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The 100 Best Cheap Eats in Auckland 2013 - "D" to "J"

Oct 22, 2013 Cheap Eats

Dumplings at Jolin Shanghai restaurnant, Auckland

Jolin Shanghai (photo: Ken Downie / Metro)

Dragonfired Pizzas New Listing

Little Oneroa Beach, Waiheke
Originally a summer-time-only treat, Dragonfired’s food truck is now a permanent weekend fixture on Waiheke’s Little Oneroa beach.  The dough for their woodfired pizzas, calzones and pocket bread (a fancy pita) is organic, as is the delicious cornmeal polenta.
Pizzas  

Eden Noodles

105 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden
It’s so tiny that you may have to queue at lunchtimes, but food this good is worth waiting for. This is Sichuan cooking, so expect most dishes to come with a satisfyingly spicy kick. The chilli-averse should try the dumplings.
Sichuan Chinese  

Fatima’s

240 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby (and Takapuna)
Healthy pita wraps, shawarmas and salads full of fresh ingredients and tangy sauces. With tofu, falafel and veggie croquette options — plus those famous potato koftas — this is a great choice for vegetarians looking for a quick bite.
Middle Eastern     

The Flaming Onion

1 Lydia Ave, Northcote
The curse of The Flaming Onion is that it’s too popular, so it’s often essential to phone ahead and we’ve even known them to stop taking orders. Why? Best burgers on the
Shore, no question, that’s why. And the view while you wait, back past the bridge to the city, is breathtaking.
Burgers  

Flourishing Cafe Cheap Eats_Top10_crop

1784 Great North Rd, Avondale
The prices are a little steeper than at those bare-bones Dominion Rd joints, but the servings are so large a group of you will eat like kings and still come out on the right side of $20 each. A sister restaurant to Kingsland’s Canton Cafe. BYO.
Canton Chinese   

Food Truck Garage New ListingCheap Eats_Top10_crop

City Works Depot , 90 Wellesley St, CBD
If we had a prize for the coolest cheap eat in town, Michael Van de Elzen’s “garage”, complete with his TV food truck parked to one side, would be the runaway winner. A buzzing eatery located in Auckland’s newest “it” precinct, City Works Depot, it serves delicious and famously healthy burgers, hotdogs and wraps.
Burgers   

Golden Barbecue Noodle House

296d Dominion Rd, Mt Eden
Not much to look at, but who cares when the food is as tasty, fast and cheap as this? There’s a big array of Chinese and Malaysian dishes: the char kuey teow is magnificently rich.
Chinese / Malaysian  

Hansan Vietnamese

55 Nuffield St, Newmarket (also CBD, Panmure & Glenfield)
There’s a reason the Hansan group of restaurants has stood the test of time: bright, fresh flavours at great prices. The Newmarket branch is one of the area’s best bets for a cheap bite.
Vietnamese

Happy Family Takeaway New Listing

939 New North Rd, Mt Albert
Its Chinese name is Tian Fu Lai, which actually translates as the much more poetic “Additional Fortune on Its Way”. Whatever the name, the food (mostly from Tianjin in northern China) is great. Try their signature dish, chilli beef with sesame pancakes.
Northern Chinese   

Happy Japanese

4038 Great North Rd, Kelston
Happy by name, happy by nature. This big restaurant in underserved Kelston serves authentic Japanese donburi, noodles and izakaya, plus Kiwi-Japanese burgers — the chicken karaage burger is surprisingly good.
Japanese

Haroobang Dumpling

20 Link Drive, Wairau Park
Once you locate this upmarket-looking restaurant within the Wairau Park industrial zone, reward yourself with some spectacular Chinese steamed dumplings. The Korean dishes are pretty good too.
Korean / Chinese   

Hong Kong & Chinese New Listing

64 Mokoia Rd, Birkenhead
The Birkenhead shops have way more good places to eat than many other comparable suburbs, including this one, which serves splendid examples of traditional Cantonese cuisine. Always busy.
Canton Chinese    

Ichiban Ramen

17 Albert St, CBD
Where do you get a good ramen really late? Same place as everyone else: Ichiban. An institution, still doing the business.
Japanese    

Jai Jalaram Khaman

570 Sandringham Rd, Sandringham
You’re not seeing double: last year JJK opened a second outlet right next door, serving South Indian food as opposed to the original Gujarati’s. And now, oddly, both menus are available in both spaces. No one does Indian street food like dabeli (vege burgers) or pav bhaji (a thick, slow-cooked potato-and-onion curry) like JJK. And having given erratic service in the past, they have recently raised their game (and prices, but not by much).
South Indian Vegetarian  

Jess’ Underground Kitchen New Listing

myundergroundkitchen.com
Not a retail outlet, but a “home cooking” operation: Jess Daniell cooks one healthy meal each day (protein plus carbs, with paleo-diet options), customers place their orders by 10am, and portions can be collected from a Ponsonby address 5pm to 7pm, Monday to Wednesday only.
Modern Kiwi

Isla Wu an Betty Yu at Jiale Bun Shop, Auckland

Jiale Bun Shop (photo: Ken Downie / Metro)

Jiale Bun Shop

33 Pearn Crescent, Northcote
Think all steamed buns taste the same? Try these. The pork, prawn and veg will have you seeing stars. If you aren’t in a carb coma already, try a sweet sesame bun for dessert.
Chinese

Jolin Shanghai

248 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden
If you’re yet to try xiao long bao (Shanghainese soup-filled dumplings), you can get them at one or two fashionable (and more expensive) restaurants, but Jolin makes the real thing, and for our money, they’re still the best in town.
Shanghai Chinese

 

See also

The 100 Best Cheap Eats in Auckland – “A” to “C”

The 100 Best Cheap Eats in Auckland – “K” to “M”

The 100 Best Cheap Eats in Auckland – “N” to “R”

The 100 Best Cheap Eats in Auckland – “S”

The 100 Best Cheap Eats in Auckland – “T”

The 100 Best Cheap Eats in Auckland – “V” to “Z”

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