The best Chinese restaurants in Whangarei cover both the sit down dinner and the quick weekday lunch, from wok cooked mains and dumplings by the fifteen to steamed bao and set price rice meals. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free versions of the standards are easy to find, and both kitchens take pickup, delivery and table bookings. Hungry Ape Asian Cafe & Restaurant on Water Street and Little Bamboo Asian Eatery on Vine Street are the two to know.
1Hungry Ape Asian Cafe & Restaurant
Hungry Ape is a Chinese kitchen in central Whangarei with a menu written in English and Chinese, built around wok cooked mains, dumplings and rice meals. The kitchen names Kung Pao chicken and its soup noodles as signature dishes, and serves them in a relaxed restaurant setting suited to a quick lunch, a family meal or a table booked for an occasion. Takeaway and delivery run alongside dine in.
Services
- Dine in at the Water Street restaurant, with tables bookable through their own site
- Wok cooked main dishes including Kung Pao chicken, spicy mapo tofu and shredded pork with garlic sauce
- Dumplings by the fifteen, boiled or pan fried, in pork and cabbage or vegan, plus homemade pork wontons in chicken soup
- Starters and share plates such as salt and pepper pork, BBQ pork buns and deep fried chicken siu mai
- Pickup, delivery and scheduled pre-orders, including group orders for a shared table
Highlights
- Every dish is listed in both English and Chinese, so regional names like 宫保鸡丁 and 鱼香肉丝 are on the menu as written
- Individual dishes are marked vegetarian, vegan on request or gluten free, including the mapo tofu and the sauteed tofu
- A flash lunch menu of rice meals runs 11:00am to 2:30pm at a lower set price
- Wraps and burgers with chips sit alongside the traditional dishes for anyone at the table who does not want a stir fry
Location & Contact
Name: Hungry Ape Asian Cafe & Restaurant
Address: 3 Water Street, Whangarei
Phone: 022 191 2288
Website: hungryapeasianfood.co.nz
2Little Bamboo Asian Eatery
Little Bamboo is a small Asian eatery on Vine Street whose menu leans Chinese and Taiwanese, with braised pork belly and potato rice meals, roast pork with rice, steamed bao buns and steamed dumplings. Japanese katsu plates, curries and Vietnamese grilled rice meals fill out the rest of the board, so it suits a group that cannot agree on one cuisine. Service is takeaway led, with pickup from mid morning six days a week.
Services
- Bamboo rice meals including braised pork belly with potatoes, roast pork with rice and beef stew
- Share plates of steamed bao buns, steamed dumplings and Taiwanese salted crispy chicken
- Katsu plates and curries, plus Vietnamese grilled pork or chicken with rice and egg
- Pickup and delivery ordering, table booking and a combo upgrade on selected dishes for an extra $8
Highlights
- The menu states that no MSG is used in their products, with dietary requirements and allergies taken at the time of ordering
- Vegan and vegetarian options are built into the main menu rather than tacked on, including a vegan rice bowl and crispy vegetable rice meal
- Pickup runs from 9:30am to 9:00pm Monday to Saturday, with delivery from 10:30am and the kitchen closed on Sundays
Location & Contact
Name: Little Bamboo Asian Eatery
Address: 4 Vine Street, Whangarei
Phone: 0210 819 0848
Website: littlebambooeatery.co.nz
How to Choose the Right Chinese Restaurant in Whangarei
- Decide whether you want a sit down meal or a takeaway run, because some Whangarei kitchens are set up for dining in and others are built around pickup windows
- Read the menu for regional style, not just dish names, since a Sichuan leaning kitchen and a Cantonese roast meat kitchen produce very different meals
- Check how dietary needs are handled, including whether vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options are marked dish by dish
- Look at the lunch offer, as set price rice meals in the middle of the day are usually cheaper than the same dish at dinner
- Confirm ordering and pickup times before you travel, particularly on Sundays and public holidays when Whangarei kitchens often close
Frequently Asked Questions About Whangarei Chinese Restaurants
What does a main dish cost at a Chinese restaurant in Whangarei?
Main dishes at a sit down Chinese kitchen in Whangarei generally sit in the low to mid twenties, with rice charged separately in some places. Set lunch rice meals are cheaper, often around fifteen dollars, and share plates and starters usually fall under ten dollars.
Can I get Chinese food delivered in Whangarei?
Yes. Both restaurants above take delivery and pickup orders through their own ordering sites, and delivery hours are usually shorter than pickup hours, so check the cut off before you order late in the evening.
Are there vegetarian and vegan Chinese options in Whangarei?
There are. Vegan dumplings, tofu dishes such as mapo tofu and sauteed tofu, stir fried cabbage and vegan rice bowls all appear on local menus, and dishes are commonly marked as vegetarian, vegan or vegan on request.
What is the difference between yum cha and a normal Chinese menu?
Yum cha is a daytime meal of small steamed and fried plates such as bao, siu mai and dumplings, usually shared. A standard menu is built around larger wok cooked mains with rice. Several Whangarei kitchens serve yum cha style items as starters or share plates without running a full trolley service.
Do Whangarei Chinese restaurants take bookings for groups?
Many do, and the larger dine in kitchens have a table booking form on their website. Group ordering, where several people add to one order for pickup or delivery, is also offered by some restaurants and is worth using for office lunches.
How can I check a restaurant’s food safety in Whangarei?
Food premises in the district are registered and verified under the Food Act, and grading certificates are usually displayed on site. Whangarei District Council administers registration and verification locally, and you can read the national rules on the Ministry for Primary Industries website at mpi.govt.nz or contact the council through wdc.govt.nz.
How should I tell a restaurant about a food allergy?
Say it at the time of ordering rather than on arrival, and be specific about the ingredient. Peanuts, sesame, shellfish and soy are common in Chinese cooking, and dishes such as Kung Pao chicken carry peanuts by design, so a substitution may not be possible.
When is the best time to order a Chinese takeaway in Whangarei?
Kitchens are busiest from about 5:30pm to 7:30pm, so ordering before or after that window usually means a shorter wait. Scheduled pre-orders let you set a pickup time in advance, which is the simplest way to avoid the dinner rush.