Upon recommendation from our friends, we stopped into Midnight Shanghai for dinner. We were seated…read moreon the back patio -- a covered open-air patio with limited seating. We ordered a lot of food including the red chili fish in broth, a tempura style cauliflower, scallion pancakes, mapo tofu, veggie gyoza (dumplings) and the veggie stir-fry noodles. The food comes out as it's ready, and dishes are great for sharing. This works out well for a long meal, except that our noodles came out about 20 minutes after the rest of the food (and we were about ready to leave). We ended up taking that whole dish to go (takeaway) after it was served. My personal favorite was the chili fish -- the broth was spicy and delicious -- but everything on the menu was great!

Our last meal in Christchurch. After a movie in Riccarton, we decided to check out Hello Vietnam…read moreRestaurant for pho. They specialize in Southern Vietnamese (believe they are from Can Tho). We dropped in on a Wednesday evening (around 8:15pm) and the place was packed. A mix of customers which is a good sign. FYI: it's BYO (for wine only). The menu is humongous; appetizers, salad, soup, rice noodle soup, rice vermicelli, fried egg noodle, fried rice noodle, steamed rice, fried rice, meat dishes (chicken/beef/pork/squid/fish/prawn), tofu, vegetable, egg omelet, chef special menu, roast duck and desserts. They even have a couple set menu options. So many things. Only thing I ever look it as the pho/speciality soups! - Pho dac biet (#23) ($16.00 NZD) - special beef rice noodle soup. Comes with the standard bean sprouts and basil (super fresh!). Broth is flavourful but on the sweeter side (Southern Vietnam influence). A bit too sweet for my liking. Meat was generous and a good variety; beef tendon, beef flank, pork balls, tendon and oxtail. Oxtail was bomb. - Bun rieu cau ($13.00 NZD) - spicy crab rice vermicelli soup. Always a must whenever I see this on the menu! This was delicious; fantastic broth with depth and flavour. Good variety of meats including two tender meat balls, pork, a small piece of pork rib and crab. There was also a few tomatoes, tofu puffs (silky smooth) and green onion. I ate every last bit. Super satisfying last meal. We were stuffed and in food coma heaven. 4.5 stars.

Bun Bo Hue in here is the best I've ever had . The taste is really authentic of south side!!!read more

It was a great choice on a cold and rainy day. We got:…read more Salmon sashimi- 5 pieces for 10NZD. It didn't look super fatty or fresh but it tasted fine, an average piece of salmon. Pork Katsu Curry- very thick portion of pork. The crust was crispy, generous portion of rice, and lots of curry sauce. Karagi donburi- the flavor went through the batter and into the chicken, crispy, and juicy pieces. A good choice if you're feenin' for fried chicken. Also happy hour choices on their appetizers and drinks from 5-7 I believe.

Good local place that has bento boxes. Good value. Great location. I wish these joints had…read morebottomless sodas, but that must be an American thing.

This place was very busy on a Saturday, but we managed to get a table in the bar by at 6.15pm…read more Not being hugely hungry so early in the evening, we opted for 3 small plates - courgette hummus, salmon ceviche and house falafel. All delicious. I particularly like the seeded biscuits that came with the hummus. We washed that down with a nice Sauvignon, leaving just enough room for a passion fruit mousse {vegan, GF, DF}. A lovely meal, only marred by the ever-increasing volume from neighbouring groups, which by 7.15 had reached the shouting stage, to the point that any music being played was totally redundant! So yes, l lovely food, but try to get a table in the restaurant, not the bar!

Fiddlesticks is serious! I did not realize how long they've been around until I saw food pics here…read morethat are 10 yrs old. From the pics, it looks like they've really upped their game! We got in here on a Friday night without a rezy and so glad we did since most people have one. First time I've had an alcoholic ginger beer, with a twist of lime, so divine! Our server gave us the low down on what were the serious kitchen movers, which was spot on! We started with the fried chicken thighs appetizer, just brilliant presentation and tasty with homemade "ranch-like" drizzle, pickled onions, and micro greens. Our mains were the lamb and the grilled salmon. The attention to detail was impressive. The server explained that the potato's used for the lamb are roasted with wagyu fat, which have gave them a smoked, perhaps beefy flavor. The tastiest roasted potatoes I have ever tasted. The salmon was perfectly seared at medium rare, but I think my American palate has become use to medium texture, but still divine! My only suggestion would be to use French green beans as they are more tender than the typical green bean and would better compliment the presentation of the salmon, but that's just getting into the Minutia, perhaps the name for Fiddlesticks next location!

a good noodle house, with an open kitchen, large menu and good prices. They are known for throwing…read morein complementary chicken bones that were used to make their broth. It's an interesting touch that I've not seen from other places, and made it a worthwhile stop during our visit to Christchurch. My brother and I learned about this place from a staff member at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney, who let us know that this was one of her favorite places to go when back home in Christchurch (especially for the chicken bones). So we decided to center our day around visiting it, once we got off the ship on a Thursday. It's more than 3 km from the centre of Christchurch, so a decent trek, but was able to take a bus back after a filling meal. It also brought us to the Riccarton neighborhood. If there is a 'Chinatown' in Christchurch, the Riccarton neighborhood is probably it. There were a ton of places that we passed, that we would also try out if we had time. The restaurant opens at 11 and was already fairly busy when we stopped in around that time. It is an open kitchen, staffed by two ladies. As one can imagine, they were very busy but were still very friendly and patient to answer our questions. We learned that they will throw in the chicken bones with any purchase. The menu itself is not specific to Cambodia but is a mixture. I was really craving noodle soup, so ended up getting three dishes along with an app to share between the two of us. #7 Noodles Soup with Chicken (NZ$17) - the better of the two soups, it used the flavorful broth from all that chicken bone braising. You have your choice of thick or thin rice noodles, and they give you plenty. I enjoyed nibbling on the chicken bones, trying to find those missed meat morsels. #9 Beef Noodles Soup (NZ$18.50) - I thought this was OK. The broth was very clean and it did come with uniform strips of food grade quality beef, and a lot of rice noodles. Shrimp Pad Thai (off menu) - (NZ$ 25) - This was an OK rendition, with a decent amount of well-cooked shrimp. Deep fried spring rolls (NZ$9.50) - Both of us really liked this dish, using whole seasoned shrimp, wrapped in spring roll paper to resemble miniature cones. They were freshly deep fried and were delicious, coming with a sweet Thai chili sauce. They market themselves as a noodle house specializing in Chinese and Thai favorites, but also with a Cambodian flair. With their large portions and reasonable prices, free wifi for customers, and friendly hospitality, Riccarton Noodle House is a good stop for locals and tourists, alike.

Second last dinner in Christchurch. We were debating between a few spots in Riccarton but ended up…read morechoosing Riccarton Noodle House, a Cambodian spot. It's more like a mix of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Malaysian. We dropped in on a Tuesday evening (around 7:00pm) and it was empty. The inside has a bit of Cambodia decoration (Angkor Wat painting on the wall) but other than that, it's bare. Service is non-existent. You go to the counter to order where you also can grab water and utensils (self serve). The menu is up above the open style kitchen; special spicy, noodle soup, satay, stir fry noodles, specials, side dishes and sweets. - Curry laksa with chicken (#31) ($13.00 NZD) - I can never say no to laksa but in hindsight, this was a poor choice. Laksa isn't a Cambodian speciality; should have got one of their noodle soups instead. The laksa was half decent but nowhere close to being authentic. Barely any ingredients inside and they used udon noodles... - Black pepper udon with seafood (#30) ($15.00 NZD) - we asked for claypot yee-mee and got this. No idea how the chef messed up our order. We decided to eat it but should have complained instead. Super stingy on the seafood (only a couple small pieces of squid and three prawns). The pepper was overpowering and vegetables consisted of the cheap, bland variety. Bad, just bad. One of the most disappointing meals of our trip. I was still hungry afterwards. 2.5 stars.

My husband and I had lunch here. I was craving ramen and so I had the chicken ramen. It was…read moredelicious. My husband had the udon (I can't remember what meat he had with it). He said his was yummy! There was inside seating. Pretty busy at the time. Seems like a lot of people bought there sushi boxes to take away, it must be their best seller. Service was good and staff were friendly! Give them a try if you happen to be visiting Christchurch City Center in New Zealand.

Nice place for something casual and food was great. Portions were good. Would recommend.read more

First time visiting New Zealand -and walked a few blocks to get this in the cold. No line and…read moreabout a 10 minutes or less wait for the food. The place is like a food truck with picnic tables to sit, which is probably used more during the day and not at night because it is freezing at night. The chicken pad Thai was so good! So glad that I decided to venture out to get take out.

Delicious meals and good price! We ordered Panang Curry and Pad See Ew noodles. No complaints about…read moreeither one. Would definitely return again.

Wow... I miss this place so much. Nothing beats a good old chicken satay noodle soup on a cold…read morewinter days. Reminds me of the days in Dunedin. The place- lots of seats, self service, clean but not like a 5 star restaurant. Food- go for the chicken satay noodle soup. Very filling, warms up your stomach! Ask for extra bowel of chicken bone also. Service- friendly but it's not really where you go for service Price- starting to go up. I remember the days of spending $8 for a bowl, it's now $12 Overall very nostalgic, will have to make another trip down south soon.

It's decent if you are craving Chinese food. Not necessarily a place I would recommend for eating…read morein Christchurch. We ordered the veggie fried rice and the stirfried eggplant and subbed the potato for tofu. We also got the potstickers. My aunt said the potstickers were just OK - the dumpling wrappers was way too thick. I thought they fried rice is actually very good. It had that wok/stirfried flavor that is so delicious. We did send back the vegetable dish because it was made with tofu that was tasting a little off. We brought it to the attention of the waitress and she promptly had it remade and provided her apologies. Service was good, and they have free Wi-Fi there as well. I wouldn't say this is the best Chinese food ever but it worked and satisfied my aunt's cravings.

Cheap and convenient Chinese food in Christchurch…read more It was late Sunday evening (close to 9 PM), and the Japanese restaurant Sakimoto was closed. My boyfriend was on the hunt for roast duck, but the nearby Thai restaurant, Sampan House Restaurant, didn't have great reviews. We set our eyes on Chong's, which was located very close to our hotel and had an expansive takeaway menu that included smoked duck, $24 for half, $46 for whole. We also got a small bowl of sour and spicy soup ($5 for small, $18 for large) and a small portion of steamed white rice ($2). The waitress quoted us 10-15 minutes, so we took a short walk around (the rather desolate) town before coming back to grab our food. The duck was pre-packaged in a vacuum-sealed bag (valid until Feb 5, 2018, so more than 2 weeks from today) and lukewarmly heated. Flavor wasn't bad, though it was too salty for my taste, so make sure you get some carbs to pair with the duck. The sour and spicy soup was indeed sour and mildly spicy, just like any ol' sweet and sour soup. Overall, not a bad choice for Chinese food that won't break your wallet.