If Northcote shopping centre has five Asian supermarkets, then Dahua Supermarket is king of them…read moreall. It seems to be at least four times as big as the others and even has a few specialty counters inside. I noticed one that seemed to be a kind of herbal pharmacy also selling ugg boots, and a meat counter selling all sorts of delicacies, from very cheap chicken breasts through to chicken's feet, pig's snouts, and even pig tero-tero (English translation apparently). Having a quick look around I think this may be the cheapest and have the widest variety of the Asian supermarkets in Northcote, perhaps why it is so big and popular.

The Northcote shopping centre has a grand total of five Asian supermarkets. That seems like a high…read moreratio of Asian supermarkets to shops for any shopping centre. They all seem to stock a wide range of cheap vegetables, and all kinds of weird and wonderful packaged goods you would not find in most NZ diets. I was wondering what the difference was between the five Asian supermarkets and why someone would shop in on and not the other. Royal Save Mart seems to be Korean, because I notice they sell Kim Chi, their characters are more rounded than Chinese, and I asked them if they were Korean to make sure. One particular delicacy I noticed in the snack aisle, instead of chips they sell several varieties of packaged roast squid.

After reading an NZ Herald article about the ethnic grocery stores of Auckland I figured it was…read moretime to really see what Glenfield had to offer in the way of Korean supermarkets. Hanyang is super easy to get to just off the motorway, directly on Wairau road, and has an easy parking lot. It not only has a supermarket, but also a hair salon, eyeware stand, clothing store and 2 food stalls (which weren't open on Sunday). The supermarket also included a stand with prepared Korean side dishes, a Korean veggie stand, as well as a Korean butcher. It is helpful to know that these stands act in silo of the supermarket so you need to pay at each individual counter (this is standard practice in most Korean supermarkets in Auckland). The offering of imported Korean products had all the usual suspects plus a few more that I hadn't seen else where. Price was very reasonable compared to other Korean shops and the staff were super friendly. I was greeted in English just fine and when they realized I could speak Korean switched with comfort and ease. I decided to do a tour of 3 other Korean supermarkets in Glenfield to compare and Hanyang definitely wins on location, quality of veggies, and friendliness of staff. Will definitely be going back!

Right next to the amazing Diehl's bakery is a specialty store that imports European food and sells…read moreit to Auckland's community of Europeans who are looking for the taste of home. When I went there with my partner (who lived in Austria for a number of years growing up), he went straight for the Milka chocolate and grabbed bar after bar like it was going out of fashion. I played around in the candy section too and came away with some weird and wonderful treats... like salted liquorice! What the hell is this stuff?! At Edelweiss there's also a cabinet of fresh and refrigerated food - my partner bought a liver and cheese roll, which is apparently a delicacy in Germany. They make these rolls in Austria too, except they are cheese, liver and more cheese!

The CBD location of the Royal Save Mart family is a great Korean supermarket for inner city…read moredwellers without a car. Unlike the small colony of Korean supermarkets on the North Shore, this Royal Save Mart packs a punch for the size of store and location. They have a very respectable selection of Korean (and some Japanese) imported dry goods, snacks, drinks and frozen foods. They offer a range of frozen Korean style meat cuts from a butcher on the Shore and also carry a range of Kimchi both imported from Korea as well as some locally made stuff. Now you may be thinking that the local stuff is fresher and should taste better. However, as Kimchi is fermented cabbage this is a bit irrelevant and the more important factor is the use of Korean chiles and fish sauce (which most NZ made Kimchi does not contain). Royal Save Mart's Kimchi selection is very reasonably priced especially when you buy the larger pack sizes. Above all the Royal Save Mart has a little food corner that is open until about 5 or 6pm. I haven't been able to sample the food myself as I never visit this store when it is open (I don't work in the city). However, the women that run the food corner also have a whole fridge of fresh made Korean side dishes (panchan) that are so reasonably priced and so damn delicious that I would imagine the mains are just as delectable. These women are from the deep south of Korea which is known to have the tastiest recipes in all of the land. Compared to the 3 other Auckland Korean supermarkets I've been to, this one has the best and varied selection of side dishes. If you want to impress your friends by cooking Korean food, you can buy the side dishes from these ladies and make 'cheats bibimibop' (pic uploaded). Only downside is a real lack of parking, but its in the CBD so get over it and enjoy!

This place is huge and newly opened on the shore. Basically an Asian supermarket, stocked with the…read morefamiliar and unfamiliar. Handy if you're after a specific ingredient for a special meal. The meat section is a bit offputting to the unadventurous, and the live fish tanks too (not a fan of eels). But you're safe up and down the aisles and in the large freezer section. Spotted cheap Chinese spoons, bargain at 25c each for the next dinner party.

On a whim, I decided to check out as many Korean supermarkets that I could find in Glenfield. I…read morestopped after I found Wang Foodmarket, a little bit b/c I was tired but mostly b/c this place ticks all the boxes. I cannot be sure but the quality of the premises looks very new and shiny. It has the layout of regular supermarket like a Countdown or New World, except all the shelves are lined with products from the homeland and K-POP is playing in the background. The aisles are wide and uncluttered so it is easy to navigate your trolley through the store. Their general selection, butcher and frozen sections deserve special mention. Also, of all the stores I went to today, Wang Foodmarket has the lowest prices. The quality of their veggies and side dish selection was a bit average but they are doing so many other things right I can overlook it and still give 5 stars. Most ethnic supermarkets are notorious for being stuffed to the brim a bit haphazardly to a point of making them intimidating. Wang Foodmarket really overcomes that to make it your adventure shopping enjoyable again.

Shortly after arriving to New Zealand from India, Sanjay and Vibha set up business in the area…read moreclosest to their heart...Food. A decade ago they founded "North Shore Super Store" the area's first Indian grocery store which soon flourished thanks to business acumen and an ability to constantly cater to their community. http://www.spiceneasy.co.nz offered online shopping - again considering the convenience of their customers with busy lifestyles. 'Spice n Easy' was the natural progression from here, inspired by the interest customer showed to want to cook authentic Indian food with true flavours. Catering to this ever increasing demand for mixed blends of Indian spices, they organized Indian Cookery workshops at the local Highbury Community House, which led to their idea for pre measured and packed spices including tried and tested family recipes to make it very simple for people like "me" to cook authentic Indian dishes at home. Trips back to India, prototypes, quality inspections then product positioning and distribution chains are all behind them now, 'Spice n Easy' is distributed in hundreds of nationwide outlets including butchers/Greengrocers and various sea food markets. Totally packaged in New Zealand, this is a Birkenhead success story.

I love these mixes sadly my favourite the Prawn one doesn't seem to be available in Wgtn.read more

It's amazing how the smell of hot bread can transport you to a different place in an instant…read more.. This is exactly what Diehl's Bakery does to me. I may be a bit biased admittedly (being half German) but I do think the big range of sour dough breads, pretzels and pastries make even a longer trip worthwhile. Bread is probably the number 1 thing that Germans abroad winge about and I can guarantee that EVERY German in Auckland knows about Ingo Diehl's bread heaven. Don't be fooled by the slightly industrial look of the bakery and give the Black Forest or Pumpkin and Carrot bread a go (my partner keeps on saying that you could kill someone quite easily by hitting them on the head with one of those breads that you do actually need to have teeth for) . One of my favourites would have to be the poppy seed cake that is nearly as good as my mum's. I'm praying to God that Ingo has no plans of retiring any time soon.

I can't really comment on the authenticity of Diehl's German bakery items, as I don't really know…read moreanything about German breads and sweets. All I can say is that the pretzels are amazing. However, the awkward little parking lot is treacherous, and they sell out of things quickly because they have quite a loyal and plentiful following. Don't be surprised if your favourites are gone when you get there. But fear not, I've seen lots of people there picking up their orders that they called in and had held for them. So try this if you have your heart set on a particular item (or 10!) Also, their hours are limited, so make sure you check their hours of operator before you show up there to avoid disappointment.

We can verify that their good reviews are based on solid evidence that Bann Sang is one of the best…read moreKorean restaurants in Auckland's downtown area! Located on a trendy area of High Street near Victoria, the restaurant (upstairs and downstairs as well) serves excellent and authentic Korean cuisine. We ordered Dolsot bibimbap (hot pot style) and the rice was crunchy on the bottom as required. Yum! The kalbi short ribs with rice and ban chan (veggie side dishes) was well seasoned and tender! Would go here again. Friendly service too. Despite the excellent food and a trendy location, Bann Sang refuses to over-inflate prices- they are very reasonable!

We came here because I wanted soup. I had the galbi tang- short beef ribs soup with glass noodles,…read moreradish, egg and spring onion. I ordered it as a full set, which comes with side dishes and rice. I loved the comforting broth. There was a good amount of meat in the soup, so I was pretty full afterwards. The sides were average, and I could've gone without them.