At the time of writing, Parklands Fruit & Vege are closed for two weeks to renovate their shop…read more Because they are such awesome people they have made little flyers to put in the bags to let everyone know. I know my household is not the only one who will miss them but they do get mad busy sometimes so I imagine their flash new shop will be worth the wait. The thing I love about this place is mainly the fact that the family that run it are so friendly and hardworking. I also know that anything I buy from here will be good - if it's not perfectly fresh and tasty, they don't sell it. Everyone has had those times with the bad bag of kiwifruit or floury apples or whatever, but if that happened here they would be so embarrassed and no doubt give you your money back. It's that kind of place; they CARE. The pricing is excellent and I've seen them help people carry their stuff to the car, give free pieces of fruit to cute littlies and genuinely be a cornerstone to the Balmoral community - it's like the pub for busy mums; if I haven't seen someone in a while, odds are I will run into them here.

This fruit shop would have to be the best fruit shop I've ever shopped at. The service there is…read moreimpeccable. The staff are all family based and each person greets you with a smile when you enter the store. Every time I go there, I am never disappointed. The fruit and vegetables there are always fresh and I can always trust that what I buy is of top quality. Everything there is top quality. Everything from the service, to the products is top notch. This shop has been here since I was a kid. It is one of the only establishments that make Balmoral what it is. Incredibly fresh fruit and a lively store run by a lovely family.

So, their smoothies have upped to $7.50. Yes, still on par with the rest of big little city but,…read morealas, no longer a "bargain." They're also now offering "for here" glass jars for said smoothies. Three cheers for sustainability! Woot.

After having heard only good things about The Organic Mechanic , I was all in !…read moreGerogie B had spied on Facebook a strawberry smoothie and asked if it was available and yes it was ! So smooth and full of that strawberry flavour with cashew , coconut milk and other amazing nutrients ! it was a winner . Great friendly service and just genuinely happy guys .

This is a fruit and vegetable and Asian grocery store. It is big and the prices are usually pretty…read morecompetitive too. They sell a lot of more tropical fruits that the supermarkets do not, due largely to the fact that a large proportion of the Asian population shop here and these more unusual fruits are what they know and love. This therefore makes getting your fruit and vegetables more exciting. They also seem to have extremely large kumara here, absolutely huge. That aside, great store. They also stock Asian grocery items like noodles, miso, cookies, drinks, dried fruits, crackers and so on. Other things like Swiss chocolate, honey, Danny's pita bread, coconut butter and fortune cookies can be found here too. The staff are really polite, the quality of the produce is good and so are the prices. There is lots of parking on site too which is great because parking in Newmarket can be a bit of a hassle so if you're passing through give it a go.

This is a great Asian grocery shop, stocking a good range of fresh produce, and a lot of grocery…read moreitems. They also have a small, very reasonably priced meat section! I've taken to shopping here over Countdown for all my fresh fruit and veg - the prices are much better, and everything tastes great. Yesterday I bought apples almost as big as my head! I also buy stuff like coconut cream, curry pastes, canned vegetables and other stuff from here at good prices, and they have some drink fridges in the back with a weird and wonderful range of different Asian drinks. The staff here are always friendly and efficient, and the store itself is clean and well stocked.

It's a perfect storm of Veggies! This is my local little fruit and vege store. It's tucked down…read moretowards the far end of Quay Street in a block of shops that caters mostly to fast food interests (KFC, McDonald's, Hells, Pizza Hut etc) so it breaks up all of that grease a little. Though I usually do my weekly shop at Countdown Quay Street, they do tend to run out of green stuff there quite often especially in the off season as it s coming up to now, so it's often a better option to go a little out of my way and head to this specialty store which I know will have the things I want. It's pretty nice looking for a casual wee fruit shop, the products are all held in wooden like structures. And is all pretty well spaced out, not like some cramped stores you can find around Auckland. The products are always fresh and appealing and colorful, and are a decent price too. So get your 5+ a day here

The 'Fruition' stall at the La Cigale French Market has a great range of gluten free pickles,…read morerelishes and chutneys, such as the lemon pickle which tastes fantastic with fish and also the Kasundi, which is a spicy tomato relish. There is also a ginger and lime syrup available which would taste great mixed into a sangria, mojito or gin on a nice summers day. The stall owner was telling me about how she grows fruit down by Waihi and makes chutneys, relishes etc from the left over fruit she does not sell. She was telling me her newest venture is that of orange juice, made from left over oranges and with no added sugar or water. The oranges themselves don't look too great on the outside but I can confirm on the inside they are completely divine. Definitely a great stall to stop at if you are at the La Cigale French Market.

The Listers Homemade Preservatives stall at the La Cigale Farmers Market have a huge selection of…read morejams, honeys, sauces, pickles and jellies, all for a reasonable $7 a jar. These are all home made, and 90% of the fruit used is all home grown by Terry and Kathy Lister themselves in Waiuku. Terry is a great talker with a typical cheeky Kiwi bloke charm, and will happily tell you all about their farm if you ask. Their 'Maharajahs Chutney' is very yummy with a real spicy bite, and tastes great on crackers with cheese. You can also find these guys hanging out at the Howick Market on Saturdays and the Clevedon Market on Sundays.

OMG this Countdown is the biggest one I've ever been to! It is so huge and very clean and well…read moreorganized too. I loved the free parking (seems to be rare in the CBD), though it's well monitored, so if you're planning to park and ditch, be careful. I have to pee like 90% of the time, so of course I had to use the bathroom at Countdown. It was not the best bathroom experience. Someone had peed all over the seat and quite a bit on the floor as well. There was toilet paper everywhere and it looked like the bathrooms weren't kept after super well, but that is the only reason that this store got 4 stars instead of 5. They have a massive selection of health foods and even better, a HUGE selection of bulk foods. One of my 2018 goals is to reduce the amount of food packaging/waste that I create, so this was an exciting day for me! Being in the center of the city, it is a busy store, and the tills were busy. I went through the self check out which was quick, and the attendant there was nice and greeting everyone. So I wouldn't expect to get in and out of here quickly unless you are going at an odd hour. The store is great and has such a great selection of bulk - I'll totally be back here next time I'm around the city center!

It was a pretty good experience, would be a five star if only the staff had treated me politely. I…read morecouldn't find the kind of bread I usually have, so when I asked a worker to check the back they just went into the back, stood there for a second and walked out! I saw them, and they didn't even TRY to help me! I'll try a different Countdown next time, hopefully they'll be better.

From the USA, I ordered a fresh box of fruit for friends in Auckland for Christmas from the Fruit…read moreWorld in Grey Lynne. Service was outstanding, as the box was delivered within two days. And my friends said the fruit was delicious. Was also easy to charge to my US credit card. It was a PERFECT Christmas present for their family. Way to go, Fruit World!!!

This is my local Fruit World and a good place to shop for fruit and vegetables. The produce is…read morealways fresh and reasonably priced, with competition from next door's Farro and Countdown across the road. Several times I've asked if they have extra stock out the back of a particular item and staff have always been friendly and courteous. The layout is easy to navigate and the produce always stacked nicely on display. They also have a decent selection of nuts and dried fruits, as well as ethnic foods. I like to buy my wraps from here, and they have delicious fresh bagels and paninis for sale too. Also check out the frozen dumplings etc in the cool stores at the front of the shop!

As a recently converted vegetarian, the smell of Jimmy's sausages cooking on a barbeque at the…read moreParnell French Market really made me miss my meat eating days. And as it turned out, I was not the only vegetarian out there tempted by the meaty smells wafting through the market - the stall owner, Nathan, readily informed me that he had once in fact sold a sausage bun to a vegetarian woman, who subsequently devoured it without much remorse. Although I managed not to succumb to these cravings, my meat-eating counterpart confirmed that these organic beef sausages were in fact delicious and that I was truly missing out. For $6, you can get a roll with lettuce, two sausages and sauces of your choice, or if you would like to cook them at home yourself you can get a pack of eight sausages, pork or beef, for a well-priced figure of $10. Jimmy's is distributed by the larger organic meat company, Te Kainga Organic, which has been producing meat since 1867 and became organic 10 years ago. You can find Jimmy's sausages stocked at New World in Remuera or you can get a roll made for you on the spot at the La Cigale French Markets or the Britomart Farmers Market.

I've been down to the La Cigale French Market a few times now, and each time I've been I have…read moreenjoyed a sausage in bread from Jimmy's little bbq stall. Each time that I have been down there I have been determined to eat something adventurous, something I have never tried before, something that I havn't really been partial to throughout my life in the hope that my pallete has matured. Each time I have been down there I have ended up eating a sausage in bread. I always put Jimmy's in the maybe list as I walk past, I then have a look around all the more adventurous food, to eventually return for a sausage in bread. They are very nice sausages.

Voted Auckland's best food market by a local newspaper, La Cigale French Market is held every…read moreSaturday from 8 AM to 1:30 PM and Sunday from 9 AM to 1:30 PM. This market is inspired by the wonderful food markets found in France. This market didn't exist when I lived in New Zealand in 2003, but I figured it would be an eye-opening experience to compare and contrast the Otara Polynesian Market. This market is just a 20-minute drive from the Otara Market, but will feel worlds away with its much pricier food options, perfectly primped dogs, live jazz performances and wine bars. If you're into high-end experiences, this will be your jam.

Awww how I wish we had something like this in Hawaii. ALL the foods looked great. The smoked salmon…read morewas by FAR the best I've had. So delicious, wish we had bought more! But it was our last night in Auckland. Some of the extras actually made the journey with us to Queenstown. Enough vendors to get your fill on the spot as well as to go. A nice assortment of foods that you still need to prepare, sides, breads, smoothies, etc. Worth a visit as a local or a tourist!