Sri Mahkota

This is a quick one for the month. I have a few in the pipeline, but haven’t uploaded pics and stuff. I was recommended to Sri Mahkota by one of the readers. First impression when I was there, a lot of people so it must be good! This was lunchtime in the weekend. It’s a small place, located in the industrial area of East Tamaki (ish). The food they sell is pretty much the standard Malaysian dish. However, I realised the fish head soup was quite popular – I see lots of big bowls.

However, keeping to my conservative side, I chose the same ol’ stuff. Samples below:

Char Kuey Teow.

Nasi Lemak.

Curry Puff.

To be honest, I didn’t come out of Sri Mahkota with a “wow” and I forgot how much each dish was! But the dishes above wasn’t anything special (sorry). The food isn’t horrible, but not something I’d drive 10-15 mins for and wait outside. Perhaps the dish above is too common / bland.

My rating is a 7.5/10.

The Don

When you mix cheese with Japanese food, it’s surprisingly good. The Don is one place I’ve noticed using this technique (there’s probably more of this and people need to tell me!). The Don is located on High Street and has been highly recommended in other blogs. I’ve been here a few times and have taken a fair amount of photos. Here goes:

Chicken Namban Don.

Pork Cheese Katsu Don.

Pork Katsu Don.

Soy Sauce Braised Beef Udon.

Prawn Cheese.

Beef Cheese Roll.

To save writing up prices of the meals that will certainly confuse you all; the meals costs $11 or $11.50, the Pork Katsu Don and Beef Udon at the higher end. The side dishes (tapas) such as the Prawn Cheese and Beef Cheese Roll cost $7 and $6.50 respectively. So expect to pay around that per side dish, which isn’t too bad. Oh, they’re only available after 5pm.

Overall, I’m impressed with the dishes. No disappointment on my visits there and environment is good for a quiet meal. The pricing and quality of the dishes are above average with just the right amount of variety. My rating is 8.5/10. The cheese can be overwhelming (and I believe fattening). A must try though. =)

Nite Spice

Nite Spice is a discreetly located Indian restaurant on Khyber Pass Road, very near Selera. Apparently, it is one of four branches in Auckland. Of all the foods I’ve eaten and packed into my already bloated stomach, Indian food is quite a a rare one for me. Nite Spice apparently has a lunch time deal which gives you a curry, naan, rice and a drink! So I went there immediately for a try. Samples below:

Butter Chicken.

Lamb Saagwala.

The combo is $10.99, and I thought it was fantastic. The curry doesn’t appear to be mass-produced like the ones you see in the food court. Furthermore, they had a variety of curries which I can’t remember but all can be seen in the Menu on their website.

I was impressed with the overall package, you get a good drink, delicious curry, good ol’ favourite naan and rice. I can’t complain and will have to give this place a favourable 9/10. I think it’s a great option for lunch if they keep this combo deal going.

Food Junction – Tastes of Malaysia

If ya’ll didn’t know, today is the Malaysian National Day (Hari Kebangsaan), so I will post something Malaysian.

I found this place thanks to a friend of mine. We keep in touch in the strangest ways; random texts at odd times of the year but hardly meet up. He’s probably a better reviewer and writer than me. Anyway, this recommendation of his is quite a pleasant surprise. My first thoughts of Food Junction – it’s in friggin’ Manukau! That’s far!

Although far, the Food Junction is located at the Te Irirangi off ramp on SH1, very accessible if you think about it. It will take about 10-15 mins from the city. The Food Junction is a food court with a lot of a variety, but for this occassion, I am targetting the Malaysian store – Tastes of Malaysia. The first thing I spotted is the fresh roti they make – which is the second time I’ve seen (after the Sri Lankan place at East Tamaki).

Samples of some of their dishes below:

Mamak Mee Goreng.

Roti Telur.

Murtabak.

The Mamak Mee Goreng is pretty good, and costs $9.50 It’s… dare I say it, better than the one at Sri Puteri in Panmure. It’s not wet, but not dry – just right and flavoursome.

The roti is probably their “flagship” product – the roti telur costs $9.50 and the murtabak costs $10. Both rotis are great, but I preferred the roti telur as it is not “heavy”. The curry sauce was fantastic, with at least one drumstick in there.

My rating for this occassion is a favourable 9.5/10. I am definitely going back again!

Kang Nam Station 2

I have this in my draft for a bit too long, so it’s time I took it out for the world to share.

Kang Nam Station 2 is somewhere near the Auckland City Library and SkyCity Cinema. That probably didn’t help as there’s probably like 3 to 4 Korean restaurants around there. It’s not the one directly opposite Borders or the library, but in between those two, right around the corner. It’s not hard to spot and they apparently have two parkings available.

Kang Nam Station has an original (no. 1) which is quite nearby I believe. Actually, I don’t know where the original one is, but I’m thinking somewhere near the row of Korean shops on Upper Queen St. It’s a weird restaurant because when you enter the place, there’s a pokie machine section on the right hand side. I don’t know why, maybe it’s like some Korean dual business thing. But pokie machines in a restaurant can be a bit weird, and plus, those machines attract a different kind of crowd.

Some samples of the food are shown below:

Steamboat package.

Bulgogi.

Bibimbap.

The price of the Bulgogi and Bibimbap are $12 each, and they were pretty good. I do, however think they’re getting a bit stingy with the side dishes. But otherwise, for the price, they have good meat dishes.

The steamboat package from memory comes in three or four types – I can’t remember what they were. This one above cost $35. For this one, I got everything, vegetables, meat, rice, soup and also noodle. It’s very filling and tastes great on a cold winter night.

My rating is a decent 8/10. The pokie machine section can be easily ignored and the slight stinginess is bearable (as most Korean restaurants are going that way unfortunately). However, the positive is relatively cheap, great tasting Korean food.

Angie’s Kitchen

I got recommended to this place and heard lots of good things about it. Angie’s Kitchen is located very near to AUT in the CBD. Parking is quite a pain to find, but on the weekend it’s alright. The place is also a halal restaurant which is pretty good.

Samples below:

Kapitan Curry Chicken on Rice.

Braised Beef Noodle Soup.

Teh Tarik less sugar (with a free apricot biscotti).

Kopi  less sugar.

I thought the Kapitan Curry Chicken was very good, but the braised beef noodle was plain. The mistake was probably not selecting “traditional” Malaysian food, i.e. Nasi Lemak, Laksa or whatever.  The price of the food was above average, I don’t remember it being less than $10, so not a cheap option. The coffee and tea drinks didn’t taste that great.

My rating is average, 6.5/10. The pricing didn’t help.

Wagamama

Fusion is overrated. It’s a good excuse to charge double the price of a typical Asian meal. But that’s what I think.

Wagamama seems quite popular as I see the Link Bus ads all the time (brainwashed?). This particular one I popped into is on Nuffield St in Newmarket. There are others in the CBD and Sylvia Park. Anyway, samples below:

Koumi Chicken.

Ramu Kare Lomen.

Tori Kara Age.

Pricing-wise, the Koumi Chicken was $18 and Ramu Kare Lomen was $18.50. Note, first choice for the chicken meals weren’t available for some reason, so selection was limited for that night (not good).  The Tori Kara Age was $10. The Koumi Chicken was very plain, which was very disappointing. For the price, it was not worth it. The Ramu Kare Lomen was not bad, as I was a fan of coconut-based curry. The Tori Kara Age was also not bad. Overall, taste-wise, nothing to worship about.

I thought their pricing was a bit too much but they were fusion, so they could do anything they want in terms of price. Perhaps the environment was the reason to go to Wagamama, but I didn’t feel it.

My rating is 6/10. Wagamama ain’t worth it unless you have a voucher to burn, or you really can’t find anything else open (they seem to open quite late).

Neighbour’s Restaurant

Neighbour’s Restaurant is not affiliated to the Australian drama – but it’s quite a nice place to go to . I found this restaurant next to Pho Vietnamese Restaurant on Lorne St. They are located “underground” but have a menu just before you go in. The menu with pricing helps differentiate if it’s cheap or expensive compared to places nearby *ahem*. I have to say, it’s kinda cheap, $10 or less unlike some places. =)

A couple of dishes were sampled on a cold winter night:

Pork Chop on Rice.

Sesame Oil Chicken Noodle Soup.

The place serves Taiwanese cuisine and first impression, I like it. In terms of pricing, it’s cheap and flavour-wise, it’s on-par with another one of my favourites, T-Mark. The place is also clean and green (I mean literally).

My rating is a biased 9/10.

Golden Barbeque Noodle House

You’re thinking, doesn’t this bozo ever go out of the CBD to eat? I say, yes! Here’s a place at Eden Valley. Actually, it’s still relatively near town.

It appears very popular, I couldn’t find a place to sit for some reason. It’s your typical Chinese restaurant. I think it used to be called Max or something. Samples below:

Soya Chicken and Roast Pork on Rice

Wat Tan Hor

As usual, I couldn’t remember the price of the dishes but it’s reasonable. I thought the dishes were great tasting. I highly recommended it. My rating is 8/10. Give it a go.

Deli & Noodle Bar @ Sky City Casino

The Deli and Noodle Bar at the Sky City Casino is always an all-time favourite for me. It opens late, and there’s plenty of pokies and slot machines to keep you entertained for the whole night – that is if you’re a gambler.

On a late winter night, I was trying to figure out where to go for dinner and decided upon the casino as I haven’t been there for ages. The Deli and Noodle Bar isn’t exactly a quiet place to eat and lighting isn’t that great. Also, your meals don’t get served to you. I decided to try the Noodle Bar since I had fond memories of the beef brisket. Samples below:

Beef Brisket Hor Fun.

Soya Chicken on Rice.

For most of the meals, you have a choices of either rice, rice noodles, egg noodles etc. The soya chicken cost $10.50, while the beef brisket cost $8.50. So, price-wise, it’s standard. Flavour-wise, the soya chicken is tasty, while the beef brisket needed extra flavours from the chilli. Overall, it was quite a good meal for the time frame as well as flavour. My rating is 7/10.

The other thing you could always try is the Deli which has various Western options. But the best way to utilise the Deli is to register for the Action Card (which is free I think). That way you can get discounts on meals.

Two Monkeys Vietnamese Restaurant

I am back, for the moment. I have been around but just didn’t have time to post any reviews. Anyway here’s a quick one.

This is for Two Monkey’s Vietnamese Restaurant located on Dominion Road (easily noticeable), near all the fast food place i.e. Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Burger Fuel etc. First impression, the place does look somewhat authentic. Once you get in and see the menu (and hear the staff talk), it’s not really a Vietnamese restaurant. Although it does try to be. Perhaps, the boss or someone is. Who knows.

The first thing you don’t see is the lemon grass dishes, and it has random Chinese favourites in there! For this occassion, ordered the Beef Pho and Roasted Chicken on Rice (I thought this was lemon grass). Both are $9 which is cheap and I had the meal around 4pm.

Beef Pho.

Roasted Chicken on Rice.

Surprisingly, the rice dish was not bad. The Beef Pho was very average. The chilli they put on each table looked a bit dodgy and wouldn’t recommend to try.  Overall, not very Vietnamese at all. The price is reasonable and they seem to feed anyone at anytime which is good. Customer service is also OK. If you’re hungry at 3.30pm on a Sunday, this place is your best shot other than the fast food places.

My rating 5/10. It’s not horrible, but won’t recommend for authentic Vietnamese food.

Royal Buffet

A random one for the month. I went to this place with friends and was quite disappointed.

Royal Buffet is a newly opened restaurant, located on Short Street in Newmarket, opposite T Mark.  To compete with the neighbouring restaurants, for instance $10 pizza/pasta/salad lunch at Archie’s, Royal Buffet offers $12 Buffet lunch and $25 main buffet. Not a bad move.

I am not a fan of buffets, and I think I’ll never be. But decided to give it a try because the main buffet is advertised as having top chefs cooking the best cuisine and providing a variety of food. The cost was $25 per person. The initial look of the place looked OK, but realised it was below average and with limited variety after spending 15 mins in there. The items were not very good – chicken curry hardly has any meat, no real fish in their sushi variety, low quality instant coffee. Some of the stuff were alright, for example miso soup, frice rice, deep fried squid and japanese cold noodle.

The place truly lacked variety and for the amount you pay, it’s not worth it. Also, during dining there was a very unhappy couple who complained about the food (which is fair). But poor guys, they got chased out.

My rating is a 0/10. It’s crap. Not worth it at all.