Let me start off that I am not a Chinese food fan so take that into account (add a star if you…read moreare). With that said, the fish & vegetables that I ordered was very bland and did not come with rice. The chicken and fried rice that my wife ordered was only slightly better but still bland. There was only one waitress who was not very friendly but I blame it to how busy she was - I.e., service was not quick. Like I said before, it may have been better if I liked Chinese food more or order something different but I will not be going back again.

Smell from the street at this restaurant what's good. I can smell the duck. As I entered the…read morerestaurant, I was greeted by a very sweet Chinese lady who sent me down and offer me a pot of tea. The tea was really good. I asked her what was her favorite soup and she said the shredded duck soup. the aroma smells worse, correct, duck! I ordered have a duck, and I ate the whole thing and it was delicious. If you're ever in Auckland, New Zealand, and you feel like having authentic Chinese duck, this is the place.

Have been here before, but later on in the day and at that time was so busy we had to wait a while…read more This time it was so early that there was no waiting time , went straight to a table and then into the eating. The trolleys came round quite regular and we ended up taking some sesame balls, spring rolls, pork buns , tofu skin with mushroom and pork filling and blue egg porridge, ( one of my favourite ) and a few other delights. No complaints on the tasting side, nor on the service as the girls were quick in keeping the trolleys come round as well as being pleasant and the bill wasn't too bad either. As we had been before more than likely we will be back again.

They say you should never judge a book by its cover... well, never judge a restaurant by its…read moreoutside appearance! The shabby exterior really leaves little to be desired, but as far as yum cha goes, VR Baker's Restaurant has to be some of the best in Auckland. There are no trolleys dashing by; rather, the waitresses carry around platters of piping hot bamboo steamers by the dozen. I've only visited twice so am still eating my through their dim sum goodies, but so far, I have yet to be disappointed! All the usual suspects are here, including siu mai, BBQ pork buns, pork spareribs, congee, steamed dumplings, innards and feet. They also have other, less common goodies like the sticky rice balls, which I prefer over the banana-leaf wrapped version and are definitely worth a try. I highly recommend the siu mai - they're uber succulent and a prime example of how they should be! As for dessert, the egg tarts are really good as well, but even better are their baked custard buns. If you can't find something you like from what's being carried around, you can ask for a dim sum menu (complete with coloured pictures!) and they will cook to order as well. So communication may be a little strained because many of the waitresses don't speak great English, but the staff are friendly and fast at filling up tea and clearing the tables. And VR Baker's is a bakery too, stocking not only the typical cakes and sandwiches in their cabinets, but also the dim sum offerings. Affordable, huge portions, fast and delicious, VR Baker's Restaurant truly is a hidden gem and is fast becoming my number one pick for yum cha in Auckland!

If you re craving authentic Cantonese food , look no further! This mom and pop restaurant is great…read morefor travelers who are craving asian food. Note they do not take credit cards here.

I had NO idea what to expect when I arrived here. However, considering I was going with my parents…read moreas well as aunt and uncle who all ADORE good food I was willing to put up with the dire surroundings. It's not THAT bad - except for maybe the water damage on the roof, the horrible carpet, the razor wire around the outside that you can see from your window seat... It's really not that bad, it's just not pretty. But the food is superb. None of us could really decide what to eat and with six people you may as well do their set menu options. I think that consisted of chicken and corn soup, spring rolls, beef and black bean sauce, lemon chicken, sweet and sour pork.... and a few other things I can't quite remember. I found the chicken and corn soup quite bland, I wasn't really into it. But my dad loved it - he went back for seconds. Can't have been too bland. I think I'm still slightly horrified from that scene in 'The Devil Wears Prada' where Stanley Tucci is telling Anne Hathway about the cellulite that's in the soup. Totes untrue, I'm sure, but... ugh. The rest of the meal was wonderful. I find that sweet and sour pork can be hit or miss. When it's miss, it's a really bad miss with chewy, fatty pieces of pork that no one wants to eat and you just end up eating the deep fried batter soaked in sauce. This was not the case. We're talking plump, juicy pieces of pork that melt in your mouth. You don't need to chew it 30 million times to make sure it goes down. Same for the beef in that dish. Beautiful pieces of meat, well marinated and definitely not tough. Vegetables crispy and flavoursome. If you're keen for some decent food and you're in the neighbourhood, I highly recommend coming here. Parking is not a problem as there's a parking lot out front, but just pay attention to the traffic direction signs... Just saying. Again, like with a lot of great little food places, the surroundings won't entice you... but you're a big kid, you can deal with it. Note, BYO only. Bottle stores all around Birkenhead though.

We came here for a Mother's Day family dinner with 7 adults and 1 child, expecting a nice evening…read moretogether. Unfortunately, it turned into one of the worst dining experiences we've had in Auckland. We arrived shortly after 6pm and placed our order. After waiting nearly an hour with no food at all, we asked multiple times where our meals were. Staff repeatedly told us "it's coming soon" and "they are making it now." During the wait, we were told: - the beef chow mein had no beef available and needed to be changed to chicken chow mein - the fish fillet vegetable dish was "too complicated" and suggested to be cancelled We agreed politely. Then things became even more confusing: - they brought us a dish we never ordered - shortly after, the exact fish dish they claimed they could not make suddenly arrived - the "unavailable" beef chow mein also suddenly appeared The entire service felt disorganised and chaotic. The biggest issue, however, was the food safety concern. Several dishes appeared undercooked: - the fish fillets were extremely soft and partially raw inside - the prawns inside the prawn balls were still translucent/raw - the beef inside the fried rice was still red/raw in the middle We brought the food to the front desk and showed the owner/manager directly. Instead of apologising, she insisted the food was "fully cooked." There was no genuine apology or concern shown throughout the entire experience. By this point it was already close to 8:30pm -- we had been there for almost 2.5 hours. At around 7pm+, when the first dish finally arrived, we were already so hungry that we had to cut and eat our Mother's Day cake early just to have something in our stomachs while waiting for the rest of the food. Another concerning moment was when I tried to take a photo of the raw prawn ball for evidence. A waitress immediately rushed over and removed the dish before I could finish taking the photo, telling me that I was "not allowed" to photograph it. I still managed to take photos of: - the raw/red beef - partially uncooked fish fillets It honestly looked like frozen ingredients had not been fully defrosted before cooking. The restaurant was not even full, and multiple tables that arrived after us had already finished and left while we were still waiting for food. After returning home, nobody was even properly full. We ended up stopping at McDonald's on the way back just to buy burgers because after waiting for hours, we still barely had enough to eat. My partner later experienced mild food poisoning symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea. We have already submitted a food hygiene complaint to Auckland Council regarding the undercooked seafood and meat. Despite all of this, there was still no proper apology, no accountability, and no meaningful compensation offered. We paid $161 cash for an extremely stressful and disappointing Mother's Day dinner. Would not return.

We had wok fried radish Peking duck soft 4/5…read moreManuka honey dessert 5/5 =wellness Har kai 4/5 Pork bun5/5 soft crispy and stay together Has traditional Chinese decoration and tranquil music. service was quick on Weekend. Come back. Had to rush to finish in one hour time limit

Absolutely loved the Peking Duck. Top three duck I've had ever. It was just fantastic. The soup…read moredumplings were incredible as were the stir fried greens and the teriyaki lobster. Sounds weird but the lobster tail was amazing. Honestly we stumbled into this restaurant - 4 adults and two kids and everyone left delighted and stuffed. A hidden gem near the Sky Tower

Food: 4.7/5 Service 4.2/5…read moreValue 4.1/5 This restaurant was highly recommended by my Kiwi friend and it didn't disappoint. The four of us got the full roasted duck, fried rice, roasted pork, shiu mai, and shrimp dumplings. I will start by saying that this restaurant was really expensive, even the green beans were almost $50NZ so just be weary that you will spend a lot here. However, the food was amazing! Roasted duck: definitely the highlight of the meal. For $80 NZ, I felt like it was the best value for the price. Super tender meat, great texture on the skin, and wonderful taste overall Fried Rice: Great base for all of the other dishes. Also came with a spicy chili oil that put this dish over the top! Roasted Pork: I personally wish the skin was a bit thicker and crispier but my friends all thought it was good. There were also complaints about the pork being relatively fat heavy, but I thought it was a great balance. Shiu mai and Shrimp dumplings: Pretty basic but still delicious! Recommend if you enjoy. 1/4 of the shrimp dumpling peels fell apart when grabbing it. Overall would definitely recommend coming here for great food but expect to spend a pretty penny! All of this was about $250NZ

They are large and spacious and classy enough inside, although clearly classy from a few years ago…read moreas opposed to more recently. The outside is deceptive, they don't look nearly that large, but clearly they get big crowds and are used to it. Got there early so hard to properly evaluate service (which was excellent, even a little overbearing) as they were virtually empty when I walked in. The dim sum itself was from so-so to just okay, the har cheung fun (shrimp rice noodle roll) was a good example: skins too thick, shrimp not memorable at all. Beef tripe (ngau paak yip) is usually a pale white but well seasoned, this one was off in color and perhaps a tad over-steamed as the texture wasn't perfect. It was adequate if you need your dim sum fix.

This is probably the least busy yum char place that I have been to in Auckland during a weekday…read more That can both be good and bad. Good because they don't have to turn the table for the next group that's already waiting at the door. Bad because I have to question if everything is made fresh today. For today though. I ordered my usual selection of yum char musts. And the beef tripe is probably the most flavourful that I have had in Auckland. That been said, everything else were all just on par with everywhere else. The price is also very reasonable. I am sorry that I can't give you a breakdown, because I don't even know what they cost individually. Lol. But I paid $38 for a mix of 7 yum char items. So it works out to be 5 and a bit per? And if you know yum char, then that's 1 top, 3 large and 3 medium selections.

Pretty good! Went for lunch on a Monday (public holiday) and the restaurant was about 80% full. We…read morewere surprised at the variety of dishes for yum char! There were at least 20+ types of dishes that was circulated around. For four people, we ended up spending $80 for 13 items (incl. 10% holiday surcharge). Overall, the parking was convenient, the variety definitely there, and the cleanliness and atmosphere were good! I'd come back again if I'm on the shore. The egg tarts were good, and the shiau mai was good too. Also, unlike the other yum char places in Auckland, the portion is four items! (other places only have 3 portions) Price Breakdown: Tea $1 per person Medium is $4.80 Large is $5.80 Special is $6.50

It was a tad bit over the average of a dim sum spot in regards to their flavor of the dim sum…read moredishes! Siu mais and ha gows were on the dot. Steamed black bean pork ribs were made well. Their cow tripe steamed was cooked well and flavored tenderly nice! Shrimp roll was not too doughy textured, but on point. Steamed egg roll was sauced up and filled up nicely. The decor and service of this place could have been better. Hot sauce lacked the chili peppers and they didn't have my hot mustard that I tend towards these days instead of hot sauce! Other that that, spot on place for good dim sum in this part of town!

Good yum cha and also night menu is good. But if you want to order specialties like medicine duck…read moreyou need to make the order 2 days before.

HKD is one of my favorite places to go in Auckland for dim sum. I have been here twice and both…read moretimes I was exceedingly impressed with the service, the food and the price. They have a great selection on offer, it is delicious and always hot. Make sure you finish your meal with an egg tart. They are especially delicious.

One of the older chinese restaurants in Auckland, this place is pretty average in my opinion…read more Nothing too spectacular, Although I would definitely recommend the taro duck.

Bad service and for a yum char restaurant the bringing around of food is sporadic to say the least…read more Wated for almost 5 minutes between seeing a cartcwith food. Do not recommend this place. There are far better yum char restaurants in Newmarket

One of the worst experience I've had, awful service! I was asked to get up, stop eating my meal to…read morego up to the register to pay because they're closing the register and go back to my table to finish my meal. I paid their over priced items on the menu! Walked out. I would never go back nor recommend this hell hole to any one!!! The food also tasted like they cooked them in cloth rag stench! They don't deserve any star but it's only way to post this review! Hell hole!!!