Food courts, in the hawker-style so beloved by Aucklanders, are a dwindling eating format in this city. Amid this landscape of dining-hall demise, and its own past of ups and downs, Northcote’s Food City is not just persisting, it’s thriving — in its own quiet, slightly dishevelled way. The food court hosts a solid place for pad thai called Thai Noodle; a Filipino joint called Kanto which we believe makes the best halo-halo in the city; and also Kolombo, a Sri Lankan food stall on the ground floor of the building. Here you will find an array of fiercely spiced wok-fried noodles and rice, portable parcels of crispy gothamba rotti stuffed with numerous aromatic fillings, and the highlight of it all, a list of 12 variations of kottu — scrappy bits of rotti stir-fried with spring onion, chillies, egg, spices and more — which each ring in under $25. All as divine as the next. If you happen to have more change to spare, there is also an option with a whole mud crab perched atop, ready to be devoured messily and uninhibitedly with your fingers. Stock up on napkins.