Pok Pok Thai (Auckland CDB, New Zealand)

I’ve been wanting to try this place for quite some time now but schedule could get in the way until now. Located in the popular street called K’ Road in Auckland, this place is sandwiched between multicultural restaurants and strip clubs but apart from the hustle and bustle of this street you will find peace within its premises surrounded with amazing aroma from the kitchens.

Whenever I passed by this place it was always in full house and even during the day we dined. Having that in mind, I made sure I had to make a booking in advance so waiting to be seated wouldn’t be an option for us. Once seated we were immediately given the menus.

The list of dishes is not that complicated compared to some Thai restaurants where they give you a 10-pages book just for you to pick your main dish. Here there is just right amount of food items to choose from.

For starter we ordered Bettered Soft Shell Crab ($10.00) which consists of bean sprouts, shallots, mints, spring onions, coriander in a coconut vinegar dressing and the Caramelized Pork Belly ($10.00) which they describe as a 2 Hour ‘Pla-Loww’ stock braised pork belly, deep fried and tossed in ‘Pla-Loww’ caramelized fried shallots, topped with cucumbers in chilli and vinegar.

The crab was great and we loved all the flavours combined in it. Though it has vinegar, the amount was just perfect to cut the grease from the crab. It is topped with a very creamy coconut milk to bring that flavour in. Too sad they only serve this in small portions but understandably why it is called a starter.

The caramelized pork belly was also great. I think with pork belly you can’t go wrong, it’s a tender meat with the mixture of melting fat that makes this thing stand out. Served in a sweet savoury and a bit spicy sauce this is one perfect starter.

After consuming the appetizers like a storm, our mains were then served. Muu Grob ($19.00) which is a crispy skin pork belly served with cucumbers, coriander, roasted sesame seed in ‘Pla-Loww’ dressing chilli & vinegar. The Chang-Mai Curried Noodles with Beef ($18.00); a popular noodle in Chang-Mai, is basically a mild curry noodle soup with beef brisket, yellow noodle, shallots, coriander, chilli oil, pickled mustard greens topped with crispy fried noodles.

Muu Grob was good but we found this very similar to the Caramelized Pork Belly starter apart from the crispy skin. I just wished we’d been notified beforehand so we could have ordered and tried something different from the menu. Nevertheless, we had something for take away that day.

Good thing we also ordered a noodle dish and this I find the best. It is creamy, mild spicy and the beef was so fork tender and seasoned really well. The noodles consist of a both soft and crispy one on top which gives it a very interesting texture which works well. I would be glad to order this again. it definitely tickled my palates G-Spot which reminds me of my favourite curry I tried in Hong Kong way back years ago.

Pok Pok Thai Restaurant is a nice place to grab some Thai cuisine when you are in the city. It is not very expensive and the quality of food is great. I would happily recommend this place especially their Chang-Mai Curried Noodles with Beef.

POKPOK Thai Restaurant & Bar
Address: 261 Karangahape Rd, Auckland 1010
Phone: +649 963 9987
Website: http://www.pokpokthai.co.nz/