Polynesian Taste

Eateries like this — operating all day and serving tasty, competitively priced kai from across the Pacific — are plentiful in this part of the city. But there’s something particularly special about Polynesian Taste, with its plastic shop frontage on mainstreet Ōtāhuhu. A visit here is always a delight: diners drifting in and out for takeaways, gazing over the selection in the warmers at the front counter before making their selection, or gathering around tables for food and chit-chat while the restaurant’s radio rumbles with music. The menu traverses the Pacific but leans Tongan, with options like sapasui, lu sipi, pulu masima, kale sipi, lo‘i feke, taro, cassava and so on, and priced low enough to mix and match in a myriad of combinations. In other words, you’ll be eating like royalty, for just $25.