New Openings: Eateries to Try Around Auckland 20/01/17

Viva
The Kimchi Project. Picture / Babiche Martens

• You'll find new Asian fusion eatery The Kimchi Project on Lorne St in the city, a Korean-inspired cafe with a chic fitout that includes a well-designed courtyard. We're fans of the ceramics its beautifully plated food is served on — the menu covers everything from poached eggs and bacon to prawn congee and Korean-style beef tartare. See next week's Viva for Jesse Mulligan's review.
18-20 Lorne St, Auckland Central

• We love the playful names of the food on the menu at Newmarket's Tucks and Bao, found around the back of the Olympic pool on Davis Cres. Specialising in Asian-fusion street food, there are a few different varieties of bao — we like the sound of the Bad Boy Bao-ger (prime beef patty, cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, mustard and Tucks' special sauce on a toasted bao bun, $14) and the Low & Slow (pulled pork with cucumber, red onion, salad and Filipino barbecue sauce, $12) — as well as dishes such as crispy wontons and tofu, fresh rice Vietnamese paper rolls and spicy Korean chicken wings.
19 Davis Cres, Newmarket

• Keep an eye on Street Organics in Takapuna — a sister cafe to one already operating in Melbourne — which currently offers coffee, counter food and take-home meals and whole foods. A full menu of its vegan, paleo, gluten-free food is on its way but in the meantime, the rainbow lattes and the salad boxes, made fresh every morning with seasonal produce, vegan aioli, nuts and seeds, look particularly appealing following the silly season blow-out.
1 Byron Ave, Takapuna

• Torbay has a stylish new cafe called Scout, which opened this week on Beach Rd — a collaboration between Roger Liu (Hello Friends and Allies, Epsom), Mike Murphy (Kokako) and Chris Stevens (Ctrl Space).
967 Beach Rd, Torbay

• The number of places offering Filipino food with a contemporary twist is definitely a growing trend, not just here but internationally too (check out acclaimed Washington, D.C. eatery Bad Saint here). Parnell joins in with Azon run by MasterChef finalist Leo Fernandez (a former Canterbury pig farmer), and we love the look of the interesting decor and beautiful food. Currently serving a limited dinner menu, with plans for a lunch service coming soon.
112 Parnell Rd

• The food scene in Pt Chevalier continues to boom, with the latest kid on the block The Pt Chev Beach Cafe opening in the former Chevalier Point Cafe premises near Coyle Park last week. Key features include pretty vintage crockery, a slick fitout, and a sunny courtyard with a shipping container set-up serving coffee and Kapiti icecream.
506 Pt Chevalier Rd

• New in St Heliers is Porch Bar and Eatery (1 St Heliers Bay Rd), an all-day restaurant with fabulous views of the harbour in the spot which last housed Kave; and Ponsonby Central's newest resident is Miss Istanbul from the people behind Deco Eatery (Titirangi), Nomad (Pt Chevalier) and more, serving iconic Turkish food including skewers, durum wraps and more.

And in the regions . . .
Over the break we were hearing good things about these recent openings around the country.

Nourish Pod, Hamilton (1/7 Vialou St), which has an emphasis on whole foods and offers acai smoothie bowls, pressed juices, breakfasts, burgers and an incredible looking raw pad thai. The raw cheesecakes also look delish.

Husk on Ghuznee, Wellington (62 Ghuznee St, Te Aro), looks like a bit of us — and is a one-stop shop for many of the essentials: beer, coffee and coffee beans, small plates and breakfast. There's a brewery on site producing Choice Bros craft beers such as Reet Petite and I'm Afraid of Americans, and make sure you check out the merch too.

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