Oooh yummy smoky grilled burgers! I finally decided to try Burger Fuel and these are the best burgers I've ever had. And I only had the Hamburginis. I know where I'm getting my next burgers!

This place makes absolutely fantastic Indian food. Lamb Korma, Butter Chicken, Naan's - even the rice on its own is very good. The staff are helpful and friendly too.

I almost always choose this place for lunch and their coffee is good too. My favourite is their corn beef vogel sandwich for only $4.

This is my favourite lunch spot around Newton - though we can't go every day because it costs too much. We try to make it at least every second week though! The quality is awesome. It's never quiet at Betsia!

The local Subway, pretty much the same as every Subway but conveniently located in Kumeu (if you stay nearby!) and open until 8pm on every night of the week. Friendly staff too.

I absolutely love pan au chocolate, in fact I love them so much in the past I was known to eat one daily… hey if the French do it then it’s got to be good right? Pyrenees make the best pan au chocolate in town. End of story. Think decadent chocolate covered in indulgent crumbly pastry. The messier it is to eat, the better it seems to taste. Grab yourself a hot baguette straight from the oven, a selection of cheeses and a fresh pastry before wandering down to the park for a relaxing weekend picnic brunch.

Rosehip is a surprising little cafe right across the road from the Parnell Rose Gardens. The draw card isn’t the coffee, although I hear they make a good brew, what brings us back time and again are the eclairs. Yes the eclairs; those oblong shaped pastries made with choux dough and filled with a cream, topped with icing. Eclairs often get pushed aside to make way for their american cousin, the doughnut, but they will be undervalued no more. Move over doughnut its time for the eclair to take centre stage.

This is the perfect destination for a Sunday drive through the rolling hills of rural Auckland. The market has the usual stalls selling fresh fruit and veges, handmade cheeses and delicious chocolates but the reason I would drive for miles to get here is a little stall named Sabores. When you think Argentina you probably think steak, sun and seductive tango. When I think Argentina I think pastries, empanadas to be specific. When you try Sabores’ empanadas for yourself you will understand why I would make the trip out here when I’m feeling a little worse for wear. Forget about pies, you will have yourself a new Sunday morning comfort food. They even make amazing vegetarian options - and that’s one thing that is lacking in the pie market! Empanada: 1 Pie: 0

Oh La Cigale, how desirable you are with your sexy name and your effortless charm. Oh and your pastries! Everyone knows how amazing your pastries are, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a line so long at a market before. Sometimes you sell out of my favourite sweet treat the trusty pan au chocolate but I’ve come to realise that this is not the end of the world because even the very last pastry left behind fulfills my every sweet desire.

Little Bread & Butter is my favourite place to stop and pick up a fresh pastry on my walk to work. Ponsonby Central is a playground for the modern foodie but sometimes classic is best and you can never go wrong with an early morning indulgence. Not only do they hit the right note with their freshly baked goods but the modern industrial look is effortlessly trendy.

One of the best all day breakfast spots in Auckland.

Whether you’re on a budget or just a lover of Pacific Island Soul Food. Famous for it’s Fry-Bread and Raw Fish.

For those fans of the classic Kiwi Pie for breakfast.

For those who are still partying in the morning, you’ll probably be getting up just in time for these. Food stalls from all over the world and super cheap.

This is my favourite spot for picking up dinner on the go. The rolls are around $10 and they’re full of delicious free range pulled chicken, amazing sauce (korean bbq is the best) and veges. If you’re feeling super healthy go for one of their salads.

Half and half - eggs and mushrooms on toast is a life changing experience on bread. Plus it’s cheap as chips and they do the best coffee in Auckland.

Grab a sambal curry for $14 - it’s healthyish and most importanly cheap/delicious. (if you don’t care about healthy too much, grab a roti to).

All the food here is cheapish, gluten free, organic, sugar free and all that other good stuff. So you don’t have to feel bad when you can’t stop eating their delicious fare.

In a rush and hungry? Grab the protein boost from Tank, it’s packed with all sortsa healthy stuff and it fills you up for only 7 bucks.

Since it opened Coco’s has been our most beloved local. It is casual yet chic and has the best Italian inspired bistro food. The fish special is always delicious and the meatballs are robust. Polenta chips and aioli are a must every time and the chocolate tart and tiramisu are an indulgent way to end the meal. I love that the owner’s, sisters Damaris and Renee, are always on the floor along with a bevy of friendly staff.

Now that I have discovered The Blue Breeze Inn I constantly have a craving for their food. In particular the mushroom hotpot, which is a bowl of exotic Asian mushrooms and silky tofu in a chilli spiked broth, which warms you from the inside out. I also had the delicious black pepper pickle cabbage salad which offered a complex tart contrast and a pot of jasmine tea which unfurled in the glass teapot and made for a very picturesque meal. There were many other items on the menu I would like to try including the banquet meal which seems good value at $55 for 10+ items and would be a fantastic way to sample all of the different tiers to the menu. Service was exemplary and the surrounds were laid back with great tiki bar style decor.

Everything on the menu is good here but particularly the ceviche, watermelon and tomatillo salad, mandioca chips, slaw…I could go on. There is a great wine list and it had a well worn Latin feel to the decor.

Mexican Specialities is one of the places I like to go as a special treat - as often as possible! Unfortunately due to it's location in Ellerslie it is not as often as I'd like. I am happy to sit down by myself and order the unctuous bean dip with house made corn chips and the sublime prawn taco. If I am feeling particularly indulgent I top it off with the spicy Mexican hot chocolate. Heaven.

Epolito’s is run by the enigmatic Chicky and she makes the best pizza in Auckland. Authentic New York style, the Eastside with artichoke, lemon and Parmesan and Sonino with pesto, olives and feta are taste sensations.

This is the place to go for healthy salads that fill you up. Menu changes every week.

Heaps of flavour packed into nutritious wraps.

One of the best places in the city to find fresh 'fast food'. They have a wide range of salads to cater for every healthy apetite.

Great summer refreshment or winter pick-me-up. Real fruit, for real.

Get your omega 3, 6 and 9 wrapped in seaweed goodness and enjoy the fresh taste while you're at it.

Where else can you buy a bamboo toothbrush, organic grains, kombucha and vegan wine. I mean, does everyone not live like this? No. They don't because Commonsense is pretty expensive actually. But also, It's a great place to buy staples, and they do have almost everything under one roof.

Organic Boxes is a delivery service that brings fresh, wholesome, high quality organic produce right to your door. The boxes range in size, and each contain a selection of fruit and vegetables. You order which size box you would like, as well as any additional dairy products, eggs, or coffee, pay for it online, and it appears magically to your doorstep! What a dream.

Though you wouldn’t necessarily expect it, Yan’s is a treasure trove of cheap, organic finds, from exotic rices and grains to teas and medicinal mushrooms (most mushrooms are inherently organic due to their sensitivity to pesticides). Yan’s is always a treat to visit, regardless of your reason for being there; you’ll always find something interesting and delicious.

People’s coffee offers a wholesome, feel good coffee experience, right down to the friendly, knowledgable staff. Specialising in fair trade organic coffee, made with Zany Zeus organic milk to boot, People’s is just a great business. The flagship store is tucked up on Constable street in Newtown, but you can find the delicious coffee at numerous cafes around the Wellington region, such as Milkcrate, and Vicbooks cafe.

Little Bird Organics is coming to Wellington! Ok, don't get too excited, it's just for on weekend, for the merrymaking that is Wellington on a Plate. Disappointingly short though their stay is, you can get in on the deliciousness via ticketek, for one of the multicourse, undoubtedly amazing showcases at Prefab Hall on the 15th-16th of August.

One of the best new places to hit the North Shore in recent years! Farro changed my life. :P It is big, a small supermarket! They have lots of specialist ingredients, amazing cheeses and loads of different flavours of macroons, which are my favourite thing in the world. They do amazing bung in the oven mini quiches and croissants and things too, which are really, really good!

I think the prices at Nosh are surprisingly reasonable for everyday things, given how good the quality is and that a lot of the fresh produce is organic too. If you want to buy a nice cheese, or olive oil or wine, it’s actually pretty sweet to go here and get the other groceries you want too and get the lot in one place! So many delicious treats in here!

Sabato is a long-standing institution for Auckland foodies! And with good reason! They have a great selection of specialist pastas, cheeses and cooking ingredients, like saffron and squid ink and truffle. Always have tasters on offer to sweeten your visit and the staff are really friendly!

Super convenient spot to get really good quality fresh produce in the middle of Ponsonby. Plus they have lots of semi-gourmet goodies too! Great cheeses, wines, bread, pesto, tapenade, etc. They also sell a beautiful range of fresh flowers.

This place is ideal if you want to prepare something special or festive or moreishly delicious that’s gluten free! Great if you want to treat someone that can’t have gluten. They will feel positively spoilt! They also sell a great range of ingredients for making your own gluten free treats!

Best sausages on the market.. Gotta love the pork and fennel and bushman sausages

great organic and clean foods...

cheap yet so fresh veges..great value

amazing selection of premium cut meats.

wow this pace had some amazing stuff.. loved the avocados and the asparagus.. yum

BHB Fisheries has been my staple takeaway shop for over 15 years. Don't let its humble store front and creaky screen door fool you; BHB Fisheries is the bastion of quality fish n chips for miles around.

Muzza's Pies is a family-owned pie shop which hand-makes their products from 3am every single day. The quality and homeliness of their pies are impeccable, and with an average price point of $4.00, Muzza's has no parallel in Auckland.

Bake & Beans is an independent Indian bakery on Dominion Road. They create all of their products from scratch yet maintain a factory level of consistency. They also bake their own cakes and have made-to-order options - the perfect place to get a custom birthday cake created. I recommend getting a butter chicken or lamb mince and cheese pie - $4.00.

If you drive past in the evening and see hordes of people queued outside the Sandringham shops, it's almost certainly for this Indian cuisine. Paradise serves impeccable, authentic food at very reasonable prices, and I don't hesitate in making the 15-minute drive to pick up a sizeable $10 biryani dish just for my lunch. There are two aspects to Paradise Indian: the restaurant and the takeaway. The former does not take telephone bookings - people are seated on a first-come first-served basis. However, if you are buying as a takeaway make sure to phone the takeaway and place your order in advance so that your food will be ready when you arrive.

A day trip to Mangere exclusively to eat an assortment of pancakes, ice cream, and fresh strawberries can be easily justified when you're visiting The Strawberry Farm. Be aware that they accept cash only, with no EFTPOS available.

Great coffee in an awesome place :)

Bought a loaf of bacon and cheese bread from the wonderful staff at the Bakehouse this morning and  I've almost finished it!

Had a brilliant coffee with my mum here! Had wonderful services as well, possibly the best service I have ever had in a cafe!!!!

great coffee and a wonderful atmosphere! brilliant querky place to drink coffee with friends

This is the best bakery of all time! the food is fresher and tastes better than any other bakery! great meals at resonible prices, and there pies are to die for!

Cosy like the embrace of a loved one and fresh like crisp spring water, Mexican Specialties is a smack of tradition with the convenience of the era we live in. Love the authentic burritos and cultural treats on offer lovingly made and beautifully presented.

The flare and showmanship imbued in a proud warrior culture. Traditions of Samurai transposed to culinary swordplay. Immerse yourself in the tastes, smells and sounds of the Orient as your personal Teppan-Yaki Chef caters to your wants and desires for lunch, dinner or dessert.

Breakfast with a twist.. of what? At Little Bird Unbakery this question is assuredly answered. The answer is everything! The Chia Bircher is the one for anyone who enjoys muesli or yoghurt, the fact that it contains neither is all part of the mystique and part of the experience of raw food at it’s finest.

The sizzle and spice of Central America and the Southern US brought together on a single platter. Feasting on bite-sized treats and full dishes alike as the atmosphere builds to encapsulate the restaurant. Perfection for 2 or many more, any night of the week!

Takeaway of the year and staple of the Mt Wellington community, Big J’s is the epitome of ‘easy win’! Great for the family feast or the solo treat, the quality and taste are never compromised regardless of your budget.