BODA Movenpick

The Verdict

There are very few places in Auckland that provide you with the perfect spot to hide away from the world—all while looking down on it, drink in hand and dinner popped before you. 

Enter BODA Restaurant: Movenpick Hotel Auckland’s vibrant new, sky-high, panoramically-poised restaurant. 

Asian-fusion cuisine is the name of the game at BODA. You won’t find the usual suspects of just any pan-Asian Euro menu here, but rather some more inventive and ridiculously tasty iterations of your favourite Asian flavours, ingredients and textures. 

Case in point, the Roasted Buttercup: a fully roasted, seasoned pumpkin arrives on your table and is jam-packed full of stir-fried tofu curd noodles, veggies and drenched with a gochujang sauce. As you curl and scoop out your noodles, the roasted buttercup and sauce swirl together to create a delish, tangy, spicy yet gently creamy sensation. Even the classic sourdough and truffle butter side gets a spin here: with a touch of Szechuan chilli. 

Of course, you can’t have a menu celebrating Asian fusion without a dumpling creation on the cards. So trust us when we say that BODA’s mushroom shumai is worth singing from the rooftops—or rather, 13th-floor panoramic windows, to be precise. An artfully created shiitake mushroom and tofu dumpling sits pretty among a savoury mushroom broth, complete with water chestnut for unexpected—but very welcome—texture. 

Beef lovers are sure to find a little (or big) somethin’ somethin’ here. There’s a tteok galbi beef skewer to start, combining a fun blend of guanciale, pine nuts, leeks alongside its succulent yet slightly crisped texture. Speaking of texture, the stir-fried crispy beef short rib is a must for meat-eaters. It comes glazed with a sticky sweet chilli that’s a far cry from the sticky bottle of the same name you have at home. Oh no, this one’s the perfect hit of sweet, savoury and a little spice, which adds a touch of texture to the already crisp morsels. Want more beef? A grass-fed rib eye with ssamjang sauce is also on the menu to sink your teeth right into. 

Other classic pan-Asian favourites that have been given a sleek, modern spin is of course and the classic cucumber chilli salad, grilled octopus, raw fish, xo sauce flat lobster with spring onion and a fragrant, line and nam jim jaew grilled chicken thigh creation. 

BODA is propped up on the 13th Floor of Movenpick hotel and is open for dinner service only currently. With views of the glittering city below, and a dimly lit, chic fit-out, it’s the perfect place for city dates, after-work escapes and a—quite literal—elevated dining experience. 

Oh, and as the name suggests, you’ll want to stay for dessert for one of Movenpick Hote’s beaut ice-cream sundaes.

Image credit: Boda.