The menu is very authentic, the following by the clientele shows that…read more The atmosphere is rather cold and stark. Fluorescent cold lighting, white walls with just a few enlarged pics of dishes, hanging red paper lampshades (?) and pictures of dishes lining the lower half of all the windows bring down the ambiance of the place. It feels like a cafeteria in a museum or a large convenient stores turned into a restaurant. The napkins have a nice red logo although they are way too small, they only give you one and then you have to go up to the counter on your own to get more. They bring your food and don't ever check in with you again to see how your meal tasted or if you want more. The pricing is quite high relative to the ambiance and amount of food served. We ordered the dry chili chicken (D2) and shallow pan fried prawn, pork and chive dumplings. The chicken was served piping hot with plenty of chopped dry red chilis however there wasn't enough garlic or ginger. The bowl was monstrous however it was maybe 35% chicken by volume and the rest was dried chilies and you can only eat so many of those! The dumplings were amazing with slightly crispy bottoms and well seasoned although slightly dense filling. They appear to be handmade and the dipping sauce you have to make yourself with the soy sauce and vinegar on the table With only 1 serving of rice added the bill was $74. Both dishes were tasty however the chicken was not worth the menu price, the dumplings were worth it.

We got the close time incorrect (it's 9pm, not 10pm like Yelp currently says!) and stopped in about…read more8:45pm on a Monday night. Once we realized our error we offered to take our food to go but the woman at the front said we could stay and eat our food. So kind! Husband got C3 (pork with bamboo shoots and mushrooms) and devoured the whole thing. I did the chicken potstickers and WOW! Delicious. We're so glad we stopped in and recommend others to do so as well!

This Szechuan restaurant opened up down the road from me a little while ago, and I've been meaning…read moreto try it. I was hoping to find a menu or something online beforehand, but eventually I just decided to go in blind and hope! My absolute favourite Szechuan dish is shuizhuyu, which is boiled fish in a delicious, spicy soup. I learned Chinese yonks ago and, not willing to bust out my rusty Mandarin, instead brought the dish up on my phone to ask if they had it. I was assured that yes, they did - with a choice of fish, and fresh or frozen. The man serving us (who may have been the owner or manager), however, was kind enough to let us know there would be bones, and unfortunately that counted me out. I have a thing about bones in fish. So instead we ordered pickled and fried free range chicken with dried chillis and chilli oil, fried rice and pork dumplings. Be aware, firstly, that it may seem expensive, but the portions are HUGE. We got a giant plate of fried rice, and more than enough chicken for the both of us. Each serve of dumplings comes with 4 dumplings in a spicy oil, so we had plenty of food. There was also complimentary jasmine tea. I was slightly taken aback to discover the chicken had bones in some pieces, but it was worth dealing with that as the chicken was crispy on the outside, juicy in the middle and deliciously flavoured. The service leans towards Chinese style, i.e. ask for what you want, don't expect them to come to you.

I was beginning to wonder if good Sichuan food would be available in Auckland. Thanks to a friend…read moreof a friend we were turned on to Love Cuisine and we were not disappointed. The menu is very extensive, with each listing accompanied by a photo (helpful for newbies) and there really is something for everyone, from the familiar to the new. We ordered rather more than two people really need, including two cold dishes, two kinds of dumpling, a tofu dish, a beef dish with noodles and a green vegetable and each one was excellent. Not all dishes are super-spicy, so fear not if that's a concern, but if you are a chilli-head you will be well looked after. Reasonably priced and friendly service to boot. GO!!!

Not bad, not bad at all. Had some pork dumplings, and a spicy noodle soup. The menu looks really…read moregood.

This is the best Chinese food I have had on the shore and Auckland! Super authentic, welcoming and…read moredelish! Will be back soon. The spicy beef, grill lamb, taro balls and wine selection all on point.

Aaah with all the Chinese food around Auckland, Sichuan Restaurant is pretty run of the mill…read more It was pretty quiet on a monday lunch for Yum Char but the ladies are very friendly and are happy to help in any way when it's not crazy busy, so good service gets a tick from me. I thought the food was sliiightly bland so I made sure to ask the waitress for chili, soy, and vinegar. Though my mum seemed to prefer it that way, so I guess it's a preference thing.

Went here for Yum Cha midday on a Sunday and was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't packed full…read moreto the brim as is usually the case with Yum Cha's around this time. Not much you can say about the service, they came around regularly enough with food and as is usually the case with Yum Cha, knew the bare minimum of what they were serving and not much more. I did like that they had a self-service vinegar, soy sauce and chilli oil station so you didn't have to keep requesting little bowls of each. Arthur C mentioned that the food was pretty bland with his review and I'd have to agree. It was definitely OK, but it all seemed to taste the same and didn't have much flavour to it. And it was expensive ($90 for 2 people for lunch with no drinks and nothing to exotic ordered). Would come again probably, but there are a lot better Yum Cha's in the area that have better food for cheaper prices.

The hotel concierge recommended the Commercial Bay food court on the second floor. At first, we…read morewere hesitant about eating at a food court as we imagined it would be like Taco Bell, Panda Express, Burger King, etc. But it turned out to be more like a modern food hall. It's inside a commercial building with over ten vendors offering a nice mix of cuisines: Vietnamese, Malaysian, Chinese, Mediterranean, and Korean, plus a few places for juice, açaí, and matcha drinks. We decided to try Eden Noodle, mainly because it had the longest line--which usually says something about how popular (and hopefully good) the food is. We ordered the pork ribs with rice noodles and the wontons in chili oil. We chose mild, but it was still quite spicy, so next time we'll definitely go for not spicy. The ordering process was super easy. You go to one of the three kiosks, grab a pager with a number, enter your order, pay, and wait for the buzzer to go off when your food's ready--it took about 15 minutes for ours. There's plenty of seating--tables, chairs, and benches--and you often end up sharing a table with strangers. That might feel unusual for Americans, but it actually reminded me of Hong Kong, where space is limited and communal dining is the norm. Overall, portion sizes were decent for the price, and the flavors were good--just a bit spicier than expected for "mild."

Just great food. Small no frills place. Chili wontons are a must and the cucumber salad was a good…read morerefreshing balance. Grandma was making dumplings by hand right when you walk in like she does everyday. You prefer before you sit down so know what you want. Go here.

I've had some gua baos from other Auckland eateries that serve fusion food. The reality is that…read morethey stuff the open-styled Chinese buns with something made in the kitchen and call it a gua bao. No. The trick to the tasty authentic guao bao is that fatty pork must be used - the pork belly type where you can count the layers. Juiced up with a beautiful sweet sauce and a touch of peanuts, it is literally heaven in the mouth. This is where the gua bao at Chinoiserie wins. The bun was surprisingly soft and fluffy, both to have there and takeaway. This is interesting because this type of bun usually dries and hardens when it cools. Think of the buns you have at yumcha when no one wants to eat it, and the peer pressured one is then faced with a cold hard white Chinese bun. The first time I tried Chinoiserie, I embarrassingly made friends take it away because I was stuck in glorious Auckland traffic. Them coming all the way from Christchurch to taste this, I was lucky the taste wasn't compromised! The second time I went with friends who had the authentic gua baos in Taiwan, and it was a unanimous thumbs up. The only difference is that the ones there are usually made with pickled veggies instead of the colourful Western slaw. Unless you have a reason to: - don't order the tofu gua bao. The taste really paled in comparison to others. EAT SOME MEAT! - opt out for the fries. They are really just fries with a wasabi dip. Plus they were the skinny kind and I like the manly chunky ones. - opt out for the coconut crusted squid rings. They were a bit bland and there was no sign of coconut taste. - go somewhere else for dessert. The black sticky rice dessert seemed to be just a sliced assortment of ingredients scattered. Instead - order the pork gua bao. I normally don't even like pork but they are traditionally made with pork and once you taste it you'll know why. - in fact order 2. Because if you have a normal appetite, one gua bao won't totally fill you up. You'll need sides. - try Erk's Sticky Chicken Nibbles. A touch of spicyness - so good. - get the fresh coconut. You'll also get a spoon to scrap the sides for coconut flesh! I can happily say Owairaka Ave is turning into quite a trendy place to eat out thanks to Chinoiserie and L'oeuf. The menu is simple and you order at the till. No table service or waiters there to pick up white serviettes that drop when you stand up. Just satisfyingly tasty food.

As a Mt Albert resident I am proud to say that we have one of Auckland's coolest bars. Not in a…read morefancy, trendy way but more like a bar/restaurant that became the legendary place of the neighborhood as soon as it opened it's doors. The whole concept is in my opinion quite humorous - turning a cheap local Chinese takeaway into this effortlessly awesome bar. Interior decor - Chinoiserie is a very cozy, friendly place with a unique, hip look. Just like L'Oeuf it is somewhere in between modern and retro with a very cool dragon graffiti on the wall and the usual gorgeous plants just popping out on every shelf and hanging from the ceiling. Paper umbrellas were used in place of lamp shades to emphasize the oriental look. Staff - lovely as always they are very helpful and organized, happy to have a chat and make you feel like at home. Menu - very simple with 4 options for gua bao (steamed buns), some slaw, chicken nibbles, squid rings and 2 dessert options. So easy to order and yet so tasty and delicious. As for drinks they have a few beers and this summer's favourite - Coco Loco! Food - ordered at the counter just like a standard takeaway but then you get this great quality and high standard food full of flavours that reminds you that these guys are serious when it comes to serving gourmet food. Price - very affordable and good value for money. The real beauty of this place is it's unique atmosphere - very chilled out and relaxing. You can walk into Chinoiserie and forget about the outside world. Flavours take you on a journey and when it's time to leave you feel like you are going back home from a vacation.

Decent xi'an restaurant. I recommend the braised pork hand made noodles. The noodle texture is very…read moreQ. Be prepared to feel full off of this one dish alone split between two. We also ordered the Liang Pi noodles. The flavor of this dish was good but the noodle texture was not as tender as hoped. The noodles were a little thick. Self service plates and silverware and tea

This is a very new opening here amongst a row of what is mostly chinese restaurants, and which…read moreserves more Sichuan style cuisine. Having just come back from Chengdu and the flavours of their particular cuisine still " fresh " in my taste buds it was too much to walk past this place. Had to go in and try it out and see how it rates against the " real thing ". And we were not disappointed. Though a small place it felt welcoming as were the staff, and they have done the interior decor quite nicely too. Service was really good with the orders once taken , the food would come out quite quickly. We ended up ordering the steamed beef, of which I could have ate a lot more so delicious it was. Then came the steamed pork ribs which although small were as tasty as the last dish. The bigger dish of Loongs Special Beef Noodles ( I believe a " limited " edition so to speak? ) came next. Noodles and meatballs and other ingredients combined to make it yet another delicious dish. These guys were sure on their " A " game regarding everything thus far. We also ordered the steamed egg with pork mince. Enough said about the other dishes thus far....well this was well and truly on a par with them. Well I think I've said enough . I can totally recommend here . The service is great, as is the food and it is a nice atmosphere to sit in. Oh, and almost forgot to say that the price is not too bad either. Try it out!!!

This place came highly recommended by many. Quick easy simple meals at reasonable price…read more The place- spacious, decent amount of seats, but won't make you feel claustrophobic like many Chinese restaurants. The lighting could be a bit brighter. The food- can't really classify them into any particular style. They serve pretty much every style of Asian dishes including Japanese, Koran, Chinese, Thai. Has pretty much the most popular dish from each region. I went with the rule of don't try random stuff and go for the dish that's recommended. The beef noodle soup was for sure a good choice. The broth was hearty, hint of spiciness, good amount of noodles and thinly sliced beef. Very well cooked and essentially melts in your mouth. The chicken laksa was not as good as what you can get from a Malaysian restaurant north of Bombay. The drinks- bubble tea.. The service- friendly, no complaint.

I think my cousin found this restaurant on Trip Advisor or something so we made a stop here on our…read moreway to the hotel on our first night in New Zealand. Although this is more an Asian restaurant as opposed to being specifically Chinese, we were pleasantly surprised by the taste of the food since the selection was so broad and not as specialized/specific. We ordered a variety of dishes to share amongst our party of 6 and everything was pretty good. The servers were nice and pleasant, the food was pretty good, and the prices are reasonable. I would recommend checking this place out. (My mom and aunts wanted to come back again the next night which was a no-go considering we were in Rotorua by then and were not going to drive back).