Basu Lounge — Restaurant in Devonport-Takapuna

Basu Lounge is the Chinese Takeaway that dreams are made of.

This hole in the wall little local is unbeatable if you’re looking for an authentic spicy mouth watering delicious Chinese meal. There is plenty of seating inside, or you can take your meal to go and post up at the local Takapuna beach. It can get a little busy during peak meal time but either side of this it is usually quiet enough to sit a family of four easy.

Basu simply never misses. If you can handle some heat, I highly recommend ordering your meal “hot” when they ask as this packs in the full amount of flavour potential.

Generous portion sizes, especially when dining in. The key staples of a Basu lounge order should include the creamy nutty delicious Dan Dan noodle - this is unmatched, you order a Dan Dan anywhere else you will be like “damn they really do have the best Dan Dan noodle in the world at Basu lounge Takapuna” you gotta get the dumplings in spicy sauce, again hot spicy. The sauce is spicy, sweet and salty, everything you’re looking for in a sauce. These two dishes will transport you out of your body and into the highest realms of satisfaction. Great for a cold winter night.

Staff at the counter are friendly and patient if you’re browsing the menu though you know you’re gonna order the Dan Dan and Dumplings in spicy sauce regardless. Extremely reasonably priced, could easily eat here for less than $20 a head.

Basu lounge...

This is hands down my favourite spot to eat ON EARTH. I've been coming here since I was at high school (I'm 37 now). And though the prices have gone up a touch (in line with inflation of course), the quality has remained exceptional. My parents and my sister are all massive fans too and we would have eaten here hundreds of times. The same wonderful lady still owns this place and every time we see her she comes has a chat with us.

My favourite dishes (I pretty much only ever order these, I really should try out some more of the menu) are:

Dandan noodles (these are not the traditional kind but have the most incredibly delicious creamy sauce - peanut, fermented bean (I think), and chili. Pork and chive dumplings - soft, dreamy pillows of deliciousness Wantons with spicy sauce - these wantons are sooooo good Enoki mushroom salad - such a lovely contrast of textures in a vibrant sesame/chili dressing Cucumber salad - same dressing as the enoki but with a bit more crunch Hot and Numbing beef noodle soup - the sichuan pepper in this packs a punch and definitely numbs your lips but the broth is so moorish and the beef so tasty no matter how much it burns, you just keep...

Short Story ~ My colleagues often get their lunch from Basu Lounge, they seem to be loyal customers, so that’s how I got introduced to this place.

So, today I decided to give it a go. 🙂

What I ordered - Chicken & Cabbage Dumplings in spicy sauce (10 pcs). 👈 this is one of their Top Selling items if the menu 🥟

How much I paid - $17.80

What I liked - Portion, pretty generous 🍲

What I did not like - Sweetness in the spicy sauce, where I come from sweet-base curry/ sauce/ gravy isn’t part of the meals so it’s the ONLY thing that did not work for me, may be not used to that taste!

Value for money - Yes, absolutely 👍

Spice level - Item’s description is …..with spicy sauce, but it wasn’t spicy/ hot at all. Next time I’ll ask them to make it even spicier. 🥵

Overall, not an unpleasant experience 🙂

One may try if in/ around Takapuna, North...