Auckland's best restaurants this minute

I'm often asked which Auckland restaurant is best. The answer changes all the time and is only definitively decided once a year in the Metro awards. But I can give you a pretty good list on any day of the week.

Favourite meat cuts #1: Pork Belly

I don't know about you, but I've been spending a lot of time worrying about pork belly recently. What a beautiful cut of meat it is – inexpensive and massively forgiving for the cook, while tasty, luscious and multi-textural for the eater. You get a bit of crackling, a bit of flesh and a bit of melting fat all in one mouthful, and it has so much flavour that a lash of apple sauce provides a fair fight, rather than dominating as it can with a piece of fillet. Easy to cook, quick to please and good for everyone's budget, so why is it always so hit and miss when I order it in a restaurant?