Review Zen E Private Kitchen - Auckland

Atmosphere - this restaurant has a great ambience, nice decorations and is very clean. If you want to make your dining experience more private you can pull down the curtains. Service - most staff were very polite and helpful. Food was served quite quickly. Food - beautifully presented. Our favourite was the boneless duck feet, sliced pork knuckle and the golden fried shrimp balls. The boneless duck feet is a cold dish, perfectly marinated (not too salty or spicy). The boneless duck feet’s texture was and nice and crunchy. Slice pork knuckle was nice and tender, it came with scallion pancake, so for those thinking of ordering another set of scallion pancake, think twice . Also, the pork knuckle has a longer preparation time. The golden fried shrimp ball is yummy! The shrimp is huge, and cooked perfectly. The shrimp is coated in mayo and then coated with crispy coating. The coating just melts in your mouth. The Peking duck was average. While the duck itself is ok, the whole dish was let down by the pancakes wrappers. Perhaps I am use to very original thin pancake wrappers that you get elsewhere. The pancake wrappers were thick, they stuck together and some become broken when trying to separate them. The duck soup (second course) for the Peking duck was delicious! Will be back to try more dishes!

Service is lacking a bit as staff seems too busy to take our order or top up the teapot. But I did appreciate the staff who took our order that we might be ordering too much. Otherwise, selection on the menu is good food is decently nice.

Great atmosphere, unique dishes that did not disappoint. On the pricier end but we were happy customers.

this restaurant was surprisingly good! don’t know why the rating is low, much better than Huami! the food portions are large and very tasty! very friendly staff and great service. the ambiance of the restaurant is very relaxing and visually pleasing.

Really nice environment and relaxing atmosphere. My son enjoyed the sweet and sour pork as well as the mini pan fried buns. Salted egg kumara wedges was really tasty and my wife really like the black pepper steak cubes. Their roasted duck was very crispy, sadly we couldn't have it this time. SO if you are in for their roasted duck, be sure to make a reservation for it due to limited quantities available.9/10! Will come back :))

Nice Chinese restaurant in Newmarket, with different kind of dishes to choose from. The crab is really nice, soup is so so, and the pork belly is a bit too oily, but overall nice experience, recommended coming here once in a few months. Price range from mid to high, two of us having dinner and the bill is $160.

Good authentic Chinese restaurant with great food and beautiful Chinese style deco. Tried the Pecking duck set, very authentic and tasty. I would say one of the best Pecking ducks in Auckland. Also recommend the crabs. Love the food presentations and high quality service.

Came with friends recommendation, need ring a bell to get in. Awesome experience , authentic Chinese food with combinations of various regional cuisine. Delightful ambiance and friendly staff. Peking duck can be considered as one of the best in Auckland, crispy skin and balanced fat meat, not too greasy. Love it!

Really good takeaway experience. I ordered sichuan boiled beef, pacific oyster fried egg and stir-fried mixed vegetables. All tasted amazing! Especially the beef and the stir fried veggies, yum! The delivery was fast too, got everything when they are still hot!! Highly recommend!

Chinese New Year Dinner for 2 To celebrate Chinese New Year of the Rat, we booked in to Zen E Private Kitchen. I really liked the setting of the restaurant it was private for the couples or double dates but also open and inviting for the larger groups and family's. We had a private table in a side space and ordered pork belly, fish roe fried rice, sweet and sour pork and salty egg yolk prawns. It was more than enough for two people. Full and content we had the remaining to take home. The pork belly was very nice. Certainly a different way of presenting it, but when you cut into it... Yum. The fish roe fried rice was actually really good, although I got to a point where it was just too much; the flavor that is. It was good, just in small quantity. As for the sweet and sour pork, I did not like it. Served on ice which is supposed to keep it crisp, the meat was dry and chewy and just a chour to eat. And the ice just made it worse as it started to cool down. Like the idea but they need to use a less lean pork meat. The prawns were not for me. The flavor was not very nice for me but for my husband he enjoyed the salty egg yolk prawns and manage to get through half of it before we admitted defeat. - lovely setting - some very nice dishes - one not so nice sweet and sour pork - quite pricey for what it is Would I eat here again - yes.

Love this place. Great Chinese restaurant at Newmarket. The entrance is very mysterious and unexpectedly you have to buzz in. The great ambience makes you come back to classical China before you start eating. What we all go for are Steamed Live Blue Cod, Eggplants, Shrimps, Pork-Shredded with Coriander and Garlic and Chicken with Hot Pepper. I really love Chicken with Hot Pepper because it’s got a mala spice twist to it. Crispy and spicy, pretty cool. The fish is very tender and melts in your mouth. Eggplant has a very unique taste, the main thing is that the ingredients are quite rich. Taste very refreshing. By all means, every dish we ordered is delicious here...

The three dishes we ordered were all delicious. It's a very busy restaurant, we had to cancel one of our dishes in the end after an hour of waiting. Would like to try some other dishes at this place next time on a less busier day!

Level 3 contactless delivery is awesome！ I ordered Clam with garlic and vermicelli, mushroom and lamb....still nice and warm when takeaway arrived. Pretty good service too. They also gave a free Hand sanitizer.

Highly recommended! 1. Elegantly designed 2. Great Ambience 3. Food is well prepared. Not just about the taste but the quality matches the price. The chef is highly skilled with almost every dish prepared how it should be. 4. Service is great and food is served within 10 mins which is exceptionally fast. Only issue we had was we called to book a round table but that wasn't registered so we had to squeeze into a smaller rectangular table. Not ideal. Note: Price is above average but for what you get it is worth the spend.

The food here is incredible overall. However it’s extremely expensive. We were charged $138 for a steamed fish which is kind of outrageous and should have been explained to us when we ordered it with a price tag that big. Tea was also very overpriced at $12 per pot and $15 for rice. The atmosphere was really nice and the decorations were beautiful. The beef golden soup was definitely a highlight.

poor service for the price

What a garbage place.

Waiters are so friendly and fast. Food is so delicious and fresh. And it is a good environment for family.

Seafoods are awesome. Waiters are friendly so services are perfect!<br/>

With high expectation before dining, order 5 dishes but the overall taste turned out to be below the average, the waitress seemed to be a bit rude with no smiles on their faces. Paid a hefty bill at the end, considering the service and taste, not recommended at all would definitely not come again!

I wish I could give a negative score, 1 star is way too much for this restaurant deserves. Me and my friend went for a Friday dinner, spent over 200 dollars in total, we order a fresh steam blue cod, over 100 dollars for this one dish, and turned out I would rather spend this money on something like a cow belt- it is also technically “ eatable”. <br/>Both my friend and I we loving eating in the Chinese seafood restaurant, and as one of the most famous(popular) Chinese dishes, this steam blue cod fish tasted like been in the freezer before I was born, even the owner insisted that it’s a “ fresh” one, the meat is EXTREMELY loose, and stinky af, we asked the owner nicely and got the reply with “only fresh fish will have this stinky smell and loose meat”. <br/>My friend and I were completely shocked and even started to wonder ourselves if all the nice fish we eaten from other places are all our illusion? <br/>We paid our bill and left this nightmare place.Rdiculous

Took forever for each dish to arrive, there were 9 of us and we waited for an hour and only got these 3 dishes, which only lasts one bite each. Food is just ok, got even hungrier after an hr. Would not come back again.

Took an hour to bring 3 dishes, garbage

Came for a friend's catch up. Was always a fan of this place. <br/>Everything we ordered was good. <br/>Special mentions are the shrimp balls and truffle fried rice. Excellent flavours. The paua with pork belly was also very nice. I'm not normally a big fan, but it was really fresh and sweet. <br/>I always return anyway, so no point in saying I'll be back. <br/>Keep up the good work!

If i can put zero star i will put zero. we really love to try the food but unfortunately their services esp their 1+1 policy for gold zomato is not clear. Why you dont put the policy on your terms and condition/description directly instead put on your menu photo? This restaurant kind of ‘scam’ for the terms and condition for zomato gold 1+1! So weird we only can choose menu under $25 for both free and not. We already argue if we’ll be ok to pay more than $25 and get the free menu under $25!! Its not gonna make a harm for them even they’ll get more profit from that.<br/>So silly policy and we’re so disappointed then just left.

Expensive and very average. Nice decor but won't be coming back.

Pretty good taste and service at Zen E. Enviro is familiar to China as we feel so sofe.

Perfect taste worth to try. Definitely recommend

Good！

Taste very good!!

I don’t see reason why people go for Zomato gold but there’s almost nothing included especially the mains. This is ridiculous.

Friendly staffs and great service, but it’s better to confirm what you want to eat is available before booking. When I was there, a few dimsums that I wanna try is not available. <br/>Btw, there are a photo’s wall of many Chinese celebrities taken with the restaurant owner.

Came here with friend for first time. Quite a unique experience for personal kitchen.

环境优美辣子鸡很香

Good service, creative dishes, delicate flavour. Decoration is good

Very pretty traditional Chinese dessert set. Love it. Thank

Good taste

The food tastes great! Definitely will come next time!

The food is delicate and delicious!

The Best Chinese restaurant (Auckland)

味道不错。

Great food, nice service. Recommend.

First time here. Good service. Very nice cuisine. Great for family time.

Delicious and unique, one of the best Chinese restaurant in Auckland, highly recommend.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Great food

One of the best Chinese food restaurant in NZ. I had a excellent birthday night there. Highly recommand lobster, paua, oysters, crab, wrasse, etc.

地理位置极佳，而且环境特别好。菜品也是色香味俱全，十分推荐的一家餐厅

Nice place for dating.

fantastic Food and experiment

***ZOMATO GOLD MEMBERS BEWARE!!!!*** This place is absolutely horrible, let me send a warning to others please do not visit this disgusting excuse of a restaurant. Problems after problems.... <br/><br/>First of all, as soon as your mention about Zomato gold, the waiters roll their eyes at you and tell you the gold deal is only for items under $25, fine, right? However more than 75% of their entire menu of main items are over $25, so you are left with cold dishes or small entrees. <br/><br/>Secondly, they DO NOT ABIDE by the Zomato gold rules!! Rather than buy 1 get 1 , they enforce a buy 2 get 1 deal instead!! On our occasion for 4pax, 2 golds, we had to order 6 dishes to get 2 free. <br/><br/>Once you get past the sudden change of rules, you are hit with a whopping 1.5hrs wait time for your mains to arrive. We ordered food at 7:20pm and our last dish arrived at 9pm. By then we directly asked for a takeaway box for that dish. <br/><br/>Lastly, being a self proclaimed high end restaurant, they will reject the payment via credit card. If you insist however, they will then reveal a 3% surcharge. <br/><br/>I suppose the positive is the food is on par with my local takeaway? They do serve their food on a gigantic cold plate which is nice on a late summer evening?<br/><br/>TL;DR <br/>1. Scam zomato gold rules<br/>2. Exorbitant prices<br/>3. Super slooow service<br/>4. Rolling Eyes<br/>5. Credit card surchage.<br/>6. Have a good night.

Which is the best chinese resteraunt in Auckland，good eat environment ，great service. The seafood especially lobyster are very delicious！

Very delicately decorated Chinese restaurant. Took family here for my wife’s bday, had a great time, especially kids loved it. Highly recommended for any family event

Highly recommend restaurant,the rice in the front is outstanding

Absolutely horrendous. We booked two months in advance for a company function and they absolutely let us down. Was promised the top floor rooms and turns out they changed us to a smaller one on the second floor, causing confusion and for everyone to be crammed and uncomfortable. The manager was incredibly rude, at one point when I asked for more water screamed at me "ITS COMING ITS COMING!!!" The food is of unreasonable price, such as the sweet and sour pork which was probably an extra $10 for some ice cubes. The food came out at uneven intervals and the restaurant is very short-staffed. The Chinese have a saying of "losing face" which means we were embarrassed to have chosen this restaurant and given a negative effect on our guests. Will never come back to this restaurant again ever.

good

Hope ppl check my review before they go. This restaurant taste was really really bad and not good service. Manager attitude was so bad and can not use zomato gold membership , all the dish above $25 and only can use cold dish which is $8. Really do not want to recommend this restaurant.

POOR SERVICE & DISAPPOINTING FOOD<br/><br/>We had a family gathering at Zen E last night - a Monday night. It was overall a horrible dining experience, not fitting of its current 4.2 rating on Zomato. <br/><br/>Issues:<br/>1. 5 of the main dishes we wanted were not available. Including their Signature Dish - Braised Pork with Vegetables. We were told it was all sold out on Sunday. Surely they could've made more on Monday?! It is their signature dish after all. If you cannot keep supplies for all the dishes you offer, then reduce the menu. Unacceptable <br/>2. An attempted SCAM. We tried to order the Fried Crab with Crispy Garlic ($48) and Deep Fried Fish in Sweet and Sour Sauce ($58), but were told the fish and crab is not available. They only use DEAD fish and DEAD crabs to make those dishes. So if we wanted, they only have live crabs and live fish to make the dish - estimated to be $150 per dish. <br/>Why have the price on the menu at all if you only offer the higher price for the dish.<br/>They also claimed not to have any bottled juice from their menu in stock, instead offering freshly squeezed watermelon juice. Its not that difficult to store a few bottles of juice. <br/>3. RUDE Service. We ordered Storm Clams for our table. We waited and waited, and asked about the Clams, and were told its coming. They even brought out our desserts - Sweet soup and coconut cake. At this point, we said we no longer wanted the Clams as we were half way through our dessert. The waitress said she will talk to the manager, then almost immediately brought the Clams out - Midway through our dessert. <br/>Their justification was that the Clams were steamed, so takes longer and the chef had his own plan. If we wanted the clam out first, the dessert would have taken longer to be served. <br/>This is a ridiculous excuse. We were perfectly happy to have the dessert served later. <br/>A simple apology at any point throughout the evening would have gone a long way. Instead of making up excuses after excuses. There were other more minor issues which I will not list here. <br/> <br/>Perhaps it's because we went on a Monday instead of the weekend, maybe the regular chef was away but you would expect a restaurant this size to maintain standards everyday. <br/><br/>If you plan on going, would pay to call and check first what items are not available.<br/>The ambiance was nice but I personally would NOT return.

Nice food

很好吃 好地方！

Do not come here using Zomato Gold!<br/><br/>There are only a few dishes you can redeem. Such as some small entrees, rice and desserts biscuits.<br/><br/>Spoke with Zomato and they said it is fine that only about 5% of the menu is actually eligible to order. So the best way is to just leave a review.<br/><br/>I feel the restaurant is being disengenious by only offering a slither of options compared to all the other restaurants drawing in crowds from Zomato Gold.<br/><br/>The staff were pleasant and helpful though!

Fresh Lobster sashimi, and fried lobster legs 🦞 . Love the small dishes as well. Nice place for asian family dinner.

The most delicious chinese restaurant in ALL.👏🏻

Good food!

This is great！

Stunning dish, excellent service and super friendly staff, the Chinese dessert is absolutely worth the price. This is the real Chinese taste.

Pretty good food. Even though it is a bit pricy it still is good quality. Would come back again for special occasions

Excellent food.

Very nice food and environment

good，very good！<br/>

环境一流，性价比高！值得常来

Lack of seasoning, you can tell almost all the dishes are cooked with pressure cooker (and taste weird). Experiencing these dishes with such an experience price was unbelievable. 0/10 not recommended.

食物不错😊

It was the second time I went to Zen E restaurant. Love the environment and Chinese cuisines. Most importantly, the service was great. The girl who was waiting our table was super nice. We had a very Good Friday night!

It was very bad dining experience last Saturday. Seafood was not very fresh and pork taste was bit weird.  At the end, it costed us $50 per person. Definitely won't go back again.<br/><br/>Overall score:<br/>Service: 3/5<br/>Food: 1/5<br/>Ambience:4/5<br/>Value for money: 2/5

味道很好 环境也很棒，上菜速度很快 而且服务的也很周到，周边停车也很方便。<br/>

Very nice experience in Zen E private kitchen. Really fresh seafood and delicious taste. Suit for big group of people with high cost-effective.

Enjoy the tasty good along with wonderful services！

Good food and ambiance! Everything was delicious and worth the wait. The plating is beautiful and it’s a good place to go to for groups. Definitely a place to come again to!

Good experience good taste nice atmosphere friendly staff great presentation nice decoration and seating will definitely come back next time

Very nice and delicious. Just love it :) Recommend to all. If you want to experience Authentic Chinese food, you can’t miss it.

Teast good<br/>

real nice restaurant<br/>

Tasty seafood good for family dinner

Excellant food and service<br/>Beautiful place<br/>Very carm environment<br/>I strongly recommend this place<br/>Great

Awesome food, great taste, nice atmosphere. Highly recommended !

People come here to enjoy a meal in the hope of comfy atmosphere and friendly service. NOT to see your cold face. My whole family dinner was ruined with the way you handel response and payment.<br/>Zomato GOLD member BE WARE. This is the only store that has dodgy condition attach to their 1+1.

A nice and quiet place, really good for family and group party. Foods very delicious especially the beef soup and pork rib soup. I also like the spicy maoxuewang.

Lovely decoration and intimate dining atmosphere. A really wide selection of food. Would recommend for people who wants an authentic Chinese food experience :)

Really loves the vibe and the food! I enjoyed the Tofu and the dessert!

Very good environment<br/>

Nice place and friendly staff<br/>

The pork is average but the mapo Tofu is amazing. The pumpkin dessert is quite nice too. Child and large group friendly.

good experience<br/>

这个牛肉粒还不错 ........<br/><br/><br/>

Shrimp ball was the highlight and the rest is just ok. Wouldn't recommend for zomato gold users due to restrictions. Not a lot you can choose from. Experience was ok but I would not come back.

Qiute nice food,good for famliy to come! Very caring service，Waitress is very kind。

The food was amazing, good service, nice dinning environment, Absolutely recommended!<br/>

I'm happy have a dinner in here.The service was excellent. The lobster pasta was delicious. The seafood was fresh.

The service was excellent. The lobster pasta was delicious. The seafood was fresh. I'm happy to dinner in here.

Good atmosphere nice food

Good food, and the price is not too bad!

They changed the Zomato Gold policy 1. Only one member can be used per table 2. Only dishes under $25 are eligible for the doscount. If you are not happy with Zomato Gold the just quit it rather than misleading the customer. We went there thinking no exemptions but they added the rules which Zomato does not allow

Would not go back. Would have been 4 stars except for dodgy conditions on good 1+1 deal. Wasted an activation. Was ok restaurant, nothing special, expensive.

Very good food!!! Will visit again soon!!! One of the best Chinese restaurants in Newmarket!!!

Taste good. Strongly recommend! Nice service as well

Very nice and comfortable evironment, great food with great people! Will recommend

Seats are spread out spaciously, not a noisy environment. Byo is a plus. Will definitely come again!

Good service and food.<br/>

good dish

The shrimp ball is awsome. Other food is not surprising but stil good.

Was fully booked the first time here. This time it is quieter, which is better for focusing and enjoying food. A lot of dishes are not availabe whichi is not satisfying though.

This is a restaurant with calm vibes and great food. Flavourful artistic plating with every dish. Service is very friendly and the bathroom is well maintained.

Nice place to have dinner!!! Love the presentation of the foood

I really love the oysters, favorite dish!! They are super busy at the weekend, per booking is essential. Service is good and nice ambience. Zomato gold can use for the dishes under $25, still have many choices for cold dishes.

Very clean place. Food was very delicious. Nice customer service. Suitableb for large group and family dinner. This fried rice is surprisingly good, i recommend it to you all.

Great food and environment!<br/>

Quite good Chinese restaurant in Auckland, above average. Good place to have live seafood here, have many choices, they have seafood tank. Have live fish, crayfish, clams, paua, oysters. We love the crayfish they present today, fresh and nice. The Shrimp balls are good at looking and taste. Recommend you guys to come.

Came for my birthday, thought we would have some special dishes, but only 1 out of 12 dishes was good, others were all just standard dishes with top price. Could have had same dishes with big portion and lower price somewhere else. The most disappointing thing was 2 dishes were served after dessert were brought out. Zomato Gold only can be used for dishes under $25, however there are only few choices. Won't come back again.

I came here quite often and enjoyed the food. The meat and vegetables both done an outstanding job. Don’t miss out if u r meat-lovers /and veg lovers😍. Highly recommend the beef tripe in spicy soup which is my favourite!

There's a wide range of selection of seafood here. I really enjoyed their steamed bluecod and lobster stir fry. Highly recomended! While the price is kinda on the steep side, it was worth for the experiences alone, i can see why this place is known as celebrity's choice restaurant in Auckland! The ambience is really relaxing and we had a really wonderful mid autumn dinner here! Will visit again!

Have been here several times. Best in AKL.

Great good always，it is a good place to enjoy the dinner with families.

Good place for couples.

Very good service and taste. Excellent environment.

A special Chinese restaurant with dishes you can’t find anywhere else and so tasty. Highly recommended!

nice place for gathering. foods look good<br/>

Service was quick and very considerable. Staff came to us to fill hot water into the tea pot even we didn’t ask for it. Food taste was also good. But it was bit cold inside and when the staff filled hot water for tea, they brought out the plastic kettle and pour boiling water into the tea pot at our table.

Came here for twice. The braised pork belly is undoubtedly a must-order dish here. Tender meat and melted fat slide into the mouth and leave the rich and satisfying flavor mouthfully. It's so delicious that I want to yell out. I personally quite like the mini pearl buns as well. <br/>Very quaint decor and also higher cost. Around $50 pp. Zomato gold only works for dishes below $25. Still worth a try.

My favorite is boiled live blue cod fillets in chilli sauce, it’s the best I tried in many Chinese restaurant in Auckland, nice atmosphere good service, here are many people at weekends, recommend booking table in advance.

<br/>

The food taste good, but the meat was cold inside so we have to required the kitchen to cook the meat twice. Also one of our vegetables dish never came. But the stuff keep telling us it's on the way.....

Everything is good<br/>

Quite good atmosphere, music nice also. Recommend for ppl who desires Chinese style dishes.

又好看又好吃 推荐！

Delicious food, good atmosphere, good service, great place to catch up with friends and family. Definitely coming back again. Very worthwhile

Food quality is consistent and always a good vibe!

very good

The food is very good and delicious, I love them.

Very delicious! Nice environment! I will come again! Our friends are vegetarian, the VG food is nice as well! And my friends like here too. <br/>

Came here on Sunday for dinner with family and friends. We ordered 5 dishes but only managed to take 3 pics ( too busy eating). <br/>Nice restaurant and delicious food but service was slow and portion size is small. <br/>Definitely recommend the fried shrimp balls ( seems to be a favourite here). <br/><br/>Overall score:<br/>Service: 3/5<br/>Food: 5/5<br/>Ambience:5/5<br/>Value for money: 4/5

Couldn’t use Zomato Gold

Excellent environment, excellent food, excellent service. Very authentic Chinese food.

A really high end restaurant. Went there two times and loving the experience..Food was really nice presented and extremely scrumptious. Me and my friends ordered the sweet and sour pork ribs, Thai deep fried bean curd, pork belly slices and cauliflower!! Everything is really yummy but the cauliflower is kinda salty!

Delicious food, one of my favorite restaurant in Auckland , drive the whole way from north to eat this place, still very nice food, and nice place to go. <br/>

Good food

Food at present, always thinking, or greedy qianjiao, observation before eating, eating thought, taste after taste, food for nature, quietly chewing. Zen E completely show Perfect interpretation of the Chinese food color, aroma, taste, meaning, shape, raise. I love it！😋😋

菜品挺有新意的，味道不错～聚会好选择，环境也不错<br/>

Very good place with fantastic food! The favourite<br/>For me is beef the treated beef so well! It not too old just fit the beef's flavor so if you come here must try

Very Delicious Very Good place if you want try some clean and wonderful chinese food, This is the place you never regret! just reserve and enjoy!

pretty tasty and looks so nice, we all love it. Recommend crab, tasty crisp and fresh. Every seafood is fresh and smells good. Highly recommend.

Had an amazing experience at Zen, the food was delicious! The atmosphere of the restaurant was very nice with decors that gave it a very unique look. We enjoyed the crabs and also the mini buns which tasted very crispy and juicy!

It is my first time to come here. The food are delicious and the service is good and the environment is comfortable. We ordered spicy beef and pearl dumplings and eggplant. I like the eggplant most.

Delicious food and great service. It’s suit for the family dinner, cause the size of the meal is large enough to share. And the food is served quickly.

Nice look. tastes nice too. the bun is mini style, suitable for baby. The pork skin is crispy. Bun tastes nice. My baby loves the taste, loves the look.

love the beef, the first picture, spicy but i love it so much. strongly recommend. second tastes like toufu. tastes sweet. all food looks good.

yummy. and good services. Our family often have here. You can find good surrounding. My family are like here so much. you can come here. Come on

food very yummy. they have good services. we often come here. surrounding is also very good. our family are enjoy here so much. if you like Chinese food. you can try here.

Nice restaurant and plenty of food options<br/>Good for party or family reunion<br/>Traditional chinese deco really unique<br/>Center space in new market

Nice ambience, friendly staff, and delicious food. Very authentic Chinese food. You gonna to love it. Definitely above average Chinese restaurant in Auckland

Wasn’t expecting this place to be so nice when I went there a few weeks back. It’s hidden and if you didn’t know you’d easily walk past it. <br/>The food was very glamorous and extra with its plating. Fried rice was served like a present where it was wrapped in a clear film, tied with a ribbon and edible flowers for garnish, the huge fish dish was so big it took up most of the table and other dishes on very interesting plates or tiers. <br/>Taste wise I really like the dumplings, deep fried meat stuff, the giant fish and rice but those are expected as they’re standard Chinese dishes. I wasn’t a big fan of the more traditional stuff but I think it was my personal preference and if you like those flavours I’m sure they’ll impress you as others on the table were cleaning their plates!

环境很不错，看到推荐过来的，古色古香的感觉。找了很多家中餐厅，只有这家感觉到还会再来。菜价高中低都有，适合放松和约会。味道很正宗，菜量挺大，价格适中，上菜也很快。五星确实实至名归，希望以后越来越好。下次还会光顾的，也会推荐朋友过来。地址是56 broadway， newmarket.进门摁门铃呦

Seafood was fresh and delicious. Service was great and the setting very up market. Probably would save this place for celebratory purposes given the cost.

Good at taste and dishes decoration also looks high end!see picture taken by me for some of the best recommand. The only disadvantage is just a little bit expensive

哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈啊哈啊哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈家哈哈哈哈哈哈啊哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈 图片上这个还不错 the thing in the picture tastes good. It needs to be served fresh though otherwise it would not be crispy and nice.

好吃的餐馆，和朋友第二次来了点了不一样的菜，都很好吃。推荐麻辣鸭掌，辣味和麻味都刚好，鸭掌去过骨吃起来很方便，宝塔肉好吃不腻，配饼更好吃。赞<br/>好吃的餐馆，和朋友第二次来了点了不一样的菜，都很好吃。推荐麻辣鸭掌，辣味和麻味都刚好，鸭掌去过骨吃起来很方便，宝塔肉好吃不腻，配饼更好吃。赞

Nice environment at the center of Newmarket.<br/>The best dish is the Zhen Zhu Bao and Shi Zi Tou.<br/>All the dishes give us a feeling back to China.<br/>Anyway, I recommend this restaurant to all of you.

Very delicious! Like the container of lion and the soup is really good! We also tried chicken and eggplant, yummy too !!! Will definitely come back in the future!!!

Zen E Private kitchen is a unique Chinese restaurant that is tucked away in the centre of Newmarket. It is indeed private, you need to ring the doorbell for them to open the door for you.🔔 Just like going to someone’s home for lunch. 😆<br/>I love the restaurant style, really traditional, literally makes me feel like I'm back home.<br/>For food, wow❗These are some next level Chinese dishes. Let's start with my favourite, Mini fried buns(珍珠包). It's like a combination of Xiao Long Bao and normal Pan Fried Bao, I love this one, the bottom is perfectly fried to golden crispy, while the top remains soft. And the inner pork filling is really juicy and tender. I'm not a huge fan of the fried rice bouquet, it's a bit oily to me. Another dish that I love is the Pork Belly Tower with pickled veggies inside, forgot to take a photo for it, cuz it's too damn delicious! The pork belly is thin, moist and super soft. 🤤👅<br/>And for dessert, it's a traditional Chinese dessert, Sugar-coated Kumara. With the super hot sugar glaze surrounding the kumara, when you pick one piece up. It's just like a cheese pull, but with sugar. 😂 Quickly dip into the cold water, the sugar suddenly becomes solid crispy. ⚠️ But be careful, even the outside is cooled down, inside is still super hot! 🔥<br/>It was a yummy and amazing feast for sure.

Used to be one of my favorite restaurant, but sadly it has gone worse and worse that I would not return again. Firstly bad Zomato Gold experience, we were told my 17 year old brother would not count as an adult so can not use one of our two Zomato gold benefits. Then the restriction was only both dishes under 24 dollars were included, which looking through the menu with not much choices left. Then when the lamb with buns dish came out, it upsad us again because the buns are sticky not puff up at all, and very little quantity only filled up quarter of the dish, not to mention its a thirty dollar something dish. Then the fried rice came out to be raw solid hard to chew, I had lost hope completely with this restaurant...2 stars for the rest of dishes being edible...

Nice decor 5/5, the food overall was very good 4/5, what let it down the most the poor/snobby service from the waitstaff 2/5. Also all the confusion over Zomato gold, the procedure, and what is and isn't allowed.

Very delicious! A place with a nice ambiance. I like the wooden and peaceful atmosphere that the restaurant has and makes it a nice place to eat.<br/><br/>The food was generally good, though the dumpling want that special.<br/>

A hidden hideaway with amazing and unique Chinese flavours.<br/>You press the doorbell and wait to enter up some stairs, as you enter you pass by tanks of live seafood and enter a large welcoming space with round tables with turn tables in the center. I went with a large group and these dishes are best for sharing although you need to be prepared to have your wallet prepared for the check. My favourite item definitely had to be the kumara desserts that are coated in sugar and are super fresh!<br/>I would definitely recommend this place it's a little hideaway that has beautiful interior design that compliments the abundance of different dishes.

Came to Zen E for a lovely lunch today and left blown away and with a very happy belly! 

Zen E is located in central New Market and is quite hidden, tucked away up a couple flights of stairs. The ambience here is stunning! It showcases lovely Asian themed decor which makes the dining experience feel even more authentic. 

We tried some of the popular dishes and firstly, the amount of effort and craftsmanship that goes into the presentation of the dishes is unreal. Each dish looks like a work of art wow!
The dishes were very authentic to traditional Chinese cuisine and very rich in flavour! Highlights were the Sweet n Sour deep fried fish! This was massive in size and could feed an army. The deep fried batter was crispy and the fish meat was tender and very enjoyable. I also loved the little deep fried dumplings/buns. These were juicy and delicious. 

Overall, Zen E is a great place to go for a group dining experience to try out a large range of Chinese dishes. Service was good and they were understanding and helpful with my peanut allergy. Parking isn’t the easier (located in central new market) but is well worth the trip! Definitely would recommend.

Very good environment and the food is also great, especially the duck which is make me feel back to Nanjing(originally favors), the other dish also good, need to be there at least once.

Nice place for family. Delicious food. Kind staff. Most recommend is the pearl buns. Very tiny and yummy. Kids all like it. Will be there soon again.

Beautiful restaurant with old fashion details. very tasty egg yolk fried prowns with little drizzle of herbs. tower pork with unique display. Heromoso! recommend.<br/>

Good taste and warm service. Wish the fish dish is available next time. Always enjoy spending time here with friends and family~~ <br/>Will come again soon.

Located in central Newmarket, ambience is amazing, staff is very friendly and polite, love this place serve great and yummy food, we love the crab and oyster. The price match the food they present!

I visited this place years ago it was alright but this time our experience was just straight up disappointment. We were served lukewarm food which got cold real quick... I ordered three of their signature dishes and none of them tasted good let alone “signature”. <br/><br/>Food 2/10 Service 4/10 Ambience 7/10

Very pleasant experience，delicious food and great service. Really enjoy with my family. Highly recommended. Pan fried mini pork buns and fish maw soup are the best.<br/>

We have been to Zen E several times, this place was amazing! The food quality and service have been consistently outstanding. We love the delicious lobster and lamb dishes. Every time we dine there, the food gets better with generous serves and well presented dishes that really impresses. The restaurant has great ambience, clean and warm, and suitable for celebrations or just an evening to catch up with friends. Highly recommended! Be sure to book ahead as it's almost impossible to get a walk-in especially on a weekend.

The environment is very good, the food is very delicious, the dish is also very characteristic. Especially here more famous pagoda meat, and yan duxian

Good restaurant, comfy, taste good, thumb!<br/>yanduxian, which is so yummy, I like it best.<br/>Lovely and peaceful environment. Recommend for friends party and celebrate party.

Been here few times before. It is a good place to have dinner or lunch. Environment is quiet and nice. Not like other Chinese restaurants noisy. Food cooked properly and taste was nice.

Elegant environment，Taste authentic，A restaurant frequented by celebrities.The most authentic Chinese restaurant in<br/>Auckland👍🏻 The restaurant you are sure visit often😍

TLDR: I would rate this restaurant 6 out of 5 stars if i could! Definitely recommending everyone to give this place a try regardless of the occasion.<br/><br/>I wanted to look for a place for my 1 year anniversary with my GF, a place with great food, services and atmostphere. We booked a table for 7 pax over the phone prior, informing them of the occassion. I thought just like all typical establishments, they wouldn't bat an eye. However, to my surprise, when we arrived, we were warmly greeted with hospitality. Seeing how special this occasion is,i wanted to go all out with my orders. The waitress was extremely friendly and patient despite how busy it looked. I ordered lobster, stirfried abalone, garlic clam, fried golden shrimp ball and diced beef stir fry in black pepper. The presentation of the food items looked almost poetic and very appetizing. The taste? It definitely was on par with the presentation. The lobster was fleshly caught and prepared, the meat was sweet and tender. I usually avoid abalone due to the fishyness, however, the way this dish was prepared had none of that and my tastebuds were bombarded with the aroma of all the spices that went into it. The garlic clam was wonderful. The shrimp ball was crunchy and mouth watering. The diced beef is just an explosion of umami flavors. Most importantly, the price was fair and reasonable. I gotta give a shoutout to their service crew as well, the dinning establishment was fully booked, however, the food were delivered swiftly to my table, their services were extremely professional! It was an unforgettable experience for all of us. I would 100% revisit Zen E and i look forward to my next visit!! If you are looking for a place to dine for some Chinese cuisine, whether is it for celebratory purpose or just casual dinning to satisfy your umami cravings , look no further :)

love it

One of the yummiest place for Chinese cuisine! 100% coming back and would highly recommend this place! I reckon the prices are fairly reasonable, not as crazy as I thought !

The food is great, good-looking and delicious, you have a lot of food to choose from. A good place to keep yourself away from city’s noise, just relax and enjoy the food with your friends or families.

Excellent Chinese restaurant in Auckland, really recommend! Good services, the waitress are so nice! The foods are so delicious and the environment is traditional. Highly recommend the bluff oysters, really fresh, as well as the stewed pork ball（清炖狮子头）Absolutely will come back next time!!!!

Every time we come will order the eggplant and mini buns, favorite! Nice environment to have friends chat and eat. Dongpo pork come with paua is quite nice, we try it first time today. Recommend and will be back.

Don’t trust those high rates comments. This restaurant said if we write review with a high rate and they will give to us 10 dollars off. Hhhhh Such a bad restaurant ever. Stale with very expensive price. A waitress recommend a bowl of noodle with only few vege and it cost 20 dollars : ) 特别难吃 烤夫干的要死放了好几天 熏鱼炸干了 硬的要死 泡菜就给了一点点 而且味道一般。最贱的是服务员强行给我们加了一碗阳春面 ，就图上这个，十分普通 基本没有味道 放了几根咬不动的菜叶子 但是就这么一碗面价值20纽币:）

As my mother told me, a good dish may complete colour, fragrance and taste in one. Its been a long time, since i came New Zenland, i have tried countless Chinese restaurants, and none of them could actually do that. But for now, today, i find the long-lost taste, just like the meal that my mum cooked. Amazing, no doubt its the best restaurant i have been, the waiters are all friendly and enthusiastic. Highly recommend to try this.

The weather is freezing today, i didn't want to go out, but today is my birthday. My besties told me that they have orderd a meal for me, in a Chinese restaurant that i have never heard about. We went the best room here, i found the ornaments are seems like antique, and the whole room was giving us a overall feeling of beauty. Having meal in such an environment is absolutely a pleasure.<br/>oh, let's get to the point…the dishes here are…i can't even think of an adjective to praise it! Amazing! u have to try it, trust me! i can't help to eat it when it appear into my eyes. THIS RESTAURANT IS FANTASTIC.

本人 资深食客 今天来到一家叫 禅e的私房菜的中餐厅 从古香古色的装璜 还有优雅的中国民俗风情的音乐感觉就餐回到了国内 今天点了一个葱烧海参蹄筋 味道跟我在‘大董烤鸭店’的味道基本相似 据服务员介绍说厨师是受到国内(海参王)的真传 印象很深刻 味道确实不错 还有脆皮羊腩 外酥里嫩 沾点干料 夹在那个小饼里 很有味道 总之下次还要来尝一尝

We come here on Sunday night, they are quite busy. Love the food, yum yum, nice environment. A quite good Chinese restaurant in Auckland, A+!

A decent place to enjoy Chinese food, the venue is exquisite and elegant! The decorations show the taste of owners, I really love its traditional style. It’s a great place for celebrations with friends and business dining. Seafood is quite fresh, we cooked the lobster in three ways, all the dishes kept the flavor of materials. The price is reasonable，the staff are very friendly and professional, service is great as well.

地道👍 👍👍 很正宗的中国菜！不像有些所谓的中餐结合洋人的东西之后就没有儿时的感觉了。厨师很用心也很讲究，菜品多种多样，装修很古风跟传统中国菜很搭，服务人员热情专业，推荐的双头龙虾味儿最正！在异国能感受到祖国人民的关怀让我触动很大。有机会一定约几位老友来一起感受中国饮食魅力。

好吃！朋友吃过然后推荐过来的，图一的博古架点心巨高大上！小鸡酥非常可爱哈哈哈 团凤归巢也是这里比较经典的凉菜，服务员推荐的，鸡肉沾三种酱料吃每种都有不同的风味！图三冰芥秋葵也是开启秋葵新吃法，之前都从来没吃过这种做法😁只拍了凉菜和点心因为其他的菜一上还没来得及拍就被抢着吃了😂😂😂

Best Chinese restaurant in Auckland, so recommend! There is a photo wall has many Chinese Super Star photos, many stars from China have been in this restaurant before. So Cool! Good service, the waitress quite polite and nice. Great food, recommended braised pork (looks like a tower, amazing). Great ambience, so traditional Chinese style!

I’m spicy food lover, we have pork kidney in spicy soup, nice! Spicy lungs and tongue is cold dishes before main; we BYO a wine, fried hot chicken is perfect for drink, lol~ the diamond clam is live get from their seafood tank. The eggplant and lamb chop is on the recommended menu, order for my friend cannot eat spicy food, yummy! Just found that this restaurant are Zomato gold partner, next time I will join gold membership and come back for a complimentary dish! Lol!!

一直听说禅e的菜非常棒，终于和朋友一起去大吃一顿。😋古风的装修、精致的摆盘。而且有好多明星来过哟🎬。🐟海鲜都是现捞现杀。提前预定了汽锅鸡，特别适合现在的天气喝。最喜欢的是🦞龙虾伊面。真心推荐给大家哟👍👍👍。 The best restaurant I have been in New Zealand.

Food here is really good and waitress are very nice. I recommend the sweat sour ribs and eggplant. I will be back next time for the service and food. I can say It is the my favorite Chinese restaurant in Auckland.

The best place ever! 闺蜜推荐去的，餐厅氛围很好，摆盘非常精致，细微之处尽显厨师的用心 🦞 点了只龙虾居然能四吃，瞬间被圈粉 🐟 活鱼的吃法也是我见过最全的，很喜欢青衣的味道，刺少且嫩 ~ 贵妃蚌我能吃一盘 哈哈哈 ~ 可惜去的时候钻石蚌卖完啦，良心推荐给喜欢吃海鲜的朋友們，千万不要错过喔 😃

Went there so many times for dinners and took my families to celebrate my grandma's birthday. The food is well presented and decorated and the cuisine has various types of traditional Chinese flavour. Personally speaking the sweet and sour pork is my favorite , must have it everytime when I go there. Also the staffs there are pretty kind and friendly, in addition the dishes always serve in a shorten period. It is a restaurant I would definitely recommend my friends and families to go.

Great food enjoyed it !!!!!!<br/>Highly recommended! <br/>Nice service and environment!!!!<br/><br/>Great food enjoyed it !!!!!!<br/>Highly recommended! <br/>Nice service and environment!!!!<br/>

Love this place. Second time here, we really enjoyed! Fish was so fresh, pork dish we ordered quite tasty. The stir fry vegetables looked plain but tastes good.

The food here is very delicious and the environment is very clean and traditional. Love it here amazing and cool. Definitely will come next time with my friends

They must change the chef , we have order about 8 dishes, none of them are good. we made the complaint about the food, but no one care , so bad services . We will never come back. We are so disappoint .

Press the door bell then you can get in the restaurant, quite interesting. Service is a little bit slow. The dishes are very beautiful, taste is fine, kids love the mini buns. This place is good for family or friends dinner.

Really tasty Chinese food, one of the best I have tried in Auckland. A new spot marked.<br/>Sits in Newmarket Centre, a place to try after shopping

Nice food, quite environment, definitely a spot needs to try and come back again! Will recommend to friends and families. Food is more than expected

Nice food, love it! We had steamed oysters with minced garlic and vermicelli, spicy jellyfish in vinegar, stir fired pork kidney, braised touch with squid roes and deep fired fish in S&S sauce. We just love it!

First of all, we will never go back again to this so-called "private kitchen".<br/>1. Service 0/5. As it is a so-called "private kitchen", it is understandable that you have to make a reservation in advance and ring the doorbell when you arrived. But after you ringed the doorbell and they buzzed you in, then you walked upstairs to the restaurant, waiting to be seated by a waiter/waitress, surprisingly, no waiter/waitress showed up. We felt it‘s odd and then started to find the counter and waiter/waitress all by ourselves. <br/>After we sat at the table and started to order, the waitress recommended a seafood dish to us but I rejected. (Because I had already read their menu online and had my preferences. What he/she recommended was not on my want-to-taste list. Personally, I don't like to order a seafood dish in a Chinese restaurant outside of China, because it is always overpriced, and you can easily cook it very well at home if the seafood is fresh. If I want to have some nice seafood courses, I will go to some Portuguese restaurants, they know how to cook seafood.) After I rejected his/her recommendation, it became odd to us: I started to order from my want-to-taste list, but I was been told by the waiter/waitress that half of them were unavailable, I had to order something else as a sub.<br/>After the waiter/waitress left, I felt something was not right. Because one of the "unavailable" dishes was the one they keeping adverting all of those days, it didn't make any sense if it was unavailable on the menu. Then I asked another waiter about this "unavailable" dish; surprisingly he said it was available, without any hesitating, and also double checked with the kitchen. We felt even odder after then.<br/>During the whole dinner, only one waiter is professional and the other four was rude or unfamiliar with their provided courses or the promotion information.<br/><br/>2. Food 0/5. On that night, I felt that what I had in that dinner were just an average taste and an average presentation with a bad experience and an excessive price. I lost my appetite. I have uploaded some photos here. You can see the difference between the dishes we got and what they present on their menu. They must pay a lot of money to the photographists rather than their chef. In the next day morning, I felt uncomfortable in my stomach. It often happens if I have too much monosodium glutamate (MSG) during the meal in the restaurant. If they indeed used MSG in their cooked food, it is a shame they call themselves "private kitchen". In my opinion, a pro chef should have savouriness skilfully and patiently built up from well-chosen ingredients using time-honored techniques, not settle for a cheat’s quick fix from a tin like an amateur. <br/>I quote one of the others' review :"大厅显眼处贴着很多明星光临的跟老板合照的照片. 我只能说可能给明星做菜的厨师跟做给我们平民百姓吃的不是同一个吧." I totally agree with this one, the chef who might cook for the superstars is not the same as the one that cooks for us.<br/><br/>3. Overall 0/5. They have an information sheet on each dining table, indicate that if you write a review on Zomoto or Dazhongdianping (大众点评网，a Chinese version of Zomoto), you can get some discount (Wechat red porket/Weixin hongbao) from the staff. I believe that is why there are still some positive reviews on the web. People write down some positive reviews for the discount. And I notice that somehow they have deleted quite a lot of negative reviews on the web recently.<br/><br/>一句话，我们永远不会再光顾这个所谓的“私人厨房”了。<br/>1.服务0/5。因为这是一个所谓的“私人厨房”，所以你必须提前预约并在抵达时按门铃是可以理解的。但是当你按完门铃他们远程开门让你进来之后，（餐馆在二楼，你要先自己从楼梯走到楼上），你走到楼上后，按照惯例在二楼门口的等待区等待服务员把你领进去，神奇的是，没有服务员来管你。我们当时就心里暗暗称奇这和我们之前去过的许多私房菜馆在服务理念方面不太一样啊，然后开始自己去柜台那找服务员。<br/>当我们终于找到我们定的桌子并坐下来点菜时，服务员主动向我们推荐了一道海鲜菜，但是我拒绝了。 （感觉像是在推荐卖不掉并且快要坏了的海鲜鱼，而且我已经提前在网上看了他们的菜单，把我们想点的菜都记下来了。这个服务员推荐的菜并不是我想要品尝的菜的之一。另外对我而言，我不喜欢在中国以外的国家的中餐馆去点海鲜菜，因为中餐馆的海鲜菜卖的比正常的西餐馆的还要贵还味道就那老三样。只要海鲜是新鲜的，你完全可以在家里自己做出这样水准的菜品。如果我实在想吃海鲜，我会选择去一些葡萄牙餐馆，因为他们做海鲜是一绝。）就在我拒绝了服务员的这个推荐菜之后，一切开始变得更加诡异了：我想要点的菜，有一半的菜这个服务员都说“没有”，“做不了”，我感觉我被针对了啊。。。我只能点了别的菜来凑数。。当服务员离开后，我越想越觉得不对劲。因为其中一个他说没有的菜是他们餐馆这几天一直在公众号里推广的菜，如果这个菜也没有或做不了那不是很合理啊。于是我叫了另一位服务员问这个菜有没有，神奇的是他想都没想就说这个菜有的，可以点，怕我不相信还特意和厨房对讲机了一下说这个菜有的。于是我问另外几个刚才说没有的菜，结果也都是有的。。我呵呵。。<br/>整个饭吃下来，感觉只有一名服务员是专业的服务还可以，其他四名服务员要么态度很不好要么连他们上的菜都不知道是那种食材做的要么连他们餐馆推出的打折活动也不知道怎么操作。。<br/><br/>2.食物0/5。那天晚上，我觉得我只是吃到了很一般的味道和很一般的摆盘，很差的服务和很贵的消费价格。上第二个菜的时候我就没胃口了。我上传了一些照片。你们可以看到我们当时拍的菜和菜单上的图片之间的差距。他们一定是付给摄影师的钱比给他们的厨师多，不然怎么会照片上那么好看诱人实物却如此的坑。第二天早上，我感到胃部不舒服，是那种味精吃多了的不舒服。如果他们真的在他们的菜里放了味精，那么他们还真有脸叫他们自己是“私人厨房”。在我看来，“私人厨房”的厨师应该用精心挑选食材并用心地去做菜，而不是像外行那样通过放味精来增鲜。<br/>我引用一下其他人的评论：“大厅显眼处贴着很多明星光临的跟老板合照的照片。我只能说可能给明星做菜的厨师跟做我们平民百姓吃的不是同一个吧。”我完全同意这一点，可能给明星做饭的厨师跟为我们做饭的厨师不是一个人把，呵呵<br/><br/>3.总体0/5。他们在每张餐桌上都有一张小广告牌，上面写着如果您在Zomoto（大众点评的英文版）或大众点评网上给他们好评，您就可以从服务员那里获得10-20刀的折扣（具体多少记不起来了，也有可能是微信红包的形式）。我想这就是为什么网上他们家餐馆还有一些好评的原因吧，但是奥克兰的本地人（中国人和外国人）都知道这家店不好吃，不去吃，现在就是靠拉旅游团过来吃饭了。。。我还注意到他们不知道怎么的最近在网上删除了很多差评。

Went there a couple of times for dinner. Took mum there for her birthday this year, and she enjoyed the food. The atmosphere is very tradutional Chinese style, and the foods are fusion of different Chinese cusine. Nicely presented too. I love the eggplant dishes, must have everytime~ the only downside is that it's a little pricey for what you get.

We had dinner here tonight, between the four of us we spend just under 500 bucks. The overall impression was the over priced food, by comparing the quality, taste and presentation you received. Service was mediocre, I would not rate it authentic. One pork dish, the meat ball was clearly off, we simply asked for it to be taken away, we had a group of these guys came over to explain to us that that is how they marinated their meat and that’s how it should taste. We didn’t come to this restaurant to be lectured or explained, or argue on how meat should taste like. Average people would be able to tell if the ingredient is fresh or off! <br/>The meat is definitely off! It would ruin anyone’s night if You chose to argue with them. The typical argumentative lying Chinese restauranteurs nature. They would do anything to get away with things. The repercussion is, Council will get a call on Monday. <br/><br/>These amateur young Chinese kids are running a seemingly okay show, but they have no idea about customer service. They are not professional, or experienced, these people have no concept about the hospitality industry and how to treat their customers! <br/><br/>Overrated, rip off, Arrogant, rude operator, ambient is noisy. Avoid it by all means.

餐厅环境是不错.但是菜的质量跟价格不相符.⋯⋯没什么特别.⋯⋯点个酸菜鱼都说不做？⋯⋯某些菜跟糕点都是没有供应.菜的味道没有惊艳到我！⋯⋯比较平淡.点了一个水煮鱼.⋯⋯骨头特别多。⋯⋯某些服务员的服务态度并不是很好！⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯

环境好 但是菜的质量跟不上价格。<br/>本来我真的对这里期望很高<br/>觉得禅E应该会是奥克兰排得上名次的中餐。<br/>毕竟价格摆在那里。<br/>可能希望越大失望越大<br/>菜单上面感觉很多菜unavailable<br/>点了蒜蓉蒸贵妃蚌 没有flavor 很boring <br/>盐水鸭感觉没有处理很好 禽类的味道残留很大<br/>然后汤 竟然是最后上的。<br/><br/>大厅显眼处贴着很多明星光临的跟老板合照的照片<br/>我只能说可能给明星做菜的厨师跟做给我们平民百姓吃的不是同一个吧。

This restaurant is not as bad as other reviewers described in my opinion. And it’s obvious that the owner has been reading the reviews here and made changes. One of the reviews said the restaurant is really noisy as there are tv screens everywhere. When we were there on Saturday night, all the TVs were off, the noise level was just the same as every other Chinese restaurant. The decorations are really nice, you can tell the owner has put a lot of effort into it. <br/>The taste was alright but the presentation was definitely above average. I strongly recommend the the braised pork, it’s really soft and full of flavour. Even though it’s fatty pork belly, but you can’t really taste the fat. The fried shrimp balls came out nicely presented, but they were cold when they arrive? Maybe it took a while to be plated?<br/>Service was bit slack though... Some waiters were rude as they either can never hear you or they pretend they didn’t hear you... well they never responded to me when I waved/called... i had to go to the counter or one of the waitress would respond.

The seafood is so bad don’t try any seafood there. Other food just normal. the service is also so bad. I highly not recommend to come if u want to enjoy some good food.

Yummy food, beautiful ambience and setting!! <br/>For the price and the restaurant's claim to being a prestigious restaurant, The only let down was lack of training on their Staff's . We had to keep reminding them to top up water for the tea.

I found this restaurant from this application and I saw many good reviews so I decided to tried and their food really good here. We got very big around 3 kg crayfish tonight. So we cooked crayfish in 2 ways first one deep fried with garlic pepper and second one cook with congee. It’s taste really good. We couldn’t finish it because it’s come very big portion and only two people eat. So tomorrow I will have leftovers food lol.

怎么说呢，中看不中吃…………<br/>装修很好看，但价格和饭菜质量完全不匹配!<br/>海参并没有发好，涩味还在,搭配的小米粥，小米没有煮开，时间火候都没有够…………<br/>沸腾鱼除了咸味没有任何麻辣的味道，全是鱼骨头…………<br/>腰花后味很臊.........<br/>人均50刀可以有更好的选择，真的非常不值。

Foods are ok, the environment was so noisy as there are TV screens all over the walls. Expensive compared to the other same level restaurants.

I have to say the top Chinese restaurant in Auckland in terms of the food. Service is standard as you can not expect much when you are in Chinese restaurant to receive the European service style. Staff are nice and friend. Enjoy most is the food. Love the Chef got passion about what he does. Every time I go, there is always sometime different.

It's a nice place to have friends to eat, because they have a nice environment. Their dishes are too slow. Some of the specials are delicious, but there's something we don't feel good.

This private restaurant is really really good～I highly recommend it！菜品口感，服务态度，店内设计都很有自己的特色～强烈推荐！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！快带上你的家人，朋友，闺蜜，或Ta去感受在异国的“家乡味”！

I went to Zen E with my fiancée last month with the plan to propose to her. I was too nervous and stumbled in the process. However, I would like to present my greatest gratitude to Zen E restaurant. The waiters there were so professional and played soothing music for me so that the proposal actually went quite well. Just to say, I did not ask the waiters to do these things for us... In the end, Zen E gave us extra cuisine for us to celebrate our big day. Thank you very much Zen E! Our anniversary dinner is yours.

First time and last time experience! When we ordered food from the menu, half of the dishes were not available!! Either told us sold out, or told us the menu was too old, some dishes were cancelled!! Then why the hell you do not update your bloody menu!!<br/>The food was also disappointed, service was ok but the price was way way way over the top!! Very bad experience and swear to god, we will never ever go back again!

I'm not sure whether the idea of the private kitchen (or home cuisine) comes from Hong Kong or Shanghai. The idea is to promote the relaxed atmosphere, simplicity & excellence of home cooking. My ratings on food, service & ambience have reflected how I felt about Zen E.  <br/>We had small dishes like seasoned duck with soy sauce & duck flippers with mustard sauce - flippers were terribly bland.  Egg-plants, shrimps & shredded pork tasted good.  Sweet & spicy shredded pork with flapjack was also good. Pan-fried mini pork buns looked special but were fairly ordinary in taste. Stirred-fried pork kidney was prepared well but tasted rather salty. Stewed lamb brisket in the casserole was the worst dish of the day.<br/>(Food - 3/5; Service - 4/5; Ambience - 4/5)

Amazing! Have been here twice now and both experiences have been great. Food is delicious, so flavour filled and staff are very good, very fast, efficient service. Can't wait to come back sometime!!

really good Chinese restaurant in central Auckland! 不错的中餐店 据说很多明星来奥克兰开演唱会都是必到这家店吃饭，店里面一面照片墙，上面有好多明星来吃饭的时候和工作人员的合影，菜的味道不错，服务也特别好，平时人很多，可能需要提前订位的

I've been here a few times for family dinner and I love the decoration and the location of this restaurant. The food was really good, two of my favourites are the braised pork with vegetables and the mini pork buns! My cousin and I fought over the buns last time we came here. I definitely recommend trying this restaurant.

Love this restaurant! The food is so good and the atmosphere is relaxing. It is very modern and the interior looks amazing. It is a bit pricey but it is a very private restaurant and they give free pens at the counter!

ÛThis restaurant is extremely private as you need to make a booking to come. The entry is a locked door and you have to press a doorbell to get in. They offer private booths with television. The atmosphere is a 5/5. The food is delicious however some dishes were a little too salty for my liking. This place has some huge portions like the sharing chicken noodle platter ($58). The food is more on the high end side of what you get e.g. Prawns were almost $40. Waiters were attentive and topped up our tea regularly.

Located near the Warehouse on Broadway, New Market, this authentic northern Chinese cuisine is great for private dining. You have to make a reservation to be able to dine there. This high classed chinese restaurant surprised me with their artistic dishes which were really aesthetically pleasing and appetizing such as the Braised Pork with Vegetables - a dish which the pork is sliced and stacked up into a red shiny pyramid. Some of their dishes are unique as well such as cooking with heated salt and displaying the traditional chinese culture within the dish. Not only was the presentation for each dish delivered to a high standard, the taste also followed through, and ofcourse, the price followed as well. $70 for two is ideal.<br/><br/>Quality - 9.5/10<br/>Taste - 9.5/10<br/>Size - 9.5/10<br/>Price - 7.5/10<br/>Service - 7/10

Zen E Private Kitchen is an authentic restaurant serving classic and sophisticated Chinese cuisine. We couldn't find anything similar in Sydney and were surprised to find such a place in Auckland. The live seafood tanks and Chinese wooden decor immediately sets the mood. What's most impressive was that the food not only looked artistic but also delivered on the taste.

Nice place for private dinning, need to reserve first. Friendly waiting stuff and Great food especially shrimp balls and the lamb! They’ve also got new dishes! Must try them all!<br/><br/><br/>Definitely back soon:)

Relatively discreet, we visited for the first time based on a recommendation. I doubt most people will walk in as the closed door and the door bell makes it feel like a hidden den. On the other hand, if you have a booking, it makes it feels a bit exclusive. <br/><br/>Anyway the food was great. We orderded for dishes (mini dumplings, vege, pork with bun, prawns). Can't remember the exact names but suitably impressed as it's closer to fine dining. <br/><br/>We'll be back to try the other dishes.

Good food good atmosphere, relatively private as well.<br/><br/>Use to go quite often but not as much now. Good to stop by every now and then. Lots of fun and good times. <br/><br/>Environment: 4/5<br/>Food Quality: 4/5<br/>Food Quantity: 4/5<br/>Service 3.5/5<br/>Price $20-$40pp

came here for work Christmas dinner. The food was really surprising but great because I never had much Chinese food before. It was a great experience and the presentation of the food was beautiful. The staff was   nice and helpful as well.

the worst service i have never had in Auckland.Im not recommend to go there. Even you booked a table they still rude to you. Especially the girl on counter. Super rude.....

Time and date: Saturday Dinner<br/><br/>Food ordered: Smoked duck, Marinated gluten with woodear fungus and peanuts, sugar and vinegar pork, stir fry egg plant with prawn, pork, coriander and garlic, and Shanghai steam dumpling<br/><br/>Authenticity: According to my Chinese friend originating from around the Shanghai region, the food is pretty authentic as it gets<br/><br/>Taste: Complex level of flavor<br/><br/>Environment: Quiet at first, but the place got full up by 7.30<br/><br/>Service: Friendly but speak limited English<br/><br/>Costs: $40 per person <br/><br/>Will I return: Ocassionally

I have promised one of my fellow foodie follower to write a review for this special place a little while ago but kept forgetting the English name of restaurant hence the delay...<br/><br/>Tea house & Restaurant (aka Zen'e to those who read mandarin) is perhaps a little quiet in the busy Newmarket restaurant scene yet famous amongst Chinese and Taiwanese people. There's no glimmering signs and to access the restaurant one must ring the door bell and say the magic password... "I've made a reservation". Once inside (be prepared to climb a staircase) you will find a dimly lit restaurant with wooden furnishings and group booths containing flat screen TVs. The menu was varied and the dishes are influenced by southern Chinese cooking styles. We pre-ordered (as insisted by their staff when taking our booking) and to a small extent we wish we had more time to consider the menu. Their dishes was tasty and is what they called 私房菜 or, in English, house designed non-traditional recipe. The salted chicken was good but in my opinion were similar to most Chinese restaurants. My favorite dish were perhaps the Petit dumplings, steamed then fried to perfection. Also, their lion's head soup (its actually a giant pork meatball) was so tasty that I craved for a second order. However, their deep fried items were a little too greasy and they had this dish consisting of separately fried vegetable and meat where they mix in front of you - it became more like stewed vegetable with lots of sauce and was not really to my liking. <br/><br/>The tea served along with the food was good and a little bit better than standard Chinese restaurants. <br/><br/>Service was fast and friendly and all in all its a good alternative to the usual Chinese fare.