Chop Chop Noodle House

Chop Chop Noodle House, Ponsonby Central - Restaurant Review

Vibe

Inspired by hole-in-the-wall noodle bars and Thai beach shack restaurants, Chop Chop has a coolly casual vibe with shared seating around a bustling open kitchen. Kung fu pop culture references crash and bang with country music – actually very big in Thailand if you're wondering – and the whole set up is loads of fun.

Service

Decked out in cowboy hats and obviously recruited for their sassiness, the team at Chop Chop fit really well with the bar's hip and energetic ambience.

Drinks List

Asian beers like Tiger, Tsing Tao, Chang and Singha are joined by Mountain Goat Steam Ale from Australia, and Asian-inspired cocktails and a big selection of bourbon and whiskey drinks complete the picture. Non-drinkers should definitely consider the milkshakes and house-made sodas. The pineapple soda was super-refreshing on a warm summer afternoon.

Feeling Peckish?

Chop Chop is The Blue Breeze Inn's spin on a noodle bar, influenced in equal parts by Thailand, Korea, Japan and China. Our heaped bowls of rye ramen noodles ($18) were crammed with excellent ingredients including crispy chicken and BBQ pork belly, but unfortunately the broth in both bowls was rather insipid and muted in flavour. Luckily the further addition of chill oil and Asian pepper perked both dishes up, but initial impressions were disappointing. Slightly more successful was the stir fried soft shell crab ($16), but that dish too was hampered by too much acidity in the accompanying cucumber and miso dressing.

The Bottom Line

There's lots to like about Chop Chop as The Blue Breeze Inn's funky and brash younger sibling – especially the ambience and the drinks list – but we were disappointed with the food on our visit.

A Reason to Return

For some of Chop Chop's bourbon-based cocktails, and another stab at the food menu including pork buns ($8) and the fish of the day with udon noodles ($18).

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