Where To Try Ube In Auckland Right Now

12th Jun 2026

Written by:

Vicki Young
Freelance Sub-Editor | Urban List NZ

Ube is having a main character moment in the food and drink scene across Aotearoa, and especially in Tāmaki Makaurau. But it hasn’t just recently been a hot go-to flavour, being a permanent flavour in many Asian bakeries’ breads and sweets—particularly in Filipino bakeries, eateries and markets across the city for years now. With it popping up more and more in the city (and across the ditch, hey Brisbane), the sweet and creamy, almost coconut-like nutty aroma of ube is gradually growing popularity as the flavour to choose in desserts and hot drinks (dare we say more so than matcha).

For those who aren’t too sure what ube is, it’s a purple yam native to the Philippines and used in savoury and sweet dishes. Having caught the attention of the global cafe scene last year, its distinct purple shade (and flavour) is a popular choice for cakes, gelato and latte-style drinks.

While you can’t get fresh, raw ube in Aotearoa (due to the super tropical growing conditions required), you can buy it frozen from Asian supermarkets (like Cabayan Mart), which is then made into a sweet paste with other added sweeteners or dairy like a mixture of condensed milk, evaporated milk, and butter (also known as halaya, or “ube jam”).

From ube drinks to ube cakes—here are our picks for where to try ube treats in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Gian’s Sorbetes Factory Shop

6/2 Hulme Place, Henderson

Image credit: Gian’s Sorbetes | Instagram

I had my first ube queso gelato at a Filipino restaurant in New Lynn (sadly, since closed) and was blown away by the salty pops of cheese in my ube gelato—and have been trying to find where else I could get my scoop of sweet and salty ube-cheese. Enter award-winning Filipino gelato makers Gian’s Sorbetes in Henderson. If you're a fan of sweet and savoury (like fries with caramel soft serve), then you’ll definitely be into this flavour. Grab a tub to take home, while you dig into their famous Ube Overload halo-halo. Meaning “mix-mix” in Tagalog, it’s the ultimate Filipino dessert of textures—with shaved ice sweetened with condensed milk, plus mix-in’s like nata de coco (coconut jelly), sweet beans, creamy leche flan, crispy pinipig (toasted rice) and a scoop of their signature Ube gelato for good measure.

Moreno Cafe And Bakery

29D Woodside Avenue, Northcote

Image credit: Moreno | Vicki Young

You definitely need to head over the bridge to check out Moreno for your ube sweet treat fix—whether it’s their ube flan cake, silky ube creme anglaise on ube pain perdu, ube cheesecake or my favourite, their ube lamington. Moist ube sponge is coated in ube ganache, gently rolled in coconut and finished with a great ratio of chantilly cream piped on top. Bliss.

Hill House Cafe

72 Hillsborough Road, Hillsborough

Image credit: Hill House Cafe | Supplied

You bet I was stoked when the dessert course arrived at Hill House Cafe’s High Tea—these mini ube chiffon cakes with an ube tuile were perfect with bottomless tea offerings. They’ve just announced at the time of writing that they have new “cloud drinks” on the menu featuring ube and matcha flavours. Their Coconut Ube cloud drink is made with ube, condensed milk, marscapone, milk and cream—and already turning heads at the cafe.

Dear Deer

Various Locations

Image credit: Dear Deer Ellerslie | Instagram

Having just landed at Dear Deer stores in April this year, their ube coconut lattes are available as hot and cold drink offerings with their signature coffee blended through (like coffee and dessert in one). Head to the Ellerslie store later this month for Toro Cream Puff’s pop-up—sometimes she has ube and coconut cream-filled Japanese-style puffs (similar to choux buns) on the menu too.

Heis Kitchen Studio

145 Queens Road, Panmure

Image credit: Heis Kitchen Studio | Facebook

Ube cake lovers, eat your heart out. Heis Kitchen Studio has a range of ube cakes for order, and if you’re lucky, in the cabinet by the slice on his walk-in shop days on Saturdays. From classic chiffon ube cake with whipped cream and vibrant ube-crumbed exterior, an addition of a crisp burnt sugar-topped crème brûlée layer over their ube chiffon with cream, flan-topped a.k.a. Ube Flan Deluxe, or even leche flan custard with ube jam and toasted cashews in their Ube Overload chiffon cake. Drool over the cake cross-sections here. They also make their own ube jam in-house—if you see it for sale by the jar, we recommend stocking up on that too (great in rice pudding, or for an ube hot drink at home).

Memo Cakery

143 Carlton Gore Road, Newmarket

Image credit: Memo Cakery | Instagram

Inspired by Ube Pandesal (Filipino breakfast bread roll with ube) with a cheese-filled centre, Memo Cakery has an ube-flavoured cake that’s been a long-time hit with the fans. Their Ube Cream Cheese Cake has alternating layers of vibrant purple ube mouse and cake, along with a salted cream cheese layers for that cheese-inspired hit. It’s decorated in their signature Memo cake style with a beautiful round aesthetic and touches of florals for that special ube cake-lover in your life. While they don’t sell individual slices, they do sell mini cakes (the ube cream cheese comes in that size too), as well as pop up at the markets from time to time. Keep an eye on their socials for the next one.

Butter Baby

70/11 Northside Drive, Westgate

Image credit: Butter Baby | Website

While Butter Baby isn’t open to the public out in their bakery HQ, you can find them at the Britomart Market every Saturday as well as online for cake orders. Those who have followed them from their beginning market days will remember the popular ube donut (along other delicious Asian flavours like pandan). From cookies to kueh salat (pandan custard and glutinous rice combo), they also have a stunning ube kaya cake on their menu. Made with ube sponge and custard, coated in coconut and finished taco chips available for pre-order on their website (pictured).

Sugar Bae

6 Broadway, Newmarket

Image credit: Sugar Bae | Instagram

If you love macha, ube, and boba—Sugar Bae has just the drink for you. Just launched last month, their matcha series comes with boba and creamy ube in one sip. They also have an ube cold foam-topped hojicha, ube bingsu, and homemade ube ice cream on fluffy French toast.

Nanam

178 Hurstmere Road, Takapuna

Image credit: Nanam | Instagram

Chef Jess has a way with translating her Filipino culinary knowledge and flavours into modern dining with Nanam. Whatever you do, don’t forget to start with a calamansi margarita (made with the only commercially-grown calamansi in Aotearoa, another great flavour you must try) and then finish with the Nanam take on Halo-Halo. With variations over the seasons (pictured is one from a past summer), their latest version has pandan granita, macapuno (coconut jelly), kūmara, toasted coconut, coconut jelly, seasonal fruit and is topped with ube ice cream (made in-house).

Dozena Bakery

9 Shirley Road, Papatoetoe

Image credit: Dozena Bakery | Facebook

Known for their Filipino specialty breads and their (ube) cakes, Dozena Bakery is an unassuming gem of a bakery offering affordable and tasty Filipino baked treats (and just ten minutes drive from the airport for that post-flight bakery run). There are so many breads to choose from, but make sure you try the pandesal (a.k.a. fluffy bread bites) with flavours like ube cheese pandesal. They’re a popular Filipino breakfast bread, particularly an ube flavour with that cheese centre—best with a hot cup of espresso (I hear it’s great dipped in).

Hapunan

316 Main Road, Huapai, Kumeū & 2 Anzac Avenue, Auckland CBD

Image credit: Hapunan | Facebook

A staple on their menu since they first opened is Hapunan’s Ube Pandesal. Made with their homemade ube ice cream and topped with toasted coconut in a soft ube open pandesal bun—this is one ice cream sandwich we can get behind. Having taken a donut form in the past with their collaboration with Grown Up Donuts (replacing pandesal with an equally fluffy exterior in the form of an open doughnut), they’ve returned to pandesal since and we’re hoping it’ll come back on the menu soon. In the meantime, you can now get their famous housemade ube ice cream, in a handy wee tub from both their O.G. and newly-opened city sites.

Gold Ribbon

1 West Coast Road, Glen Eden

Image credit: Gold Ribbon Filipino-Asian Restaurant | Facebook

A mainstay in Tāmaki Makaurau for comforting Filipino dishes, boodle fights and ube treats—Gold Ribbon has been serving the community for over two decades. Known for their famous ube cake with the coconut icing (word is that they started as an online-based cake shop before opening their restaurant), as well as baked treats like ube ensaymada in the past (like a buttery brioche, but dare I say better with a heap of grated cheese on top), as well as their popular fiesta halo-halo. Complete with a mixture of beans, jackfruit, jelly, pearls, kaong (sugar palm fruit), nata de coco, saba banana, leche flan and ube ice cream, it’s definitely a party of textures (or you can opt for an ube shake with tapioca pearls or jelly, but do choose ube as it’s made with their homemade ube ice cream).

Bella Bakes

Online & pop-ps

Image credit: Bella Bakes | Instagram

You can find popular ube treats from Bella Bakes, a self-taught baker who you may have seen in the markets circuit around Tāmakai Makaurau. Known for her range of chunky cookies (with ube mochi-filled (pictured) and the viral ube meets Dubai-inspired mochi-wrapped varieties too), she’s just dropped a new Ube Coconut cookie flavour this month—made with her own ube-flavoured chocolate. Order on her website, or find her at the next markets (keep an eye on her socials for where she’ll be next).

Special mention: Waikato Ube Festival 2026

Claudelands Events Centre, Corner of Brooklyn Road and, Heaphy Terrace, Claudelands, Hamilton

As part of the Southeast Asia Festival, Aotearoa’s biggest Filipino festival is back on with a dedicated Ube Festival (they had a Halo Halo Festival last time) on Saturday August 15th. While the Southeast Asian Festival has already been in Auckland earlier this year, it’s now Waikato’s turn and it’s going to be so big that it’s going to be held at the Claudelands Events Centre in Hamilton. With over 100 ube desserts from various stalls, Ube is the official theme of the festival this year too. You can try a range of Filipino food and drink, plus they’ll have all-day entertainment too. Free entry, get the info here.

Craving something savoury before you dig in to all this sweet? Check out:

Main Image Credit: Hill House Cafe | Supplied