Metro NZ

Cheap eats

Avondale

MALAYSIA NOODLES & RICE HOUSE

57D Wolverton St

The service is no-nonsense and the register cash-only, but we will fight for a table at this small and bustling spot to chow down on their smoky char kway teow, one of the best in Auckland. Expect flat rice noodles with moreish pork lard, fried to crunchy, and bursts of salty flavour. Lap cheong (Chinese sausage) lends sweeter bites. A true hawker-style haunt — both in food and ambience — Malaysia Noodles also offers dishes like wat tan hor, curry laksa and the lesser-known Kuala Lumpur-style hokkien mee, served with sambal on the side.

Malaysian

Central city

BANNSANG

1c/47 High St

Get in, eat, get out is the vibe at this nonetheless friendly Korean restaurant. Good luck getting a table at weekday lunchtimes when hordes of workers from nearby offices drop in for soups served in cauldron-like pots, spicy gochujang-laden stir fries and crisply fried kimchi or seafood pancakes. Each comes served on a tray, most with steamed rice and four side dishes, or banchan, of which the kimchi and pickled daikon are particularly good. We also love the tteokbokki — chewy rice cakes and slivers of fish sausage served in a slightly sweet and very spicy sauce.

Korean

BBQ DUCK CAFE

350 Queen St

Its BYO licence, big tables and close proximity to midtown’s theatres and downtown’s lively bars make BBQ Duck a group dinner dream. Roasted and barbecued meats hang from hooks in the kitchen window and you order them half or whole; if dining solo, go for what the menu describes as the “best choice” — one or two of these juicy meats on rice. In a larger group, whole Peking duck with pancakes, savoury hoisin and shredded spring onion and cucumber is a crowd pleaser. Deep-fried spicy chicken, green beans with pork mince, and wonton noodle soup are also recommended.

Cantonese

Eden Terrace

RAMEN DO

167 Symonds St

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Metro NZ

Metro NZ8 min read
North Of The Border
The flatbed just clipped us. A peck on the nose. Not enough to spin us or flip us, but enough to send our tuk-tuk driver into a fury. He pulled up to the truck at the next traffic lights, slapped the driver’s door, and started screaming in Urdu. The
Metro NZ2 min read
Drive, She Said
On a steep backstreet in Manurewa almost 20 years ago, my heart raced as cars backed up behind me. My left hand shook as it gripped the gear stick, and my foot planted on the brake was almost cramping from fear and stress. I was a learner driver att
Metro NZ2 min read
20 Questions
01-What’s riskier, Covid-19, or sneezing in public while Asian? 02-Remember how we were all going to “Give nothing to racism”? 03-“Cruise ships a nightmare of discomfort, claustrophobia and potential infection” - so, no change there, then? 04-So

Related