Kung Fu Noodle House

A good friend of mine and I always love to wander about and explore the indie and local face of the bustling Auckland City. We went on a spontaneous foodie road trip to Dominion Road in central Auckland. The hub of cheap and good quality Asian cuisine.

With no particular destination, we took a bus and got off at somewhere-along-Dominion-Road, among an abundant of restaurants on both sides of the road. Our target was simple: 

1. Chinese food
2. Non-oily
3. Cheap

After about half an hour of strolling up and down the long stretch of road, we walked into a small restaurant situated in a corner. The restaurant front does not look very flash, and the inside decor was not any better. But there were people, and that was a sign of good business considering it was already 3pm.

I'm no expert in interior design, but the inside of the restaurant lacked atmosphere and the waiter was dressed as if ready to play basketball. We were seated next to the bench were the noodle master was preparing the restaurant's specialty: Kung Fu noodles. From the opposite side of the glass, we could barely make out the noodle-making process, but it was visible that the dough was expertly handled, through a series of pulling, twisting, pounding, and tossing into the air. You could easily tell the chef has had many years of noodle making experience. 

The menu featured a variety of typical Chinese cuisine and side dishes, but we were on a budget and skipped straight to the restaurant's signature dish. We ordered a Chicken Kung Fu Noodle, along with Shredded Tofu Salad as a side, and I also insisted my friend to try a Chinese Spring Onion Pancake. The food came out quickly and the portion was huge, more than enough for two people. 

We both tried the Shredded Tofu Salad first. It tasted cool and refreshing, perfect as an entree on a muggy day. The chili flavouring was distinct but not over the top, so even someone not accustomed to eating spice will enjoy it. Moving on to the main course, in front of us was a huge bowl of thick noodles sitting inside a non-oily and great tasting broth, with a generous serving of bite-sized chicken pieces and tree mushroom, garnished with coriander. The Kung Fu Noodles were chewy and had almost an elastic texture to it. The chicken was a bit on the soft side but otherwise I would have been very satisfied with just the noodles and lip-smacking broth. When the Chinese Spring Onion Pancake arrived, it looked just like how my Grandma made it, so my instincts told me that it was worthy of competition. As I bit into my first slice of the pancake, nostalgia flowed through me and my desire to replicate this delicious plate of "Chinese pizza" overwhelmed me. 

The cost came down to $22.50 for two people with both of us each taking a doggy bag home (that was our dinner sorted!). The food here was excellent, the service is satisfactory, and the restaurant looked clean. One of the highlights about this food joint was you can tell the food here is fresh, staff are seen bringing in ingredients every so often, and the noodle master is constantly polishing his "martial arts" skills by serving up delicious Kung Fu noodles. This is a restaurant I highly recommend and it has also been listed as metro top 100 cheapeats. 

Food: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Mood: 2.5/5
Cost: $10/person
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible but quite narrow.
People: 4 max.

Restaurant Details

Shaolin Kung Fu Noodles
636 Dominion Road, Balmoral, Auckland
(09) 623 6298