248 Dominion Road,
Mt Eden
Auckland,
(09) 631 5575
The ViewAuckland Review
It was on our second attempt at eating in Jolin Shanghai that my partner and I finally succeeded. On our first attempt a month or two ago we parked up at the first empty space we found on Dominion Rd on a Saturday night and made a bee-line for the Chinese restaurant. We knew before even opening the door we were too late – the place was packed, no free tables and hardly any room for the waiters to navigate between tables either.
Fortunately if you are hungry on Dominion Rd you are spoilt for choice and with our tummies rumbling we found a Thai place with room for us.
This time we left home earlier, parked closer to Jolin Shanghai at the 24-hour Foodtown which it backs onto, and managed to get the second last free table on offer. We probably looked out of place in our window seats, every other patron was Chinese as were everyone else who turned up looking for a table after us. We must have been a novelty for the staff because even the polite and informative older waitress told us ‘Kiwi’s’ like us don’t often eat in, they prefer take-aways.
But here we were comfortably browsing the menu in the no-frills family run and family friendly establishment. It’s small, the tables are covered in white throwaway tablecloths and the walls decorated with a hand-written notice in Chinese informing patron’s parking was available at the nearby fruit store or Foodtown.
The picture menu helped us and we ordered sizzling pepper beef, chicken in soy and fried rice. Jolin Shanghai is BYO, but there is a limited wine and beer selection if you desire. But be warned, when I say limited I mean very limited.
The sizzling beef came first, with a bit of a wait before the rice and chicken arrived, so we tucked right in. First impressions – excellent. Thin tender beef strips, perfect amount of pepper and a delicious sauce. I was starting to think we could have been more adventurous and tried a more traditional dish like sharkfin soup, salty chicken (a cold dish) or anything else we couldn’t recognise.
The rice and chicken were also good, but perhaps not as impressive as the beef. On the plus side, the servings were plentiful and we had to take home some leftover rice and chicken for Sunday’s lunch. No complaints from me and no complaints from the staff who were more than happy to provide us with containers.
Upon paying the bill – which came to a very reasonable $42 for the three main dishes – the waiter gave a slight chuckle. When I asked why, he informed me we’d ordered “three Kiwi meals” and said next time he’d help if we were up to trying something new. And I think I just might just take up the offer.
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