Thai Licious Restaurant — Restaurant in Howick

Passed this place a couple of times and decided to give it a go. The food needs a lot of work, and I certainly won’t be back anytime soon.

Entering the restaurant - it’s well lit, clean and decently presented. A small restaurant feel, making good use of the spaces provided. Good music and nice atmosphere.

Although I opted for takeaway, I commend the server who took the order at the counter, for seating us in a booth without plates and cutlery, and for getting us some water for a 10 minute wait (this was the first red flag which I missed).

Once we received the order and got home, happy and excited to try something new, we soon realised the great experience ended at the restaurant.

Curry puffs - $10 for four, small pieces. Flavour was ok. Definitely a lot better with the sauce. Portion size however was far too small for a $10 entree.

Tod mun kao pod or corn nuggets - $10 for four, bland, overcooked, floury and reheated round discs akin to a sink plug in size. The sauce provided did not make this any better. Do not order this if you’re looking for something fresh as you can tell it’s been reheated.

Pork belly tod - $13 - daylight robbery. This was the most exciting dish we wanted to try because of how well the picture looked! Sadly, it was bland, very oily, some pieces were tough and over cooked, others far too chewy. The skin was not crunchy and crispy, and the pork still had the hair on the skin when it was cooked. This was not fresh and we could tell instantly it was over cooked and reheated from a previous serving in a microwave. You can try and drown this in spicy sauce that’s provided - but that had no effect on improving the pork. The picture certainly does not match what was presented, and this was a HUGE disappointment. Order at your own risk but save your $13 and instead go to Panda Kitchen across the way if you’re after good pork.

Moo ping - Thai pork skewer - $10 for three pieces. Surprisingly the flavour was great and tasted like it was grilled fresh! It was juicy and cooked well but the portion was TINY. Imagine paying $10 for 2.5 chicken nuggets from Maccas. That’s what this felt like.

Pad Thai - Chicken - $19.90. Average. Ok portion. Definitely a big room for improvement. This place clearly hasn’t done its homework, as Momo Tea around the corner make a better Pad Thai, 1.5 times the size, and it’s incredibly flavourful.

The friendly service, clean and presentable atmosphere were for lack of a better word - saving graces, which is why I’m leaving a 2 star review instead of a 1 star review.

On the fence about giving this place a second go. I’m all for supporting small businesses, but will be cautious...

Close by for Flatbush. Good serving sizes. The Currie containers were wrapped in plastic preventing spills on the drive back. A good touch.

Could have used another prawn and piece of meat in two dishes. A larger container of sweet chilly sauce for the fried tofu would be appreciated. The one provided fell a bit short on volume.

The dishes do not have a chilly level selection but it was good for me (mild is my preference).

Two rice, pad thai with prawns and chicken curry, Penang vegetable curry (which had some tofu plus chicken sate and fried tofu was...

This is our go-to Thai restaurant! We've tried several Thai spots around Auckland, but this one stands out for its excellent quality, reasonable prices, and outstanding customer service. We always recommend it to friends visiting Auckland and make sure to bring them here. We loved it so much that we even hosted my baby shower at their Somerville branch in April 2024. The staff were incredibly accommodating, and our guests couldn’t stop praising the food! Our favourite dishes: Pad thai, Yum Pork Belly, & Fish in...