Review 88 Chinese Restaurant - Tauranga

Very popular. Very very busy with long waits for those who do not have a booking. Definitely pays to book and order ahead. Operators are proactively warning customers of wait times. Friendly staff and food was great!

This is absolutely my favourite Chinese restaurant for authentic Cantonese flavours in New Zealand, not only in this little town of Tauranga. Their bbq pork rice rolls are to die for. Their black sesame deep fried balls are next level. Service is always friendly and you know their yumcha is fresh as it is made to order. Words cannot describe the amount of love I have for this place. Hope it becomes your favourite too!

Great chinese food. The real one. Actually most of clients were chinese speaking, a good sign

Delicious and fresh. Warm, friendly accomodating & attentive staff. Had moist roast duck with crispy skin, fried rice, veges and beef stew. Also the lightest most fluffy and not to sweet steamed custard buns. Most definitely recommend this place.

Didn’t know what to expected and were actually blown away by the quality food and service. Portions were very good and the taste better than most Chinese restaurants in Auckland. I’d say their standout quality is high in flavour, less on salt, very pleasing meal.

The food was great! The beef brisket was tender and savory. Sweet and sour pork was good too tho too sour for me. But in general it was a good experience. We came early like 5:30pm and every table is already reserved. Few walk ins were available but your time to dine would be limited so if you're gonna come late might as well call and reserve a table. Definitely would come back to this restaurant!

The best chinese restaurant in Tauranga. I have visited this place for years and everytime I visit Tauranga I go to this place. These guys have relocated to Cameron rd and the restaurant looks really bright, clean and spacious. The quality of their food is just flawless and we really enjoyed our dinner.

White rice 10 out of 10. but the YOUTIAO smell very weird…FISH in chili oil taste so-so abit sour. Very good service and friendly٩(˃̶͈̀௰˂̶͈́)و

Love the food,my hubby and i go once a month soo awesome we keep going bak,and all the staff and service excellent..Thank you Helen ❤️..you know who we are table for two Rocky and Mary 😘

Always great food and great service. Good value for money and nice atmosphere. Day time Parking is now attrocious so no lunch time visits from me :(

I am so glad we made a reservation. From the moment we walked in the door we were made to feel very welcome and comfortable. The staff followed the Covid rules in a professional manner. They are friendly and efficient and a pleasure to be around. The restaurant is very clean, bright and airy on a hot summer's day. The Yum Cha is freshly prepared, hot and a true foodie experience. We will certainly be back again and happy we have found a good quality Yum Cha again. Even though they were busy, there was a good atmosphere. Makes it worth the one hour drive each way to experience such happiness..thank you

Delicious authentic Chinese food, great place to go with a group of friends/family so you can order a wide selection of food to share and taste. Would recommend having the 3 meats (roast pork, bbq pork and roast duck) and the squid with salted egg yolk. The Singaporean style fried vermicelli noodles and 88 fried rice were also delicious.

Very attentive wait staff and food was very well priced, highly recommend. Top of my list for favorite restaurants. Dine in or takeaway.

Our go to in Tauranga for quality Chinese meals. A special favourite for weekend Yum Cha. Fried squid, honey BBQ pork, and Lychee icream being family favourites. Can be very busy so definitely pays to book in advance. The only downside is that parking can be an issue given how popular it is.

Good customer service and good kai (food). But the Lemon Chicken and the vegetables are lack of flavour and salt. Anyway, they have my 5 stars review.

The best Asian food in Tauranga without challenge. The service could not be faster. Be sure to book as 88 is very popular. Nasi goreng is my favourite

A wonderful Chinese experience where the food can become the entertainment.

If I could give 6 stars I would. Had a brilliant meal here tonight. Very friendly and helpful staff, ensuring we had just the right quantities of just the right food. Quick service despite being packed out. Loved it (it was our first visit having been recommended by friends - we will definitely be back!) Picture is sweet and sour blue cod - just the job.

Lovely experience overall. The restaurant is updated with great tables and white chinaware. You can see straight into the kitchen. The service and staff were superb. We had the orange beef which was delicious and the duck was good, I think I’ve normally had duck breast at home so a bit different taste with the bones. The spring rolls, steamed buns and sticky rice were great. It was table service with menus that show you what you are ordering, so fresh made. We look forward to going back again.

They’ve moved to 801 Cameron road and the new site is very well decorated. Ordered roast duck, black pepper beef ribs, wonton soup and beef tendon. Food is good, and wonton tastes amazing with fresh pork, mushroom and proper seasoning, as few other yum char places just do wonton with frozen pork.

Was a bit reluctant to try this place based on the reviews, but I have to say... what a gem! Polite, friendly, and attentive staff.<br/><br/>Served quickly despite lunch time rush hour, checked up on us frequently and refilled tea etc, food came out reasonably fast and tasted fresh.<br/><br/>We ordered a mix of dimsum, and roast duck/pork combo. The roast combo was delicious, pork has the perfect amount of fat layers, and was nicely crisp on the skin. Roast duck sauce was great and duck was meaty and had little fat in the skin.<br/><br/>Loved the flexibility of how many dishes they have available. Cant think of many places back in Auckland that does that without sacrificing quality and taste.<br/><br/>Everytime we walk past, they always seem to have lots of customers! Went back once more for dinner before we left Tauranga, equally as good!

The decor is a bit lack lustre however the Chinese food is one of the most authentic in Tauranga. The go to local Yum Cha location. Because of the sheer demand the food is always fresh and made well. The spicy wontons are a must try.

Love the orange beef!! Some of the best I have ever had. Usually get take away and the restaurant is too noisy for me to dine in. Decent prices and great quality dishes.

Big delish yum cha cha cha.. spreading the taste of the orient with succulent delights.. such dumpling delishishnsh.. crispy squidulous.. my bowels know no better Chinese delights.. I'm moist in the glands to get back.. mourna could learn a thing or 2 from this joint.. easily the best Chinese at 88 Devonport street. Yes.. I will revisit.. oh yes...delishishnesh. Sprognic

If you're in Tauranga and craving some decent Chinese food then this is the place to go. Service is good, generous portion, authentic taste. Some dishes such as the bbq and sticky rice are on par with a good Chinese restaurant in Auckland. Some dishes can be improved on taste, but overall I'm happy to find a decent Chinese restaurant outside of Auckland. It's not easy!

Really delicious food overall - I thoroughly enjoyed the pan fried dumplings and bbq pork rice rolls. The coconut pudding was a bit of a disappointment - it lacked any flavour and I don't think it was very fresh (the only factor preventing this review from being 5 stars). The service however was incredible. The best service I have received at a restaurant in a long time. Staff were quick to take my order and to serve food. They were friendly and charming, happy and quick to assist. Will definitely visit again.

10 minute wait to be served along with 3 other white people being ignored meanwhile 6 Chinese people walked in and were served! Then told 30 min wait on bbq pork, when asked if it is fresh they responded yes we just need to defrost! Absolutely disgusted in the racist actions and the belief frozen is fresh! Never again will I recommend or go to this place! Steer well clear!

September 2017.Improved !!  Makeover of the premises was overdue and is good.Staff were friendly, although they wanted us to think that its the kind of place you need a reservation for, which based on our eat and talk time of approx just under 2 hours, is not actually true.Food was back to being good.  Disappointed in the amount of Veges given for price. Had to ask for chilli still, they weren't so good at clearing our no longer required dishes, or asking if we would like further drinks other than the first time.Increased ratings from 3 to 3.5.... still dubious though.<br/><br/>December 2015.<br/>Pork su mai was okay, but think they have changed the recipe as not as much flavour.<br/>Prawn dumplings were prawn and garlic<br/>Beef ribs in black pepper sauce actually tasted sour aka.... old meat being used / going off ? <br/>No longer get salad.<br/><br/>Have to ask if you want more than one serving of the chilli and soya sauces, which the staff generally screw their nose up at you about.<br/><br/>Always have to ask - and most times you have to get yourself - for cutlery if you have non chop stick loving persons at your table.<br/><br/>I'm rather disappointed at the continued decrease in service, and food quality so may take a while to come back to this place now.<br/><br/>Reduced rating from 4.5 to 4 and now a 3.<br/><br/>June 2014<br/>Decor updated, so looks nice. Yum Cha menu downsized but still nice.<br/><br/>October 2013<br/>Yum Cha is delicious.<br/>Decor is a bit... blah. The plastic table cloths don't help, but I was more interested in the food.<br/><br/>Good selection, some of the same names as dishes I have had at other yum cha but different dish altogether.<br/>Yummy little salad that came with our lunch (can I have more?).<br/>Good value, friendly service.<br/><br/>Normally yum cha is served by being seated and waitstaff bring around different dishes for you to select rather than being handed a menu and cooked to order, would try more things if done the original way rather than cooked to order.<br/><br/>Will return !

Its hard to find a good consistant restaurant in Tauranga. 88 Devonport is one of them. The food is great...... Yum Char as good as the best in auckland.<br/><br/>i know ive been to them.<br/><br/>who cares about the decor its part of the experience.<br/><br/>Ye they could do more marketing and get more customers but maybe they arent out to make money money money.<br/>Maybe they are happy with the level they operate at.<br/><br/>Usually when restaurants get bigger the quality goes down.<br/><br/>Leave this restaurant alone so that we have at least one good restaurant to go to in TNG

This place is in need of a total re- furbishment. The food was good &amp; the staff very obliging but they are let down by the environment.<br/>The carpet is grubby &amp; the tables are covered in plastic sheeting not conducive to comfy dining.<br/>The ladies toilet needed a good clean with the neglected towel rail requiring to be filled with one sad looking towel left in the dispenser. The addition of a washing machine in the toilet was a novel concept which only succeeded in adding to the general lessez faire attitude of the whole place. Dismal to say the least. So many lovely establishments in Tauranga so wouldn't advise anyone too go here unless it has a total re-furb

Great Chinese food with unique taste. Absolutely friendly staff. Owners gave us the best service in town. A wide variety of Chinese food served with a large portion. Great value for money.