Mr Zhou’s Dumplings

Delicious egg and chive pancakes and alright dumplings — tasty as long as you add the chilli and soy sauces. The service was OK, bordering on bad, but that doesn’t bother me too much because the food is cheap! Would go again if I couldn’t get to any of the better dominion road choices.

After walking past Mr Zhous one day last year and noticing all the customers overflowing out the doors i decided it must be good or at least worth trying, so i tried and have since been a regular, dinning in around once a week.
The dumplings are fantastic and have a big range of flavors to choose from, and an option to have them boiled of fried, i would recommenced to have them fried.
It also boasts a large range of other dishes other than dumplings, be sure to try the fried pancakes, Lovely.
Prices are very cheap and dishes are more than generous making it even more attractive to eat there.
Mr Zhous can get very over crowded at peak times (dinner times especially on Thursdays and Fridays) so be prepared to wait for a table and put up with a lot of noise.

GREAT dumpings! These guys do an amazing job with their dumpings! Great local restaurants for the westies.

I seriously can’t get enough dumplings. When I studied in China it was like dumpling heaven. Ever since I got back from China it is a constant forage for the dumplings I had in China (and just recreating that dining experience in general).
Mr. Zhou’s is a lot like the places that we’d frequent in China — plastic table clothes, bare/​minimalistic, stereotypical Chinese artwork, florescent lighting, and not the greatest customer service (I turned the tea lid upside down to signal we were out of tea only to be ignored, which is a bench mark for me for good Chinese. Bad service generally = good food).
You combine the above with the hot, freshly cooked dumplings, amazing fried eggplant and you transport me back to China! The food was spot on, and to top it off they had my favourite hand pulled/​hand made noodles!
Definitely a favourite (I loved New Flavour, a favourite also). I will go back again and again. Wish I knew about it when I lived in West Auckland! West Auckland people, you don’t have to go as far as Dominion rd anymore!
There is a saying that especially in winter you need to eat more dumplings or else your ears will fall off. I am sure that it sounds more eloquent and rhymes when said in Chinese. Anyway, you will find me here or some other dumpling spot on Dominion road (or my favourite Eden Noodle House) gobbling dumplings!

I don’t know if I have ever eaten so much food for so little money!
I’m told Mr Zhou was the previous owner of New Flavour and plenty of dishes are the similar to what you’ll find there but what surprised me is that, contrary to the name, Mr Zhou does a whole heap more than dumplings.
Don’t worry there’s still plenty of those doughy delights but there’s also hand-​pulled noodles, savoury pancakes and this refreshingly zingy salad of cucumber and tofu that fans of New fFavour will know well. Seriously, how does this man find the time…
The interior isn’t much to write home about with only a couple of cheap tables and chairs but the food comes out fresh and fast and of course, there’s takeaway.
You can even purchase the dumplings frozen for $ 2 less than the menu price to cook at home. I know what I’ll be serving at my next dinner party…

Thanks to Mr. Zhou, I’ve invented a new word.
It’s nothing grandiose or elaborate or anything … simply one of those times a phrase spontaneously escaped feeling soooo incredibly right: OHMYGODDUMPLINGS.
Genius, I know. But justttt you wait — as soon as you get your hands on one of these homemade specialities you, too, will be sputtering the rad buzz word.
… (Drool).
My favorites were the chicken coriander dumplings and cucumber/​tofu salad (apparently on par with New Flavour’s version [they’re the former owners]).
The prices can’t be beat, either — just $ 10 [or $ 12 depending on your filling of choice] for 20 large, juicy dumplings. Needless to say, we had plenty of leftovers (which were equally amazing the following day, I may add).
Restaurant ambiance isn’t the draw here — most patrons were getting their dumplings to go (although there a few tables and I quite enjoyed eating in).
Pro-​tip: Get some frozen dumplings on your way out for your personal stash ($ 2 cheaper too!).

Mr Zhou’s is one of those places that you hear about from friends. It’s not in a trendy area, it doesn’t have much ambience, the service ain’t much to write home about BUT the food is finger-​lickin’ good.
The ambience is definitely «takeaway vibe». There are only about 3 – 4 small tables, and the food is served in plastic takeaway containers. On the night we visited they were doing a roaring takeaway trade.
The owners used to run New Flavour, so they know their way around homemade dumplings, hand-​pulled noodles & tasty Chinese food.
The menu is very similar to New Flavour, so dumplings are a must — choose from such flavours, and my personal favourites, of Pork, prawn & chives, Mutton & onion and Egg, chives & prawn. You can order them steamed or fried, or even frozen to take them away & cook at home!
Other dish recommendations are: Sliced dried tofu & cucumber salad if you can handle a tangy hit of chilli in the dressing, the Fried pancakes, any of the noodle dishes and the Deep-​fried eggplant with pork mince stuffing. In fact, give me time & I’d probably list the entire menu! Would love to hear some other tried & true favourites though.
Cheap, cheerful Chinese — you can’t go wrong!