Delicious! I needed…read moreto bring back dinner for my brother-in-law, my husband, and me, so I asked an in the know local for their recommendation on best takeout in Takapuna. They quickly responded "Tok Tok". Their most favorite mentions from the menu were the Popping Prawns, Crispy Duck, Shaking Beef, and the Fried Rice... I ordered it all ;)! I'm so glad I did. I literally salivate when thinking about the meal. Ordering over the phone was a breeze, and a friendly. I walked into the restaurant, and was quickly shown a seat at the bar where I could wait, instead of waiting at the entry. The restaurant was packed, and it was clear to see Tok Tok is a hip and cool place to be, as well as welcoming. About ten minutes early, I decided to order a Chilli Margarita from the cocktail menu. I received my cocktail promptly. I had enough time to finish the refreshing work of art, right as my order came out.

I was visiting a friend in Auckland and she booked Tok Tok for dinner on a Monday night. The…read morerestaurant was packed and had a great vibe. We sat outdoors in a fully covered patio that had heaters for cold rainy nights and it felt cozy. The food was excellent. We ordered beef steamed buns, fish curry, miso eggplants and shaking beef. They all tasted amazing. We did family style amongst the four of us and it was the perfect amount of food. I'll definitely come back here whenever I'm in Auckland again.

Musashi and I go a long way back, when it was called Eiji and a man named Eiji used to be all over…read morethe place checking on customers. Back then it was only one restaurant, and we had to book a table a week in advance. Today they have two more branches in Milford and Grey Lynn and waiting times are better but I still recommend booking especially over the weekend and for groups. I have caught myself few times now talking about this Musashi (not the greatest Japanese warrior of all times) while eating Japanese in other parts or the world. To me this is the place where Japan manifests its presence on a humble plate. It is easy to dimiss it as mediocre initially due to the lack of Japanese diners, but this couldn't be farthest from the truth. Everything on the menu is honestly worth a try. Sharing here is the best way to get to enjoy the food. Their Volcano tuna sushi is my all time favourite. Don't even think about not trying it! I also happen to be a little Takoyaki tyrant, and this tastes exactly like it does in Tokyo. The seafood nabe is a selection of seafood that cooks infront of you in delicious broth, so fresh and light. If you are super hungry though watching your food cook maybe slightly painful. There are few vegetarian options and they also use signs to indicate if a meal is avaliable wheat free, which is great. Not a big fan of their desserts, they definitly taste good but I won't go to a Japanese restaurant for cheese cake or brownies. I wish their desserts were as authentic as their food.

Awesome place. A neighbourhood gem. Good food. Good value!…read more The place- Bit of a squeeze, not a lot of room but they managed to fit in a lot of seats. Mixture of indoor and outdoor seating. They can accomodate children as well. A very popular weekend spot for the locals. The placed was packed within 15minutes of opening. Make sure you make a reservation in advance!! The food- great value food. Fresh, high quality seafoods and meats. The lunch specials are as good as they come. The set menu encompass the usual miso soup, rice, and salads. Depending on what you choose, the mains are mostly served on a toban plate. They also have seasonal specials worth checking out! I really like the eye-fillet, was so tender and fresh, can be eaten raw. The drinks- complementary green tea. The drinks menu has the usual Japanese beer as well as some local wines. The service- great service. very attentive. The waitstaff frequently checked on us to make sure everything is going well. Definitely will come back and try out a few other items on the menu!

My North Shore go to for Indian. They're happy to adjust…read moreitems and even let me order off-menu. Good, quick service and mostly good value. Atmosphere is ok, too. Curry is always top notch!

I have been to many Indian restaurants in my time but this one really stood out in my opinion…read more Firstly, the ease of ordering my meal online and having it delivered to the house (for free might I add) was great, but the food itself was really really good. I got it one night when I was procrastinating study, and the delivery was extremely fast and the guy was very nice. I got the butter chicken and some naan bread. I'm not too sure what it even was about the food but it was one of best Indian I have had around Auckland! The ingredients just tasted very fresh and the sauce was so tasty. My friend agreed on this as well and he is an Indian dish connoisseur. Been meaning to go here again to try another dish!

Cigana at Maskell Street is a relatively new addition to the Maskell Street shops, providing a much…read moreneeded coffee joint along the strip. Not only do they serve up well-made coffee, but they also have great selection of savoury and sweet baked goods such as quiches, sandwiches and brioches which are all really fresh and yummy. There are tables available to sit at whilst waiting for your coffee or to just simply enjoy your beverage and read the newspaper at. There is also a mini freezer stocked with lots of great handy frozen meals, such as vegetarian lasagne, which are relatively inexpensive and made locally a couple of shops down. Definitely a nice space to meet up with a friend for coffee or sandwich, however I'd do it around lunch time as thats when the huge coffee queues die out a bit and the atmosphere is much more relaxing.

Malaysian street food We really enjoyed our dinner here. We…read moretried the chicken curry with rice and roti, char kway teow and sambal green beans and we ordered pisang goreng (banana fritters) for dessert! The flavours were authentic and we're so pleased to be able to eat good Malaysian food in Auckland.

Worth the drive out of the city center for authentic Malaysian Food. Ordered the Satay, curry…read morepuff, roti, prawn mee and Nasi Lemak. All in good portions and very tasty. There is another branch in the middle of city center but this one is more conveniently located with lots of free street parking. The ambiance is lively and loud as you would expect at a hawker stall. The wait staff is very friendly and efficient. We'd definitely come back again!

A friend of mine had asked me if I found Pho during the course of my Australia / New Zealand trip…read more It hadn't occurred to me that I was nearing the end of my stay in New Zealand in September 2018, when that idea popped into my head. You see, I finished having Pho in each of the 50 United States of America earlier this year 2018 in Alaska. What was next? Countries! You betcha! And as such, I found a Vietnamese Cafe that also served Chinese cuisine near my hotel in Auckland, New Zealand. Sam Woo Vietnamese cuisine restaurant was country #3, as I know I've done Pho in Canada in 2015 as well. As you may have noticed, it's a cute goal of mine and I totally love Pho. I arrived here at Sam Woo's after checking the yelp app for possible locations nearby without having to take an Uber. With luck, I found Sam Woo'd about 750 meters away from the hotel. I thought it was a regular restaurant with intimate settings, but as it turns out, it was basically a medium large cafeteria style set up that reminds me of my childhood in school. It was a little weird and eerie, but what could I do. The service was spotty and they were almost like being in a Chinese restaurant, walking crazy trying to service every table that was occupied. It did feel like a busy Chinese restaurant, but the ambiance was as mentioned, like a high school cafeteria in the States. Didn't feel like a nice intimate restaurant, but that's just me. It works here and that's important. The overall experience here at Sam Woo's Vietnamese cuisine restaurant was okay & good, yet decent at the same time. The atmosphere was almost like a fast food joint + high school cafeteria mixed into one. It was for sure when I came in around 8pm on a Sunday night. I was just in shock at the entire set up, but what can you do really. The main thing about this place is that there is a MINIMUM of $15 order amount before you can use your credit card. I didn't notice the sign at the cash register before when I was getting ready to pay. Be advised if you are not from Auckland and are deciding to eat here. I ended up ordering a take away order of chicken fried rice before I could pay for my order. In hindsight, it was a good thing, since I can have breakfast in hand while heading to the airport the next morning. I guess it was better than airport cuisine, that's for sure! But of course, be aware of the minimum credit card order amount of $15. The restaurant was clean enough and the service was good but decent. Like many Chinese restaurants, Service is quick the servers are seen rushing from table to table taking orders and rushing back to the kitchen. Same thing here at the Sam Woo's Vietnamese cuisine restaurant. Since I was on foot, walking from my hotel 750 meters away, I did not use the parking lot. Although there was adequate parking options here for anyone, it is limited. Best bet is to come here early to secure a spot. If nothing else, parking on nearby streets is usually available. For my country quest for Pho - New Zealand, I ordered a bowl of combination Pho and had an order of fried spring rolls to complete the meal. The order came by within 15 minutes, with the Pho coming out first and the spring rolls coming within 3 minutes after the fact. The bowl itself was smaller than what i was used to and it did not include bean sprouts. Thought that was heresy, but different countries have their own thing, I guess. It was a good decent meal to quiet the stomach and have my Pho fix while in New Zealand. While it may not be the best best, it was within walking distance from my hotel and that was important for me. I wasn't impressed with the whole decor of the restaurant, but it is what it is. The prices here are a little pricey, even for New Zealand standards, but you just gotta roll with the punches, especially when you're a tourist in these parts. For the most part though, I can't say that I enjoyed my time here at Sam Woo's Vietnamese cafe, but it was alright, and cool at the same time. Thankful that they were here near my hotel, so I didn't have to take an Uber to get here. And so, if you are near the area and needing Pho or Chinese cuisine for dinner or lunch, consider checking out this places. May not be the best, but it's a good place for a quick lunch or dinner on the go. It's A-Okay really. 3.5 stars for the overall experience. 3.5 stars for the food and service. Felt like a Chinese restaurant serving Vietnamese cuisine, not the other way around. That's just me though. 3.0 stars for the ambiance and the prices. Support local! C

Love, love, love the spicy bean curd/tofu. Deep fried silky tofu sprinkled with garlic and chili,…read moresitting on a bed of carrot and cabbage salad. Yum. VERY generous helpings. Their smoothies are very popular, especially the coconut smoothie. And with good reason. They are delicious. Do try one. The place may be lacking in atmosphere, but who cares when the food is so delicious, cheap and generous in serving size.

The selection of sushi here is fantastic - everything from tempura prawn to vege with beetroot…read morerice. Here the idea is you pick your sushi by the piece but they also have a menu with all the usual dishes you'd expect from a Japanese joint (teriyaki salmon, bento box etc), if you'd prefer. Also, i've just got to make a special shout-out to the ladies who work here. They are an absolute delight - always so cheery when they greet you as you walk in the door. Seating-wise, Sushiwas is setup to be more of a takeaway joint although there is a couple of window seats and two decent sized communal tables if you did want to eat in. In terms of value for money, I would say it's the best sushi in Milford!

This is our second time here. The first time we came we had tasted them little sushi platters and…read morethe stir fry yakisoba noodles bowl. It was really good, so we decided to order in and we ordered katsu chicken curry extra chicken and the chicken was really fresh and the curry was yum . As for today, my husband ordered his curry katsu chicken again and I ordered garlic chicken. My husband got the same thumbs up for the fresh chicken and the curry. Except for my garlic chicken, the rice was really good but the chicken was a bit dry. My husband devoured his good and finished mine. Then we ordered an yakisoba noodles plate. Now that was really good too. We heard him cooking this dish right after we ordered. This place is really good you will not be disappointed.

I'm a sucker for $5 deals so when I saw sushi boxes for $4, I almost died hahah…read more Came across this gem of an establishment on the infamous K Street just between Queen and Liverpool. Location is prime for students, corporate heads and maybe some daytime boozers. My girlfriend and I stumbled upon this place on our way to inspect an apartment in CBD (I wouldn't recommend it) when we walked pass Nuri Maru and saw the $4 box deals. Whaaaat!? 4 bucks!?! We had about 10-minutes before inspection but I didn't want to miss out on that chicken karaage box or the spam masubi or the assorted salmon sushi. Soooo we detoured right inside. Pretty fun atmosphere you'd come to find at a typical Korean-style sushi restaurant - there was even a giant flat screen TV with K-Pop (Korean Pop) music videos on haha. We paid for our boxes and took a seat when a lovely lady from behind the counter asked if we wanted Miso Soup. I declined at first thinking she was trying to upsell me even after we had already paid. But then I noticed the beautiful sign that read "Free Miso for every $5 purchase" or something like that.. I saw "FREE" "Miso" and "$5" so I that's all I cared about. I quickly retracted my declination and said with conviction "YES!" She asked if we wanted two (one for my gf I guess haha).. Again, I said "YES!" as I nodded my head like an Asian school boy. Everything was surprisingly good for something that's been sitting out for who knows how long. The salmon roll was especially delicious - it had that milky, soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.. mMMMmMmmM We're definitely coming back again.. maybe tomorrow since we have another inspection in the area hahah