Ponsonby Central - Auckland

It's my first trip to NZ - and I have to say that Auckland certainly has that super chillax feel to it. Barely able to sight people, barely crowds and yet, restaurants and delicious-looking cafes abound. One such restaurant-dense area is Ponsonby Central - a market full of delicious looking food! I have to say, our indecisiveness on our visit left us walking up and down and back and forth for the better part of an hour. Tasty looking meatballs? A delicious looking burger? Super yummy crepes? Inject-your-own donuts? At the end of a long deliberation, we opted for 'el sizzling Chorizo' - an Argentinian BBQ place.

After choosing the place, our next dilemma was to figure out exactly what to order. The chefs/waiters at this little joint were nice, friendly and luckily, patient enough with us. Should we get a platter? or one of those awesomely juicy short ribs that the man next to us were eating? Or maybe a pork belly? After much umming and ahhing, we opted for the deliciously looking chunk of beef short rib and a chorizo.

The beef short rib was delicious! The meat, particularly that close to the bone, was medium rare and super duper tender and tasty. YUM!!! Hubby did eat a lot of it, but if it were in front of me, I would be picking up the bone and devouring it! (loosing what ever little lady-like manners I have). The chimichurri sauce was also really tasty :)

beef short rib

My chorizo was not what I expected. The sausage was full of flavour, but it was a bit pink in the middle. Being pork, I was a bit hesitant, but the waitress assured that the pork was pre-cooked and that it was meant to be a bit pink. I took a dive, ate it anyway, and didn't get sick :) The bread was also cooked on the grill - it was a bit dense but it went well with the meats. The toasted almond slices on top of the salad was also heaps delectable.

chorizo

After the meaty meal, we walked by 'the Dairy', the shop next door and couldn't pull away from their ice cream cookie sandwich. This was two fresh cookies of our choosing, sandwiching a large scoop of icecream, also of our choosing, all topped with fairy floss. ZOMG sugar overload!!! We had the anzac cookie and the choc fudge cookie with a butterscotch icecream... and between the two of us, we were unable to finish it. It got a bit messy to eat though, as if you bite the freshly baked cookies, the icecream gets squeezed out of the sides.

icecream cookie sandwich

Loved the food aromas here at Ponsonby Central. Would not say no to another trip here just to try the other stores.

El Sizzling Chorizo & The Dairy

136-138 Ponsonby Rd

Ponsonby Central

Auckland