I was in a great need of a hot soup to recover from my hangover. We were in north shore so I've…read moremanaged to persuade everyone to go to Pho Bien for a Steam Boat (hot pot). We ordered a medium Steamboat (55) which says it's for 2~3 people. Well, this was an overestimation as four of us couldn't finish it. We received a boiling bowl with two sides of spicy and non-spicy broth but they soon got mixed together when food was put. We started by putting in the meat and seafood followed by vegetables (as veges get cooked faster!). Noodle went in last as you should enjoy it with the broth full of beef and seafood flavour. The waiter was happy to top up our broth as we ran out. The great thing about the Steamboat is that you can taste a variety of food including mushrooms, prawn, fish cakes and so much more at once. You can also control how long the meat/veges are cooked as you can simply pick them up and eat it when you like it. Everything was delicious and the soup really healed me :p The ginger and lemongrass condiment wasn't my thing so I made my own by mixing chili sauces.

Got the Large steam boat (4-5) for dinner with the family for a birthday. Was huge- 2 platters well…read morestocked with an arrangement of seafood, meat, vegetables & noodles. Definitely recommend buying the medium size unless you're starving or feeding boys/men. Got a group table in the outdoor portion of the restaurant. It is a neat wooden patio just next door to the four walled main interior with a makeshift material roof and front wall cover that does well to protect from the elements. Luckily they had a tall heater in the middle so we were protected from the cold night temperatures as well. Was surprised by how busy it was- both sections were fairly full and it got more packed as the evening went on. I can see why- the steam boat was a fun way to eat dinner and there was great things to put in - octopus, mussels, tofu, thin sliced beef, cabbage, rice noodles- to name a few. Liked the split steam boat bowl with two different soups- one spicy, one plain- and to be able to have two steam boats going at the same time and no extra waiting. Great sauces on the side to mix- with a green paste, bbq sauce, hot sauce and very spicy red peppers, beware. Definitely recommend the steamboat. Curious to try the cooked dishes and their dessert menu at another time.

The location is perfect, lots of parking, off street or car parking available outside the…read morerestaurant. Access is easy, straight inside from the car park. Service is great, I needed help with a dish and the waiter was able to recommend a dish which was delicious. We ordered 2 dishes, the beef Pho and crispy spring rolls, the quantity was very generous, the quality and taste was divine and reasonably priced. The setting of the restaurant suits large to small size families singles and couples alike , the ambiance is a nice warm and relaxed atmosphere. We highly recommend their dishes, we will definitely be making another visit over the weekend.

My partner and I have been a regular at this place ever since it opened earlier this year, and we…read moreare thrilled with the food here! Everything from their fresh salads, grilled meats, crunchy spring rolls, to rice and noodle dishes are bursting with flavor. I've tried a variety of things on the menu and have never been disappointed. Most recently, I had their pork bahn mi (lunch special only) and it's now one of my favorites (on par with the ones from Hello Mister). Service has always been friendly and the decor is quite nice as well. Although it's a casual restaurant atop the mall, they've made the effort with indoor plants and lighting to make it feel more upscale. I'm so happy that a Vietnamese restaurant of this quality has opened up near me. If I were to move suburbs, I would still consider making a special trip just to come here. Highly recommended!

Apart from a few go-to restaurants which have been here since I moved to Auckland 20 years ago, the…read moreBirkenhead dining scene really doesn't have much to boast about. Prices aren't extravagant, but neither is the food. Walking along Birkenhead Avenue, Mulan stood out as something that would otherwise have belonged in the hip and upcoming Mt Albert scene with Chinoiserie, Kiss Kiss and L'Oeuf. Casually embellished with thick knotted ropes around the entrance and on the ceiling of the dining area, the setting is thoughtfully simple. Without calling on famous interior designers, it was enough to elevate the dining experience up a step. I came for a late long lunch with a particular craving for Thai food. Thai and Vietnamese cuisine are always high on my favourites. Maybe not so much for coriander haters (who apparently blame it on genetics for this inexcusable pickiness). As a first step to tame the insatiable hunger, we had the Mama's special of steamed buns with sticky pork. Two really weren't enough between two people! The bun was thinner than I wanted but it was bouncy and the flavours were saturated into the meat. As recommended by another foodie I ordered Golden Shield - sweet and spicy squid, flash fried with chili jam and kaffir lime. If you love strong flavours, it is a must order! The combination of sweet, spicy and sour was punchy and appetising. Along with the chicken jungle curry, we easily demolished two bowls of coconut rice with the spicy kick. If you are a spice wimp like me, I recommend staying firm on ordering "mild". As a local, I'd love to go back. It's my type of hangout: casual with tasty food. Thumbs up!

This place is superb! I highly recommend the steamed buns and the signature dish, Penang Curry…read moreKapitan. It's also BYO so we carried in our own wine. Good times - will definitely go back.

It's been almost a decade since returning to Auckland, and I was pleasantly surprised to see new…read morerestaurants everywhere. We decided to try this place because why not.... big mistake. Very underwhelming "Vietnamese" food. Ca phe phin is very light, not as strong as the true Vietnamese coffee us Vietnamese are used to. Quick and attentive service. One and done basically.

On our second night in Auckland, my sister and I went to Cafe Hanoi for dinner while my husband…read morestayed in the hotel to rest. The entrance to the restaurant wasn't easy to find as it was down a little lane that wasn't marked from the main street, so despite having the address and using Google maps, we walked around in circles, in the poring rain, for at least half an hour. Soaking wet, we finally found the restaurant and sat down for a much needed bowl of pho. The food was good, although not the best pho I've ever had, and a bit pricey, but it was warm and filling. I would have liked to have gone back to try other items on their menu (the menu looked quite good), but unfortunately I did not have the opportunity. [Yelp collections: NZ/Fiji 2023; New Zealand 2023]

This review is for their new location in the food plaza by the shore. I visited after a 12 hour…read moreplane from the states, so I was starving! Upon first glance at the menu, I was impressed at how many vegetarian options there were. I ordered the vegan banh mi. The banh mi was so delicious! It came with tofu, carrots, and a seasoned mayo. The tofu was coated in a savory-sweet sauce that elevated the sandwich. Vegetarian foods can easily be bland (especially tofu), but they did a great job at making it a tasty dish!

Looking for a quick bite? Try this Vietnamese quick serve where the staples are its Pho Bo and…read moreBanh Mi. The portions are fair and the soup quite tasty. This time I tried the Chicken Lemongrass Banh Mi or sandwich. It was very tasty and the bread just the right crisp on the outside while soft and fluffy in the inside. This is primarily a lunch place as there were many a times I'd swing by for dinner and it was closed.

This place is 5 star all the way! If you're in Auckland and want a great asian fusion restaurant,…read morethat's good food, hip ambiance and great service, THIS IS YOUR PLACE!! No reservations are required during dinner service, but if you go on weekday during lunch, you'll need rezzies! It's located in Auckland's CBD ( Central Business District) and close walk from major hotels! We ordered several items, family style for four of us, which was plenty food for us. We Started our ordered with the appetiser combo, calamari, roti, garlic with caramelised naan bread, jasmine rice, firecracker chicken, Beef Rangoon, shrimp Bali and red vegetable curry. Everything was AMAZING! But be forewarned, if you like spicy and I mean super spicy, the chicken is. It for the ones who can't handle it! You're even warned from the wait staff when ordering it! The tastes of the food are excellent, temperature was nice and hot, taste seasoned perfect! The staff were also very attentive! Making sure we had drinks (since chicken was so spicy)! Ambiance was very trendy with hip music playing , lots of art and decor was awesome! Definitely a place I'll come again!

Beautiful intricate designed interior with the perfect southeast Asian look and feel…read more Singapore Fried Noodles Rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, bean sprouts, red and green peppers, onions and chili. Lots of character and flavors here - you can specify spice level. Shrimp a tad overcooked. Nasi Goreng Indonesian fried rice with jumbo prawns, poached chicken, veggies, sambal, soy & oyster sauce with fresh chili. The rice is soy based and thus a little on the salty side. Laksa Spicy egg noodle soup with coconut milk, poached chicken and veggie. Pretty good Laksa, not the best by any stretch. The broth is a little too milky and sludgy for my taste. Service quite meh but food came promptly and they were attentive. That's all.

After reading a lot of sub-oar revies just thought we would go and try this place for ourselves…read more Always know it's a good sign when there are a few tables of Asians in an Asian restaurant on a Wednesday night. We came with a small group and got half a duck, roast pork, dumplings, beef noodles, black pepper fish, sweet and sour pork and long beans. Every thing was pretty good and it was only $20 per person for more than enough food. The beef noodles were the winner! Much better than expected. Must be under new management since these last reviews (Now called Tasty Food). It was very clean and the service was good.

Second closest vietnamese place to my house. first one isn't that nice... so this is my go to for…read moresudden vietnamese food cravings when im home. This place taste a bit chinese/vietnamese style cooking which i dont mind (having a chinese background and all) some of their dinner dishes are similar to what you get in cantonese restaurants. I usually still to the "lunch time" dishes or the non-sharing dishes.. not because im greedy but because i want the vietnamese vermicelli salads, pho, hainan chicken rice etc. sometimes the food is a bit strong on salt or MSG but i've always known that. Lemongrass beef vermicelli noodle salad is my favourite. The interior is normal to snooze. they kept the main interior features from the previous Pizza Hut design. But doesn't bother me as i just need a quick fix for vietnamese food. service in friendly, straight forward and surprisingly they spoke Cantonese to us haha.

Delicious food, awesome service and loved the ambiance. 10/10 would recommend for a chill…read morelunch/dinner place to go to.

One star because the price of the food is way too high for what you get. Can't eat the ambiance…read more Plus this is a chain of restaurants designed for those who know nothing of Malaysian food. Its nothing really special nor authentic; plus the selection isn't very deep; just a few dishes to choose from. What's worse is that the portion is really small. We ordered the Hainan Chicken Rice at $26 and the Char Kuay Teow for $24. At these types of prices I was expecting it to be authentically spectacular but I was very disappointed. This price is a good $10 to $15 more than any other Malaysian Food restaurant in Auckland. Hence, this is probably the first and last time here, as long as there are other Malaysian Restaurants to choose from!

I used to forget about Malay food when ordering takeouts, opting instead for more familiar Asian…read morecuisines, like Thai or Vietnamese, but one visit to Langkawi has changed all that! We recently ordered takeouts and were more than impressed. In fact, we were rather angry that we hadn't been sooner - after all, it's only 5mins down the road. Shame on us! It's hard to choose, but our favourite dish was the Kapitan chicken. It was beautifully cooked in a well-balanced, aromatic sauce and served with light fluffy rice. Our only complaint was that there was enough to sauce to mop up with the buttery roti! Special mention must also be made of the Mee Goreng, which was packed full of flavour and had just the right amount of heat. I added a liberal squeeze of lemon to mine and it was seriously good. For $13, the portion was extremely generous - we had plenty of leftovers for the next day. I am rather looking forward to my next visit. Hopefully we will be dining in because the interior of this place is delightful - full of brightly coloured decorations with plenty of sparkles!

What I really love about this place though is the beautiful paper lanterns around the ceilings and…read morecolorful fabrics lining all the walls. It really feels like you're in Malaysia though I've never been, but at least transported to somewhere different. It's warm and the dim lighting creates an intimate, cosy atmosphere. Great service as well. The Kung-po squid came in a long fish dish with vegetables, dried chilli and sauteed squid. Great for seafood lovers. We got the Langkawi fish special which was nice and fresh with lemon, lemon grass and coriander. Beware of the Hot Babi Pedas, as I thought I had a high tolerance for spicy but this was still Hot with a capital H. Pork slices with vegetables and cooked with cumin, fresh chilli and other spices that make you feel like you're going to breathe fire. Nasi lemak is purple fragrant coconut rice which I adore but if you're more inclined to classic, they have plain steamed rice as well. Great order on the side of the curry as well as their flaky Chanai flatbread. Food is yum, decor is absolutely wonderful. Must see

Smaller dumplings. Packed full of taste but you definitely need to order a lot to fill yourself up…read more(but they were out of most flavors we wanted so we used it as an appetizer and went elsewhere). For the dumplings we did have: the beef with mustard and duck with onions were tasty, but nothing unique. I couldn't taste the mustard; the flavor didnt pop or stand out. The service was also terribly slow at lunch, despite only two tables being filled. Not much to be desired. Easier to go down prince street and get cheap yummy dumplings.

A cozy and hip little bar that serves delicious dumplings, this place was recommended by an owner…read moreof one of the vineyards on Waiheke Island. After a long day of visiting several vineyards and sampling many wines, all I wanted to do was relax with a glass of wine and just a little bit of food. Xuxu hit the spot. I had pork dumplings, pickled cucumbers, and a glass of Syrah. The dumplings were delicious. The cucumbers were cool, flavourful, and just slight spicy. The glass of Syrah complimented the dishes perfectly. I was seated next to the stove where the chef was steaming the dumplings so I got to watch orders come in and the dishes go out. I also watched the bartender, server, and hostess work hard to complete the foods and drink orders. The atmosphere, beautiful lighting, and good music makes this restaurant a perfect place for a date. I'll be back next time I'm in town.