Tai Tong Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in North Island

I’m not sure why anyone else has given this place more than one star but from MY EXPERIENCE I was absolutely MORTIFIED. We booked for 10 people for the dinner buffet and when we arrived the lady took us to a table with only 7 seats then ended up moving us to two separate tables as the other big table was already booked. Then when we sat down the lady walked away and didn’t explain to us what we were supposed to do, ended up coming back to one of our tables and telling us we need to pay before we eat.. $17 EACH for a child under 15 (even a 5 year old) $30 EACH per adult. You then have to walk into the public area in a separate room to get your food and sometimes it’s empty so you have to go and wait while the public are also trying to get their food aswell. Also another separate room you go to for like cold food and desert. Let me tell you this has to be the DIRTIEST place I have ever eaten in! Usually I would leave but I thought I’d atleast give it a go and I’m telling you I will never ever come back. The floors tables and food areas were so dirty and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for years. The toilets were filthy like I wouldn’t even walk in past the door once I saw the state it was in..hair all over the basin and toilet seat.. honestly was worse than a public toilet. There was a hair or eyelash on the desert (pavlova) ice cream is just in a stand alone freezer in cups with no lids or anything most were freezer burnt- all round unhygienic and I don’t know how it’s still operating with the health and safety concerns of this place. Not to mention the ladies who greeted us weren’t very friendly and when asking the other lady questions she just ignored us and said she doesn’t speak English but then would understand other people talking perfectly fine? I would give zero stars if I could. 10/10 WOULD...

This place is epic. If you're a local & find yourself complaining about this wee Whangarei kai gem, then go back to KFC, don't be so whiny there's barely anything up here!!.

We've always found it a bit hard (but love it up here, gee you fellas are lucky eh!!! no dramas up these ways!) after running away from Tāmaki Makaurau, as quite frankly the 80s is in full effect in infrastructure & environment which can be quite hard to adjust too. So, Jafa here, used to North Shore & Inner City food spots.

Like many cool places we've found in Whangarei, this is one of those choice little kai spots that a Jafa can feel food loved again, where there's no bells & whistles, just great service, excellent kai, & a relaxed environment. Nothing quite like it.

Definitely worth the stop in. We had dinner & I'm pretty sure I rolled out the door. Not sure if I was supposed to eat the noodle type cup that my beef came in, but I ate it anyway cause I can.

The waitress of the night was excellent. Managed all our tables just fine & professionally. Orders came promptly, kai was sizzling & beautifully cooked & prepared. Check out the carrot eagle photo I uploaded. Epic.

I think it you are expecting 5 star bottom of an Auckland Hotel type dining, then yes you'd be disappointed. This place sits on the comfortable fringe of casual dress, great for kids. So definitely check yourself before you head in, you don't have to get all done up, not that kind of place. Expect fine kai & a good happy atmosphere around other diners.

Thank you for the great night. Your restaurant is amazing & I'd recommend it to anyone.

Epic.

Easy parking right next door.

Easy access for wheelchair.

Kid...

Very disappointing experience. The waitress was clearly undertrained. I booked a table for six, but she tried to seat us at a table for five. When I pointed it out, she suggested we split into two tables. I had to insist multiple times that we needed a six-person table. Eventually, I found my name on a reserved table myself — only then were we allowed to sit.

Then came the food. The beef fried noodle with flat noodle was made with thin rice noodle, not flat noodle. After I pointed it out, it was replaced, but the new dish barely had any actual noodle in it.

The $30 curry vegetable dish was especially disappointing. The photo on the menu showed plenty of cauliflower, and we ordered it specifically for the vegetables. What we got was just a plate of curry sauce with barely any vegetables and not a single piece of cauliflower. When I raised this with the waiter, he said it looked different because of the lighting — which was just laughable. One look at the photo and you’d know that’s not the issue. He offered to redo the dish, and the second version was served on a larger plate with a few extra green peas thrown in, but still no cauliflower. It was basically another plate of curry sauce. Charging $30 for that felt like a rip-off.

Overall, the food was bland and lacked authenticity. If you’re unfamiliar with Chinese food, maybe you won’t notice, but if you truly know Chinese cuisine, you’ll be seriously underwhelmed. This restaurant clearly doesn’t care about food quality or...