Jaffaland: yum cha

There's one thing I enjoy doing on Sunday is going for nice hearty brunch. In cosmopolitan Auckland one is not short of brunch options. Most will go for a nice cooked breakfast or fry-ups. I chose yum-cha. Since mine first time dining at China Restaurant and Bar, I've been planning for another visit to try their extensive selection of tim-sum.

The odd thing with yum-cha is everyone has their own favourite tim-sum. This always leads to picking the same tim-sum from the steaming carts or order the typical congee and steamed rice rolls. I've decided to try other types of tim-sum and was only about 50% successful.

I was quite excited with the tim-sum variety and creativity of China Restaurant's kitchen. Baked oysters and sweet and sour pork may not be the traditional yum-cha offering. But then why do we have to be served with the usual boring tim-sums.

The steamed dumplings were tasty with generous fillings and equally light translucent pastry skins. The bbq pork buns were reasonably moist inside and the deep fried savoury dumplings were light and crispy.

Overall the food were above average and service was moderate. However a yum-cha experience can be a bit of hit and miss. Food arrived fairly quickly. Depending on where one is seated sometimes a particular favourite tim-sum will fly across the restaurant and back to the kitchen. That's the fun of yum-cha. Expect the unexpected and no one ever promise a quiet and fine dining experience. Cast a sharp eye for your tim-sum and get ready to flick the chopsticks.

China Restaurant & Bar
Ground Floor 2, Beach Road, Auckland CDB
Tel: 09 309 4808

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China Restaurant & Bar