Random Bike Rides: Kai Means Food in Papatoetoe

For lunch, our director, Louise Tu’u, rode to meet fellow comrade, Vasemaca Tavola and her aiga, at a wonderful Maori-owned cafe, Kai Means Food. Located in Papatoetoe at 358 Great South Road, this cafe is where DIDO (Day In, Day Out) cafe used to be. The ride to get there from Ōtāhuhu was straightforward: ride down Avenue Road, turn right into Water St, left into Trenwith, right into Curlew Bay Road till the end and enjoy the shared and beautiful walking and cycle path alongside SH1 to Highbrook, down Highbrook Drive and onto Bairds Road in Ōtara. From there, Louise turned right into Ashton Ave, which is the fastest and safest way to reach Ōtara Road then East Tamaki Road.

Negotiating crossing the East Tamaki off-ramp in Ōtara on East Tamaki Road, then turning left into Huia Road was relatively painless, as there are traffic lights. They are very busy roads, so please keep your eyes open and ride with caution. Louise rode down Huia Road slowly, enjoying the sights of Papatoetoe. Catching up with Vasemaca meant robust and hilarious conversations, being rewarded with yummy kai. Louise highly recommends the Paua Scram (bottom left), whilst Vasemaca and aiga enjoyed the hangi and burger.

Riding back home after a nice feed in the hot sun meant taking it easy, going down Huia Road, then turning left into Wintere Road, which is much quieter and pleasant. Louise then rode back through Ōtara and back to Ōtāhuhu.