hāngī is now being offered by Mitai Māori Village. It is offering the drive through hāngī on Friday nights whereby customers can pre-book and pre-pay online before collecting the meal at a specific time without having to get out of their cars.
The business, which offers a cultural experience and hāngī meal, has been hit hard from the coronavirus pandemic like many other tourism attractions and shut its doors to visitors on March 23.
Business owner Wetini Mitai-Ngatai said his staff were however, keen to work and they wanted to do their best to capture the domestic market.
“We don’t want to sit around here looking like a carving. It’s a new thing for us but everyone’s excited,” he said.
Mitai-Ngatai said the hangi was particularly sought after because it was cooked the traditional way – in the ground, using heat from hāngī stones .
“I enjoy it because it’s a really full-flavoured hāngī.”
Those who have pre-booked on the company’s website are given a pickup time and an area in the village has been created where customers can drive in, turn around, get their hāngī brought out to them and leave.
Mitai Māori Village was also offering free delivery for orders of 10 or more hāngī.
Up next? As a further extension to the business the village also plans to launch a new food truck business where they will sell paleo and vegan-friendly hāngī from different locations around Rotorua.
