How could I give a supermarket five stars?!…read more To start with, when I first walked in, I thought I'd got the wrong place. There are these stunning bright red chandeliers set over a large dining table just to the side of the main entrance. Then I realised this was just a rather different supermarket shopping experience. I initially popped in just because I was in the area and in a hurry - I have closer regular supermarket. But whenever I'm around Half Moon Bay or feel like a change in the drudgery of grocery shopping, I always head in here. It's not a big barn of a place, and is actually quite small as far as supermarkets go, but it's packed with everything you'd expect from even the giant-sized competitors. I can't say how nice the shopping experience is - it's quiet enough to actually think, and the sometimes the staff greet you as you walk the aisles..! And a bonus; the sign on the door says it's locally owned and operated.

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.

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!

For years one of my favourite supermarkets. I am a wheelchair user and accessibility can be a…read moreproblem but I make it work So imagine my surprise when the first time in 6 years something is wrong with the vegetables ... (truss tomatoes- the not ripe ones Crack over the next couple of days and mould quickly grows in the cracks and they start leaking...only ones it didn't happen were the 2 ripe ones I bought) ... so I take them back 5 days later when I am able to get out and instead of an apology and a promise to look into the infected tomatoes, I am accused of lying, told I didn't buy them there...where is the receipt to prove it was there shop etc. I took a photo and left the tomatoes on the counter ... almost $12 a kilo ... and left the shop. Something is seriously wrong with the tomatoes they sold me and they need to take responsibility for them.

Take the overpass from the cheapest carpark in Auckland City and you'll end up in Lim Chhour…read moresupermarket. It's a maze of food from all over Asia - interesting, varied and always cheap. Lim Chhour's range of vegetarian protein/fake meat took me by surprise - I never knew you could get vegetarian versions of EVERYTHING. More often than not, everything tastes a little bit sweet for my liking, but the range should have something for every vego. I'm also a fan of the super cheap tofu products in the fridge and the masses of chocolate and sweets. I can't say the same for the vegetables, which always look a little worse for wear.

This Pak N Save is nice and new and modern, well on the outside its modern, but in the inside its…read morejust this big massive warehouse, with big wide aisles. Its stuffed from floor to ceiling mainly full of packaged stuff, every time I come here it just reminds me of how much packaged food we eat these days, from cereal to snacks to noodles to canned food - a whole big aisle full of canned food, chips, biscuits, bread. I wonder what our Great Grandparents would think about all the packaged food we eat these days, I'm sure they would think we were crazy, just look at your trolley next time you go to the supermarket at your trolley full of packaged food. Anyway the location of this supermarket is pretty convenient as its accessible to a number of suburbs and has easy motorway access, I mainly come during the week when its nice and quiet thank god, as I'm sure in the weekend it gets pretty busy. I also often grab a coffee from the expresso coffee stand, I do wish that they had coffee cup holders in the trolleys. I do think also from shopping at New World and Countdown that Pak n Save is the cheapest and its good if you don't mind the packing at the end. They also have a convenient fuel station next to the supermarket and you can use the discount voucher provided on your receipt. I still think the petrol should be cheaper though considering its self service.

Nice big store, good layout and easy to find what you need, loads of parking, easy to get in and…read moreout off car park,

On visits to New Zealand, I love shopping at New World. With locations around the country, I feel…read morelike they have the best selection and prices for the things I need. I stopped by this location, just off of Victoria Park, to buy a bunch of goodies for friends and family at home. The store is upstairs, with easy access on all sides. They have a high ceiling with bright lights and well organized aisles - it's easy to find what you're looking for without asking. I first became aware of them due to their excellent beer selection, both cases and singles for sale, which is something I love to take home and share. I also bought many bars of our favorite Whittaker Chocolates; they were also on sale and about a third as much as duty free shops at the airport. If you're a tourist looking for consumables to take home, this is a great spot. Everyone working there was friendly, I appreciated the cashier handling everything with care and explaining the rewards system even though I wouldn't be using it. It's also a convenient walk here from the CBD.

I have shopped at Victoria Park for a number of years, so have experienced the chaos on Sunday…read moreafternoons, and the sheer joy of buying groceries at midnight - bliss! They have long opening hours, from 7am-midnight I think. Generally 'New World' stock everything you need for a dinner party and sell a great selection of NZ & international wine, and cider/beer of course! This supermarket is used also for a lot of media events - including a catwalk show for 'Stolen Girlfriends Club', NZ Fashion House not so long ago!:) Fabulous location, with ample parking to boot.

I only came here to find Feijoa, or pineapple grava. So delicious and tasty that I am obsessed &…read moreaddicted! They had them and also had Feijoa yogurt...so delicious and tasty. I grabbed 6-7 of them & they only costed $3.5 NZ dollars. For a fruit that has so many health benefits, it is a bargain. Feijoa taste like a combination of pineapple, Apple and mint. It is low glycemic, high fiber, potassium, lots of vitamin C, B, and prevents colon cancer, defense again depression and infection. It is soft inside, you eat it by cutting it in half and scope out the meat inside, like eating kiwi. Totally in love with Feijoa!

This appears to be one of the more busy locations, as it's between SkyCity and Queens St. But for…read morethe most part it serves it purpose. It's pretty much like an expanded version of a convenience store. You can get every type of meat, tons of sausage variety, plenty of cheeses to choose from. Chips galore, pasta, canned tuna, you name it and they've probably got it. They've got a deli section, a small bakery, and fresh fruit and vegetables. Things worth buying here: The lamb sausage, Bluebird Chicken potato chips, and one of the best chocolate milks ever made, the Puhoi Valley Real Belgian Chocolate Milk. So freakin' good, you gotta try it! They've even got different KitKats, and a wide variety of Whitman's chocolates to give away as souvenirs. Other than that, the prices seem reasonable, but I'd rather get my sweets and alcohol over at a New World location.

This place is absolutely fantastic. Very cost effective, huge range of different products, items of…read moregood quality. Given supply issues still impacting supermarkets you can 9 out of 10 times find an equivalent here. Big range of herbs, spices, ingredients, both local and imported. Staff are friendly. The ambiance is enhanced by the huge variation of people who shop here. Broad cross section of the community. I would hazard a guess, if you know this place you will come back repeatedly. If you don't know this place pay it a visit.

This place was a great wee find! Tucked in the corner of the Wendy's carpark in Mt Eden, it's very…read moreeasy to go about your life without ever realising Bulk Food Savings exists. Bulk Foods stock a very wide range of products, including dried fruits, nuts, organic products, flours and cereals, and all sorts of international food I'd never even heard of. Pepperdews, pomegranate molasses, Ceres organics muesli for only $9 and literally the biggest jar of gherkins I have ever seen - Bulk Food Savings was a delight to explore. I was stoked to find pure vanilla extract and vanilla pods in this store - they were much cheaper than at places like Nosh, and are great to use in baking. The only downside of Bulk Foods was the staff. They weren't particularly inviting nor were they very friendly, but hey - when the variety of food is that good and the prices are so low, who cares? You can't have everything! Bonus: It smells fantastic in Bulk Foods - all the different spices merge in to one mouth-watering fragrance that instantly inspires you to cook delicious Indian curries.

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.