Auckland Diner's Diary: June 2016

Around Town

• Hell Pizza Victoria St - the 69th HELL store in the world has opened at 69 Victoria Street, and is the first one to offer thin stretched pizza by the slice
• i yeti 新派川菜食堂 - Sichanese food and boardgames on Upper Queen Street, next to Tyranno Saurus Burger
• Lucky Lucky Dumpling - this popup on K'Rd is now here to stay and has a new menu
• [Added 4 July 2016: Uncle Man's Express - new branch of the Malaysian restaurant has opened at the Metro (IMAX) foodcourt]
• [Added 6 July 2016: Mojo Exchange Lane - latest branch of this coffee empire has opened off Queen Street]
• [Added 19 February 2017: Myers Kitchen - little cafe where Elsie used to be]

City Fringe

• Jervois Road Wine Bar & Kitchen - sommelier and proprietor Benjamin McManus brings his experience to the site of the former Piccoli Piatti
• AdamArnold - a composite of the middle names of the owners, this all day eatery in Ponsonby, where Lulu's cafe used to be, serves fresh, locally sourced produce fit for sharing
• Tiger Burger - this Korean burger mashup stall now has a permanent space in Grey Lynn, where Dilecta used to be, offering a concise menu with flavourful ferments
• The Rocket Store - Atomic Coffee Roasters has styled a new space in Ponsonby, where you can meet all your Rocket Espresso needs, from machines service and sales, to grabbing a bite to eat
• Malt Public House - Grey Lynn gastropub with new owners and an overhaul

Going the Distance

• Bluebell's Cakery Takapuna - after opening an Eden Terrace cafe and refitting the flagship Hillsborough store, Bluebell's Cakery has now opened a branch at Fortieth & Hurstmere in Takapuna, with cakes and treats and lunchtime offerings
• Zoo Eatery - colourful themed restaurant in Henderson
• [Added 20 August 2016: Tikka Tango - Indian kebabs, tikkas and tandoori items in Henderson]
• [Added 1 July 2017: Sim's Kitchen - Malaysian takeaway from a Penang couple in Mount Roskill]
• [Added 2 July 2017: Taste of Nine 玖宮火鍋 - Chinese hotpot restaurant in Rosedale where you pay for the ingredients based on the colour of the container, and there are different soup flavours in different sections of the pot]

Coming

• Come Fun Pepper Kitchen 黑椒厨房 - Asian franchise opening at the Balmoral part of Dominion Road, which aims to make food fun by getting customers to cook their own meals on hot plates
• The Good Home - pub where the Normanby Hotel was
• Ensalada Cafe - former shopping centre salad bar will be opening their new restaurant on K'Road
• [Added 10 July 2016: The Blue Bird Cafe - this vegetarian/vegan cafe on Dominion Road has closed after 21.5 years, but are looking for a new location]

Other Food News

• Countdown has developed the former "SoHole" in Ponsonby into a multi-use complex and opened its first premium store there, offering craft beer and fine wine, loose organic produce, food specialists who can provide advice, a health and wellness section (with freshly ground peanut, almond and cashew butters), and an in-store pharmacy
• Social enterprise Eat My Lunch is issuing Lunch Bonds in the first P2P lending campaign on PledgeMe.Lend, so it can go nationwide, and expand to dinner and other initiatives
• My Food Bag has launch a new brand called Bargain Box, which delivers ingredients for meals which are simpler, cheaper and quicker than its original products
• Whitestone has created a "cheese club" with 3 membership options, essentially a subscription service for monthly deliveries of their cheese, along with condiments and special offers
• Little Bird Organics has released the unbakery app for iPhone, putting over 100 wholefoods, plant-based recipes at your fingertips at a fraction of the price of a cookbook
• Sachie of Sachie's Kitchen has moved beyond cooking classes, cookbooks and TV shows to launch a range of supermarket meal kits so you can easily bring pan-Asian flavours into your home (actually launched in May)
• [Added 23 July 2016: Crescent Dairy Goats is no longer a goat farm with award-winning goat cheeses, but has rebranded itself to Crescent Cashew Nut Cheese to make the non-dairy equivalent]

Events

• The Melt (from Friday 1 July) - grilled cheese pop up every Friday and Saturday in July with sandwiches, sides and desserts from Little Eats at Craft Kitchen in Ponsonby
• Canada Day @ Al's Deli (Friday 1 July) - Canadian celebrations at the Queen Street store, as the new Kingsland store is not quite ready yet
• Independence Day @ Orleans (Saturday 2 July) - live music and food and drink specials to celebrate one of the most important dates of the American calendar
• Murica! 4th July Party! (Saturday 2 July) - American inspired street food vendors also help to celebrate a couple of days early at the Street Food Collective
• Vegan Takeover (Saturday 9 July) - Vegan food at the Street Food Collective, before it closes from mid-July to November for renovations
• Popped Culture #3 (14 - 16 July) - Coffee Supreme's breakfast popup returns, this time collaborating with Hayden Scott from Al Brown and Company, at a former mechanics workshop in Grey Lynn
• Food Space at Matariki (15 - 17 July) - street food at Silo Park for Matariki on the Waterfront
• The Food Show 2016 (28 - 31 July) - annual food expo with cooking demos, products and tastings at the ASB Showgrounds
• Auckland Restaurant Month 2016 (August) - details will be announced early July, but generally participating restaurants will have special menus for the month of August
• Chocolate and Coffee Show (3 - 4 September) - 3rd annual showcase of chocolate producers and coffee roasters at The Cloud
• Souk El Auckland (Sunday 25 September) - this event with Lebanese food and drink, which was previously rescheduled to Saturday 23 July, has now been postponed until September
• MexFestival (Saturday 29 October) - Mexican fiesta at The Cloud with song and dance, exhibitions and food!
• Vegan Food Fair II (Sunday 6 November) - over 100 vendors selling vegan food and products
• Taste of Auckland (17 - 20 November) - signature dishes from Auckland's top restaurants at Western Springs

Also worth a mention: although the Visa Wellington on a Plate (12 - 28 August) is not in Auckland, there are some fantastic events organised as well as dining specials, and you can vote for the best burger and cocktail in Wellington. If you are into craft beer, you can also time this with the Beervana festival (12-13 August).