We made a pitstop in Whanganui as it was almost a halfway point in our drive from New Plymouth to Wellington. We parked and wandered along the main street, Victoria Avenue, and I spotted Auri Takeaway Korean House. It's a cute Korean mom and pop style restaurant. We dropped in on a Saturday (around 1:15pm) to an empty restaurant. The menu has lunch box, standard meals (Korean bento boxes), rice & stew and light meals. Prices are super reasonable ($6.90 NZD to $16.90 NZD). - Sweet potato noodle & chicken ball lunch box ($10.90 NZD) - the japchae was good but lacked a bit of that chewy noodle bite that I'm used to. Chicken balls were perfectly breaded with a light crunch. Found the portion size on the small side. - Jeyuk (#2) ($12.90 NZD) - spicy pan-fried marinated pork. Came with rice, mini egg omelette, white cabbage and blanched spinach. White cabbage was refreshing with a tangy, light vinegar sauce. Pork could have been spicier but it was still good. - Bibim-bap (#7) ($12.90 NZD) - steamed rice mixed with vegetables and beef served with chili paste. Always hard to find a good bibimbap but I was pretty impressed with this one. Good flavour and variety. Great hole in the wall. We were surprised to find a Korean spot in such a small town. read more

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