Discover Auckland's greatest people, places and things this month with View Auckland's man-about-town Jono Park.

AUCKLAND HOT 5 - October 2012



THE TASTER PLATE AT HARD LUCK CAFE
I'm still not a massive fan of gladwrapped rolls, but bypass the counter food and go straight to the wonderful and quirky taster plate at Hard Luck Cafe on K Rd. It's a real mishmash but one that works. The selection is constantly changing, but on the day i went there was salmon, proscutto, olives, buffalo mozzarella, blue cheese, fiery prawns, deep-fried chillies stuffed with cheese and a little bucket of caramel popcorn. Random but very very good - not unlike the cafe itself.




THE SALTED CARAMEL MILKSHAKE AT MOUSTACHE
Oh good lord this is good. One of their freshly baked cinnamon cookies is the perfect match.




HEARTBREAK PIE
I can't remember how I stumbled onto this blog, but I'm glad I did. Delaney Mes started this as culinary therapy (hence the title) but since then it's become so much more. It's frequently hilarious and if you're a foodie it's a great read. Some great recipes online as well. Basically, dinner at her house sounds amazing. www.heartbreakpie.com and you can follow her on Twitter @heartbreakpie.




SALAD FOR BREAKFAST
Trust me, I never thought I'd be writing this either, but there are more than a few cafes that prove that a healthy breakfast doesn't need to a) be boring; or b) be small. The Big Healthy at Cafe on Kohi and the Breakfast Salad at Cafe People are two of the standouts.




PONSONBY CENTRAL
Not long to go now. The website doesn't give away much, but you can get an idea of the layout. The lane lined with street food sounds wonderful. With the addition of a mini Grove, and new cafe from the team behind Teed St Larder, this is going to be a fantastic new spot for foodies, especially thanks to the produce market, something that's long overdue in the suburb.



Not So Hot



FASHION WEEK 'MEH'
Fashion Week happened right? Having talked to attendees, it definitely feels like this year things felt a little… well.. flat? From a PR perspective, things weren't helped by continual funding questions, lack of sponsors and more than a few missing designers. Could a radical shot in the arm be required to save this once mighty event from becoming irrelevant?

What's on your radar? Let us know on our Facebook page and yours could be featured in next month's AUCKLAND HOT 5...

Follow Jono Park on Twitter for more on what's happening in Auckland: @jonopark.