Devonport Connection Café  

Address

57 Victoria Rd
Devonport
North Shore City

09 445 8290

This local café is in Devonport has the looks and the space.  It can be a place to be enjoyed for families.  The only issue I had was Customer Service.  When we got there the girls behind the counter were busy doing what they were doing and it took them a while to notice us. 

After we were directed to a table we liked, the lady handed us out the menus and said that someone will come and take our order when we are ready.  We waited and waited but no one came to take our order so I had to go to the counter to place our orders.  The reply to my question, if someone is coming to take our orders, was: “No, you have to order at the counter”.  So there is no consistency in the advice customers get about how they should placing their orders. 

Food and Drinks

Eggs Benedict with bacon $13.90  Large Mocha $4.60

Although the amount of food on the plate was decent but the bread was not fresh at all.

 A bawl of large Mocha ordered came before the eggs benedict and it was a great coffee, I must say.  

Kiwi Burger $14.90  Orange Juice $4.00

The portion again was good, but the meat paddy looked like one of those precooked, frozen meat paddies which I’ve never been a fan of.  We I go to a local café or burger joint, I would like to see real handmade/homemade style meat paddy.

 So over all, I was not satisfied with the service nor with the food.

Lone Star

Address

Lone Star Cafe & Bar - Newmarket

8 Kent Street, Newmarket
Auckland 1023

09 522 4004 ‎

Lone Star is a New Zealand iconic Restaurant & Bar.  Its whole concept is around fun dinning and value for money.  I have to say, the food is really good value for money from the point of view of quality as well as portion of the dishes.

I was in Lone Star Newmarket on 21^st of March 2012 for dinner.   Although it was Wednesday night, but place was almost full.  I like the fact that it was busy, noisy and full of life.  When I looked around the restaurant, it brought the old Wild West saloons into my mind with the dimmed yellow lights, cool back and with wallpapers and the combination of dark wooden decor as well as the pictures all around. 

When we arrived we were directed to our table.  I found it very interesting that the waitress introduced herself and looked after us the whole night.  The only complaint I have is that she missed on one of the dishes that we orders and we had to wait an extra 15min for it to come out when all the other dishes were out already.  

Food and Drinks

Johnny Cash Stash (Classic) $34.50

This dish is a chicken one, chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms, cheese, tomatoes and spinach.  Beautifully cooked and presented. 

 The side dishes were, half cut and beautifully fried potatoes plus coleslaw. 

Big John the sirloin (Classic) $34.50 Large Coke $5.20

A decent size piece of steak with chunky mushroom sauce, accompanied with the half cut fried potatoes plus coleslaw.  The steak was orders to be medium and it could not be better than this.  The steak was nicely cooked on the outside and had a very nice pink colour in the middle and the best part was that it was not raw at all with no blood (just how I like my steak).  

Rockin’ Ribeye  $35.00

The highlight of this dish was the New Zealand blue cheese & Vodka sauce.  I thought it went very well with the aged ribeye.  I loved the taste, the smell and the creaminess of the sauce.  It was the best plate of the night for me.

Shank Williams (two) $28.50

The two lamb shanks on the plate were cooked to perfection, but still on the bone and not falling off it.  The amount of meat on the plate was well over sufficient.  It was simply perfect. 

Over all, I really enjoyed the food, the service and the environment in Lone Star Newmarket.  I will surely go back again and recommend it to everyone to go to.

Wagamama

Address

Sylvia Park dining lane
Mt Wellington Highway
Auckland

09 579 1949

Wagamama is a modern Asian (to me Japanese) diner.  For some reason I can’t call it a restaurant, maybe it’s because of the benches or their setup where you may be sitting right next total strangers without any space between you, but don’t get me wrong it doesn’t mean I didn’t like the whole atmosphere.  It is like when cooking style of East meets the contemporary style of West.  

We had dinner there on Friday16^th of March 2012 and found the place very nice and clean.  I enjoyed the fact that although Wagamama is an Asian diner but people from the four corners of the glob work and dine there.  The waitresses who served us were very nice, friendly and polite.  As soon as we walked through the doors, they greeted us and directed us to a table that we liked.  

 Something that I found really interesting was their baby seats.  They are pockets that will be attached (screwed) to the table (see the photo).  It was something I had never seen before and thought was very clever. 

Entrée

Ebi Katsu $11.90

Ebi Katsu is fried, bread crumbed prawns served with a very nice sweet chilli souse.  The presentation of the dish was simple but stylish.  Just make sure that you squeeze the lemon veg all over the prawns and then dip it the souse.  It was fantastic.  

Food and Drinks

Chicken Katsu Curry $18.00

I have had chicken katsu curry in other Japanese restaurants before and compared to those Wagamama’s was just average.  It was the presentation of the dish that I enjoyed the most. The rice was like the body of a bird and the two pieces of fried chicken breasts filets looked like the wings of the bird.  It was a very clever arrangement.  I thought, if the rice had a bit of salt while cooking would have made a huge difference. 

Teriyaki soba with sirloin steak $23.20 Large Coke $5.20

The steak was very nice and tender, so good it would melt in your mouth.  I liked the whole dish and its presentation.  The vegetables where cooked to perfection, not too soft and not to raw either. 

Over all, I enjoyed the whole experience and the customer service was great but I think it was over priced.

Me Ne Frego

Address

301 Manukau Rd
Epsom
Auckland City

09-630 6141

Me Ne Frego (I do not care) is a fully licensed & B.Y.O. Italian restaurant.  On Friday 9^th of March 2012 me and three others went to there to have dinner.  It was my second time there and I have to say, I love the place.  The Menus are hand written, the food has genuine Italian flavour to it and everything around you has a hand/homemade feel to it.  There are a lot of photos of old Italian movies, actors and actresses which have hand written notes underneath them.  The “Reserved” table sign is stuck into a cork cut in half and I liked the idea of making the best use of what you’ve got.  Everything feels HOMELY here.  

When you go to have dinner in Me Ne Frego, you need to keep in mind that it is a small place (fits about 25 people) and most probably you’ll be sitting very close to other people.  On the other hand, there is only the chef and one kitchen hand and between them they do everything.  That includes taking the orders, cooking the food, serving the customers, etc.  So be prepared to be served after a while.

Starters

Chicken Liver $8.00

This plate is not what you might have in mind.  The chicken liver is in the form of pate spread on pieces of bread.   All I can say is that it tasted great.

Garlic Bread $8.00

Nothing spectacular, pieces of toast with herbs, garlic and olive oil.  (I liked the Chicken liver better).     

Food and Drinks

Scotch fillet with $35.00 Orange Juice $4.50

The medium Scotch fillet was with served with some homemade chips and a bowl of salad on the side.  The fillet was perfect; the way it was cooked, portion, taste and the presentation was great.  The other interesting thing for me was the chips, which looked and tasted just like homemade chips and nothing like that frozen pre-cooked chips.   

Ragu  $20.00

Another great dish, it looked and tasted nothing like all the pasta that I had before.  

Squid pasta with back sauce $20.00 

This dish was not that great for my taste. I believe that was because, the black sauce was made of squid ink which has given the spaghetti a strong seafood smell and flavor.  Not my cope of tea.

We ordered some house wine as well which I thought that it went great with the food.  Don’t remember the price (surprise, surprise).  

The whole experience was great.  I can dine in Me Ne Frego any time.

Fiori Café

Address

99 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna

Auckland

Ph: 09 489 5098

Fiori Café is a fully licensed & B.Y.O. café.  I was there on Sunday 4^th of March 2012 for breakfast with two others.  It is a nice cosy, clean cafe with friendly staff.   

Food and Drinks

Sausage and Eggs $15.00 Orange Juice $4.50

(No Photos)

There was nothing special about this dish.  The sausages were over cooked and they had this strong smell.  I did not enjoy the dish much.   

Vegetarian Big Breakfast $18.50 Soy Mocha $4.80

The nice fresh and ripened avocado slices were the highlight of this dish.  They were smooth and creamy with a beautiful green colour of a ripened avocado.

Soy Mocha was very nice too with the right amount of sweetness and a great taste. 

Eggs Benedict with Bacon and Spinach $17.00 Trim Mocha $4.80

The amount of sauce was just right, not too much or too little.  The bacon was nice, crisp and well-cooked, not too oily or dry either so I say “just right”.

Trim Mocha was as good as Soy Mocha.

Service

The service was great.  The girls took our orders pretty quickly.   Coffees and food were served with in a few minutes which I thought was great.  Over all the customer service is good.

Hi,
I know there are a lot of food critics around who analyze different restaurants and take aways in great details but I just wanted to let everyone know the point of view of someone who just enjoys food as a consumer and not as professional food critic. 

I am still learning in how to maintain my Blog so please be patient with me and I welcome your constructive criticism and feedback so please email me your idea on masseeh1234@yahoo.com

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