Auckland's Best Asian Eats: Where to Start
Auckland's best Asian eats span Malaysian, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Thai and Japanese, often at honest prices. From char kuey teow to pho, dumplings to Uyghur lamb skewers, this is the deepest part of the city's food scene.
Where do you find the best Asian food in Auckland?
Across the eastern and central suburbs especially, where the city's Asian communities cluster. Asian food is the single biggest strand of Auckland eating, and it ranges from cheap, brilliant noodle and dumpling spots to polished modern dining. The east and central areas hold a lot of it, though good plates turn up across the city. Go by dish and you will not go wrong.
Noodles, dumplings and rice
Start with the staples done well. Char kuey teow at Mama Kopitiam in the east is smoky Malaysian wok cooking at its best. Beef pho at Phở Yến brings proper Vietnamese comfort, and the prawn rice roll at Fong's Kitchen is a cheap eastern-suburbs standout. For dumplings, the har gow at Lucky Fortune is classic Cantonese dim sum, delicate and worth the trip.
Skewers, ssam and something different
Then chase the dishes you will not find everywhere. The Uyghur-style lamb skewers at Jade Town are smoky, cumin-heavy and very cheap. The signature ssam at Ssam Jang is Korean wraps done properly in the CBD. KooKoo's cheese buldak roast chicken brings the fiery Korean flavour, and Tok Tok's popping prawns are a fun eastern-suburbs plate. This is where Auckland's Asian eating gets genuinely distinctive.
Going upmarket
For a smarter night, the city has modern Asian dining too. Hello Beasty in the CBD does sharing plates with a pan-Asian lean, the prawn and crab toast a standout. NOMIYA brings Japanese tapas and aburi nigiri on the city-fringe, and Thai Heart's roasted duck curry shows Thai cooking with real depth in the east. These sit at the dressier end, a step up from the cheap-and-brilliant spots.
Find your next Asian plate
Kai AKL maps Auckland's best Asian dishes to the restaurants that make them, from cheap skewers to modern dining. Works offline.
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