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
