J’s Tea

One of my favourite places for a bubble tea fix is J’s Tea. It’s a shame that parking is getting difficult to find here, strange considering this is not near the CBD, but there’s just lots of things there – an indoor stadium, Chinese supermarket, Caltex and a very busy road with bus lanes. But normally I get my parking on Dominion Road close to J’s Tea, I believe it’s a furniture shop with a restaurant on top.

Anyway, back to J’s Tea, on top of the bubble tea, I don’t normally go for the meals since I just pop in and pop out. This time I stayed longer and ordered dinner! We tried the chinese sausages  – yummy for $7 and the pork chop on rice and its variant spicy salt pork chop on rice. The original is much better, the spicy salt is just…. too salty! 🙂 But both dishes came under $15 and very good value considering it includes 3 sides. I love sides.

I think Taiwanese dishes are very wholesome, I’d stick to the all-time Taiwanese favourite of pork chop on rice. I haven’t tried the other stuff yet. Bubble tea is very popular there – so try that too!

Taiwanese sausages

Pork Chop on Rice

Spicy Pork Chop on Rice

Cha Time

I guess it’s about time. When Auckland gets Meet Fresh, Pappa Rich, Gong Cha, H&M, Zara etc…. Cha Time normally follows. “World” famous, it’s one of my favourite bubble tea drinks in South East Asia, and has been here for a while already. It has 2 shops on Queen Street and one in St Lukes Mall. Maybe there’s more, let me know.

I can’t fault this batch I had tonight. $6.50, for a large, and you can customise sugar, ice etc. Get a loyalty card as some people might get addicted. There’s still lots of competition I think for this bubble tea market, but the Cha Time branding should keep it very favourable.

Pearl Milk Tea

My Kitchen

Sorry guys – I’ve been lazy. Period. But have been eating a lot as I have gained weight, or probably a combination of being lazy and eating.

My Kitchen is located on 543, Dominion Road. They have a takeaway section, and dine-in section upstairs. Weekends tend to be quite busy. I’ve been here a few times, some samples below:

Wine Chicken.

Dumplings.

Taiwanese Sausage (Spicy).

Tofu with Century Egg.

Beef Brisket on Rice.

Curry Chicken on Rice.

Fried Chicken Chop on Rice.

Japanese Pork Chop on Rice.

I didn’t manage to take note of the price – but the dishes that come with rice are reasonable, hovering around $12 I think. There are plenty of side dishes which are great, I think around $10. Portions are good.

There isn’t much to say but it’s a great place to try out. Do go for the rice dishes, unless you’re really hungry, you can get the side dishes. There’s been many times the food cannot be finished!!

Rating = 8.5/10.

J’s Tea

If you’re a big fan of bubble tea and hanging out late, J’s Tea is the place. It’s right at the end of Dominion Road (in Mt Roskill). The size of the bubble tea is huge and drinks are well-made. They even have the right sweetness, and this I like, because normally all bubble tea are too sweet for me!

Sesame Bubble Tea with Pearl.

They have a range of snacks and food, but bubble tea is the main item here. J’s Tea is often packed, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, so be prepared to go for take away.

Highly recommended, 9/10.

Momo Tea House

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Meadowlands. Maybe my behaviour is now different after not having a company car =). But thanks to a good friend, I’ve paid a visit to this place by recommendation – Momo Tea House. There’s obviously a couple branches, Birkenhead and Mt Albert.

This one at Meadowlands is a former KFC I believe, and it’s got a defunct drive-thru. Parking is easy and free, and environment of the place is great. Maybe it was good old furniture from KFC?

Anyway, I sampled some dishes, see below:

Fried Black Pepper Chicken Chop and Eel on Rice ($12).

Spicy Wonton Noodle Soup ($6).

Deep Fried Salty Chicken ($7).

Taro Pearl Milk Tea ($6).

Overall, food’s taste is great, no disappointment at all. The prices are very reasonable. There is a variety of food and drink (I think there’s a Malaysian section). Also, the place opens very late, I am not sure what time, but from what I remember, after midnight!! So a great place for supper.

Rating = 9/10. Fantastic!

QQ Rice

QQ Rice sells assorted rice rolls. They used to have a shop on Dominion Road, but I think that closed. They now only have one shop in the city (on Wellesley St). It’s quite a good place to experiment with because you’ll be blown away by the choices you have to make. It’s good if you’re a fan of rice. However, sometimes, choices are better left as little as possible, but not for QQ Rice. I wasn’t sure how much the rolls are, maybe $6 each? They also added a few other additional dish types, such as a the lunch box, QQ wrap and dessert.

Assorted Rice Roll.

It’s not a bad place – worth a try. Make sure you don’t spill the filling and rice when eating the rice roll. Just be prepared for the choices!

Taipei Kitchen

Taiper Kitchen is actually quite a familiar place – it was formerly Lai Lai Noodle House.  It looks like the owners changed hands, and first impression, the interior is much better. I was expecting to order the usual stuff (beef noodle soup or something), but it appears the menu’s have changed also.

Some samples below:

Pork Mince Rice with Meat Soup ($10).

Pork Chop on Rice ($9.50).

Atmosphere is much better, price is reasonable, food is quite good, however menu is partly translated into English (only drink items are translated and not food!). This new place also sells drinks such as milk tea, so it appears to do more than before. Perhaps to include more younger people.

My rating is 8.5/10. Not bad at all.