鸿星酒家Lucky Star Restaurant — Restaurant in Ōtara-Papatoetoe

Lucky star is one of the oldest Cantonese Yum Char establishment in Papatoetoe (next to Crown; at the opposite corner). They offer many traditional items such as har gow (Steam prawn dumplings), siu mai (steamed pork and prawn dumplings) and chee choeng fun (rice noodle rolls). And if you have a sweet tooth, please try their egg tart which is a version of a custard tart with eggy custard filling and puff pastry casing. Upon arrival they will first ask what kind of tea you want. I usually go with Jasmine tea which is an aromatic green tea, they also have pu'er - a black tea with quite a strong flavour and my least flavourite is the Shoumei tea a white tea with a distinct taste. Their ordering system is also very traditional, you'll be given an ordering card with your table number. Waitresses carrying freshly steamed delicacies going from table to table and shouting out names of the items and upon giving you the item the waitress will also stamp or draw a mark on your card. Most of their waitresses speak a little bit of English, and they also have photo menu which you could order off the menu if you don't see the item you want...

Dined in here and had the worst experience ever. Spent upwards of $100 and can honestly say it was the biggest waste. Food, appualing. Service, outrageous. When asking a question we were screamed at we were advising we got the wrong dish and they screamed at us. Also asked where we can get condiments and the lady screamed at us and pointed in a different direction speaking non english. I saw the man who works there also scratching his mic in the kitchen and smoking a vape where food was being prepared. We only went here as crown was closed can confirm we definitly wont be back and will only be going to crown otherwise we woukd rather starve then pay money to this disgusting restaraunt. When we asked a simple question the lady SIGHED so loud and screamed. If you dont like your job...

Went for a good takeaway dinner. Asked if the chilli and garlic prawns were deep fried the guy said yes, then ordered the lemon chicken and the prawn and chives dumpling. Got home only to find the chilli garlic prawns were not fried and had too much celery. The lemon chicken was soggy and no where near crispy and was 95% batter with a shred of chicken and tasted like soggy citric batter. Overall it was an appaling experience as we did not end up eating the food called the guy up only for him to say we should've bought it straight away. He was rude instead of being empathetic. How is one meant to know the food is no where near edible until u get home and try it. $60 was a definite waste at this takeaway! If the quality of the food is top notch money is not...