Archive · 2025. Rewritten summary published by Asian Insider on 11 October 2026.
An arcade full of empty shops gave Shim Yejun room to try something different. By September 2025, the South Korean-born chef had opened three food businesses in Auckland’s Strand Arcade within a year.
There was Slow Koi for coffee, Hi Toastie for Asian-inspired toasties, and Taikin for Japanese takoyaki and teppanyaki. Rather than repeating one concept, he drew on experience across pastry and fine dining to give each shop its own menu.
Yejun moved from Busan to New Zealand as a teenager. At 26, he was building his businesses while downtown retailers faced high vacancy rates and years of disruption.
He told Stuff he hoped the City Rail Link would bring more people through the area. His idea was to create the kind of casual food cluster found near train stations in Asian cities, serving students, tourists and people looking for familiar flavours from home.
This is a snapshot of those businesses in September 2025, rather than a current opening-hours or restaurant guide.
