Young Shing Menu

Young Shing is a compact Willis Street Chinese restaurant with lunch and dinner sessions through much of the week. Its own description pairs traditional cooking with a younger, fresher perspective, while the dining room remains geared to the practical pleasures of a neighbourhood restaurant: tables for a sit-down meal, takeaway for home, reservations and a BYO option. With space for roughly 35 diners, it can absorb a celebration or friends' gathering without losing the direct, informal character that suits a casual meal in Te Aro.

The opening courses cover several useful ways to begin. Steamed barbecue pork buns offer a soft, savoury bite, pork dumplings bring chive into the filling, and fried wontons supply a crisp contrast. Soup can make a more warming start, particularly the barbecue pork wonton version. These smaller dishes also work well in the middle of the table, letting a group sample different textures before deciding whether the rest of the order should lean toward roast meat, tofu, noodles or stir-fried plates.

Among the larger dishes, orange beef and sweet-and-sour pork deliver glossy, assertive sauces, while garlic pork ribs and crispy spicy chicken put greater emphasis on fragrance and crunch. Roast duck offers a traditional centrepiece, and beef-brisket tofu casserole brings a slower-cooked, comforting direction. Mapo tofu provides another distinct route through the menu, pairing the softness of tofu with a bolder seasoned sauce. The range makes it easy to combine familiar favourites with something less expected in a single shared order.

Rice and noodle sections give the table its foundations, from soy-sauce fried rice with Chinese sausage to beef ho fun, chow mein and dry-fried noodles. The stir-fry list then branches into black-bean, Sichuan, satay, ginger-and-spring-onion and salt-and-pepper preparations, so diners can vary both the main ingredient and the flavour profile. That breadth rewards a communal approach: order across several sections, add rice or noodles for balance, and use the BYO format to shape an unhurried Wellington dinner.

Address: 296 Willis Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand

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