Pandan Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in North Island

We came here the other night, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good an experience it was! From the outside it doesn't look like much, and we dined on a Monday and there was only one other table occupied at the time which made me wonder when I first walked in. But once we were seated and one of the staff/owners came to take our orders etc, it was an A-Tier experience all round.

Starting with the staff, our waiter was incredibly nice and very helpful - he knew the menu inside out and had tried a lot of it, so was really helpful in trying to decide what we wanted, and also what we could modify for dietary reasons - we're all vegetarians and he said that essentially the entire menu can be made vegetarian in some form! He also kept checking on us throughout the night, and also came around to top up our water etc - just consistently good service that you don't really get these days, or at least aren't guaranteed to.

Food - if you look at the photos on the website, the food legitimately looks that good. My sister actually got the Egg Curry, and it looked almost 1:1 to the picture on the site. I can't say I'm much of an Egg fan, but the gravy is unreal - I don't think I've ever had a gravy that would pair as well with some Roti, it's deliciously more-ish while being savoury but also a tad sweet and spicy. We also got a Vegetable Sambal & a Kung Foo Char (without the Seafood/Chicken) - the Sambal is spicy, but that's probably the last thing you notice as it's layered with so much other flavour that is a really nice experience. The Kung Foo Char again exceeded all expectations - given that I made it a vegetarian dish, I expected it to potentially be slightly bland, but the broth was still packed with a lot of different flavours, and the rice noodles were excellent - they were fried and sitting in the broth, yet somehow held some of the broth and were still crisp, even 15+ minutes into the meal.

Portion Sizes - these are very, very generous, and combined with the price this alone is a reason you should visit! We ordered 3 very different meals, and got exactly halfway through all three of them, and had to get all three to takeaway. So we in essence got 3 extra meals out of what we ordered/paid for! And given the mains are about ~$25 or so on average, you're essentially getting the equivalent of a $12-13 per serving meal, which is unheard of in this day and age. It's a really refreshing change from the now common $30-40 main that's rather small and leaves you hungry, and doesn't even taste that good.

So if you haven't already figured out, I'm a big fan of the place - it's nothing too flash nor fancy, it does the basics and it does the basics really well. If I lived in the Hutt I would consider getting takeaways from here regularly as it's great food made by people who care at a good price - unfortunately for me I live in town, but it's the kind of place I hope people visit because it does so much right, and is the kind of place you want to see thrive and the owners...

I used to be a regular customer of this restaurant—until today. This evening, my wife and I decided to have dinner there. At 6:22 PM, 5​3 minutes before our planned visit, I called and booked a table for "quarter past seven." The person who answered confirmed the booking.

We arrived at 7:15 PM and waited until 7:35 PM before asking about our meal. To our surprise, we were told that our booking was for 7:30 PM and that the restaurant was "not committed to serving food on the dot." While I understand that delays can happen, I was shocked by the rude and dismissive tone of their response. They stated outright that they trust their staff over customers and are "not liable to provide food at the agreed time."

This level of unprofessionalism and lack of basic customer service left me questioning whether I was still in New Zealand, a place known for its hospitality. After waiting 35 minutes past the agreed time, at 7:50 PM, we finally received our food. However, the rude attitude of the staff had already spoiled our appetite. We ate very little, paid the bill, and left feeling disappointed and unwelcome.

This experience has left a bitter taste, and I will not be returning to Pandan again.

Edit after owners comment: I don’t engage in arguments over trivial matters. What disappoints me the most is your claim that I lied. Readers can discern the rudeness and stubbornness in your comment, so I see no need to rephrase it. If this is how a businessman conducts himself, I wish...

Dropped in here for lunch when visiting the Hutt. They have a lunch menu with several items of curry or Indian cuisine that the names were unfamiliar to me, but I def want to try it next time! I ended up going for Hokkien Men and it was flavourful without the ingredients being too salty. There was a lot of sauce! Almost like soup which was a bit too salty to drink unfortunately. I got some plain roti to dip it in and the roti came hot and delicious. I can smell the caramelised wheat and taste the sweetness of the flour. Good chewy texture while remaining soft. I wish there was a bit more noodle in the dish as it wasn't enough for me (hence the roti), but I suppose that leaves you room to order a small dish!! A shame I don't live in Wellington, otherwise I'll be back to try a curry dish next time. Thank you for the great service! I...