Auckland: Sunshine Chinese Restaurant

Somewhere between Auckland and Melbourne I caught a cold. Right now my head is a bit fuzzy and my memory of the dinner below isn’t great…. Even the pictures haven’t jogged my recall much so apologies for the lack of details. It didn’t help that I never looked at the menu – the ordering was done by the “adults”. No matter how old you get, when you’re with family you become a kid again.

Our first night in Auckland was my Aunt Miriam’s birthday. We loaded up the van (something that can take half an hour with my family) and headed off for an early dinner at Sunshine Chinese Restaurant. A sign on the door said that it was Auckland’s best Chinese restaurant, as decided by Cuisine magazine in 2005 and 2006.

Soup

Dinner started off with a bowl of thin Chinese soup.

Soy sauce chicken

Next out was the soy sauce chicken. The flesh was slippery and tender.

Chicken Head

The chicken head was left on for presentation. Cluck cluck!

 Pork spareribs in plum sauce

Pork spareribs in plum sauce.

assorted cold meats

This was assorted cold meats – roast pork, roast beef, roast duck and, my favourite of the plate, jellyfish!

Green beans and minc

Green beans and mince – this dish was rather salty, but good eaten with rice. I would’ve preferred more spiciness.

Seafood and tofu hotpot

Seafood and tofu hotpot. The hotpot was delicious – the seafood was sizzling hot and just cooked through. I also enjoyed the tofu which had soaked up lots of sauce.

Beef strips and celery

Beef strips and celery. I think that the beef had just been dipped in flour and stir fried. It looked like the beef should be crispy, but it wasn’t.

eggplant hotpot

The eggplant hotpot was probably my favourite dish of the night. The eggplant was very, very soft. My only wish was for some chili to go with it.

Birthday cake

This was my Aunt’s birthday cake. My cousin, Anthony, blew out the candle (he’s 5).

Birthday cake

The cake was okay. I dislike fake cream, so points off for that.

Sago

And finally, a bowl of sago to finish off. I love sago. It was a good ending to the evening.

Sunshine Chinese Restaurant,
39 Market Pl, Viaduct, Auckland
Phone: +64 9 302 3322