Jan 14 2009
Japanese cuisine
In terms of food, the lifestyle of a typical university student requires a cuisine that is fast, inexpensive, and hopefully healthy enough to not kill the said student before he or she finishes her studies. In this sense, Japanese food ranks right up there with the healthy lot - salad bars, kebabs(smart choices regarding sauce and dish can accomplish this), and vegetarian cafes are some of what comes to mind when I think about what’s the ‘healthier’ foods I’ve eaten in the past few months.
Location-wise, Japanese food is very common around Auckland university. Barring the local uni-sushi, where the food is average, price is just a tiny bit overpriced, and placed right next to the Indian stall, the Chinese takeaway, and the kebab shop, there are a host of other Japanese eateries around the university. The closest sushi place would have to be the Korean-operated series of Kubick cafes, of which there are two in the city. They offer decent Japanese-Korean sushi and food (which invariably involves kimchi at some stage) and is generous enough in portions to leave you wanting for nothing else but a good walk.
The other (and better) sushi place near Auckland university is the Bien and Bian sushi cafes, one which is located on Mount street, right across the corner from Forte convenience and Starbucks on Symonds St, where they have sushi such as prawn tempura, tonkatsu, and other nice sushi varieties. I mention Bien and Bian in the same breath as their operations are largely the same and not that much different in terms of the quality and variety of the sushis offered.
Another type of Japanese food popular with university students are the Japanese Ramen bunch, which are widely available across the city. The closest venues are Mentatz on Kitchener St and Tampopo at the bottom of Anzac ave. While Tampopo offers slightly better ramen and tiny bit cheaper, their soup base is more oily (hence more flavorful) and it takes an additional 5 minute walk down the Anzac street slope to reach the place.
The other choices for ramen that I know of is the Daikoku ramen cafes, one located on Victoria street opposite the Bungy place, and the other one by Britomart; Ichiban ramen on Albert street, opposite the Stamford plaza hotel (within which lies a dessert buffet venue!); finally there is also one on Elliot street, beside the Midcity plaza - the name of the stall escapes me, but one thing I do remember about their specialiality is that their dishes are smaller in portion than any other places I’ve visited in Auckland. Unfortunately the taste were not as refined as their portion size and it’s highly likely that is the reason I’ve forgotten their name…
Finally, there are the Yakitori bars that are also very popular within the Asian and asian food lovers scene. Ken Yakitori, located on Anzac
As a lover of Japanese food, I will endeavor to bring you reviews of the above venues and more in the coming months. Please stay tuned and if you have any special review requests or suggestions about what we do on this site, please leave a comment or just flick an email to Franklin.liu@gmail.com =)
