Review Chinese Northern Food Restaurant

Gavin Hsiao-Ying Kung

Very authentic Chinese food, many selection for vegetarian. The food can be spicy but also tasty. If you want to try real Chinese food, you must visit this restaurant. It can be very busy in dinner time.

Karishma - Kim Pais

After our previous favourite Chinese restaurant (zen garden) closed down, we were desperately looking for an alternative. We tried quite a few places, but when we tried Chinese Northern Foods in June this year, we knew we had found it! Everything we have ever eaten here is fantastic! It’s authenticity and flavour can be vouched for by the sheer number of Chinese people we have seen eating here and the ‘aunties’ who come with their casseroles and boxes to takeaway large orders to be consumed at home. The husband is addicted to their wonton soup and dreams of it often. I love the sweet corn chicken. I have to warn you though, that one order of soup is a whole meal in itself and you will still need to pack leftovers. We of course order 2 soups and a lot of other dishes besides and pack all the leftovers to be enjoyed for lunch at home. the next day. Every one of our friends whom we have taken with us to this place has loved it too.

Kola_Ovo

When we came here it was quieter, the service isn't bad, with the reccomendations being pretty on point. I personally really like the beef noodles, the broth was lovely. Great time overall, although we did have to remind the server of some missing parts of our order though they were fixed very quickly once reminded. Overall good experience.

Edwin Hwera (Edwin.H)

Great place to enjoy Chinese delicacies without breaking bank. Prices very affordable.

Graham Johnson

Really authentic Chinese food, the braised pork with bok choi was a huge meal, extremely tender and flavourful. The hom3 style pork was sublime with some heat. Excellent food, highly recommend if you are after an authentic experience.

Taz

Authentic Chinese 🇨🇳 cuisine, including various vegetarian, chicken, pork 🥟, beef and seafood 🦐🦞dishes 🍜. The restaurant can get quite busy over a weekend. Table settings allow for social distancing. Small to medium sized groups can be accommodated. Staff are friendly and helpful. Good food 🥟🍜

Michael Ogawa

This is our goto Chinese restaurant. Love the spicy calamari, garlic ribs, bok choy, mapu tofu and the eggplant.

SEAN MCBRIDE

Absolutely loved the options. In fact I'll go back just to read the menu. We chose conservatively despite the many choices of real Chinese dishes we still had a very tasty dining experience. I'll definitely be back. Dishes are large so perfect for big groups of people to get value for money. Our waitress was an excellent host and answered all our questions and made good recommendations. If you are near Rivonia you need to try this place. It's the real McCoy.

Ruam S.

Great northern Chinese food. Very authentic. The dumplings are amazing. Service is also very nice and friendly.

Peter Elstob

Good service, Great food, Be careful of very spicy (hot) dishes

Andrew Cocks

Great food. Huge choices. Better for a group of people. Between 4 - 6 is ideal. Cummin chicken beats KFC any day of the week.

Meggan Ford

Really enjoyed the food - authentic and full bodied flavors. Portions are family sized and great for sharing which made it affordable despite it seeming pricey at first. Their selection is large and enticing so cannot wait to go back and try something new... maybe sitting in next time instead of takeaway. They also have a few imported drinks selection - again affordable. Would definitely recommend for someone seeking an authentic Chinese food experience cos its not your average Friday night chow mein special kinda place.

wade roestorff

Extensive menu. All the good we had was absolutely exceptional. 10 stars out of 5. Def recommend.

Delcia Brown

Absolutely loved this place, back when it was in Cyrildene especially. Went there yesterday and nearly had a stroke when I saw the prices. R700 bill later has left me rather disappointed. The food is authentic but the price is not worth it.

Jane

If you're wanting proper chinese food cooked by chinese chefs this is the place to go. Their spicy szechuan dishes are the best. I would highly recommend trying the Mapo Tofu and Spicy Calamari. Its very simply decorated, nothing fancy but you go there for the food not the aesthetics.

Christian Badea

Brilliant Cuisine and absolute friendly people. Shame they not in Pretoria. To all Chinese Food Lovers. Try Nr. 70.

Maitreyie Saxena

the food is great, and has plenty of options for vegetarians. the service is fast and waiters are very helpful and kind. food comes fast and is flavorful, full of spice and overall this is a very nice joint

Stefano Makridis

This establishment gets 5 stars from me!!! As a lover of Chinese cuisine I was sick and tired of being disappointed with most of the Chinese restaurants around the city, few were mediocre at best however the rest of them couldn't pay me to return. I was about to give up on Chinese all together when I stumbled upon this place....Food is absolutely delicious with a great menu and very helpful staff....I am a regular customer and even chose this place to celebrate my birthday...well done guys!!!!!!

Kimson Chan

I must say, this is one of the better and much cleaner Chinese restaurants I have been to. Although it can be a bit pricey compared to other Chinese restaurants, the food never disappoints. Dumplings are so addictive and the other dishes were really well cooked and more importantly well presented. This place was really good back in the Cyrildene days

Dirtdiver

This. Is. Authentic. Look. It's an experience. Don't expect fancy dining. Food comes in 15 mins, service isn't great if you don't speak Chinese. But. And it's a big but. The crispy pork. Is. Life-changing. For real. It's proper Chinese northern . Heavy on the schezuan peppers and pepper oil. This isn't a nod towards typical Chinese built for a western palate. It's amazing and easily in the top 3 Chinese restaurants in jhb. But you have to try the pork. And the crispy calamari. Been taking friends there for a year and they all have the craving now!! Part of the charm is that it's not cookie cutter.. so sometimes the recipes vary along with available ingredients but this is my top pick from 2017.

Ashish Sewgoolam

Decided to be adventurous and after scanning the strip of Asian restaurants on the street we settled on Chinese Northern Foods as it looks the most aesthetic and authentic. Welcome was warm although limited English spoken. Had the jellyfish in vinegar which was fresh and is a good salad option if you haven't tried jellyfish before. The orange chicken which although a bit sweet, was tender. We were offered complimentary watermelon and spent a good few hours here. Don't expect it to be cheap but you will get good, authentic Chinese food.

Danni Ozen

This is definitely an authentic Chinese restaurant. The decor isn't really appealing however I do like the large round tables which are convenient when going for a meal with a large group. I was there this week for supper with a large group for a friends birthday. We ordered a few dishes to share. The portions are quite large and makes the menu pricing understandable.

Kalay Maistry

A word of caution, this is NO FUSS dining and is best enjoyed when all preconceptions are checked at the entrance. Our meal started with an Asian salad, thinly sliced fresh veggies with some glass noodles, it was really very good. Followed by several dishes including a portion of the pork and leek dumplings. The dumplings were soft and well-cooked. The taste was delicious. We also wanted something spicy. The deep fried pork with chilli and spring onion seemed like an appropriate choice and we weren’t disappointed. The owner wasn’t able to explain the cut of meat used in this dish but once things are deep fried, do we really need to know more. I can also recommend the baked brinjal/eggplant with chilli and garlic, which I have had on a previous visit. Wow, it’s the BOMB. The peppered calamari is also worth the calories. The Service: Well there isn’t much in the way of service. Conclusion: If you can keep an open mind and get past the occasional cockroach trying to grab your lunch, or the slow service, then this isn’t a bad place for a new food adventure.

Holly Mullen

Friendly staff and yummy food. I definitely will be going back there again soon. Their sweet and sour chicken was yummy and I would recommend this place to my friends.

Michelle Hall

Pleasantly surprised. Firstly when you walk into a Chinese restaurant and it is filled with Chinese patrons, you know it's going to be good. We were 7 pax so not an easy number to manage but Maggie did a great job. Service was good and extremely efficient. The prices were good and the food was definitely worthwhile for repeat visits. With the reviews I read, I was not keen to go but my daughter insisted. I walked out after lunch with a definite feeling that their rating was too low. Our meal cost 200zar pp including wines and all drinks. I would recommend this restaurant to friends, really a delightful combination of meals shared by all.

Sandra

Although the food is great (and we've eaten there a lot) we've found that it's no longer value for money. The price has doubled in the last year. A shame.

Kimone Burger

Honestly I wouldn't even rate this place a 1 out of 5. Interesting menu not traditional Chinese. The food is nice, not the best though. We ordered chicken cube and peanuts with chilli and sweet and sour spare ribs with fried rice, which is not included in the dishes and needs to be ordered separately. All was ruined by the horrid service we received from the so called manager. It was so terrible we didn't eat much of our food, we packed it up and left. Someone else brought the bill and when the manager came to help someone behind us she even gave me a dirty look. I am so mind boggled because at no point was I rude to this women to receive such service/attitude. I definitely WONT be back and WOULDN'T recommend it.

Theo Cheung

Good Northern chinese foods. Always order the dumplings and tofu. Lots of dishes are quite oily, tend to have alot of fried food. Northern Chinese people tastes is alot more savory so just a heads up

Kitty

Food is great!Service ok,nothing to write home about but like most Chinese restaurants,that seems to be the norm.Price is fair especially for the quantity that you get.The hat pie, the spring onion pancake, the salted egg fried sweetcorn, bone marrow in bone eaten with straws is an experience but they don't always have so you need to make enquiries as soon as you sit down or pre-order it.

Anz

Always enjoyed a meal at the restaurant. It does become rather packed and rowdy when it becomes packed. Their dumplings and pie like hat are definitely must haves and also their brinjal dish.

Dennis Chiang

It's a popular place for Asians to eat at since it's quite authentic. The dishes are not geared for your normal western style Chinese food most people are used to like Tong Lok etc. The dumplings are awesome. I order these every time I visit. Their soups are also very good and a few of their speciality dishes are always super yum. If you looking for sweet and sour prawns or your average chop suey dish this is not the place to be. Just an heads Up. Service is not very good either. But food leans more on the Asian side of things.

Bene Katabua

I had no idea that there was another Chinese Northern Foods this side of town. A very pleasant discovery, which lead me to their doors one two days in a row. Heehee. The first was just for some takeaway dumplings - Won Tun, and Beef dumplings. They were full of flavour, and really filling. A great sharing dish. This came with a little bottle of sauce which was amazing! The next day, we had deep fried chicken and prawn, veggie noodles, and sizzling lamb. I'm not a big fan of the deep fried chicken and prawn, as it wasn't very well seasoned. It also had some gelatinous substance at the bottom of the plate, which made some of them a bit soggy. The lamb however was spicy, and soft, and just great. As were the noodles. The portion sizes are large, and in spite of that, they don't skimp of flavour. Really good.

Esther Shaidi

When the day molding craving hits on a chilly autumn night this is the place to go to. Their dumplings are well sized and come 20 per order! They're absolutely so satisfying. We had a Won tun and Beef dumplings takeaway but we both vowed to head there again. Their in-house menu has way more than what is visible on the Zomato app menu, everything looks like a delicious option!

Nishela Ramgoolam

Good Chinese food. Quite an extensive menu - the owner helped us select a few dishes. Food was flavoursome and arrived within good time. Portions are big enough to share. Service was efficient.

Pam Lourenco

I decided to try this one on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I was a little disappointed in the menu, not as full of my favourites as I would have liked. I ordered spicy chicken with peanuts. It was great except for the ginseng seeds all over in the dish. If you chewed on one - it immediately overpowered everything, so I took a long time removing them. A lot of effort for chicken and rice. Also the wait staff were unfriendly and uninterested. Won't be going back.

Livashnee David

Service was a bit lost. Maybe due to translation. Food was good. Loved the prawns. They have alot of unique things on the menu eg. Pigs intestine, duck liver, beef tripe, etc.

ReVino

The food whilst good suffers for the lack of service and attention to detail. The one dish arrived 10 mins before the other sans the fried rice. The extras another 5 min after the second chicken and prawn dish which I suspect was pork as it was battered and deep fried and I couldn't ascertain what meat I was eating. The white wine arrived warm as was the beer

Mmule

We ordered a take away from here and mind you they had a good reputation! We ordered a chicken chow mein, what a mess!! The colour was not appealing the taste was horrid it tasted like the scraped of the wok and gave us food that had been sitting in it for ages!

BeeBum De A

Originally from PE, and i am in need of a great chinese place. (Our chinese food seems to be completely different) I am Guessing because it's Northern foods, it was certainly not what i was looking for. Even though it was busy, i didn't really enjoy what we ordered. In lamens terms - Steak & onion, Chicken chow mein and sweet & sour pork. Nothing was great. So many other chinese outlets to try, so won't be ordering takeaways from there again.

Margie

Great authentic Chinese food ! The Chinese salad is to die for and the hot and sour soup something special to try. Ask the owner to help you select a few dishes to select from you won't be disappointed ! Prefer the Rivonia outlet to Cyrildene.

TheOne

Another place not to go unless you're a degenerate triad goon with a gambling problem. Food was awful, service was awful, the loud and drunk mobsters in there were awful too. We didn't finish our food and would not have paid for it if we weren't so scared of being chopped up and served as the main course next week!!!!

Gary Greenberg

I am always looking for new asian restaurants to visit and instead of going next door to Kamiya sushi I decided to pop in to this authentic chinese restaurant within Rivonia Boulevard. There is a bit of a language barrier when ordering off the menu but please be patient as it is worth the wait. It appears that they also have a privite dining area as this restraunt is quite large and this is a plus. All I can say is the portion sizes are great even though the meal prices on the menu may seen high. When visiting such Chinese restaurants it is the norm to choose a few things on the menu and share the dishes amongst your table as it is a communal type of eating and being merry with your family and friends. They have a very wide variety of vegarian dishes which are not what you may commonly find at other Chinese restaurants. I will most certainly be visiting this place again in the near future.

Liza Richard

In search of authentic Chinese food this place came up with a good Zamato rating. After going there I've given it a 1.5 for pretty decent food. I suggest this place as a take away only, that way you guaranteed not having to wait 20 min between each main dish arriving. The menu, although vast, didn't have many of the items we first tried to order. The language barrier is a problem and I think the place caters more for their Chinese clientele. The sizzling beef and sweet&sour chicken was decent.

Philip Tillman

What a contrast. Amazing food, bad service. Having said that, it is the first Chinese restaurant that does traditional Chinese dishes and is packed with Chinese people. Shame the dishes came 15 to 20 minutes apart. On the funny side, the menu offers "pie like hat"!

Marc Kahn

Decent authentic Chinese! Try the dumplings. Also enjoyed the bok choi with garlic. The service is good, food clean and attractive, place has real Chinese ambiance.

Leigh Dermick

There are some good choices available. Very big menu but some dishes are better than others. Stay away from " western" Chinese food and be adventurous you won't regret it

Christopher David

I have read many reviews about his place. We decided to try this place out. The service is friendly and efficient. At first glance the massive menu is indeed strange. Offerings of jelly fish and pork ears are among the oddities. We tried the beef and fungi as well as the calamari accompanied with various fried rice options. We found the food to be a little bland but tasty. I would say try this spot out for some adventurous flavours. Definite visit for the novelty of it.

Sun

This is a good family meal restaurant, don't bother with Northern or Southern Chinese cuisine because you won't know the difference, don't order just fried rice, be adventurous and order from the pictures on the wall.

Asian Foodie

This tiny restaurant has a very good reputation amongst the Chinese community that do not frequent the Cyrildene area. The food is tasty and there is a very large variety so that the brave and not so brave will all leave with full stomachs. The chive pancakes and sizzling beef are two dishes that are an absolute must have when you go there. The waiters aren't the friendliest and the owner doesn't really speak English but the food is served so quickly that you're in and out of there in such a short space of time that it doesn't really matter

Neil Hymers

Hard to beat for authentic/genuine Northern Chinese cuisine. Not for the squeemish or fussy or lovers of bland Cantonese Chinese food. Owner is very attentive & helpful despite his lack of spoken English skills. Just point out what you want from the photos on the wall! Fragrant & spicy calamari is TOPS!

Chandru Wadhwani

Hands down the best Chinese food in Joburg. Kids love the food and let's face it, they're the most honest critics you can get. Crispy chicken and the braised aubergine are musts.

Ajck X Nian

The food is nice but might not be as good as it looked on the menu. Also the fish wasn't fresh. The service is not very good, it's very clearly that they don't have enough waiters. After all I will give it 6/10.

Caraline De Canha

Authentic food and good quality. Decor also authentic ....hostess lovely waitress grumpy but efficient. Had a cool time chatting about the great and unique flavours as well as the interesting decor.

Balungile

Visited this place after recommendation from a friend. It's quite quaint yet modern with the tv tuned into a Chinese TV station. Had the sizzling beef which was absolutely divine. Also ordered the duck supreme, I think. Unfortunately, while we were waiting for that, I started feeling a bit sick. My stomach always knows - I'm the queen of clean food and my stomach just knows. Feel sad that I didn't get to enjoy the duck. Don't think I'll be going back.

Justin Griesel

Where else in JHB can you get a delicious starter for two for R40 or 20 dumplings also for R40. We usually try a bit of everything, but the sizzling calamri is a winner, so is rhe pak choy with beef, the crunchy chicken and the potato and leek dumplings. Its all good and very very well priced, if you go in a group just order and share and the bill won't go above R100 a person.

VQ LE

We went to chinese north foods today about 6 people's at lunch time , the food its delicous , quick serve , i will definitely come back again

Ronny Tack

Very good Chinese food and decor

Luca Boarato

Recommended by a Chinese colleague who is out in SA on secondment. The food was epic, great selection & not the usual run of the mill. Been looking fora good Chinese restaurant, this is it!!! Try the sweet & sour spare ribs & the pepper fragrant calamari. Will be going back, again & again.

Sally Downie

Went for lunch - about 10 of us and what an experience .. We took our own wine which was not an issue. The Manager served us - he doesn't speak much English but that doesn't stop him from offering and selecting a great menu. Crispy chicken with chilli was the best, deep fried potatoes better even - spring onion in lightest pastry - looks like a pie - was excellent !! Some things have a lot of garlic so you need to be cautious if you are not a fan but an excellent meal - all tastes covered and even picky eaters were seen tucking in ! Definitely recommend but don't go for the decor .. Service and food will not disappoint.

Simon Lee

Got hosted for lunch today here and was blown away with the quality of the food. We had a great selection recommended by the Chinese boss which included cumin beef, grilled eggplant in garlic sauce, Chinese garlic chives and egg pancakes. The peppery fragrant calamari was just out of this world. Definitely worth a visit for those who prefer the less traditional "Chinese" cuisine!!

DebbyGP

This is my go to place for Chinese food (this coming from a Chinese person). Have had sit down dinners and take always and the food has yet to disappoint. It's a place that is mostly filled with Chinese patrons pouring over large plates and bowls of food. Portions are decent and prices are good.

Review Chinese Northern Food Restaurant - Johannesburg