Tuesday morning brought me a dentist appointment and general work-related ennui. But even Tuesday mornings eventually turn to noon and noon comes with a friend – lunchtime!

Today we visited a modest little Chinese place with a modest little name – Xi’an Food Bar on the corner of Anzac Ave and Customs St East. It doesn’t look like much but Xi’an Food Bar has two standout features.

The first is that you sit at your table and order via a strange retro-futuristic device that looks a bit like a calculator. The waiter gives you a menu but rather than place your order with the waiter when he returns, you type in the number that corresponds to your chosen meal into the device. Once everyone has chosen their meals the device transmits your table’s orders to the kitchen. A kitchen which is all of 3 metres away and clearly within sight.

This manner of ordering is completely silly and quite wonderful. It feels like you have walked into a cheap 80s scifi movie. I plan to go back on a rainy evening and pretend I am hunting replicants.

The other great thing about Xi’an Food Bar is that they make their own fresh noodles. The service is very quick, and in a couple of minutes you will have a fresh bowl of lumpy noodles covered in tasty sauce. The flavours are strong but well balanced, and the texture of the noodles is very appealing.

The first time I went I made the adventurous mistake of ordering the sliced pigs ears. It wasn’t the worse thing I have eaten, but even the best sauce in the world couldn’t make a silk purse out of that. I think it is probably meant to be a side dish.

So long as you keep the pigs ears to a minimum, Xi’an Food Bar is worth the walk. Get there early though, it gets busy.

For years one of my favourite eating places in Auckland has been the Food Alley on Albert Street. You can keep your fancy French restaurants and elegant cafés, turns out what I really want is tasty food served quickly with a prison-like ambience. Proximity to the Food Alley was actually a factor in my choice of current employment, I recommend the clay-pot joint or the Vietnamese place for first time patrons.

But sometimes the Food Alley is a little too flash with its well organised stalls and excellent drinks bar. Perhaps it has moved up-market in recent years, or maybe I am moving down. Either way, if excellent choice in a crummy atmosphere is what you desire then the International Food Court underneath the Strand Arcade off Queen Street is ready to take your order. Right off the bat the International Food Court ups the terrible ambience stakes by being situated in a basement, the Food Alley can’t compete with that masterstroke.

This is Beef Soup with Hot Chilli Oil , my new favourite dish, served up from the Chinese stall on the extreme left as you come down the stairs (I think it was #4 on the menu). It is a hot, very peppery soup with scallions, sprouts, and beef served under a layer of oil which is itself infused with chilli. It sounds odd, but tastes fantastic. One day I will muster the courage to order it “hot” instead of “medium”, but even at reduced potency it takes until mid afternoon before the feeling comes back into my tongue.