Manuka Restaurant, Devonport

For lunch today we headed along to Manuka Restaurant in Devonport.  We have been here a few times over the years, with mixed experiences.

Today I had a Beef burger which was okay, but nothing special.  I would have preferred the fries to be fatter than the shoestring fries that accompanied it, and the fries didn’t actually taste that great.

Jane had a fish pie, that was comprised of salmon, white fish and chewy prawns.  It was under-seasoned, and she would not order it again.

On the positive side, the coffees were good and the food and drinks arrived in a timely manner.

We have thoroughly enjoyed the pizzas here in the past and would look to return to eating these on our next visit.

Glorious Spring Day, Brick Bay

It was the most splendid day today, glorious blue skys and soft looking fluffy white clouds! We took the opportunity to visit Brick Bay vineyard and Sculpture Trail. What a fabulous place! For starters, it is always a pleasure driving up North, getting away from Auckland and into the midst of lush green fields and kiwi bush.

Brick Bay itself is a beautiful, peaceful destination and beats nature trails in that you're not just walking for the sake of it and with a single goal of getting to the end.

Rather, you have little spots of interest all along the way and the need to keep you wits about you to spot (or in one instance, hear) the various installments. We enjoyed their Vineyard Platter for a very late lunch at about 3pm. How unlike us!

Mecca @ the Viaduct + Water

I had a meeting in the Viaduct area yesterday, and decided to pop into Mecca down in the Viaduct with a colleague for a quick bite for lunch. I decided to have Salt and Pepper Squid and my colleague had a Lasagna. We both enjoyed our meals, they arrived in a timely manner, the wait staff were courteous, and there was a good ambience about the place.

My squid was super tender and was a reasonable sized portion.

Apart from the slightly inflated prices (as expected in the Viaduct), we were a bit annoyed that when we asked for water we were presented with mineral water, which as we found out later was $7.50 . It is not the cost of it I care about, but more that when I ask for water I expect that by default it is (free) tap water and they can then upsell from there to mineral or sparkling water.

Other than that, a fine experience and I would defintely go back.

Bian Sushi - Symonds Street

Tried to organise a lunch date with my husband today, but meetings conspired against us. :( Never mind! I decided to take the opportunity to go to Bian Sushi all the same.

Now this is one cafe that is quite firmly planted on our Favourite list. Beyond a shadow of doubt, Bian Sushi does some of the (if not THE) best Sushi in Auckland.

'nough said really! Bian Sushi rocks. :)

Deve Cafe - Kingsland

We used another of our Entertainment Book vouchers yesterday and had lunch at Deve Cafe in Kingsland. Gorgeous old building complete with photos of 'as it was'. Love the lamp shades - all were prints of nature artwork they had on display, made into lamp shades. Very cool.

As for the food and coffee, we both had open sandwiches - Simon the Moroccan lamb and I had the Cajun Chicken. Simon's seemed to be pretty good, although quite lightly spiced, mine was ok, but a weird variety of flavours. Cajun, jalapeño, gruyere cheese and tomato salsa. Very odd.

Coffee was Allpress, however not what we're used to when we get it from Benediction. It wasn't burnt, but definitely a bitter tang to it and mine (long black) was quite 'thin' on overall flavour.

Nice to receive water at the table without asking, and likewise to have it replaced when we emptied the bottle.

All in all, if we're in the area, and if we've tried all the other yummy looking cafe's on the street, yes, we'd go back. But definitely not on our favourite list.