Chu Long Ji Restaurant — Restaurant in Kaipātiki

The service here is horrible. Although there are tiny signs, their system for waiting for a table is very poor. The older lady working here is always yelling at customers for the strangest things...

so let me explain the system to my fellow googlers: 1: walk straight past the line of people waiting at the entrance corridor and head to the counter 2: if you see a line at the counter, check if they are waiting to order OR waiting to get a number 3: get a number for waiting 4: wait for number to be called (yelled) (5: make sure you hand the number back at where you collected it or be warned ... the older lady might yell at you to do so) 6: be directed to table and then be immediately be directed to go back to the counter to order and pay for your meal 7: be seated with receipt and wait for your order to come, they will cross out each order when it arrives. 8: enjoy the soup dumplings (which are a tad sweet for my liking but still very tasty) without the soup exploding and burning you, also be sure to try the signature noodle soup (only $6.50 but do note there is no meat or vegetable, literally just noodle and extremely fragrant broth) and spring onion oil dry noodle (葱油拌面）

TIP: I first dip the soup dumplings into vinegar and chilli oil (optional), then bite a small hole for the soup to drain out onto your spoon, then drink said soup. Re-dip now soupless dumpling into vinegar/chilli (optional) and...

Disappointing.

Xiao Long Bao must be their specialty but to me they were mediocre at best. Tried both they offered on their menu. Original was slightly better.

Wanted to try the dumplings but they said they weren't available (at 1 p.m. on Friday) even though they were still on their menus.

Wontons with spicy sauce were okay but too pricey. 6, 7 pieces for $15.80.

The most disappointing and ridiculous was their fried rice. Looking at their hefty price for fried rice ($15.80), I thought it would be quite decent in quality and quantity but boy was I so wrong. When they brought it over to us, I thought they had made a mistake. If they put in quality ingredients, it should have been more forgiving. But no, tiny little portion, made up of mostly rice, some rice not even properly broken into, used cheap frozen peas, used tiny little shrimps and finely chopped sausages to have them appear more in the fried rice to look like they were generous with ingredients.

There was no waiting staff, only one at the counter whom I had trouble communicating with because she couldn't speak English. Everything was self service, from seating to getting the menu to getting water to getting bowls, plates and cutlery, and napkins. Have to prepay like takeaway. In the middle of taking my orders, she started taking orders from someone else behind me which I felt was very...

Heard a lot about this place through word of mouth and had a great experience first time coming to eat here.

We were a party of 3 adults and 1 toddler and an infant. Family friendly restaurant equipped with high chairs, dining ware and utensils for the little ones. The restaurant is spacious and tidy (big enough aisles to move a pram around), thematic decor and clean toilets.

We ordered their famous Xiao Long Bao and also Spinach dumplings. The pastry for both of them were just perfect, the Xiao Long Bao was juicy and the spinach dumplings were stuffed full. We also got some side dishes - the preserved egg tofu dish and green bean garlic dish were a huge hit. Although we found the meat dishes we ordered (braised pork and spare pork rib) a bit on the tougher side.

Seems like management took on board previous feedback and reviews as we experienced very helpful and friendly service from the staff.

It’s a place we will recommend to others...