chinoiserie

the chinoiserie has done really well to serve their style of food consistently. the menu doesn't change which is okay, and it won't disappoint.
the menu is based on steamed buns with their fillings including my favourite, pulled pork. i thought the tofu filling was a little odd but might just be me. added to this are some excellent sides including coleslaw, string fries and some beautifully cookedchickenwings.
if you go make sure you know that it will be messy finger food.
a great selection of beers available and desserts to die for. i won't ruin the surprise!

true to its name, chinoiserie is a classic kiwi interpretation of the famous and well loved bao (steamed bun). this eatery tucked in the suburban heart of mount albert packs some major vibes and great music. walking into the open kitchen sets the mood and smells divine.

the restaurant itself is small in size and filled like a sardine can with customers, in saying this the staff do an amazing job at keeping on top of things and ensuring patrons are constantly tended to. if anything a slight increase in communication between staff could save them the trouble of repeatedly checking on different customers for the same thing. we were asked by almost every member of staff if we needed a drink whilst we were waiting for a table. 

i love the fact that they have such a compact menu, i am a big believer of doing a few things really well as opposed to a choice of many average dishes. in saying that, there is definitely a small amount of room for improvement food wise. the flavours are there, they work well together but there was a lack of seasoning on the majority of dishes we tried. i really enjoyed the pickled ginger in thechickenbao, thechickenwas slightly overcooked, a little chewy and lacked flavour. the portion sizes were incredibly generous.

what was lacking in taste was made up in service and atmosphere. with a bit of tweaking this place is undoubtably set to steal the hearts of aucklanders and those from further afar.

have been here twice and really love it! my husband is taiwanese and he also loved the food - not exactly authentic but definitely close enough. we especially liked thechickenand pork bao, they were the best. the calamari/squid rings are yummy too. great selection of alcoholic drinks. a fun, relaxing environment with friendly staff. will definitely be going back :)

having walked in at 8pm on a tuesday night with some friends, and to be honest i was expecting this place to be somewhat empty, due to its unexpected location away from the main mt albert shops and from what i saw was that corner of mt albert road and owairaka ave is being brought back to life with hip new eateries. so we walked in and the place was packed which is only a good sign since the place is quite new and so many people have embraced it and rave about it. 

i will admit i heard about this place a while ago but never went and i am so glad i did finally get there!
the menu at chinoiserie looks simple with little on offer, but those few items are delivered so well with some pretty amazing flavours, i think its much better to do few items amazingly well then offer several half way there dishes. 

i think its fair to say i could tell before i even ordered what the most popular things would be and given they were the things that looked the best to me in my ravenous mood. we all orderedchickengua bao and a pork gua bao each with a side of coconut squid rings to share and a bowl of fries (everyone loves fries!) 

the buns were perfect, warm and soft and hint of sweetness fill with a generous amount of sticky flavourful meat and fresh crunch veggies like cucumber, bok choi and you can't forget the fresh coriander and the peanuts on the pork one finishes the whole thing nicely. i can't fault the squid at all, well cooked, not chewy at all, hot and very crisp, i could have downed a bucket of it though...

surprisingly i was fairly full by the end of it, so for some it might be good to just order as you eat rather than order all at once, you will be stunned by how quick they get food on your table, i had barely said a few words to my friends before we had all this beautiful fresh hot food on the table.  

the place is kind of a bar style atmosphere, not too noisy though and you order at the front which kind of is awesome if you're in a large group and were planning to split the bill you just go up and order the things you want and pay. the place is a little small which the only reason that is because the place is so damn popular — and all the staff  greeted my friends and myself with warm smiles and were friendly and chatty and very accommodating. i totally recommend this place and i know i'll certainly be returning soon. a great restaurant tucked away in an unexpected location, you defiantly feel like you're in on a secret with this one, try it out!

had the best dinner here. was very reasonably priced, and all the food tasted so fresh. would definitely recommend thechickenmilk bun.chickenwings are a bit over priced but still yummy!

went here with a group of friends. we tried almost all the sides apart from edaname and peanuts. the sides were tasty especially the korean noodles. had thechickenand pork baos. the baos were quite pricey for what it is but was flavoursome. the decor was pretty unique and it felt like a cool place to just hang out. though as we're moving into autumn/winter there doesn't seem to be any heating as the doors were open. staff were helpful but could have been a bit friendlier.

what a busy little place on a weeknight. the wait list system was efficient and we were seated within twenty minutes. the design of the whole place was great.
thechickenbao was deeeeelish. squid rings on point, and the wasabi mayo with the fries was a hit.

the food here is good. ive been dying to come and try. service is fast and quick. we ordered fish, pork ,beef andchickenbun. the ribs and spicy chicken.

i love the ribs flavour. its perfectly cooked and falls off the bone. thechickenis quite tasty but not spicy.

the buns r soft n fluffy but the fillings are average
the pork belly fat layer is a bit too much and the skin is too tough to chew. the beef and kimchi is too overpowering (too much kimchi). thechickenwith ginger was so so. im not a ginger fan and found the ginger overpowering.

definitelty worth visiting but rooms for improvement.

this place has some of my favorite things: a short menu, delicious bao, and mulled wine.

highlights were the pork belly bao, glass noodle salad and spicychickennibbles.

a couple of gripes: the front door is weirdly made so doesn't close properly, making the tables at the front very drafty. also, the fluoro lights over the kitchen i suppose are supposed to invoke the 'street food' aesthetic of this place, but it makes it seem a tad too bright and sterile feeling.

ps, bao buns are house steamed but don't appear to be house made. we saw them frozen, in a big plastic bag.

amazing. had the pork belly andchickenbao. the coconut squid rings are different but super tasty, and a decent portion. we also tried the ribs which were very tasty. will definitely return again!

bought takeaway from
this cafe and when i got home i am very shocked to see a tiny serving of the kimchi side which i paid for $4. you can see from the photo how small it is. thechickenpopcorn is really good. highly recommended. the pork ribs are a bit dry and but soft.

we dine at chinoiserie last night, what a great experience,the restaurant was 95% full. we were welcomed inside by a waitress and decided to take the last outside table,our server jason talked me 😊into their special cocktail for valentines day a chilled kahlua /bailey's & chocolate drink it was delicious with a marshmallow on top.
takeaway orders were rolling out.
we ordered achickenbao and a coconut squid bao also the spicy pork noodles all very tasty ( no need for s & p) and freshly made, ncie to add a few drops of the large bottle of hot sauce which was on all the tables.
we also experience service from 3 other waitpersons ,all i found to be friendly and professional.🤗
makinga it a welcoming evening,as soon as the sun went down ,on came the heaters and out came a stack of blankets.
on leaving i found out jason was the manager,( you run a smooth operation) ive been in hospitality for 35years and jason would be an asset to any business .😀🤗🤗🤗

love this place! has the best friedchickenin auckland! thechickenbao and popcornchickenare so yum!!!

chinoiserie is a great place for a quick bite to eat and when i say quick i mean quick. we ordered the pork bao, karaage bao, squid rings, popcornchickenand gong gong noodles and all the dishes came without 5-10 mins.
karaage bao - the karaage was crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside but the 'karaage' flavours were hardly noticeable. condiments paired well with the chicken
pork bao - pork was delicious. rich and full of flavour. the fatty parts exploded with flavour.
squid rings - little bit cold but still crunchy. sauce was fantastic.
popcornchicken- a must try! full of flavour and cooked to perfection. great balance of salty, sweet and sour.
gong gong noodles - nice but nothing really special about it. noodles cooked well, soft but still chewy. great texture to the dish with the peanuts and beans.

service was fine and they have a range of cocktails which would be interesting to try.

had a couple of bao in here and they were delicious. the karaagechickenand pork belly were great. popcornchickenwas also yummy too. service was okay.