Joyful Restaurant Menu

Joyful Restaurant is a family-run Cantonese kitchen on Riccarton Road, built around recipes that have been part of the restaurant for decades. Its hand-wrapped wontons trace back to a 30-year family recipe, setting the tone for food designed to be shared rather than hurried through. Lunch and dinner are both served, with longer evening hours on Friday and Saturday.

The opening courses range from fried wontons, spring rolls and dumplings to chicken-and-corn, hot-and-sour and fish-maw soups. From there, crispy-skin chicken, ginger-and-spring-onion beef, sweet-and-sour pork and pork ribs in supreme sauce cover several classic textures and sauces. Roast duck and Peking duck add a centrepiece suited to a table ordering collectively.

Seafood moves through chilli prawns, garlic-steamed king prawns, squid and fish with ginger and spring onion. Tofu appears in home-style, spicy and seafood combinations, while vegetables can be cooked with garlic or Chinese mushrooms. Fried rice, chow mein, rice noodles and wonton or dumpling soups make it possible to build either a banquet of shared plates or a simpler one-bowl meal.

Small and large portions support different group sizes, and set menus organise several starters, soup, meats, seafood and rice into a complete meal. The dining room can hold bigger parties at round tables, with tailored set menus available for birthdays and reunions. Takeaway is offered by phone, and drivers can use the rear car park reached from Rimu Street or Straven Road rather than turning directly from Riccarton Road.

Address: 102 Riccarton Road, Riccarton, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand

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