chop sticks 101

so far my favourite place to go when i don't feel like cooking dinner. good quality and a good amount of it for the price you pay. only problem is which i do not if it is good or bad is the fact that it can sometimes get too crowded in there. so if you are wanting a classier restaurant or eatery then this isn't for you but if you want a decent hot meal for a cheap price then chopsticks is the way to go.

chopsticks is normally always buzzing and there's no wonder why. for the massive proportion size and relatively inexpensive and extensive menu, it is no surprise. the bubble teas are one of my favourite attractions (i highly recommend the lychee black tea with pearls and coconut jelly.. mmm. the jellys taste like lychee). the food is not the most authentic and has been very westernised but other than that it is ok and good take out food. try and avoid dishes such as stir fries as you'll be paying for overpriced stodgy vegetables in a corn flour slurry however their hot pot dishes are delicious and perfect for winter!

also don't forget to get your loyalty card stamped!

always good food!! i dine there regularly and the staff are friendly and always cater to my fussy food wants. i love their spicy chicken with chilli oil!!! delicious

well priced, great selection of chinese food. quality was reasonable and a warm atmosphere. very quick and staff all friendly. cheap cuts of meat but worth trying

absolute best food in dunedin!

i am down for work to dunedin about once per quarter and always have dinner here most nights. they have a huge menu with a range of dishes from taiwan as well as other places in asia.

the food is fantastic! tasty and also very affordable. try the soft bone chicken, the steamed pork belly with mustard pickled vegetables on rice and the simmering beef noodle soup.

if they had an auckland branch i don't think i'd ever cook again!!

we have just landed in dunedin today ,and the weather is so cold 🥶 we feel like a hot and spicy 🌶 meal so decide to try chop sticks 101 which is well known in dunedin city.

we ordered “ma la pot” and “vegetarian pot” the taste is okay on average side and was not until i found lots of lotus roots that turned black in my vegetarian pot 🥲.

i took them to the counter and show the lady the black lotus.... she then took it to the back of kitchen and come back to say it’s normal for lotus to turn black because it’s oxidised when it contact with the air......and is still edible.....???? i wasn’t expecting this kind of answer, so i told the lady i have never eaten lotus that turned black, and if it’s oxidised why the chef still put it in the pot??? i really don’t want to get stomach crank from this.....they asked me if they can make me another pot or make me another dish, but i couldn’t trust this place anymore, so we ask for refund.....and will never come back again.

any of their szuchuan dishes are a great option. i’ve had their szuchuan pork belly which was delicious and the pork intestines. both meats were very tender and easy to chew, flavorsome and a good portion size.
8.5/10

i’ve also had a tofu vegetable stir fry which was decent. no wow factor, the tofu was soft and there was a satisfactory amount of it compared to the vegetables.
7/10

(also recommend mao’s braised pork belly! there’s one with rice and the pork belly is still such a generous portion-so worth! the pork is pretty delicious, best right there and then, and it also has pickled vegetables on the bottom of the dish, such a yummy accompaniment!)

edit 26/4
decided to opt out of my comfort zone today and ordering something different from my usual choices of pork belly!
ordered the sliced lamb hot pot with chinese medicinal herbs and it was definitely a goodie. the lamb was tender and soft to chew, and the tofu was a perfect solidness-not too firm but not fall apart soft either, and stayed well intact when i picked it up with my chopsticks. other accompanies bits were bok choy which were a little tough and two pieces were very dry (at the top), a few sweet chinese dates (yummy not dry!), and bamboo shoot pieces throughout. they were a nice addition, but the flavor of the soup really carried the meal through. the soup was full of flavor and really well paired with lamb, it was sweet yet ever so slightly tinged with a hint of the distinct traditional medicinal herb flavor-dare i say bitter? definitely worth trying if you’re a fan of lamb hot pot. the meal was a generous portion for the price and definitely worth. it could’ve been separated into two meals but i was greedy and ate it all. 4.5/5

my friend got the kimchi pork hot pot, and let me try a bit-the kimchi flavor was slightly spicy and sour, a delicious awakening for the taste buds, however the pork had a ‘strong pork taste’ and was a bit tougher than i was expecting (more so than the lamb) and did not hold my attention as much. still delicious, but if the pork was more tender i would’ve rated higher. 3.5/5

eggplant with mince and salty fish is also a decent one!

love this place ! staff are always friendly, food is a great price with huge portions and something for everybody. always busy in here and its easy to see why once you've been for yourself. love trying something new everytime we visit and haven't been disappointed yet.

horrible service. they got our order wrong but was told that they can’t change it because it’s already been made...um what???? what kind of service and attitude is that

food has been good when we dined in before, value and flavour wise. tried 101 via delivereasy last week, and the size of the dishes was very small. seems unreasonable to be handing out significantly smaller dishes for delivery when we pay a delivery fee, i imagine deliveryeasy charges the vendor a fee like uber eats, which the restaurant is trying to recover by using smaller servings for delivery.  disappointing.  we will not be bothering with 101 again, dine in or delivery.  too many other good asian food places to bother with this one.

only come to dunedin once or twice a year, chopstick 101 is definitely something i don’t want to miss. had streamed pork belly and preserved vege on rice. the pork was really nice and did not have the nasty pork smell i sometimes get when i eat out. tried their bbq on rice, tofu with pork belly and taiwanese fried chicken. have not tried like sweet and sour pork or chicken cashew, so can’t comment on those kiwi-popular dishes. but if you are looking for some authentic chinese food, here is a good choice.

the best place without a doubt for authentic taiwanese/chinese. do not miss. never been disappointed and the owners are just lovely! hard to go wrong - great menu selection.

good staff. limited variety of cuisines. no variety in soups. chicken sweet corn soup is lame. quantity & quality of dishes fluctuates a lot. lacks consistency in maintaining the stature of certain dishes.

went there with flatmates, about 7 pax on quiet monday evening. restaurant was busy with uni students and we were able to get a round table enough to serve 7 of us. ambiance is same as any asian restaurant, pop red everywhere. the only one thing different here is service is dyo (do your own) meaning you have to go grab your own cutlery and crockery from the shelf.
restaurant is byo and they charge $5 corkage fees per wine bottle. i had white bottle so asked for a ice bucket or something similar to chill my wine. however was informed that they don’t have one. meaning i had to gulp that wine down in room temperature.
menu is extensive and can be somewhat confusing as there is no description of abh particular dish, so we have to make some guess or figure out by watching the picture of that dish.
food itself is really good and tasty. prices are easy for pocket too.

easily one of the best takeaways in dunedin. super good food that is cheap, large portions, and made quickly.

personal favourite is n8 which is the noodles with chilli with choice of meat or veg (i tend to get chicken). their large size is massive and can serve 2. also love their pork and cabbage dumplings. i’ve also had the chicken and cashew nut stir fry which was good as well.

the service is friendly, and they do well considering how busy they always are. a real popular student joint and there’s no wonder why.