Bistro 65

Bistro 65 is the neighbour of two very good restaurants (Safran and Archie’s Pizzeria). I say good restaurants, because they’re always busy, especially Archie’s. It was one strange afternoon (lunchtime obviously) that I passed by the area and decided to give this place a try. It’s awkwardly placed, as it is squeezed in between the two restaurants mentioned above. The inside is kinda empty and hollow, so I decided to eat outside.

Had a look at the menu and ordered the selections below:

Vegetarian Lasagne ($12).

Mixed Seafood Platter ($28.50).

Chicken Pizza (cashews cranberry finished with an avocado aioli) $12.

To be honest, the food is pretty good. The platter is really nice and tasty.  The lasagne not bad. The pizza also not too bad, a bit too cheesy / salty. For the price, it’s actually quite reasonable and if you sit outside, you won’t feel so lonely. If you are confused what to have here, go for the platter. The service was good too – friendly manager (I think).

Rating = 8/10.

Musashi Japanese Cuisine

OK – I’ve crossed the bridge again. So, a very rare occassion.  There is this place in Milford (North Shore). I believe it used to be called Eiji. It’s now called Musashi Restaurant. The other branch is in St Heliers. It is a bit far to go for Japanese, but thanks to their Entertainment Book voucher, this place was worth the visit. Some samples below:

Soft Shell Crab Karaage ($12.50)

Salmon Hooba Zen ($15).

Salmon Hooba Zen – zoomed in ($15).

Chicken Kushi Katsu Zen ($15).

To be honest, the variety in the lunch dishes are awesome. There is just so many side dishes. It’s great value for money, staff is great and depending on the dish you buy, you get to see or do some “action”. Presentation is great!

Excellent place. Highly recommended, rating = 9/10.

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.