I stopped in here yesterday to pick up a sweet treat to go with my Friday afternoon coffee. The…read moreselection of cupcakes on display all looked appetising and it was difficult choosing a flavour! Eventually I decided on a gluten-free banana and chocolate cupcake with caramel frosting. It was delicious - moist and the icing was good too. A young girl served us and she was friendly and polite, ringing up the sale with a smile. Having this just up the road is going to be dangerous! It also looks like they do a delicious range of milkshakes, with a retro milkshake machine behind the counter.

Sometimes a person just needs a goddam milkshake; not a smoothie, not a thickshake, not, god…read moreforbid, a frappe. A cup with some icy cold milk, some ice cream, and some flavour whizzed carefully so that everything is just blended but not turned into a big sludge. If you're in the Ponsonby/Herne Bay area, Icing on the Cake is the place to go for milkshakes. They're a reasonable $4.50, and have everything a good milkshake needs. If you're feeling a bit fruity, you can also get a frozen yoghurt; also good but not a milkshake. They also sell cute looking cup cakes here, which I suppose is where the name comes from; they look impressive but I'm afraid I can't report on how they taste.

As I was driving through Royal Oak this morning all of a sudden something caught my eye; a massive…read morepink 'Cake' sign! I had to stop! With gorgeous pink and lime green outdoor furniture outside, it was a shame it was blocked by a massive bus shelter. Inside was a cute little café that had lots of amazing looking cakes. Large cakes, medium cakes, cupcakes and mini cupcakes. They also had a selection of savoury items, also Allpress coffee on offer. On the back wall they had a large selection of items to purchase such as cake decorations, pre-made coloured fondant icing, cupcake holders, also coffee beans for sale. Here I purchased a carrot cupcake and a mini humming bird cupcake! Both of them were divine! I was very pleased with my choices. I was also swaying towards the rocky road cupcake as that looked yummy, so ill certainly have to go back. As I was paying for the cupcakes I also noticed they did catering. Perfect if you have a party or corporate function coming up. There is street parking in this area that all appeared to be free. Alternatively you could park in Royal Oak mall just across the road.

The Cake Stall is a boutique wee cake store located in the Royal Oak shopping centre…read more As soon as you walk in you feel like smiling - everything is pink, lime green and OTT - but in a good way! It's like a grown up's lolly store. Specialising in slices, cupcakes and fancy cakes, everything is pink pink pink and looks absolutely delicious. The Cake Stall also offer catering for special occasions and provide savoury food as well as their delectable sweet treats. The only slight negative that can be said about the Cake Stall is that there isn't a huge range of gluten free options available. Beautifully packaged bundles of biscuits and cakes are available to take away, or alternatively you can stop and enjoy a sweet treat and coffee on the premises. There is an outdoor area at the front of the store, though to be honest it's not the nicest place to sit being out on the street, so grab a beautiful decadent cake and head to Cornwall Park and enjoy it there! Tip: Edible decorations and the like are also for sale at the Cake Stall.

Great lunch takeaways! For my fellow mainlanders those are to-go items! If I had a place like this…read morenear where I live I'd probably grab lunch here every day. Quick and easy - inexpensive and delicious! Note: deep fried items are a bit oily and may leave your tummy a little swimmy if you eat too much of it! I had the veggie quiche and loved it. My friend had the dough covered and fried fish. It tasted like a filet of fish inside fried dough at the county fair - yum! And completely unhealthy - but when you're hungry or need a treat you just do it!

I really love this bakery, the do classic bakery items that you always crave and all at really good…read moreprices. You have to make sure you get in before the lunch time rush because everything sells out, like everything. Their sausage rolls are so good, I'm not much of a pie fan so I can't tell you how they are but my boyfriend assures me they are good and I also love their filled rolls and sandwiches. Their prices are insane, you can get a roll for around $4 and thats filled with cheese, chicken, salad and avocado. Everyone in the Mt Eden area knows how good this place is and I think that's why it gets so busy over lunch time. It's also very popular around 3pm when all the schools in the area finish. The staff that work here are so nice and there is pretty good parking around so there are no excuses not to visit!

I haven't met many people who don't actually like cheesecake, there's just something about the soft…read moredelicious filling combined with the crumbly biscuit bottom. It's hard to beat. So a whole shop dedicated solely to cheesecakes is right up my alley. I'm surprised I haven't actually checked out this place before. I was initially in there for some goodies for my workmates birthday, but ended up buying things for myself which was inevitable really. I bought a little round caramel cheesecake, more of a little taster really for $5.00 which I thought was so reasonable. They also sell single slices and quarters of the cakes. The full cheesecakes are about $32 each which isn't too much of a bad price either. They don't just do cheesecakes here either, they do cakes, cupcakes, even pecan pie! Now that's exciting.

Today the family hyperactive baby was off kindergarten and needed some entertainment. Since it was…read moreraining and we really didn't want to be banned from the mall, we went to foxtrot for his favourite: raspberry friands and a cup of milk. Today was also the day we decided to order breakfast here; having previously only managed a have coffee and brownies both were encourging. The place itself is super gorgeous, I would love to buy a chair there and declare it my study spot. The atmosphere is so vibrant and customers seemed to flock constantly buying pies and cakes. I ordered scrambled eggs, they were nice and fluffy, the portion was good too. We also ordered empire eggs poached and served on a bed of lentils, they were nice and filling. So far it was a good well presented breakfast. The coffees are on the small side but nicely made. Two of us got their breakfasts and finished them while our third clan member was waiting for her pancakes. Checked on them twice, first we were told they were coming and then we were told that the oven wasn't heating up but they will get them out as soon as they can. Ten minutes later the most beautiful pancakes arrived, made with whole peanuts, vanilla ice cream, candy floss and ediable flowers. The pancakes themselves were aweful. Still raw, the whole covering it up with pretty things could't hide that! It was inediable. If the oven wasn't working they should have told us to change our order not insist on presenting a dough on a plate. It would have also been appreciated if they apologised for the wait or informed us of the delay instead of going twice to check on them. I hope ours was just a case of bad timing and new staff, otherwise what a let down for such a beautiful space. I would go back for a quick coffee and one of their cabinet goodies, but nothing that requires cooking. Looking back everyone inside seemed to know just to order that.

Foxtrot Parlour is always buzzing with people when I visit Ponsonby Central on the weekends and I…read morecan see why. Once you see their food cabinets and the sweet treats displayed on the counter, you will want to order one of everything! My favourite home baked goods include the marshmallow filled chocolate spiral shaped cones (see pictures) and their large meringues. Top these off with a Tahitian Vanilla Milkshake and you've got the perfect morning or afternoon treat! However, I recommend getting there as early as possible because of the crowds and don't bother ordering coffee. Ours came out lukewarm and didn't have a very strong coffee flavour. So opt for one of their delicious milkshakes instead!

A big birthday party demands a beautiful big birthday cake. We picked the new cupcake store in…read moreHenderson to do the honours, and were not disappointed. The large double decker chocolate cake with cream frosting icing was decadent and delicious. We were pleased as punch to receive a small box of complimentary mini cupcakes, which the kids devoured. Nessies Cupcakes is a gourmet specialty cupcake store first and foremost. They have a scrummy range of treats in store which includes a selection of cookies, slices and beautifully gift wrapped chocolates, brittle, toffee and lollies. Nessie will cater to your special occasion.

Only went there once, they had cupcakes that looked very appetizing and the milkshakes looked so…read moredelicious! I ordered the strawberry milkshake, I didn't bother eating the lollies on top because I didn't want my weight to rise, I drank it and it was just a really good milkshake, sweet, and exquisite. Plus, I didn't even have to wait that long for my milkshake. I also tried one of the cupcakes, I was looking forward for more flavours but I came at the time of day when they had only 3 cupcakes left, I still had one and it was delicious. It has the cupcake's icing in the middle of the cupcake, and and it was just perfect. Deserves a 4 star

The first time I went to top well was on the back of a motorbike driven by a guy so hungover, I…read morethink he was still drunk. But these kind of guys know the best places to go for a alcohol soaking feed, so I fearlessly jumped on. That's a lie, I was scared and hung on to him like we were going on a hot date. When we got to top well I was impressed. quite a large selection, nice looking pies, friendly employees. The food I got lived up to both the praise heaped on it by my friend and the initial impression it made on me, with the pie I got full of meat and cheese, instead of a terrible lumpy gravy. Unfortunately I dropped my pizza bread right in the dirt so never got a chance to sample it, but it looked pretty good.

There are two favourite bakeries I have in Glen Eden, this is probably the number two on the list…read morebut that is no reflection of how good it is because they are a actually both deserving of the stars. We love fresh bread rolls for lunches and Top Well Bakery have a good range, of course there is always a French stick thrown into the order. Meat pies are second on the list for the ravenous teenagers after school and never are they disappointed here. Their pizza bread isn't something we like to buy because, as I mentioned there is the opposition across they way, well they have the best pizza bread. However this one redeems itself on the sweet side as their cakes and pastries are second to none, yummy. Saturday morning when we are out and about after sports or dancing, a trip to the bread shop completes our lunch.