JACK'S STIR BREW COFFEE | WEST VILLAGE | MANHATTAN | NEW YORK

Perfect for: A quick coffee stop, or an all-day hangout

Price range: $ Cheap

My rating: 10/10

Food / Coffee: 10/10 Service: 10/10 Ambience: 10/10

I'm sitting in this quaint and rustic West Village coffee shop as I'm typing this post. I'm munching on this delicious slice of cornbread (after overhearing my friendly table-neighbours talk excitedly about it), and sipping on my jasmine and pearl tea with honey. I couldn't be happier. 

The magic of this neighbourhood coffee shop tucked in the heart of West Village isn't so much that it does great cornbread, great cookies, great tea, great coffee, but it's that I come here and the barista knows my name after two visits. They know everyone's name. And Jack, the owner, will pop in and say hi to everyone, then go back to doing whatever else he does. 

Everyone here talks to everyone else, because it's your local coffee house - when Jack first started this joint, he would come in and close people's laptops and get them to talk to their neighbours, because that's the sort of vibe he wanted. 

It's amazing. It's cozy. It's homey. And it smells like coffee or freshly baked cookies all day.

Don't even get me started on the coffee. I originally thought Joe (a couple of blocks away from Jack's) was my favourite, until I came here and everything changed. Not to mention, they serve me a damn good flat white - it really is my home away from home.

Meal: Coffee break

Cuisine: Coffee / Snack

Address: 138 West 10th Street, New York, NY 10014, USA

WEBSITE | YELP

JOE'S SHANGHAI, CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A quick lunch with a friend, but why not go elsewhere in Chinatown?

Price range: $ Cheap

My rating: 5/10

Food: 4/10 Service: 7/10 Ambience: 5/10

It's very rare to find a Chinese joint that has better service than food. You'd bet that it's definitely a fairly inauthentic Chinese restaurant if that's the case (ahem, Chinese fusion restaurants, I'm looking at you). After all the things I heard about the soup dumplings / xiao long bao at Joe's Shanghai, was disappointed to find that this is exactly a restaurant that offers better service than food. 

I consider myself well-versed in the soup dumpling world, having not only consumed hundreds of dollars worth when I lived near the Chinatown area of Sydney, more specifically, I was within 5 walking minutes of a Ding Tai Fung. Joe's Shanghai's xiao long baos do not compare, not even close.

I ordered one set (8) of the crab and pork xiao long bao - highly hyped, surely can't go wrong. Soon after my order, the waiter diligently brought out the tea pot and the vinegar & soy dipping sauce (this is excellent service for a Chinese restaurant). And my tray of soup dumplings came out within five minutes of that. 

The recount of the story, soup dumpling by soup dumpling:

1. My first dumpling was disappointing to say the least. The dough was too tough and thick, the soup had far too much gelatin in it, and the flavour of the filling was overwhelmingly shrimpy - not even the crab and pork flavour I was expecting. 

2. The second dumpling got worse. At this point, the soup in the dumpling was now overpowering and tasted like I was slurping liquid fat, and not even the good kind. 

3-4. The third and fourth dumplings were only memories of me trying to drown the dumplings in the vinegar & soy concoction. 

5-6. The fifth and six dumplings are what I would call "the point of no return" where I felt committed to finishing these bad boys (bad, being the keyword here). I don't even know why I was so committed. 

7-8. The seventh and eighth dumplings: when I saw the light. I gave up. This completely wasn't worth it. There are far better calories to be consumed elsewhere in Chinatown (which is exactly what I did).

All eight torturous soup dumplings came to $10 including tax and tip. You know what I can get for $10 in Chinatown? A lot of good Chinese food, that is not from Joe's Shanghai. You can get a duck sesame pancake from Vanessa's ($2.50), 8 pork and chive fried dumplings from Prosperity Dumpling ($2), a plate of steaming peanut sauce noodles from Shu Jiao Fu Zhou ($2), a takeaway container of steamed ho fun from a hole in the wall joint on Henry and Market ($1.75), and a piece of freshly made beef jerky from Malaysia Beef Jerky ($1) and you still have $0.75 for a rainy day. That's what I call a proper Chinatown experience. 

My key learning from this experience: don't buy into the hype - it's not worth the dollars and the calories. 

Meal: Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Chinese 

Address: 24 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019, USA

WEBSITE | YELP

ABC KITCHEN | FLATIRON | MANHATTAN | NEW YORK

Perfect for: Fun dinner with a bunch of good friends

Price range: $$$ Exxy

My rating: 8.5/10

Food: 8.5/10 Service: 8/10 Ambience: 9/10

As one of Jean Georges' restaurants, ABC Kitchen is renowned for two things: 1) incredibly fresh good food, and 2) hard-to-get reservations. I love a bit of challenge, especially when it comes to restaurants, so here I was on a Monday night at 6pm, ready and eager to eat. 

The thing about eating alone is that you can wander into whichever restaurant and get a spot immediately (in most situations), but you don't get to try your dining companion's food either. So I'm limited to order a couple of items from the menu and left lusting after 90% of the menu. 

For my starter, I order the very popular roast carrot and avocado salad, crunchy seeds, sour cream and citrus. This was a dish combining both cold and warm incredibly well, with the warm roast carrots combined with avocado and the salad of watercress, seeds and sour cream. The dressing was perfectly tart which brought out the sweetness from the avocado and carrots. All the ingredients tasted incredibly fresh, as promised.

roast carrot and avocado salad, crunchy seeds, sour cream and citrus

And I order the ricotta cavatelli, fennel sausage, broccoli rabe and meyer lemon for my main course. The cavatelli is similar to gnocchi but is longer in form. It was served on a bed of broccoli rabe, which had a very similar taste to pesto, but made with broccoli rabe and the broccoli rabe stalks gave a similar texture to what the pine nuts would do in pesto. I probably would've preferred for this to have a little bit more bite, otherwise this dish was the perfect amount of richness and pasta-to-ingredients ratio. 

ricotta cavatelli, fennel sausage, broccoli rabe and meyer lemon

My overall verdict on the food is that it was great but not exceptional - the two dishes that I tried were simple but had different layers of texture and flavour, and ingredients were very fresh as promised.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is fun and has a very casual yet up-market feel to it. I feel like it is much more of a place that you'd go to with a bunch of friends and get a number of dishes to share. The service was fine at the bar - I wouldn't say they were very attentive at all, but then that's what you get for eating at the bar. 

Would I come back? Yes. But I'm not going to kick up a fuss if I don't. There are plenty of other places in New York that I'd go back to or want to try before I come back here. 

Meal: Brunch / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Contemporary Italian 

Address: 35 East 18th Street, New York, NY 10003, USA

WEBSITE | MENU | YELP

TOTTO RAMEN, HELL'S KITCHEN, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A quick slurp (a destination food stop)

Price range: $-$$ Cheap / Not Bad

My rating: 8.5/10

Food: 8.5/10 Service: 8.5/10 Ambience: 9/10

There is a crazy ramen hype here, and Totto Ramen has been wrapped up and thrown right into the centre of it. For good reason too; so far it is my second favourite (to Ippudo) ramen joint in New York. 

I arrived after a long day of trekking around the concrete jungle of Midtown, finding myself covering more tourist ground than I had planned to (a couple of hours at MoMA, to the New York Public Library, to St Patrick's Cathedral, to the International Centre of Photography, to Gotham West Market). The original intention was to get a steaming bowl of ramen from Ivan Ramen at the newly opened Gotham West Market, until I realized I was going to be wasting calories on a 3-Yelp-star joint and jumped immediately into a cab to take me to 52nd and 9th where the small Totto Ramen joint is found. 

The line was at least 20 people long at 7pm - poor planning on my part. I walked in and put my name down on the second page, limiting myself to at most a one-hour wait. Ten minutes in, the waitress came out and called out multiple names for parties of one, none showed. I happily put my hand up and said "I'm a party of one" and within ten minutes of arriving, I'm seated inside up at the bench waiting to order my ramen while looking at the incredible production line that's going into preparing the slurp bowls. 

As I'm checking my Yelp for suggestions, the waitress comes by and tells me that the Totto Spicy Ramen is very good and that I should add the Seasoned Boiled Egg, Corn and Seasoned Avocado to it. The Pork Bun is also very popular, she says. So I order the Totto Spicy Ramen with Charsiu Pork, add the Seasoned Boiled Egg; and one Pork Bun for $3.25.

Pork Bun

My order of the Pork Bun comes within five minutes and I can see them making it the whole time. Every place I've been do does it slightly differently - this one uses a sweeter mayo (almost American-style) and adds salad leaves to the braised pork belly. It's pretty good but doesn't come close to topping my favourite, which by the way is from Momofuku (controversial, I know, but I just prefer it to Ippudo's because of the cucumber). 

Totto Spicy Ramen with Charsiu Pork, additional Seasoned Boiled Egg

Shortly after, my bowl of steaming ramen arrives. The ramen noodles are chewy, or I guess you could call them somewhat al dente. The broth is rich, not so much that you cannot finish the whole bowl, but probably richer than I'd like. Everyone has their own preferences of what ramen should be like and I thought this was slightly, just slightly, too salty for my liking, and the noodles were slightly, just slightly, too soft for my liking. This is also why Totto Ramen comes a close second to Ippudo for me.

Totto Spicy Ramen with Charsiu Pork, additional Seasoned Boiled Egg

All up, with tip, my meal came to $20. It probably took no longer than 40 minutes to order, slurp, pay and go. The service was spot on and conducted with a tremendous amount of precision and efficiency (the Germans would be envious) and the ambience is simple and exactly what I expect of a place as small and rustic as this. 

So the real question is how long would I wait for this? Well, anything under 30 minutes is fine if I'm by myself, anything under 45 minutes if I'm with a friend or a crowd (the rationale is that one person should get seated faster than two or more, and if I'm alone I'm much less willing to wait because I'm not in the presence of good company). But no more than an hour because that's ludicrous to wait as long for a meal as the dining experience itself would take. But it is damn good ramen and clearly a shorter wait time than Ippudo - and if you're really clever, you would get in before 6.30pm. 

Meal: Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Japanese (Ramen)

Address: 366 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019, USA

WEBSITE | MENU | YELP

GOTHAM BAR & GRILL, GREENWICH VILLAGE, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A special occasion date

Price range: $$$$ Splurge

My rating: 9.5/10

Food: 10/10 Service: 9/10 Ambience: 10/10

If you hadn't noticed, I take food pretty seriously. And if there's Restaurant Week on when I'm around, I'll be the first in the door. So I somehow lucked out and got Monday off work, and the first thing that came to mind was that I had to go and try Gotham Bar & Grill since they are only offering their Restaurant Week menu for Mon-Fri lunches. 

So at 1pm on a Monday, I'm streaming past a number of impeccably dressed men in suits (one of whom was carrying a stack of Forbes magazines - clearly means business) to snag my table at this well-reputed restaurant - it has 4.5 stars on Yelp after a trillion reviews, that's got to mean something. I am immediately seated at the bar - because when you're dining alone, you don't have to wait - next to another lonely diner who is obviously here for the same reason I am (to take photos of food), and two men talking strictly business (I hear the words financing, Wall Street and Carolina Herrera thrown around and I immediately classify them as bankers for high-end labels).

I order from the prix fixe Restaurant Week menu:

Entree: Wild Striped Bass Sashimi with Asian pear, watermelon radish, cucumber, yuzu ginger emulsion avocado wasabi purée

Main: Pappardelle With Braised Short Rib Ragu with swiss chard, winter squash, aged pecorino

Dessert: Tropical "Vacherin" (vanilla parfait, passion fruit, mango paper, coconut sorbet)

Before I dive into the details of each, let me just say that the meal was top-notch. I couldn't fault the chefs even if I wanted to - not even on the quantity, it was all perfect. I can see why they've managed a 4.5 star rating on Yelp now.

The striped bass sashimi was fresh, the wasabi wasn't overwhelming given the avocado addition, and the yuzu ginger emulsion added just the right amount of tart to the dish, almost acting like a vinaigrette for the salad of pear, radish and cucumber.

Wild Striped Bass Sashimi with Asian pear, watermelon radish, cucumber, yuzu ginger emulsion avocado wasabi purée

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I consider myself quite well-versed in the pappardelle-sphere. I can tell you this was great - silky and al dente - a close second to the pappardelle I had at al di la, and that's competing with an brilliant Italian trattoria. The braised short rib ragu wasn't what I was expecting and wasn't your traditional Italian ragu - it was much more soup-like given the additional of the vegetables, but it was incredibly flavoursome and had me scraping the last of my plate.

Pappardelle With Braised Short Rib Ragu with swiss chard, winter squash, aged pecorino

The dessert of the 'vacherin' was described to me as a deconstructed parfait but it was really a combination of coconut macaroon, coconut sorbet, mango paper and passionfruit jelly. I'm butchering it completely but it was a brilliant combination of ingredients, especially if you're a fan of passionfruit, mango and coconut - which I am. 

Tropical "Vacherin" (vanilla parfait, passion fruit, mango paper, coconut sorbet)

As for the service and ambience, this was very much a fine dining restaurant. The waitstaff were incredibly professional all throughout and the only fault I noted was when I had to ask twice for the check (only due to the waiter engaging in conversation with other patrons). The ambience for lunch was light yet you definitely got the sense that this was where the business deals get done over lunch. 

And for $25 (excluding tax and tip) this meal was robbery in broad daylight. Yes I would do this again, I would do this every lunchtime if I had the time and spare calories to do so. Would I dine here and indulge in their regular menu? YES. I'm looking at it now and already planning a trip back.

Meal: Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Modern American

Address: 12 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003, USA

WEBSITE | MENU | YELP

DOUGHNUT PLANT, LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A snack!

Price range: $ Cheap

My rating: 9.5/10

Food: 9.5/10 Service: - Ambience: -

Are these the most delicious doughnuts I've had? Yes. Are they the most delicious doughnuts to exist? Probably not. But if you're near the Doughnut Plant, you most certainly need to try them. Even if it's just to embrace the American culture like I did (that's what I tell myself, I eat doughnuts to fit in, yeah.)

And because we're so lucky in this city, there are actually two locations, making it just that much more accessible. What's even better is that if you're not going to the Doughnut Plant, you can still get them from cafes and such all around the city. For example, my favourite coffee joint, Joe, stocks plenty.

I got the creme brulee doughnut. It tastes exactly as described - the shiny coating resembles the hard cracked surface and the filling inside is like the part underneath. I could eat five more in a heartbeat, but that wouldn't be so good for my heartbeat, would it?

They have square-filled doughnuts, yeast doughnuts, cake doughnuts and more. Seriously, just go and get one.

Creme brulee filled doughnut

Meal: Snack

Cuisine: American

Address: LES (379 Grand Street) CHELSEA (200 W 23rd Street)

WEBSITE | YELP

ROBERTA'S, BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A beer and pizza with mates after roaming the graffiti-filled streets of Bushwick

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 8.5/10

Food: 9/10 Service: 7.5/10 Ambience: 9/10

Widely touted as New York's best pizza, you'll find Roberta's tucked away in a lesser known neighbourhood in Brooklyn, and one of my favourites, called Bushwick. Bushwick is probably only known for Roberta's - your average Manhattanite has probably taken the L train to the Morgan Ave, stepped out of the station and walked a block to wait in line for the famed prize at this hipster joint, but nothing else. 

It's not just brilliant to those from outside of Bushwick - the locals love it too. The hipster dude that runs Mary Meyer, a boutique / vintage store across the road from Roberta's said to me "it's pretty much where all the Bushwick-ers go for all their meals". (This was a somewhat alarming statement - I mean, all their meals? But then I remembered that this was America and let it go.)

So I came here after a full morning of exploring the outdoor gallery space that is Bushwick itself, and was feeling pretty peckish at 3pm on a Saturday. Luckily, because it was such an obscure time, there was no wait for me and my lunch companion. But inside the large space, it was still packed at such a time - it felt like we got the last free table. And it was a pretty good table too - outside in the courtyard, next to the heater.

This isn't one of those hipster blogs where I shy away from the most typical order - OF COURSE I'm ordering a pizza. I get the Speckenwolf (mozzarella, speck, mushroom, onion, oregano) because I'm a fan of all those things listed, and my lunch companion gets the roasted carrot salad with smoked ricotta and radish. We're sharing people, so we share. 

Speckenwolf (mozzarella, speck, mushroom, onion, oregano)

The pizza was delicious - you really can't go wrong with any of them. The base is thin and crisp - but not too thin that you've got nothing to chew on. The topping was also perfect - not too scant and not too generous. I sound like I'm drinking the kool-aid, but really it was quite perfect. The only thing I would've changed was the speed at which I ate my pizza - I would've preferred it to be warm the whole time, but that's really my own fault isn't it?

Roasted carrots with smoked ricotta and radish

The carrots were also pretty good. I am typically not a huge fan of carrots, but these were highly recommended by my fellow exploring partner-in-crime, so I had to give them a go. Honestly, they were pretty delicious with the smoked ricotta, and the presentation was definitely ace. If it were up to me, I would've added a bit of sweetness perhaps in the form of a jus, just to wake it up a little bit more.

I thought the ambience was fantastic - it's always fun when there's plenty of people around to liven up the place but you can still hear your own conversations. The heated courtyard setting was wonderful as we got the natural light without freezing our mitts off, and it made it a lot more relaxed and casual which perfectly matches the feel of the menu. 

The service was more so-so, it wasn't very streamlined and we did have to wait a while to order drinks, to order food, and to get the check. Granted they were quite busy, but... aren't they always this busy? 

The bill ran to no more than $30 per person including drinks, tax and tip. For a damn good meal. But when you visit, make sure you do more than just visit Roberta's - there are lots of amazing streetart all around Bushwick not to mention great thrift stores and a very interesting community of Central and South Americans so you're bound to find some delicious and cheap tacos if you're still feeling peckish after your pizza.

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Address: 261 Moore St, Brooklyn, NY 11206

WEBSITE | YELP

AL DI LA, PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A nice meal with friends after a day of wandering the shops of Park Slope

Price range: $$ Not bad

My rating: 9.5/10

Food: 9/10 Service: 9.5/10 Ambience: 9.5/10

It's not often I give a 9.5 rating. You should all know it usually defaults to 8.5. But for al di la, this was quite an exceptional Italian trattoria. Let me explain...

al di la is a very renowned Italian joint in the fancy brownstone lined, hipster yuppies turned millionaires, Surry Hills-esque suburb of Brooklyn. I.e. Park Slope. The beautiful brownstone houses easily run for over a million here, but you're not paying for just the houses - the suburb is speckled with cafes, bars and restaurants - and one of the go-to trattorias here is al di la. 

I had heard it mentioned numerous times - by trendy Brooklynites, yuppy Park Slopers, and on numerous lists of 'what-to-do-in-Park-Slope'. I decided that my adventures in Park Slope had to end with a dinner here. (note: al di la does do lunch, but from the one Yelp review I had read, I decided that dinner was the safer option.)

The restaurant opens at 6pm and I got here at 6.15pm, and about a third of the restaurant was already full - this is only a Thursday night. I got seated and my waiter told me about the specials - the pork loin with polenta jumped at me and so did the house-made pappardelle with duck ragu. I had also heard great things about their beetroot ravioli, but I'm a sucker for not just pappardelle but also duck so the decision wasn't that hard - especially if this duck ragu pappardelle was a once-off thing. And of course, no Italian meal comes complete without a glass of vino. 

The service was incredibly fast - my glass of wine pretty much appeared at the table. Followed swiftly by the bread (only disappointment was that it didn't come with olive oil, but with butter - it was warm, however, although it was definitely heated not fresh). Very soon after that, my pasta arrived. 

Now, I'm no Italian (surprising, huh?), but I've had my fair share of pappardelle and if there is a pasta that I could choose to be an expert on, this would be it. The pappardelle was perfect - silky yet with enough bite. The ragu was creamier than I expected - the duck fat definitely contributed to it, and probably made it richer than I would've liked. And the duck had been roasted with the skin still crispy, so the crispy skin had been added to the ragu for an interesting almost-smoky flavour, and additional texture to spice up the creamy ragu. 

Special: House-made pappardelle with duck ragu

I considered getting dessert but there was nothing on the dessert menu that really took my fancy - and to be completely fair, I had also had a slice of salted caramel apple pie three hours prior to dinner so I thought I'd behave. If I hadn't had that slice of pie from Four & Twenty Blackbirds, I probably would've opted for the cheese plate or the dessert special of flourless chocolate cake with walnuts and whipped cream. 

The service was superb throughout - definitely worth of the 20% tip I gave them. The waiter gave me some space while I drank my wine, without rushing me by bringing the check. That's one of my pet peeves in most waitstaff and this guy was very graceful.

The atmosphere here was also excellent - the crowd on this Thursday night is mostly Park Slopers, and the acoustics in the restaurant are great - the noise isn't so loud that you need to be shouting to be heard.

By the time I left, the restaurant was packed. Expect long waits if you're coming in a large group - but it's definitely worth the wait.

Meal: Brunch / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Address: 248 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215

WEBSITE | MENU | YELP

HOME/MADE, RED HOOK, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Perfect for: A lazy Sunday morning brunch, dragged out for most of the day

Price range: $ Cheap

My rating: 8/10

Food: 6/10 Service: 9/10 Ambience: 10/10

After a somewhat mild hiatus from posting, I'm back, and blogging from New York. So far, it's been an incredible food adventure - name any food, any food at all, and you'll find it in this cauldron of cultures. Okay, maybe not Harkarl (Icelandic fermented shark...) but that's probably for the best anyway.

One of the things I've been doing since I've got here is exploring some of the more interesting outer-boroughs of New York. It's a huge city, and it's not confined to just Manhattan - shock horror! Brooklyn has become my go-to weekend spot, and having been to Red Hook twice now, it is really what I consider a low-laying gem in the city. 

Red Hook is one of those suburbs where it feels like it's a destination in itself (some call it a 'staycation') and this neighbourhood cafe, home/made, certainly adds to the feeling. home/made is the local go-to spot for locals for brunch and as soon as you step inside you'll know why. It has a very distinct I'm-hanging-out-at-my-best-friend's-house sort of feeling, with the comfy couches and the somewhat communal-like dining room. And by dining room, I mean the 5 metre by 4 metre space where the hipsters of Red Hook would lounge and sip freshly brewed coffee. It really feels like your home away from home.

I am not going to rave about the food - because it will go to prove my theory that I will never find good brunch in New York. I ordered the truffled egg and parm scramble, which came with grilled walnut toast and potatoes provencal. I'm constantly in search of good Australia-like brunch in New York and haven't succeeded - it feels like every brunch meal here is overloaded with oil and butter, not light and fresh like the brunches in Sydney or Melbourne. (I will continue this rant in a separate post, I'm sure of it.) Anyway, the scrambled eggs were fine - definitely by no means the best I've had, in fact, I know I could scramble better. But I did enjoy the walnut toast - the texture was similar to a sourdough but the bits of walnuts were quite a treat.

Truffled egg and parm scramble

But this place is much more about the atmosphere than the food. The fact that you can come here and lounge on the couches, people watch and sip on freshly brewed coffee is the drawcard for me. When we came here, the owners were perched at the counter, browsing a design website. That's the sort of vibe only your local cafe would have.

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine: Modern

Address: 293 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Hours: Tue-Sun 9am-4pm; Fri-Sun 6pm-10pm

WEBSITE | YELP

BEST EATERIES IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Auckland is a budding culinary scene, with new restaurants popping up all over the city and plenty of hidden away secret gems, it's the city that turned me into the foodie that I am.

Inspired by having spent the week back in my home city Auckland, discovering new restaurants that have sprouted up all over the city, and revisiting some of my all time favourites, I thought I would put together a list of must-eat restaurants for travellers visiting, or Aucklanders who haven't given these a go.

There will be restaurants that are missing on this list, and I'd love to hear about them! These are just what I consider to be my 9/10 - 10/10 restaurants in Auckland. Here goes (in no particular order):

CIBO PARNELL
Hidden away in the depths of Parnell is a top-tier restaurant in an old chocolate factory. Put on your best shirt as you'll often find yourself rubbing elbows with celebrities and those in the know - I've once sat back-to-back with Rob Fyfe.
Must try: the lamb and the duck liver parfait
Price range: $$$$
Address: 91 St Georges Bay Road, Parnell, Auckland

THE FRENCH CAFE
Widely touted as Auckland's best fine dining restaurant, the tasting menu at The French Cafe is definitely an experience for a very special occasion.
Price range: $$$$
Address: 210 Symonds Street, Auckland

GOLDEN JADE RESTAURANT
I'd like to think I know a thing or two about Chinese food, since I am Chinese after all. Golden Jade is my family's most frequented Chinese restaurant, after years of experimenting at different Chinese restaurants. Be warned, it will be noisy like any other Chinese restaurant and the service will be completely rubbish, but I'm more than happy to sacrifice those for the best Chinese in Auckland.
Must try: salted egg prawns
Price range: $$-$$$
Address: 417 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland

PONSONBY CENTRAL
Yes, Ponsonby Central isn't exactly one restaurant - but that's what so great about it. It's a collection of eateries, homeware, clothing and other random knick knack stores all under one old warehouse. It's a recent addition to the restaurant and culture scene of Auckland, and it is still adding new stores and eateries monthly.
Must try: Bread & Butter Bakery
Price range: $-$$$
Address: 136-138 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland

CABLE BAY VINEYARDS
One of my favourite spots for a lazy special occasion Sunday. Take the ferry over to Waiheke and stay for an extended lunch with the most drinkable of wines from Cable Bay. The food is certainly comparable to the wines - and don't miss out on the dessert at the end either.
Must try: the lamb, the scallops, cheese plate
Price range: $$$$
Address: 12 Nick Johnstone Drive, Oneroa, Waiheke Island

BILL FISH CAFE
This is my best kept secret - one that I only ever took my bestest friends to, because it was much too serene to share. Overlooking the water at Westhaven, Bill Fish Cafe is the perfect way to spend a sunny day gazing at yachts that you wish you could sail and nibbling on a delightful platter of fish and chips.
Must try: fish and chips
Price range: $$
Address: Z-Pier, 31 Westhaven Drive, Westhaven, Auckland

 

CAFE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS
Easily the best Turkish/Middle Eastern cuisine in Auckland, just across the road from the bungy ball in the city. The intimate setting with Turkish lamps and the best hummus and dips makes it a fun first date restaurant. I've only ever gone there with the same friends, and we only ever get the set menu - you really can't go wrong with that combination.
Must try: set menu
Price range: $$-$$$
Address: 59 Victoria Street West, Auckland

EURO RESTAURANT & BAR
Euro is an oldie but a goodie. It's not uncommon to rub elbows with bankers and accountants here out for a post-work celebration. A colleague of mine liked this place for its steaks so much that he would often order two for his main course.
Must try: the rotisserie chicken or any of the steaks
Price range: $$$$
Address: Shed 22, Princes Wharf, 147 Quay Street, Auckland

THE FISH MONGER (REMUERA)
I'm a little bit biased here as one of my good friends from school worked here for years, and I got treated to still what I consider the best takeaway fish and chips I've ever had. It's a tiny little shop on the corner of Remuera Road and Upland Road, but they do the most delicious beer battered fries.
Must try: beer battered fries
Price range: $-$$
Address: 612 Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland

DEPOT EATERY
A very popular spot for casual dining, attracting the masses even on a quiet Monday night. The oysters are delicious if you're into them, and the fish sliders are quite a crowd-pleaser to according to the waitstaff (although I can't say that I'm the biggest fan-girl of them).
Must try: oysters, roast chicken with cous cous
Price range: $$$
Address: 86 Federal Street, Auckland

   

FRASERS CAFE
This is one of my absolute favourite places to go after dinner for coffee and cake to catch up with friends. There is definitely a late-night coffee and cake culture missing in Sydney, and Frasers fills this gap perfectly whenever I'm in Auckland.
Must try: banoffee pie and chocolate mousse cake
Price range: $
Address: 434 Mt Eden Road, Mt Eden, Auckland

LA CIGALE FRENCH MARKETS
5 years ago, this was Auckland's best kept secret and it's no surprise as to why everyone has been sharing this sweet little spot with their friends and family since then. Perfect end to a morning walk in the weekend, the markets are packed with pastries, crepes, baked goods and coffee. You can also pick up fresh produce here too!
Must try: roll from the chorizo BBQ stall, freshly baked croissants, freshly squeezed juice
Price range: $-$$
Address: 69 St Georges Bay Road, Parnell, Auckland

HANSAN VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT
This is my absolute favourite cheap eat in Auckland. Not only can you get yourself a great big meal for under $15, there are also a million food and drink options on the menu. Despite the huge selection, my default is always C13 - panfried chicken with lemongrass on vermicelli.
Must try: C13, taro and sticky rice with coconut cream
Price range: $
Address: 55 Nuffield Street, Newmarket (and branches in Glenfield, City, and Panmure)

BROWNSTONE
You haven't had high tea, unless you've had this high tea. Previously known as the 1920s themed Prohibition, Brownstone is the second name change since I left 18 months ago. Despite its fickleness with its name, the high tea is still excellent, especially in the low light, plush chairs, prohibition-era setting.
Must try: high tea
Price range: $$$
Address: 108 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland

              

ANNABELLE'S
With a view overlooking St Heliers Bay (the far superior neighbour to Mission Bay), you would be a fool to sit inside the restaurant. Annabelle's has a very standard breakfast menu with all the items you'd expect to see, but they are known for their beef and lamb.
Must try: eggs benedict
Price range: $$-$$$
Address: 409 Tamaki Drive, St Heliers, Auckland

THE VILLAGE CO-OP
I think this is the best hand-made ice cream in all of Auckland. Better yet, you'll find it in this tiny little shop off the main strip. This is exactly what NZ ice cream is all about - definitely on par with Kapiti ice cream, if not, dare I say it, better. Pick up an ice cream and go for a stroll along the beach. Bliss.
Must try: butterscotch fudge
Price range: $
Address: 8 Maheke Street, St Heliers, Auckland

MEXICO FOOD & LIQUOR
It's probably the most hyped restaurant in Auckland in the past 18 months since I've left. For good reason too. They've opened up the same chain in Sydney in Surry Hills, and having tried both I can say that it is definitely done better in Auckland than in Sydney. The fried chicken is fun, and the tacos are pretty damn tasty. Wash it down with some margaritas and that's considered a cheap and fun meal.
Must try: fried chicken
Price range: $$
Address: 23 Britomart Place, Britomart, Auckland