All posts filed under: Chinese

Belly Worship – Auckland

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Neon lights? Check. Cheap and delicious Asian-fusion food? Check. Friendly service? Check. Unlimited corn chips and fizzy and closing time of 2am? Bonus.  You will find all this and more at the newly opened Belly Worship, a Chinese-fusion style restaurant located on Dominion Road. On the menu, there are a range of dishes available – steamed and fried dumplings, taco buns, spicy pancakes, stir-fried noodles, chicken, pork, beef and tofu dishes. The restaurant is not licensed, but they do offer a self-service bar where you pay just $3 for unlimited soft drink, alongside popcorn, corn chips and pretzels. This is a great idea – something to snack on while you wait for the rest of your party. It is also self-service for plates, bowls, cutlery and added sauces.  Between three of us, we ordered quite a feast:  – Spinach Taco Bun with Pork Belly ($7) – Shrimp, Pork and Chive Dumplings ($12) – Litchi Pork ($9.90) – Spicy Pancake ($5), with Duck (+$8) – Bamboo Chicken Wings ($14) – KungFu Kebabs with Fish Tofu and Beef ($16) – Scallion Fried Broccoli …

Auckland’s Best Street Food

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  I absolutely love street food. We are very lucky in Auckland as we are spoilt for choice when it comes to street food. There are many food trucks and stands offering a wide variety – think bao, dumplings, fried chicken, vegan burgers, tacos, sushi in cones, egg waffles, milk and cookies and gelato to name a few. Below, I have rounded up my favourite food trucks and food stands around Auckland, so that you can go out and enjoy them as much as I do! JUDGE BAO Back in 2015, I wrote a blog post – 5 Reasons Why I Love Judge Bao. Everything I wrote in the post remains the same – the owners, Debbie and Jamie are so down to earth, very welcoming and passionate about their product. Their bao is delicious and I enjoy trying their new creations and love seeing them at various food festivals and markets. Judge Bao make soft and fluffy Chinese steamed buns filled with mouthwatering tofu, pork belly or beef (and sometimes fish and chicken), fresh herbs …

Eden Noodles Cafe

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  I tried Eden Noodles Cafe for the first time last Friday. I know, I know, I am super late on the bandwagon. It might be that for a long time, I was put off by the long queues out the door or the fact that I can’t handle extremely spicy food. Anyhow, I finally made it… and I am so glad I did! It was everything I imagined and more. Eden Noodles Cafe is located on Dominion Road in Mount Eden and specialises in Sichuan cuisine. The menu is lengthy, and all dishes are reasonably priced. You can order fresh and handmade dumplings, noodles, soups, wontons, hotpot, rice dishes and Sichuan snacks. Their main drawcard is the Dumplings in Spicy Sauce. Ya Qin Zhang, aka ‘The Dumpling Queen’ makes between 3000-4000 dumplings a day at Eden Noodles Cafe. She can even make them with her eyes closed! Ya Qin Zhang aka ‘The Dumpling Queen’ We ordered a FEAST, because, well, I didn’t want to try only one dish, and it was also my first time trying …

Wu & You – Mt Eden

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  On Tuesday night, I was invited to the opening of a new restaurant in Mt Eden Village, namely Wu & You. It was a fantastic night, thanks to the mouthwatering food, cocktails, ambience and service. Walking in, I loved the vibrant decor. Bright neon pink lights had me oohing and aahing, and the colourful flowers and murals (by local artist, Emily Gardner) featured throughout the space brighten up the industrial walls. Plus, everything is PINK! From the menus, to the beautiful ceramic plates, and the ladies bathroom. There is also plenty of seating to choose from, as well as a lovely courtyard out the back (complete with a striking mural of Wu) – an area which would be perfect for your next celebration. Heading up the kitchen is Cairan Flaherty, who has experience working in restaurants all over Ireland, and more recently at TriBeCa in Parnell. Working alongside Cairan is Yeong Seon Choi (Sunny) who has worked in some of Auckland’s most popular modern Asian eateries including Cafe Hanoi, Saan and White & Wongs. Owner, Jonathan Rickard, also has over 20 …

Night Noodle Markets

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Over the weekend, I headed down to Victoria Park to check out the Night Noodle Markets. Held annually, this event celebrates mouthwatering Asian street food from around the country. This year, the Night Noodle Markets are being held over 10 days (Friday 1st to Sunday 10th December). There are 20 street food vendors to choose from, with dishes ranging from $5 to $15 each. I love the variety of the food too – think dumplings, BBQ’d meat, summer rolls, ramen, bao, loaded fries, spicy karaage fried chicken, pakoras, roti rolls, donburi, poke bowls, noodles, gelato, deep fried ice cream and smoothies in pineapples. Check out my foodie highlights below:  Hoy Pinoy – it was my first time trying Hoy Pinoy at this year’s Night Noodle Markets and they did not disappoint! They are a Filipino BBQ vendor, selling juicy pork and chicken on sticks. My favourite is the Inihaw na baboy – BBQ Pork Belly.  House of Dumplings – handmade dumplings in a variety of flavours. My favourites are their Nepalese Spiced Lamb and Korean …

Auckland Restaurant Month: White + Wong’s

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If you’re looking for top-notch Asian fusion food, consistently good service and a buzzing atmosphere, then look no further than White + Wong’s, located on Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour. White + Wong’s menu is one of my favourites in Auckland – it’s ‘east meets west’ and takes its inspiration from the street food found in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. I love the variety of food choices – think raw/cold cuts, noodles, curries, delicious dumplings and buns. Their food is fresh, flavourful and looks exciting on the plate. I first dined at White + Wong’s a few month’s ago – we tried their edamame beans with a killer spicy and sweet sauce, a selection of their dumplings and gua bao, and their refreshing nashi pear iced teas. The service was great and the food was fantastic! Fast forward to earlier this month, I saw that White + Wong’s were doing a special menu for Auckland Restaurant Month. I just had to check it out! So, on Friday night, a fellow foodie friend and I tried out their 3 course menu. It was a pleasant evening, which meant we …

Dessert Degustation Walking Tour

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Dessert. My favourite word and my favourite meal. And what better way to celebrate it with a walking dessert degustation held in the Heart of the City? I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Tuesday night! Held as part of Auckland’s Restaurant Month* and with support from Auckland Transport, this Dessert Degustation Walking Tour is a brand new addition to Restaurant Month and one event that I have long been waiting for! We met the lovely food and travel writer, Delaney Mes, who was our host for the evening, at Aotea Square, and spent the next two hours walking through the city’s laneways, and shared spaces, and devoured three sweet delights (and a fabulous cocktail) at Giapo, Cornerbar, Miann and Milse. Our first stop was Giapo. This iconic ice cream shop opened in 2008 by creative genius, Giapo Grazioli (pictured below) and his wife, Annarosa, and still remains one of my favourite places in Auckland’s CBD. Their ice cream is different to that of the normal ones you would get at a dairy – Giapo’s are like works of art. I …

Xuxu Dumpling & Bar

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Cocktails, Dumplings and Dessert. Three of my favourite things. And three things that you will find at Xuxu Dumpling & Bar, making it one of my favourite eateries in the city. I have been frequenting Xuxu numerous times over the years, and each time, I struggle to find something negative to say about it. The service is consistently good, their cocktails and food are fantastic and the atmosphere is always buzzing. Xuxu also serves one of my favourite drinks in the CBD – a virgin passionfruit mojito. It is sweet, refreshing and the perfect accompaniment to plates of never ending dumplings. They also have a great cocktail list, along with a selection of beer, wine and cider. But, the main stand out is of course, their handmade dumplings. They are light, full of flavour and trust me, you will want to order one of everything! My favourites include the Prawn Har Gao (with ginger, onion and garlic), Chicken potstickers (fried dumplings with shiitake mushroom), Beef & Cabbage (with onion, ginger and garlic) and for extras, their sticky and spicy …

Lucky Lucky Dumplings

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If someone asked me where they could get lucky tonight, I would tell them to head to the Las Vegas Club on Karangahape Road. But not to the actual club itself… but rather to sip on cocktails, eat plates of dumplings and groove to the music in your seat. Enter through a bright red door, up a few stairs, through a bead curtain and you will find yourself at Lucky Lucky Dumplings, a new pop up bar and eatery situated inside the Las Vegas Club. The first thing that caught my eye was the decor. Plush red booths, bar stool style seating, black carpet, red curtains, Chinese lanterns, and on the tables, Lucky Fortune cats, food court style chopsticks and laminated menus – very funky and cool. And if you are into the eighties era (like my dining companion) you’ll love the music – think hits from The Clash, Pink Floyd and Cyndi Lauper to name a few. Cocktails are the star drink of choice, with only three options to choose from. And most surprising of all, they are served in plastic …

5 Reasons Why I Love Judge Bao

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Here are five reasons why I love Judge Bao (and why you should try one!): 1. The owners, Debbie and Jamie, are so down to earth and very welcoming. I first came across Judge Bao at The Street Food Collective (SFC), where Debbie was so friendly and happily explained all the dishes they serve, including the preparation and ingredients used. It was great to see a couple so passionate about their product. 2. The bao, of course. Fluffy cloud-like bao, all delicately homemade, using Debbie’s mum’s recipe. The bao are then filled with heavenly ingredients, from pulled pork to mapo tofu to lamb. My favourite so far is definitely the black vinegar braised free range pork which I tried at Auckland’s Street Eats. The pork was perfectly cooked and gone in a flash! 3. The presentation. You will find that Judge Bao are generous with their fillings and also have great toppings – pickles, sriracha sauce, sesame seeds, spring onion and peanuts. They also serve fried chicken, which is delicious. 4. Their fortune cookies. When I was last at …