I just had the most amazing bacon and egg quiche from Penny Lanes Bakery. I never write food…read morereviews but this quiche blew me away. This is the best quiche I have ever and probably will ever have in my life. When your not eating this quiche, your thinking about eating it.

So when they told us we to go try some award winning pies, I was thinking of dessert. Apple, peach,…read moreberries, pumpkin kind of pie. Well, steak pies are more like it in New Zealand. They even sell steak pies at the McDonald's there! This little gem bakery sells a large selection of different pies, donuts, baked goods, sandwich, and other delicious goody!! Their food is delicious and fresh. They have won many awards for a number of their pies. Also, their apple pie was to die for. Pricing is fair and the portion is filling. The owners were really nice and friendly. And of course their coffee was amazing! Ever want some good pies, I recommend making the trip here!

This bakery is the goods. I religously order a mince n cheese here every Sunday morning. Best pie…read morein town at a reasonable price point

The hubs and I stopped in for flat whites and picked up a baguette. The magic of a good flat white…read morecannot be understated and this was no different. So creamy and delicious. Mine was soy milk and the hubs got "normal" milk as he likes to say. The baguette was decent and went with the blueberry jam we had bought from a local producer. The service was fast and friendly!

Great place - great service. Excellent meat pies (mince, steak and chicken), good size for $3.80…read moreeach. I had the spicy steak pie, and the butter chicken pies and they were delicious. Baguettes and pastries look good too, can't wait to try them.

Came for breakfast and sat on their patio. We got the ricotta pancakes with a side of bacon. It was…read morequite tasty. A good breakfast option in the area

Delicious food, awesome service. We sat outside on their covered patio and got to watch the rain…read more The ricotta pancakes were to die for!

We came here for a dessert after dinner. Had to wait 20 minutes for a table for two, which wasn't…read morebad since we left our number with them so we could wander around. I chose to have the lemon and yoghurt bombe alaska that was fantastic. The right amount of sweetness and tartness. There was a bit of confusion that kind of spoiled our experience as we also ordered the passion fruit and peach chocolate bon bon and was only told after the dish arrived that the passion fruit and peach were only available as shards, which was eight dollars more. We would have appreciated the waitress explaining that some of the chocolates came as shards and the others as bon bons, so we felt like we were tricked into ordering something. The cookie dough macaron was good but didn't remind us of cookie dough, more of a chocolate macaron. We left wanting a lot more from our experience chocolate- and pastry-wise.

The lemon yogurt bomb Alaska is the best "popsicle" ice cream bar I've had. It's not too sweet or…read moretangy and balances our dessert well. It has a crispy lemony coating over a frozen yogurt middle, finished off with stripes of meringue on the top. It all case together so well! The cookies and cream rocher was also very delicious. It was topped with edible gold, had a crunchy cookies and cream outer layer before you hit a velvety chocolate mousse later. Finally, the inside had bits of cookie. It sounds very sweet and sickly but was pleasantly well balanced. I wish they had a Milse where I'm from! Actually maybe not, or else I'd be so broke.

We LOVE Scratch HQ! Stopped in for a quick bite and boy were our tastebuds thrilled! You order at…read morethe counter and the staff brings your food to the table. The staff were friendly and efficient. Grab a bottle of water from the side board and dig in! The open seating lends well to large groups or one on one chats. There is a nice outside eating area as well.

Scratch is self titled... this place is magic. From the spices to the flavors this place focuses…read moreon on quality and flavor. There's so much care in the food and the ambiance is fantastic. One of the best places in Auckland in my opinion. The people here were patient and kind. I rarely repeat restaurants when I travel and having had the lunch I'm coming back for the eggs Benedict I saw and I'm giddy!

Always one of my all time favorite places to have breakfast when visiting Auckland. Love the staff,…read morevery welcoming & friendly. Ambiance is very relaxing & inviting.

Let me first start off saying this is my new favorite spot in Auckland New Zealand. A friend told…read moreme about this cafe and this was my first stop. I opted in for the avocado toast and side of mushrooms! The avocado toast was probably the best avocado toast I have ever tried! It was huge! The big pieces of avocado and the delicious sour dough bread. It was topped with a cream picked onions and a chutney delicious. The mushrooms were truffled. So good! The portion is big enough to share. As I was walking through the line I noticed they are famous for the hot cross buns! I got one with butter and could have eaten two more. Truly amazing! I was so in aw by this place before I left Auckland I came again and got the turkey sandwich. This is truly a staple in Auckland. They have pastries, sandwiches, salad anything you could want. 5 stars amazing. Must try!

I went here on a weekday morning and figured it would be empty but it was full and made me wonder…read moreif these people work or they just here on a work break or they just enjoying their day like I was. I ended up getting a blueberry scone and an iced cafe latte. I think each one was like NZ$7. The scone itself was a big size with lots of berries inside. I like that it came with some butter on the side. They warmed it up and so I used some of the butter and it was delish. It had a slight crust and was chewy on the inside. My iced latte was okay as I wish it had a stronger coffee flavor. They do offer a bunch of baked goods that look scrumptious and wanted to try more.

3 words. Beef Cheek…read morePie It was orgasmic. Get it.

Ok y'all. We are from LA and were starving for some deliciousness. When you walk in, there are…read morethings coming out the oven- warm displays of fresh pastries and sweets and a coffee bar to the left. And it smells LIKE HEAVEN. It's toasty and the selections of things are incredible. We got lots of things I cannot pronounce or attempt to spell,but they consisted of : the croque monsieur, almond croissant, cheesy bread, croissant with onions and nuts and cheese(yes and it's SO GOOD). If you're looking for a go to, quick breakfast, and a delicious latte. The prices are great and the lady owning it was super sweet. GO, don't wait.

Now I'm no connoisseur of French baked goods, but this place is a definite pleaser. Someone brought…read morehome an olive bread from La Voie Francaise that got me hooked, so I decided to have a late morning pastry feast of my own. A raspberry chocolate croissant, a chocolate brioche, and a canele topped my plate. The canele was my highlight, crispy and sweet on the outside and gooey on the inside. The brioche was freshly warm and soft but not too rich. The croissant was on the verge, somewhat stale around the edges but still enjoyable. The ups: these pastries and the olive bread were delicious. Prices are very reasonable too, only $10 all up for the three sweets. La Voie Francaise also boasts an inviting atmosphere that's relaxing but well kempt. The downs: I'm not convinced by these tastings that La Voie is all the rage, but that's probably just because I've been spoiled by the French market in Parnell. I'll be back for a croque monsieur at some stage, maybe my mind will change.

Everyone has heard of Milse. Now famous for the long queues outside the little shop, I can still…read moreremember the first time I stepped inside. Now taking it into their own hands, husband and wife duo Brian and Roselle Campbell have created Sweet Cuisine pop-ups as real time crowd funding for their own dessert shop. I met them and interviewed them earlier this year and they are just the sweetest and most talented team. Clooney had always been on my radar for special occasions but other places had always gotten in the way. When word got out that we would get to dine at the flash Belle Epoque room downstairs with the open kitchen, all my excuses seemed irrelevant. It was the first time Sweet Cuisine had a communal dining format with a long table seating only 18 people. At the beginning, most people talked within their groups but being opposite interesting strangers, it was easy to start conversations. I went with fellow foodie and blogger Amy from My Dining Journey and we found out we were right next to amazing chefs and bakers. Convenient right? Turns out it was all planned with the thoughtful intentions of Brian and Roselle. Haha! Talk about knowing your customers well :) First course: Granny smith apple, feijoa, Heilala vanilla and ginger. Once I got over the initial thought that the egglets were not white chocolate, it was even harder to get over how cute they were. As a first course, I loved how light it was and almost teasing because soon everyone was scraping their eggs to get to that beautiful ginger which lay at the bottom. The combination of granny smith, vanilla and feijoa was a winner. Second course: Pineapple, passionfruit, coconut, banana and dulcey. It had the look of a beautiful Milse dessert but it didn't have the dark imprint of the overshadowing HIP group. I LOVED the small moichi-like balls on the side. Luckily the red chocolate ball was already halved. The rest of us just had to exercise our demolition skills as we tried to calmly break the case without sending shards across the table to our new friends. Third course: Figs, quince, honey, chestnut and oats This is where the flavours got interesting and complex. I'm not a fig person so I wasn't sure where my tastebuds would take me. If it was a normal degustation, I would consider this the mains. It was quite filling from the oats. The conversation took a funny turn with someone tentatively asking whether we were meant to eat the skin on figs. Even as "self acclaimed foodies" we didn't have a straight answer! Most people though, ended up eating the whole thing. Even I enjoyed it, although I couldn't expect any less coming from the Campbell kitchen! Fourth course: Valrhona chocolate, blackcurrant, coffee and hazelnut. Oh my. Totally the climax of the night. Not only stunning to look at, I was so inspired by the different textures that Brian had created on the dish. From the marshmallow to the mini magnum, my thoughts were only affirmed by the "oh wow"s around the table as everyone tucked into it. It was a pleasure watching Brian and his team at work. There was a calm aura as they lovingly put the desserts together. All the dishes were so clever and I know I left more inspired. As I came home to finish my marking, I knew I didn't make a mistake in breaking out of my nana mode. Starting off the week sweet was an uplifting start to the week. And knowing that macarons and cookies would be my morning tea for the next day kept the smile on my face. Even if I had accidentally squashed them in my bag (sorry Roselle!). Keep an eye out for their next pop-up! There's always something interesting about each one and they're popping up at restaurants like Orphan's Kitchen, Meredith's and Ima Deli. And if you haven't already seen it, here's the interview with Brian Campbell if you didn't catch it the last time.

Most of you would have heard of Milse. The amazing dessert bar and patisserie that opened up in…read moreBritomart a few years ago. Serving gelato on sticks, gateaux, chocolates, sweet tarts, plus their stand out macarons, Milse has become a bit of a phenomenon. Because really, who doesn't love chocolate and dessert?!?! The mastermind behind creating all of Milse's desserts is pâtissier, Brian Campbell. He has 15 years' experience working in Michelin star restaurants in the United Kingdom and at award winning restaurants here in New Zealand, at the likes of Kermadec and The French Cafe. Most recently, Brian has left Milse and has started up his own company, namely Sweet Cuisine' A Dessert Pop Up. So far, he and his wife, Roselle Campbell have hosted a dessert night at Fred's Espresso in Ponsonby where they teamed up with Giapo to create ice cream sandwiches, sundaes and drinks and they also had a dessert pop up at Merediths last week. And, a few nights' ago, I attended their second dessert pop up (however this one was special because all the desserts were made using Valrhona chocolate - the best quality chocolate in my opinion, you can buy it here) AND it was held at Sidart in Ponsonby. I have always wanted to dine at Sidart however it is quite expensive - will definitely need to save up one day! Brian and his team used the kitchens at Sidart and for about 20 minutes, my friend and I had the whole restaurant to ourselves, which was a pretty great feeling! The dessert pop up at Sidart involved a 3 course degustation - $45 per person, and an optional 4th course for $9, however sadly we were too full for the 4th course! All the dishes were beautifully presented and almost too pretty to eat! To accompany the desserts, they were also serving sweet Italian dessert wine, sparkling water, teas and coffee. My friend and I decided on a glass of the 'Prunotto Moscato d'Asti 2013′. With aromas of peach and honey, this was the perfect drink for our dessert night. The first dessert was a white chocolate panacotta, made of Ivoire 32% Valrhona chocolate. Surrounding the panacotta were bite-sized raspberries, blueberries and peaches, all topped off with freeze dried raspberries and fresh basil. It was a refreshing way to start the meal and the basil brought out all the flavours. I never thought to use herbs in baking, but I will definitely try it out now! The second course was a sponge like pudding with stewed apricots, hazelnut praline and a sauce inside using Dulcey 35% Valrhona chocolate. While the apricots were delicious, my friend and I could hardly taste the Valrhona chocolate - we felt like the apricots were too overpowering. This could possibly be due to the fact that the chocolate is only 35% - it might have a very subtle flavour. Last but not least, a to.die.for chocolate sphere, made entirely of Guanaja 70% Valrhona chocolate. Dark chocolate being one our favourite foods, my friend and I were amazed by this wonderful creation. Roselle explained the dish in great detail - two mousses, one with hints of tonka beans (vanilla bean substitute), and the other being rich and chocolatey. There was also a chocolate 'soil' surrounding the sphere, consisting of macadamia nuts, nougat and cacao nibs. But Roselle left out one surprise... Yes, popping candy! We were not expecting that at all, and it was truly the most exciting dish I have ever tasted. Every mouthful was full of joy and my friend and I couldn't stop smiling! It was a great night overall, with brilliant and creative desserts, a lovely host and a stunning venue. I cannot wait to see what is next in store for Sweet Cuisine! Note: If you would like some more information, check out Sweet Cuisine's website and Facebook page ("Sweet Cuisine' A Dessert Pop Up by Brian Campbell"), so you can keep up to date!