u/Afraid-Management829

Address: 7/254 Lincoln Road, Henderson, Auckland 0610

Apologies for spelling it with v instead of w, I am used to spelling "bikanervala";)

This place opened 1 month ago and we finally went to try it out. It's the third 100% vegetarian place within 500 m from each other in Henderson and I encourage you to try all three (Novelty Sweets just over the corner and Bikanervala a 3 min drive or 8 min walk ).

We had a Regular Thali, an uttapam(which came with two chutneys and sambhar) and a samosa, followed by lots of sweets with masala tea. The food arrived quickly, piping hot and tasted freshly made. The curry was packed with tasty paneer and onion. The naan wasn't burned at the bottom(which is often the case in other places), it was so tasty that I could just eat it alone.

A rich variety of sweets some of which I haven't seen before, looked inviting (those that we bought, tasted delicious). You can choose a box size all of which look great and would make a nice present.

What makes a good place great is the presentation and we enjoyed funky trays which the food came in as well as cute clay cup that Masala tea came in (althought it was too hot to hold, we figured the way). The seating was comfortable and the decor looked modern and welcoming. The menu was well balanced and not overwhelming, it included both South and North Indian dishes as well as some Indo-Chinese ones (I am curious about the Noodle burger!).

The prices are very reasonable, in my opinion, this is the most reasonably priced place out of three (but all three are a must visit).

The only three improvements that we could think of would be refurbishing the floor, which is flaking as well as putting a hand drying device in the handwash room. The chutney cavities in Uttapam tray seemed tiny, more chutney would be great;)

The place had a constant stream of customers while we were there. We will definitely be back for more. Love the variety of eateries West Auckland has on offer! Their FB page is quite active and there are different specials on offer.

spotted in Northcote and Auckland CBD ;)

The photos say it all. Bought a blueberry danish which was raw inside and a fancy expensive $9,5 pastry which barely had any cream (they injected the cream after I bought it)

No email on their website to let them know how awful it was.. Good online reviews, but I won't go for the cabinet food.

EDITED-they don't have email or cell phone, just a landline, which makes it impossible to send the photos.

EDITED again it was pointed out to me that they do in facthave FB and Insta. All I did was to go to their website, which did not lest any social media. I didn't look any further "down the list", because if the business can't be bothered listing their contacts, I can't be bothered searching for them as they could be other businesses.

The reason I posted this review is so that people wouldn't buy their pastries. I doubt that it would "crush" an established business who makes most of their money from serving meals(which they seem to do well)

I have just discovered this place today, they have several branches all over Auckland. It was PACKED. I love Hot Pot, but it usually turns out of be quite expensive.

This place has a genius idea of charging $33,90 for all you can eat hotpot buffet (this includes snacks and desserts!). You are given a pot, where you cook your chosen ingredients how you like them, then you can go for more ingredients or have a soup top up.

Plenty ingredients to choose from, all looking fresh and well presented. Desserts were very unusual, I never tried any of them and was pleasantly surprised.

This place is going to be a hit with the locals. I am sure you are going to like you and your wallet will, too! I won't be eating anything for a week, I feel so full. Hot pot is perfect for this weather!

I wonder how other branches compare...

Address: 11 Totara Avenue, New Lynn

Once again, somehow there is no review of this place here, which I am going to rectify. Tucked aways in a small alley, we discovered this place just strolling around. The street is full of little eateries, all of which we would love to try. Great Mexican food is hard to find in NZ, this would be one of the best that I tried here.

We spent $94 for two mains, a generous strawberry margarita and a dessert. While a bit over our regular budget, this was a great experience.

Frozen Margarita(about $25) was big, tasty and lasted for the whole meal. I could definitely taste tequila ! We also had nachos with chicken and a vegetarian meal which came in its own edible bowl. Both arrived quickly and tasted delicious. They make their own nachos, which is very rare in NZ.

Lastly, we tried mango empanadas-something I've never tasted. They too were freshly made and were very hot (temperature-wise). Each meal was creatively presented, we enjoyed the cool water bottle(ex-tequila) and wooden bowls and spoon.

It seemed to be the second most popular lunch spot on the day we visited, the first being a cafe next door, with the usual selection of coffees and pastries.

Many more things on the menu that we would love to try in the future!

Rated 4,8* by nearly 300 Google reviewers.

these a big plastic tubs from Bunnings (or Mitre10?). white is much newer and despite me repairing it multiple times, the whole handle just fell off and I gave up. It's brittle.

The blue one was bought years ago and is still going strong without a single repair. The plastic seems of a different quality. Neither was left in the sun, so it's not that.

Anyone else experienced this with newer plastic goods?

EDITED TO ADD: looked at the bottom before throwing it away, the white one "designed in Australia, made in China", the blue one www.italio.co.nz made in NZ. Interesting...