I had been to this particular restaurant years ago , but for yum cha and can hardly remember that…read moreexperience. This time we came for dinner along with several dozen of my wife's work colleagues for a early celebration of the Chinese New Year, hosted by her boss. We had a small selection of wines for each table , of which I chose to have some of the Villa Maria Viognier. Nothing special , but it went down well with me. As for the eating or maybe as is common with a lot of Chinese dinners it should be loosely called " feast " there was food aplenty....coming out so quickly that as I have found when eating such in other restaurants it becomes difficult to squeeze all the dishes onto the table. But we managed. As for each separate dish I could not name them all, though I can say there was lobster , pork, pigs ear , duck and more. I have to admit it was the first duck I have tasted for a long time...and can honestly say it tasted pretty good, almost on a par with the duck we tried in one of the more famous duck restaurants in Beijing. Just lacking in the chef coming and slicing it in front of you as is done in Beijing plus a few other traditional methods they have there. Anyway I had a taste of everything and have no bad words to say...all delicious and worthy of the 5 stars. And of course the service was good as well. A very enjoyable night!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

We are keen Chinese food lovers and we were very charmed by this place. We ask for some Pekin Duck…read moreand they made the effort to share one with another larger group to satisfy us. Thank you

Always a favourite of mine. I go to Empress Garden at least twice a month and it never lets us…read moredown. It's been around for many years and is well known for its peeking duck, which in my opinion, is the best in town by far! The menu is extensive and there are lots of surprising delights such as scallops with egg white. The staff are great, Christine and Dorothy (the managers) are friendly and do everything they can to give a great meal!

The most amazing squid rings and prawns one can get to taste on the shore. Different ways of…read morepreparations if u r a sea food lover from just steamed, to garlic , to spicy u name it. Not at all pricy and excellent quality. Peking duck a must try but book in advance not to be disappointed. A proper Chinese restaurant and a cut above the rest on the shore :) heaps of parking off site and seating for around 50-60 at least....enjoy

My favourite cheap eat anywhere, bar none!! Don't come here for the decor unless you're into white…read morewalls, and don't come here for a panoramic view unless you're into carparks and Blockbuster video rental stores. However, if it's damn tasty Chinese food in massive portions for sweet bugger all money, then you've definitely come to the right place!! Judging by how full this place gets these days, word of mouth has spread - plenty of people are down for cheap and cheerful! Gather your friends or family, bring a bottle down (BYO only, no drinks menu - no corkage!!!), and get a few of the big dishes to share. Everything's great (and nothings more than $10-$15), but I recommend the salt and pepper squid, the beans, the satay beef (comes out sizzling!) and the sweet and sour pork. Awesome awesome place, just make sure you book ahead on a Fri/Sat night and don't expect great service or ambiance.

Whenever we decide to buy dinner out in the city after work, my partner and I always end up having…read morethe same conversation beforehand: Him: What do you want for dinner? Me: A burrito! Him: No, we always have burritos. How about Thai? Me: Meh, can do. I don't mind. Him: Well, I don't mind either so you pick somewhere Me: Burritos! Him: No, we always have burritos... It then goes on for about fifteen minutes until we actually decide on something-- usually the restaurant we happen to be standing closest to. So you can imagine our elation when one day we came across the International Food Court tucked away underneath Queen Street (it's down the stairs just Opposite Cotton On) that houses around six little eateries that provide Indian, Chinese, Brazilian/Middle Eastern (aka delicious burritos and kebabs) and Japanese. In fairness, thus far I've only eaten in Pad Thai and the Brazilian place but they are both amazing. The food tastes really authentic and it's so cheap. A Red or Green curry with Jasmine rice will only set you back $10 and the burritos with rice and sides only a dollar more. Plus, due to the nature of the place, you can order from different kiosks and sit on the same table. Everybody wins.

I'm a big fan of these places mainly because there are so many different types of cuisines to…read morechoose from and the food is all very affordable. So far I have tried the Chinese and Thai food although now I am interested in trying the Brazilian food since I have seen quite a few people order from there. What I really like about the food court is if you have a group of people with you everybody can choose the kind of food they want but still everybody can sit at the same table.

A truly authentic Chinese experience in Auckland New Zealand. I consider myself to be a connoisseur…read moreof Chinese food based upon what I've had in multiple places in North America.The restaurant itself was family oriented. The owner was very attentive explained to us via pictures each of the meals and what it look like to make sure we understood we're ordering. Who does that? I had the lamb with noodles and my partner had pork fried noodles, the thick kind rice noodles. The quality of food was just absolutely amazing. This was truly authentic Chinese cuisine. The portions were so generous and neither one of us could finish our meals. The owners were so nice polite, attentive. If you're in Auckland, New Zealand in the CBD, I would say this is a must go restaurant for anybody.

Wow! Simply stunning!! One of the best roast duck I've had! Can't believe I could find such a…read moredelicious roast duck during my short stay in Auckland. Service was friendly and the manager/owner (male) was fun to talk to. Glad that we dined in here. Thanks bbq king!!! - Elaine

One of the best authentic Chinese restaurants I've ever tried. We ordered several dishes -…read moreeggplant, fish in chili oil, black dumplings and lamb appetizer. All delicious but the eggplant stole the show. Great atmosphere. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Really,nice, hidden lunch place second floor. It's an intimate but upscale setting for a wide…read morevariety of Chinese dishes, authentic and Westernized. You write down your selection on a guest check the server provides. My Wok beef Lunch Set that included rice was a perfect lunch. Looking forward to returning and trying the noodle mains.

Just checked in the hotel and came here before it got too late. The Depot had good reviews on Yelp…read moreso I tried it. It's about 15-20 min walk from the warf. It was busy so I was seated outside. They had overhead heat lamps so I was comfortable without a jacket one (this is in June). The menu is geared for sharing dishes so ordering for one is a challenge. I had the local Lagar on tap, 1 of each of the 2 oysters offered, and the NZ green-lipped mussels with chiriso. They also gave me a complementary pita triangles with hummus. Overall, everything was delicious. I could have gone for more oysters, but didn't want to overdo it. The mussel dish had 7 good size mussels so I was satisfied without feeling stuffed. Glad I came to the Depot.

My friends and I went there for my last day in Auckland. We went around lunch time and we were able…read moreto get seated very quick. The ambiance was still so chill and not as packed because it was early afternoon, which was nice. The staff again were super friendly and answered any questions we had. Sadly, we didn't get the fish sliders because they were sold out! But we did get some of the same dishes I had ordered before but got oysters as well. The oysters were fresh and tasty, especially with their vinegar sauce. My friends also loved the charred eggplant and a couple of them don't really eat eggplant. The crispy potatoes were so good! The truffle wasn't too overpowering and they were perfectly crisp. The steak was super tender and juicy and the wedge salad helps cut the fat and compliments the steak as well. Can't wait to come back to Depot. Already miss it so much!