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

A five star cheap eat. I found it on a cheap eats list - read the reviews and decided to visit…read moreafter a long day on the road. Service was super quick (though we were one of two tables on a Monday night and close to closing time) and they over-delivered on flavour. The chef wasn't just going through the motions, he was lovingly preparing our order. Attention to detail and care were evident. I've had top notch Vietnamese and paid top $ for it. It was next level. This by contrast is humble food done brilliantly. I would totally recommend it.

I recently went here for a meal with my family. The food was…read moreexcellent, the plates had plenty of food on them. Staff were friendly and very efficient. The price for 7 adults was really great. I can really recommend thus restaurant.

This is a very calm, nice South Asian restaurant. There's a good range of Thai, Vietnamese,…read moreChinese, Malaysian and Burmese food. I had lunch here with friends. I enjoyed a Thai Tom-Sam Prawn Salad which was beautifully made, fresh and colourful. My companions had a Massuman and Vietnamese Stir Fried Noodles. Everything was lovely, so delicious and enjoyable. Service is respectful and very professional. Meals don't take long to come. I'd definitely come back, thank you.

Never thought I would find so much foreign food in New Zealand. I don't really know what I was…read moreexpecting. I guess I assumed it would be burgers, fish and chips, seafood and lamb. With the occasional Chinese restaurant sprinkled in. Because they're in every country. But Thai? From New Zealand? And pretty much the entire crew are Kiwis?? No fruit isn't running this restaurant that's what they call themselves here. This place though.. It was good. Really good! The inside has an upscale look but you don't need to dress classy to eat here. They don't overdo the fact that they are an Asian restaurant. You know how some places can be.. Oooh let's put a tiger in that corner, and oh a Buddha in that corner, maybe a temple print wallpaper.. No no. This place keeps it simple. Staff was great. They don't work for tips in New Zealand but still cared about me just as much. Let's talk food!! The menu runs deep. Like 50 numbers deep. We ordered 3 items. 38-Black Pepper Stir Fry, 20-Pad Thai, 12-Tom Kar which is a soup. Everything had such great flavor. Lots of meat in our dishes to. 3 items and it was plenty for 3 of us. And they make sure to label the menu to let you know what is spicy, and extra spicy. So no surprises here! Oh they also have a small section for Vietnamese food. Shutout to my Viet friends. But.. We didn't order any of that. 5 stars for great food and service!

Had a recommendation to come here from our air bnb host and boy it didn't disappoint…read more The satay is amazing! The laksa has vegetables in it - odd but nice enough. They forgot our pork balls, then we reminded them, they brought them out but still it wasn't great... they were very plain balls with a sweet pineapple sauce... The pepper beef was nice but I would've enjoyed it more if it had more pepper. Overall though, this place is nice. Service is great - they check how the meal is going etc and cater to ANY allergies. Go there - you won't regret it.

An upscale, luxurious restaurant celebrating some Asian fusion ingredients and flavors. It's…read moreprobably a special occasions type of restaurant, though we viewed it more as a welcome meal on our first day off the plane in NZ. If you're having trouble determining what to get, their "Trust the King" tasting menu is a perfect choice. The "Royal" for 100 NZD nets you their best hits plus a dessert as a bonus. With the amount of courses you are given, this ended up being such an incredible value versus ordering all separately. After a final tally, it honestly felt like a highway robbery! Here's what our table received along with expected NZD: Small plate samplers (2): Natural oyster w/ nashi pear, Smoked salmon w/ spinach leaf, galangal, chili jam, and salmon roe Small Shared Plates (2): Wild Venison Carpaccio topped w/ nahm dtok, EVOO, and spicy sesame (32 NZD); Moong dal in mixed seed salad, avocado, and fresh lime (22 NZD) Larger Shared Plates (2): Marinated yellow fin tuna w/ chilli and mandarin, coconut salad (38 NZD); Crispy Pressed Half Duck in caramelized mandarin sauce (62 NZD) Dessert: Lemongrass panna cotta, lime granita, mint (18 NZD) It was a harmonic interplay between different Asian flavors, more Thai heavy than others, and even the local ingredients such as the raw venison entering the foray. They did ask if there was anything we didn't like before serving the meal to which I never thought to mention my aversion to overly spicy food (I was thinking of exotic foods I dislike). And, lo and behold, a lot of options were definitely on the spicier end such as the spicy sesame/ nahm dtok sauce which topped the carpaccio and abundance of red chili shavings in the marinated yellow fin tuna. On the bright side, it did require me slow down which enabled me to truly relish my food. Most everything was delicious even the duck with joyfully crispy skins and dipped in a sweet honey glace (though ever so slightly on dry side in the middle). King of Snake also houses the Monarch Cocktail Bar, to which I ordered a 'Paper Crane' (King of Snake Gin, apple soju, elderflower liquer, sake; 23 NZD) to pair with my meal. A buzzy, floral, and effervescent drink to really lend to the comforting meal.

Nicest Restaurant we've been to in a long while: upscale atmosphere, exceptionally nice ambiance…read morew:super helpful staff. We shared delicious plates and wine. would recommend the prawn dumplings, blue cod, tenderloin steak bites and curry pumpkin. We thought the curry pumpkin was the best!

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.