China Yum Char Restaurant & Bar

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Address

Ground Floor, 2 Beach Rd,
Auckland
Region: Auckland
Licence: Licenced+BYO
Cuisine: Chinese
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Contact

Phone: 09-309 4808
Fax: 09-309 4807
Website: www.china-yumchar.co.nz

Open

Open 7 days
Yum Char: 10.30am - 5pm
Dinner: 5.30pm - 10.30pm

Overall DineOut Score based on 26 reviews

Total		6.2
Food		6.8
Dessert		5.8
Presentation		6.3
Service		5.3
Environment		6.1
Toilets		6.6
Child Friendly	Yes

Review by: AJE (1) on 4th July 2010

Total		6.1
Food		7
Dessert		7
Presentation		7
Service		1
Environment		7
Toilets		7

My partner and I usually have dim sum at China Yum Char restaurant at least once a month, if not more frequently, as we live close by and tend to enjoy the food. Some of our favorite dim sum dishes are the steamed turnip cake, dumplings, sweet buns, mango and durian flavoured pudding, etc.
However, I was quite disappointed with the service provided by the woman rsponsible for seating guests this morning. I had made a booking for two people, and I arrived about 10 minutes before the time I had booked for. I dutifully checked in with the woman at the front desk to let her know that I had arrived and that I had a booking. I didn't expect her to seat me yet as I was a bit early, but she seated me nonetheless. This was of course fine with me and I was happy to wait for my friend while seated. As I was waiting for my friend since I was early, I decided to order one dim sum dish. I was not more than 10 minutes that I had sat at the table alone that this female staff returned to my table and began to forcefully ask me where the other guest was and then began to scold me implying that I was wasting the table. She then turned and rudely walked away without me being even able to respond. I understand that she was under a lot of pressure to seat guests as people started to arrive in a crowd; however, it was not my fault that she decided to seat me without first asking if all the people in my party had arrived. I would have been happy to wait to be seated later, instead of being harassed by her. I felt very uncomfortable afterward and pretty much lost my appetite. I was quite tempted to simply get up and pay and leave, but I stayed as my friend arrived shortly thereafter. I was told by other staff that she is the person in charge on the restaurant other than the owner. It is very disappointing to know that someone at her level at the restaurant is treating guests so poorly. I would have to say that the staff below her know how to behave and treat guests better than her. I appreciated the service that the servers of the dim sum and the bus boys gave far more.

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Review by: curlielox (7) on 27th May 2010

Total		7.6
Food		8
Dessert		7
Presentation		5
Service		9
Environment		8
Toilets		N/A
Child Friendly	Yes

I also read the reviews and decided not to go for about a year until last weekend when I went with my niece. We loved it and I'm glad I finally gave it a go. The staff were lovely and happily answered my curious 11 year old nieces questions about the snails and pigs feet on offer despite being quite busy that morning. I will definitely be going back.

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Review by: butcherboy88 (1) on 20th May 2010

Total		8.2
Food		8
Dessert		7
Presentation		7
Service		10
Environment		10
Toilets		N/A

I consider myself to be quite the Yum Char fan as I often do Yum Char twice a week, and after staying away from China Yum Char due to bad reviews from this site and other places on the net and other people it took me over 12 months to get here and i must say WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE, I WILL BE BACK in the near future price was resonable for AKL CBD $60 for 3 people, all 3 of us were surprised after the not so great reviews we had heard.
After this experience the only way to find out if its good is not to believe what you read but GO THERE AND TRY IT FOR YOURSELF.
OVER ALL: I will go back to China Yum Char.

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Review by: Hugo (25) on 16th May 2010

Total		7.0
Food		8
Dessert		N/A
Presentation		7
Service		6
Environment		6
Toilets		5
Child Friendly	Yes

Went to China with 3 friends to have yum char.
I had never had yum char before.
The moment we walked in, I noticed that the majority of the customers are Chinese, which is always a good sign.
Once we sat down, there were people coming with trays with food every couple of minutes and soon we had a whole table full with delicious stuff.
I can't even remember anymore all the things we had, but everything was really tasty.
I must admit, this is probably the best way to make money - relying on people's spontaneity and hunger.
There were a couple of large aquariums - one with massive crayfish and one with interesting large fish.
I had a great time and would love to go back there next time I'm in Auckland.

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Review by: G.wilson (2) on 8th April 2010

Total		6.7
Food		8
Dessert		5
Presentation		7
Service		6
Environment		7
Toilets		N/A

went to this restaurant yesterday. The food was good. Staff was friendly enough. The price is quite reasonable. The food arrived very quickly. WIll be back

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Review by: luke01 (6) on 12th March 2010

Total		4.4
Food		3
Dessert		4
Presentation		6
Service		5
Environment		6
Toilets		7
Child Friendly	Yes

Not very good vegetarian selection,, all I could really eat was some bok choy. Wass told dumplings were vegetarian, but I wasn't aware shrimp were now vegetables. Kind of expensive also.

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Review by: nardz1 (1) on 11th November 2009

Total		6.4
Food		9
Dessert		5
Presentation		5
Service		5
Environment		4
Toilets		N/A

(YUM CHAR/MING COURT SKY CITY)
I absolutely loved the food, I have tried so many asian restraunts in auckland and their food is delicious!
the setting may not be perfect but what do u expect for a $20 lunch buffet?
The price is affordable which wont break a budget.
The sevice lacks a little but we havent had any complaints since dining there. That is my cousins favourite restraunt, not because of the service, but because of the food.
Its now my favourite restraunt and we are taking my other family members there for lunch on saturday to try the dumplings that I always rave about.
If you eat there u have to try the dumplings and theres some prawn thingy's that I love too.
Dessert bar is quite yuck but I never have any room after Ive finished with the main buffet

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Review by: Hungry Guy (1) on 9th October 2009

Total		2.7
Food		3
Dessert		3
Presentation		3
Service		2
Environment		2
Toilets		N/A
Child Friendly	Kind of

My wife and I experienced China Yum Cha for the first time today. Having being recommended the restaurant by several others, we were excited to finally be able to try it.
We have tried many many Yum Cha places, and I must say this was found lacking in a major way.
We were greeted by a waving waitress who indicated that we had to sit at a table directly in the wind tunnel created from the open door. When we asked to move we were rudely directed to a small table next to the main door to the kitchen.
Staff:
Rude, Rude, Rude. I have never been treated so rudely by staff in any Yum Cha styled restaurant. They were abrupt and blunt and in some cases simply ignored you when you asked for anything.
Simple human contact and conversation should take place in any service industry. I worked in hospitality for 12 years, and never have I seen such a lack of professionalism.
This went well beyond any cross cultural expectations and misunderstandings. It was inexcusable!
Food:
The food arrived thick and fast in an encouraging manner, unfortunately however we found it to be bland and unexciting. The deep fired squid was very oily and had no flavor other than the oil it was cooked in. We also tried the Prawn & Chive Dumplings, Sweet & Sour Pork, Sui Mai, Spinach & Prawn Dumplings, Scallop Dumplings, BBQ Pork Buns & Custard Buns.
The food did not taste fresh, and the Prawn dumplings had a hard crunch to them where they had dried out in the dirty pie warmer that I watched them being put into in between being run out to the dining room.
Watching the staff rotate the room avoiding tables blatantly and then return to the kitchen, i was horrified to see the state of the staff in the kitchens and the lack of hygiene being displayed by the cooks.
Overall, we were both very disappointed and left quickly after the items we ate - especially after seeing the state of the kitchen.
Drinks:
No water was available, and we bought a small glass bottle of Sprite that cost $4.00 and contained approximately 250mls.
Summary:
We won't be returning to China Yum Cha. If it wasn't for the many Aucklanders who continue to circle the Yum Cha scene, I would have doubts that they will even remain open. There are many other Yum Cha restaurants in Auckland that you could enjoy before ever having to be submitted to the unfriendly service and substandard food offered so disappointingly by the 'team' and China Yum Cha.

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Review by: Solitary Wanderer (38) on 2nd October 2009

Total		3.6
Food		3
Dessert		4
Presentation		4
Service		4
Environment		4
Toilets		N/A

China Yum Char Restaurant is located on Beach Road in the city, however the entrance is on the Quay Street side of the building so you have to walk around the block to get in. We had a Saturday lunch time booking, so when we arrived at noon the place was packed, busy and very noisy. ‘Yum Char’ means ‘drinking tea’ and the idea is that you meet for lunch with family and friends to converse, drink lots of tea and eat an endless selection of small culinary offerings. The venue is quite large, but I ended up in the corner facing an unattractive wall and was unable to fully take in the bustling surroundings. The waiting staff constantly arrives at your table shouting out the names of the food offerings they have and you then have the option to select a plate from them which is added to the running account at your table. I found the staff pushing past me a bit distracting and the shouting too much – even a little painful at one stage. As for the food I was left feeling distinctly under whelmed; pork was used in a number of the selections but it seemed to be a chewy, cheap cut. A lot of the items are steamed in Wonton wrappers which gives them a gluey, bland flavour. One deep fried crabmeat offering was ok and a sweet treat was enjoyable. Something we were offered was ‘deep fried milk’ which turned out to be deep fried custard. My wife bravely tried the durian (known as the King of Fruits), but had to spit it out – I was keen to try it, but the unique odour and my wife’s reaction to it put me off. Overall the quality of the food was quite poor, lacking any distinctive seasonings or flair. While I would be interested to try a better quality Yum Char restaurant, I won’t be prepared to return to this one.

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Review by: kaedetakashi (5) on 25th July 2009

Total		4.8
Food		6
Dessert		6
Presentation		5
Service		1
Environment		3
Toilets		N/A

The food is ok, but I hate the service!
We (party of 3) came at around the lunch time on a weekend, the place was moderately busy, no one was waiting and at a glance there were quite a few empty tables. We didn't have a booking so sat outside in the covered area. Although it was outdoors, the whole area was covered in plastic see-through sheets (probably to block the wind?). Just a bit into the meal, the people at the table next to us (very close as tables are a bit crammed) started smoking. A friend of mine hates the smell of cigarettes, so we thought we'd ask the manager if we could move to another table. She promptly agreed and helped us with moving. However, after we were settled, some waiters pushing trays past us looked at us in a despising way and said "how can people just move around?" excuse me??? And to my disgust, this comment was repeated by other waiters with additional comments of customers being so rude nowadays. They also ignored us when we wanted to have more tea.
The food is nothing to really complain about, but I'm never coming back. Despising your customers with your assumption is just not on.

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