Review Vr Bakers Restaurant - Papatoetoe

Best restaurant in South Auckland. Huge portions, super tasty and fresh food. Family run business with a superb customer service. The prices are excellent. Excellent place to go with the family or for a quick lunch break. Never disappoints.

Excellent steamed prawn, prawn spinach and prawn coriander dumplings. The pork golden spring rolls and egg desert things we're also super yummy! Yum cha tea is free and price was very very reasonable ($30 for 1 portion of each of the above)

I actually find this serves exactly the same yum cha menu as the crown restaurant in hunters corner but cheaper...and the guy who normally does all the cash handlings nice. We went into crown an waited almost an hour for 2 dishes...pork dim sums and beans n pork..I never went back after that..this place serves the same and isn't as busy...

Best hidden Yum Cha around. Friendly service and awesome prices, Love their chive and prawn dumplings and their iced coffees are tasty!

This place is quite and Cosy..Perfect for couples to have a nice and tasty dinner.Staff is very helpful and Always have a smile.Fried Rice combination is the must try.Being here many times.

They are nice people and the foods 😊 not to bad , lots of seating, parking right out the door, you can take food away also

Good value meals. Yum char has small selection but excellent price.

Nice place to eat, cheap but tasty.place not so fancy, but the food is good.

Best Vietnamese dishes. Lovely staff and pretty good prices

Great food and great service with awesome prices. Go there all the time.

I bloody love this place!!! The yum-cha is so yum, cheap and beautiful!!

Food is very tasty service fast. Staff very friendly.

Husband and I enjoyed Delicious food & friendly service.

Best prawn dumplings I reckon... nom nom 5 star for me.

Great yum cha open late!

Best yum char around

Delicious steamed dumplings

My husband and myself have been dined in and also take aways. The service was fast and served by friendly staff. Ample parking and location saved us travelling outside of Papatoetoe. Thank you for your prompt and friendly service with a smile.

Food is fresh, served hot an very fast - took a group of 25ppl an very pleased. Awesome service from Quan & Kim 👍🏽

The owner is always very welcoming and friendly to myself & my family. Enjoy his food especially the crispy pork, had a few burnt spring rolls but overlooked it that time, good value for money.

This place doesn't look all that but seriously, they make really good food!! Friendly place to have a bite to eat plus they have an "A" rating too 👌

Not nice at all, no love in their cooking no flavour and food out in freezer for how long??? Smells old<br/>Pork Belly all gone to waste YUCK. I will not return back here will rather drive the distance to get better tasting food. Also I was trying to look for their grading but couldn't find it..

This Asian restaurant appears to be offering fusion foods between Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine. The foods were pretty average. The Vietnamese grilled chicken was not bad though.<br/><br/>Food & Beverage : 6/10<br/>Service : 6/10<br/>Price : 6/10<br/>Ambience : 5/10

Very friendly staff. Always keen for a chat! They no longer do yum cha which is a bummer BUT they still do great food. A must have would probably be the crispy chicken! It is delicious! Roast pork n BBQ pork is lovely as well. Would not recommend the spicy salted pork. Please don’t get put off by the comments regarding their hygiene/food rating. I went there tonight n it’s seemed very clean clean to me. Their rating is pending at the moment. I checked online before going in and it is also displayed in the front counter.

They don’t serve yum Cha anymore been going for a few years now... daymmm I won’t be going bak anymore I have to find a new yum Cha place out south bummer the rest of there food on other menu is ok but not worth going in for sorry guys

Cheap and delicious food. Ordered the crispy pork which was so delicious. I paired it with some of their hot oil on the table and it was to die for. The hot oil alone is incredibly flavorful compared to the ones i have tried. <br/>Also ordered their dumplings which were average but their pork buns were out of this world. So good

Seeing few good review here, we decided to go for yum char. Arriving on a Saturday afternoon today, there's only one table of 2 and l just wonder why? The whole restaurant look so shabby, messy and filthy not forgetting about the washrooms. Half of the yum char menu was not available except a few. The food looks okay on the photos l taken but actually its over steam and become so soggy, the vietnamese lemongrass chicken thinking that's there specialty was very oily. Beside, they even overcharge us for what we not even ordered. Hygiene rating couldn't be seen anywhere either. Will not be back.

Nice, cheap and clean Vietnamese joint. Just introduced a new part of menu to be like yum cha and now also has Roast meats such as duck, pork, chicken. Friendly people. Oh, best dumplings I've had in a while too!!

I googled yumcha and came up with this restaurant.<br/><br/>Some orders were out of stock/not available even though the place had a few other customers seated, not just us. Probably because it was starting up after moving to this location and/or staff reasons. Nonethless, the staff didnt let it get to them. They were friendly and accomodating.<br/><br/>The food was good for its price. Except i would critique the bbq pork bun and prawn cheong fan (rolled rice noodle) pictured. The bbq pork bun skin was too sticky. I believe it should separate easily and have a slightly more bread consistency. The cheong fan sauce was a tad too salty. Other than that, the rest of the order was pleasing.<br/><br/>It would be a good restaurant if you happen to be in the area, stuck on what to try or looking for some cheap eats in big quantity!

Please ask this place for his health rating.<br/>It's has been a D for years ...<br/>I used to go here until I got sick a couple of times from the wonton soup .The second time I got sick I realised it was the food so I asked them about their rating and they wouldn't tell me and it's not displayed .I got the information online and this was a few years ago now and nothing has changed in see they have got a big pork window put in etc...How they can still have a D and be open is beyond me

This hidden gem been around for over a year now and has taken over a antique shop which was there before them and has the best of both Vietnamese and Canton dishes and yeeaaah does yum char snacks  too which is steamed to order rather than carted around pre-cooked, oh does HongKey BBQ too u know the roasted crispy pork belly and chook. Originally wanna the fish/tofu but was sold out and had to settle for the won hon egg noodles, sweet n sour and looks like the vietnam  version of the chong fun rice roll.<br/> <br/>Place does looks outdated and quickly retro fitted, again  we were just 1 of 2 groups of diners there at time, remember follow diners the best places to eat at is the dingy ones.

Me and my family enjoy this cheap local convenient spot! No the decor isn't the best but the food is good! When me and my family are here we order from the yum char and Vietnamese menu, MOST of the time the food is great but because we come here often we do notice the inconsistencies with the Vietnamese menu which is why I have given it a 3.5!! (Eg. Plate sizing/ingredients differ)

Great tasting dimsum at such affordable price! There's nothing fancy about this resto. It even looks shabby and needs refurbishing. However, if you are just after yummy yum char then this is the place to be. <br/><br/>The owners/hosts are really friendly and welcoming. It was just my family and another one when we ate here tonight. So my son had the entire place as his playground and no one minded. <br/><br/>Will definitely come back here. Cheap yet delicious!!!

Great find to have come across this place. We got takeaways,ordered about 7-8 kinds and ended up paying only $37! Very friendly staff and aunthentic taste

Ate here for the second time on Saturday just passes for brunch with two friends.$85 between us three and we left very full and satisfied.Although the meal was treated to me I found it very affordable for the quality and authenticity of the meal. The place is also a Vietnamese bakery which serves the classic Bahn Mi and other sweet treats such as cakes and tarts.<br/>The decor however was on the rugged end but overall was a great experience.

It does not get more understated than this. If you’ve got this far, be sure to check out the absolute hidden gem of a dining experience at VR Bakers Restaurant. Starting out as a Vietnamese bakery offering the usual banh mi wares, VR has since expanded to a yum cha restaurant. Extreme value (possibly the best priced I’ve seen) and a good selection of Vietnamese meals to go along with the more traditional yum cha choices. The cheung fun (rice rolls) and pho were particularly exemplary, and it’s not often I can have those two in the same sentence. VR Bakers Restaurant: laughably cheap and entirely worth your time.

After reading the reviews we decided to check this place out. We were not disappointed! Definitely by far the better banh mi I have had in Auckland. The portion was generous, yummy baguette and decent filling! Most importantly, $6!!!!! Such a bargain! The staffs were friendly and attentive. We also tried some of the dim sums and they were all really tasty as well.

Been here about three times now and even though the decor is non existent, the place is run down and the service is a tad iffy its good for the price. Some of the yum cha menu options weren't very nice (don't order deep fried squid) but the others were made well so it made up for it. I don't know of any other yum chas that open till late so I'm bloody happy this place exists. Will definitely keep coming back.

I have been on the look out for amazing Bahn Mi in Auckland - it has seriously been hard to find! I'm super delighted to announce that VR Bakers definitely make good Bahn Mi! Having only discovered this place last week, I have visited 3 times... Staff are super friendly and greet you with warmth. Definitely try out the Viet pork Bahn mi, seriously delicious. As for their baked goods, i thought the carrot cake was delicious! I'm keen to try their yum Cha selection

Place has since changed management.<br/>Sad to say I will not be coming back here anymore.<br/><br/>The dining area is the same as before but the menu has changed. They have less items available and it's more expensive than what it was before.<br/><br/>The worst is that the food is not good anymore.<br/><br/>

Good and cheap place to have some viet food in South Auckland. Although most of the things I tried were a bit oily and salty, they were all flavoursome.<br/><br/>One think quite annoying was that the staff wouldn't stop pushing me food, so don't expect good service.<br/><br/>

All Crammed in order took forever place needs a serious do up the staff need to crack a smile at least yes there yum cha is cheaper than most but the quality was not there and the B grading was off putting and there bathrooms need major work I would not recommend nor return

Great food. Not a huge range but whatever they have is excellent. Place may not be attractive however you need to eat here to feel the taste. Prices are reasonable.

This place ain't Grand park..but their dim sim product"s not far off the mark (tasty)and the icing on the cake here the pricing of their products ..real value for your $$$along with their yum char they offer a full Vietnamese menu and all day breakfast dishes along with the Yum Cha today we tried the French toast which was a very generous portion the only negative was maybe a bit too much syrup on the product...we've been regulars here for a few years now,even thou its a bit out of the way this place is always worth the detour....

I was in the restaurant and saw a fly in the chicken they use for delicatessen style sandwiches, then a friend of mine brought dumplings and found a fly in one of the dumplings. When she told us that we have never been back since.

Let me just start with the saying 'dont judge a book by its cover'. I cannot stress enough how surprised I was when trying out the yum cha at VR Bakers Restaurant. This eatery can definitely be placed in the 'Hidden Gem' category as it's tucked away all the way down in South Auckland among a row of shops. As its name states, the place is actually a bakery, Vietnamese restaurant AND a dimsum place all merged into one which I thought was a bonus as that meant you could get yum cha even earlier than lunch time due to its bakery opening hours. They have an extensive vietnamese menu on offer (classic dishes like rare beef pho, lemongrass chickn on rice etcetc.) but Im giving VR a 5/5 for its amazing Yum Cha.<br/><br/>First of all, this was the CHEAPEST Yum cha I've ever stumbled upon.<br/>Small: $3.50, Medium :$4 Large: $4.50 Special :$5.50. Tea: Free. IS THIS EVEN REAL LIFE. The prices seemed too low to receive good food, but my low expectations were oh so wrong when our dishes came out. <br/>What we ordered..<br/><br/>The classic BBQ pork buns ( $4.50 for three) : MUST GET! fluffy, non fatty meat, not too sweet, good meat to bun ratio; nothing to fault about these buns.<br/><br/>Beef Tripe in red sauce ( $4): Really good too; cooked long enough, good non-diluted sauce, fresh.<br/><br/>Glutinous Rice Balls ( $4 for three): LOVE! An alternative to the normal glutinous rice in lotus leaf and not something you'd normally find at other yum cha shops. Extremely nice to eat alongside other dishes.<br/><br/>Pork spare ribs in black bean sauce ($4): ALSO GOOD! The sauce was tasty, lots of meat on the bones, generous portion<br/><br/>Pan Fried turnip cake ( $4 for three): A MUST GET! this was my ultimate favourite dish of the 6. Cripsy on the bottom and full of flavor omgaah<br/><br/>Baked Custard Bun ($4): once again, amazing! The pastry on top of the bun was crisp and flaky, buns were soft and filled with custard; a perfect way to end the day.<br/><br/>For so many dishes, we spent less than $25 which I thought was crazy cheap! A special note for the service too as everyone was super accomodating and friendly, especially the Cambodian waitress who checked up on us multiple times. Another different aspect of this eatery is you dont get ladies walking around with trolleys of food shouting out, but the waitress personally attends to you and you order from the menu what you want which is then made fresh and hot for you. Cannot rave about how good this place was, definitely returning to try their other dishes.<br/><br/>Must try: YUMCHA!! <br/>Dish of the day: Pan fried turnip cake<br/>Price: $25 for 6 dishes

Visited there on the way to have a hiking in the southern part of AKL. There is the highest price-effective dim sum restaurant I've been. The Vietnam style drip coffee and hand baked bread are the most awesome items. Also the deep fried taro ball was wonderful. Four adults had more than 10 items with 4 coffee but only spent $60.00 in total.

This was kind of weird restaurant in a weird place.... <br/>Cause in the same roof they have bakery, Vietnamese food and dim sum. <br/>But if you are looking for good dim sum, you definitely should give it a try!<br/><br/>The steam dim sum was prepared freshly for you when you ordered it. <br/>The ingredients were fresh and food was tasty.<br/><br/>I love their beef brisket, BBQ pork bun and egg tart.<br/><br/>The price of the dim sum was so reasonable and you will not believe with $11 can fill up two satisfied tummies! ($11 spent on a big bowl of porridge, BBQ bun and "siew mai" - steam pork dumpling)<br/><br/>Give this wonderful dim sum restaurant a try but don't judge the restaurant set up...<br/><br/>

The food is very good and some of the best in Papatoetoe however it should be cleaner. The staff is friendly. It is easy to order and the food comes in around 5 minutes. Recommend if you want to eat yum cha.

Bit of a hidden gem, but worth finding. I've had yumcha as well as dinner here and the food is decent. They do takeaways but it's just a pity they don't have a full menu online or even a copy of it to take with you for future reference.

Friendly Owners. I like thier iced coffee and had an assortment of entrees and soup. was very good.. been there 3x since our first visit a month ago. will go again for sure

The location of this restaurant was hidden but the design inside wasn't too bad. Although if I had to comment on the food I would give it a 2.5 maybe a 3/5 only because I only really liked the appetizers which were the deep fried shrimp dumplings and the pork dumplings, the entrée was a different story. My entrée was Chicken and hazlenut with vegetables and rice, it looked visually pleasing but it needed more flavour (maybe salt and pepper and more spices) as it tasted bland and some of the veggies were burnt. There were more vegetables than chicken on my plate. There was barely any meat on my plate. There was almost no music playing in the background which made me uncomfortable eating there. The food and some aspects of the service need more improvement. It was a little awkward eating there with no music. Although it was good that the utensils were clean and that my stomach wasn't upset after eating there. Unsure if I would come back in the future unless they improve the food and parts of the service/restaurant (music, cleaner menu, faster sevice).

We normally go to Vietnamese gourmet but decided to give this place a shot as it was new. The location is tucked away in from the Main Street and stands out as the building is a hideous Orange colour.<br/><br/>The staff(what I assume to be owner) was very shy but Cheerful and attentive however it's probably me and my date were the only two people in the Resturant. <br/><br/>Surprisingly I found the menu compiled of a mixture of Vietnamese food and chinese food as well serving bakery style foods. It felt as if there was an identity crisis.<br/><br/>I ordered a few appetizer with a main so did my parter with both selections of the yum cha and the Vietnamese options. The prawn and pork summer rolls were fresh and huge. I really appreciated the fact that they gave us both a peanut sauce and a traditional fish sauce. The prawn rice roll was average. I felt it could have had more sweet soya sauce to go with it. The har Gow prawn dumplings were really good with the fillings to be of reasonable size. <br/><br/>I had gotten a a Vietnamese vermicelli fresh noodle with spring rolls and pork. It was fresh and tasted authentic however I wish they had included some Vietnamese mints in the bowl as well. <br/><br/>My partner had chosen the egg noodle seafood soup. The broth was different from what weve had before in a really good way. You could taste a sweet green vege in the soup and made the broth very aromatic. The selection of seafood in the meal was average however we did surprisingly find a scallop in the dish which was a huge plus as they normally don't out scallops in this dish else where. <br/><br/>All in all the experience wasn't too bad and the totally came to a messy $33.00 which I would consider cheap. It's not the flashes of places but definitely worth a try

Went there today (28/10/14) it didn't surprise me that with it been in old Papatoetoe that the building was a little tired. But don't let that put you off. It was totally unexpected that they served up really nice dishes at really affordable prices. Yum Char was our menu and I loved it. Taking my boy back there on Sunday and will make it a regular spot to enjoy one of my favourite foods.