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Reviews for Barilla Dumplings

by Katie47 M.
9th June 2013

I know a lot of people feel that these are the best dumplings but we didn’t have that experience. This place is suggested by Metros cheap eats, but sometimes they get them wrong.

Yes they are OK and come in large portions, but we were so disappointed because we were looking for the best. Comparing them to Melbourne’s Chinatown is ridiculous – not even close.

Easy, cheap bustling place. Poor service, but hilarious to watch. But not amazing. Great place to go with friends after work x

by David B.
2nd June 2013

Fantastic dumplings – full stop.

The service is pointing and grunting but somehow it got us to a table and our order taken. The dining room is painted in art deco colors which is ok for the outside of a house, not so good for the inside of a restaurant. It all added to a great experience.

Standouts were the pork and fennel and ensure you order the French beans as a side dish. Doggie bags are stacked on the end of the counter so do not worry if you order too much.

If you feel like dumplings, hunt this place out.

by Bernadette B.
15th May 2013

Probably the best dumplings place I’ve been to in Auckland and it reminds me of Melbourne’s Chinatown! I love the 3 delicacy seafood shao mai or 3 delicacy fried dumplings (I think that’s what they’re called on the menu). Didn’t like their other dishes that aren’t dumplings but understandable since dumplings are their speciality. This place is always busy so be prepared to wait if you’re in a big group and often they don’t take bookings over the phone. Great food though and service isn’t as appalling as some other Chinese restaurants of this callibre!

by Tony H.
26th April 2013

Best dumplings I’ve found in Auckland, especially the pork and capsicum and pork and pot herb mustard. Service is not always great but well worth it for amazing dumplings!

by Rey
15th April 2013

Great range of dumplings and decent, if curt, service. Dumplings are tasty and well cooked. Thankfully they give you quite a few to chow down on.

by Matt S.
1st April 2013

This is a great dumpling place. We’ve only ever had takeaways from here and haven’t been disappointed yet! We stick to our favorites of pork and chive dumplings and spicy garlic eggplant – fantastic combination.

The service seems a bit unpredictable but I think that’s what helps make this place what it is!

by Josie B.
28th March 2013

always packed, I’d recommend not going at peak times. Looking a lot better after renovation and also more room now. Food is yum, don’t expect good service though.

by Ninan G.
28th March 2013

Excellent food, great price, quick service, no frills – never disappoints!

by Aj Y.
18th March 2013

Great dumpling place. We also like chilli long beans and squid

by Warren B.
24th February 2013

Barilla Dumpling is notorious for bad, indifferent, almost aggressive service….which we have come to accept and even look forward to. The food however makes up for that ….sensational food….cheap and generous portions…..since the renovation the ‘lack of atmosphere’ has improved marginally….try the sugar pancakes…they are addictive…..an absolute jewel of Asian food!!!

by Amanda P.
22nd February 2013

If you have a craving for amazing, authentic Chinese food then this is definitely the place to go. They are most famous for their delicious and very reasonably priced dumplings but I never tried anything there that wasn’t absolutely tasty. I was also excited because there were a lot of things that I have never seen before so I had a great time experimenting with new dishes. You can even buy their dumplings frozen and take them home for later. Amazing!

The down side is that there is absolutely no ambiance or customer service. The second time we went there they lost our order and we waited over an hour for our take away. It was chaotic and absolutely packed with nowhere to move. This was partially due to our poor timing (my boyfriend and I went during their weekend dinner rush) so I would highly suggest you avoid weekend evening hours and go during the week sometime. If I could give a star rating for the food it would be a five but I would rate their customer service a one. Still, It was one of my top places to go because the food was great so just plan your trip accordingly.

by Nikki S.
17th February 2013

This is one of my favourite places to eat on Dominion Road, besides New Flavour! Although the surroundings and the service are both rather basic (don’t take anyone here if you’re keen to impress), the food has always been great. Everything on the menu is good and is served piping hot, which I love. Come here for a cheap and satisfying feed

by Lena
16th February 2013

Visited Barilla with a friend for the first time a few weeks ago after reading the praise in Metro and a lot of word-of-mouth. We arrived at around 10.30pm on a weekday and the place was packed, the only table available was a huge table for ten in the corner which my friend and I were seated at. The menu is extensive however we don’t eat meat which narrowed it down substantially. We ordered the steamed mixed-vege dumplings, fried French beans and for dessert deep-fried milk buns.

The dumpling filling wasn’t terrible but we both felt it was lacking.. maybe an extra ingredient or more seasoning. While we appreciate vegetarian options, I feel like a lot of eateries think it’s sufficient just to have a vegetarian dish and then not give a crap about whether it actually tastes good.. just because we don’t eat meat doesn’t mean we don’t have tastebuds. The fried French beans however were so so good, I’m coming back for those specifically (and maybe to give the seafood dumplings a shot). The deep-fried milk buns were lightly fried bread rolls served with condensed milk on the side and were surprisingly tasty.

This place seems to get a bad rap for service, I thought the service was basic but not terrible. I appreciate that although there were only two wait staff for the entire restaurant our food came fast and our tea quickly replenished. If they’re rude it’s because they’re busy, not because they’re pretentious and I think that distinction needs to be made. The servings are huge and the French beans made a great breakfast the next day, I really recommend Barilla and I’ll be returning asap!

by Robert P.
6th February 2013

The dumplings were good – service really poor. For places this cheap I don’t expect anything other than a smile, greeting.

However, waitress was unsmiling, wearing something really inappropriate (basically a see-through shirt) and when one of our party discovered a large hair cooked into a dumpling there was no apology, just “do you want me to replace it?”. Disappointing.

by Anna S.
1st February 2013

Wowee! Awesome Dumplings – crazy busy and well worth waiting for a table if needed. Very reasonably priced the dumplings were some of the best I have had. Loved the Broccoli Garlic dish too. Dinner for 2 hungry girls and enough to take home for lunch the next day – $40 – value for money and exceptionally tasty – well done Barilla :-}

by Regan D.
23rd December 2012

I’m a big fan of Barilla. There is a huge amount of variety in the dumplings they make and I’ve had them on three or four occasions and each time they’ve been consistently good. I’ve usually only gone at lunch time and so haven’t had any of the problems that other people have had in terms of wait times.

I haven’t had the problems with the MSG that other people have mentioned.

by Elle
9th December 2012

The dumplings I had were burnt so that the dumplings on the bottom were literally black. Asked the waiter if it could be changed and was blatantly told no and this was normal. Being Asian, I know that that is not the standard for pan fried dumplings. Customer service on top of that was terrible with three of their staff members causing such a commotion that the dumplings were not burnt, whilst the restaurant, full at that point in time was watching us, while not understanding the conversation in mandarin. The next lot of dumplings that was brought out to another table was not burnt and I requested that they make it to that standard but once again the request was refused. My mother decided that she would not eat the burnt dumplings and told the waiter if we could change it we would stay and dine with them. The waiter then proceeded to say in mandarin, “if you don’t want to eat it, just go!” To me this was terrible customer service and the standard was terrible. I fully do not recommend Barilla Dumplings unless you are looking for bad customer service and burnt dumplings for dinner.

by Eric H.
30th November 2012

The Dumplings had heaps of MSG in it, it felt very yucky afterwards, the dumplings flavour was average, I was expecting more since it was recommended by Metro.

by Thom
27th November 2012

Dumplings were mostly pork fat with lots of MSG and salt. Can’t believe it was recommended by Metro. Felt ickky afterwards and just wanted to eat fruit to make up for the unhealthiness I had just consumed. Sorry

by Jenee M.
27th November 2012

You wouldn’t come here for the decor or chirpy staff but this is a really nice cheap place to have a meal at where you are almost guaranteed to be full after eating their dumplings. We tried the pork and chives dumplings (pan-fried) and soup noodle with spare ribs for lunch today, and they were both tasty for their price. It’s $1 extra to have the dumplings fried however it was only on one side so I’ll probably just get the normal one next time as it didn’t really make a difference. Would definitely come here again to try other fillings in the dumplings.

by Gatekepa
18th October 2012

Came here on the recommendation of a friend and from the way the place was packed I had high expectations! We ended up waiting close to 20 minutes for a table, but I don’t fault the place for that.

We looked at the menu before we were seated so there wouldn’t be a huge wait between then and when we actually received food. There is an insane amount of options you have to choose from, so we basically chose some random options that seemed good.

The dumplings we chose were pork with chive, and chicken with celery. Both were pretty average. Not much seasoning, but an ample supply of soy and chilli oil are available. They just didn’t rock my world

We chose a bun with three-delicacies which was really nice, actually. Our second favourite thing of the night. The texture was good, although the filling had shrunk a lot inside the bun.

Lastly we had the fried french beans which we got because we saw everyone else getting them, and they were AMAZING. I know they use cumin on them, but there’s a sweetness as well, and the crunchy coating just makes it all better. When you go, GET THIS. You will not be disappointed.

I spoke with a regular while waiting in line, and they said if you don’t want to wait it’s best to come before 6.15pm, or after 8pm, and sure enough when it hit 8pm there was no more line.

As someone mentioned, the staff aren’t really there to have a good time with you. They’re there to make sure your table is clean, make sure your food comes out as fast as possible, and make sure you can pay.

Next time I think we’ll go with our friend so they can order for us, but we will definitely be back.

by Noms B.
13th September 2012

The place always looks a bit oily and you question the hygene rating.
However the food is great, with a large range (especially dumplings) and reasonably priced.
The dumplings have some authentic fillings as well as alternative, plus you can have it boiled, steamed or pan fried, which is options a real dumpling house should alway have!

by Jana
14th August 2012

Love the food here! The dumplings are juicy and full of flavour. Don’t expect royal treatment but just wish the staff here were less grumpy.

by Raj M.
5th August 2012

Yummy dumplings and pancakes! Been there a few times with friends and loved it. Usually pretty busy in the evenings, you’d be lucky to get a table straightaway. Always ask the waitress for the wait time! You get 20 dumplings for $10 which is very filling! Make sure you confirm your order as some of the staffs’ english isn’t very good.

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