Influencer out to independently review all AK kebab shops
Social media influencer Zeeshan, known as Big Boi Bari, is on a mission to try every kebab in Auckland.
"I was a really picky eater when I was a kid. When I first started eating kebabs, I would go to a kebab shop and I'd get chicken on rice with no salad and just garlic yoghurt.
"Breakfast, lunch, dinner that was all I would have."
He said he'd eaten enough kebabs to know what's good and what's not.
"So I was like, let's just start reviewing them."
Photo: Mahvash Ikram/RNZ
Zeeshan wanted to try every kebab shop in Tamaki Makaurau for his popular Instagram and TikTok profiles
"I realised this recently, when people want to find somewhere to eat, they don't Google it anymore - they go on TikTok or social media, and they search up where to eat."
So far he has reviewed and rated more than 100 kebabs in Auckland.
"Usually we'll do four or five places on a day... We batch film videos, so we'll have one day where we film and we'll go to a bunch of different spots."
He took First Up to one of his favourite shops.
"The people are nice, it's nice outdoor seating and the kebabs are really good."
He ordred mixed kebab with garlic yoghurt, hot chilli with lettuce and onion.
Last year he gave the restaurant a 9.3 rating.
As he opened his mixed kebab wrap, he explained the scoring system.
"The sauce is like throughout the whole thing. You can see the salad is really nice and fresh. The onions still have like a little bit of crisp to it.
"It's that shredded lamb meat. The cut of it is very important. It needs to be sliced thin so that it's juicy. Flavoursome."
Zeeshan says Celine Mediterranean Cuisine is one of his favourite kebab places. Photo: Mahvash Ikram/RNZ
According to Zeeshan, the best way to enjoy a kebab was to embrace the mess that goes with it, and gulp it down with a fizzy drink.
"Having a messy kebab is part of the experience. Like that last bite where it's just dripping in sauce and you have to have it all in one bite, otherwise it'll go everywhere. That's the best bite sometimes."s
It all started about two years ago when he decided to turn his passion for food into a full time gig.
"A lot of really good food places are not really on social media," he said
"The thing that, makes me feel fulfilled is when a place sells really good food and then we do a review and they get really busy. That's why I do it."
Things really took off in August 2024, when he reviewed Tasty Kebab in Mount Roskill and gave it his first, and so far only, 10 out of 10 rating.
"Well, the Tasty video was crazy. On TikTok it's at 237,000 views and then on Instagram 90,000 views."
He became a bit of a celebrity after that video, he said.
"Pretty much almost every time I come out to the city or something, someone will come up and say 'I watched the videos' and it's cool.
"After the Tasty kebab video I got recognised a lot more and a lot of them said 'I tried it and it was amazing'."
He believed people trusted his reviews because he stayed independent, and had kebab critiques that could not be bought.
"I just remember seeing videos where someone's reviewing a place, they say it's really good. I've been there and I know it's not good or like I know that they've been paid to say it's good," he said.
"I've had a lot of people reach out and like kebab shops like I'll, we'll pay you to come to a review. But I always say no because I'll review a place if I want to review it, not if someone's paying."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.