Takeout stakeout: Mr Zhou's Dumplings, New Lynn

Plates of dumplings at Mr Zhou's in New Lynn. Photo / Instagram, rachaelbrown73

Mr Zhou's Dumplings
Address: 3130 Great North Rd, New Lynn
Phone: (09) 827 8800

IN

It has no online presence, so your best option is to wade through the 11 scanned pages of the menu on Zomato. I called and asked for the pork and fennel dumplings ($14), which are a well-known delight of theirs, and a savoury pancake. The woman on the phone sounded quite harried. She asked if I wanted boiled or fried. I wasn't sure. Boiled sounds terrible, but it seemed the more authentic choice.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by zoe allott (@zoeallott) on Jul 25, 2015 at 9:41pm PDT

OUT

The main street of New Lynn is no place for the timid seeker of a decent takeaway. It's the width of your average motorway, prone to flash flooding, and reasonably devoid of parking. You have to be brave, particularly if parking across the road from Mr Zhou's during rush-hour, as I did. The place is spare and suburban inside. They poke a little hole through the white polystyrene dumpling box to let the steam out and avoid excess sogginess - a thoughtful touch.

View this post on Instagram

Vegan dumplings from Mr Zhou's Dumplings in New Lynn. #vegan #aucklandvegan #vegandumplings #vegannz

A post shared by Auckland Vegan (@aucklandvegan) on Sep 2, 2016 at 5:31pm PDT

THE TAKEAWAY

Mr Zhou, the man, was the original force behind Dominion Rd joint New Flavour, which was at the vanguard of Auckland's dumpling revolution. When he left to start his eponymous restaurant in New Lynn, he brought a good slice of his old clientele with him, but now he has reportedly moved on again, leaving only his name behind him. There have been mixed reports as to the impact of this move, but the boiled pork and fennel dumplings, long beloved of hipsters, are still a rambunctious, herbaceous pleasure. They have the thrill of the savoury liquid eruption of the first bite, clean bite of the white skin, the satisfyingly correct ratio of meat to herb. We also had a savoury vegetarian pancake ($12), thick with flavour, and a little greasy, which is not to say bad.

View this post on Instagram

Legit Handmade noodles. Super yum lunch with @michaelabird

A post shared by Karena Bird (@karenabird) on Aug 11, 2016 at 6:22pm PDT