Definitely prefer Boonchu to Zap. The food is better quality, flavorsome and service is quietly better. Not really a place to plan to have dinner at. More of a quick stop in or a takeaway. Pad Thai here is exceptional
Agatha U.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Auckland, New Zealand
This review won’t be all that informative, because I ordered on an «I’ll have what you’re having» basis. A colleague and I ducked in here for a bite after a meeting up the road last Friday. She ordered for the both of us as I’m unfamiliar with Thai cuisine — a dish of skewered chicken strips with a satay peanut sauce(sorry if I’m bungling the description). Perhaps it’s just because I was ravenous, but I was amazed at how delicious the food tasted. Definitely there was something ‘extra’ to the dish, some subtle yet unexpected undercurrent to the flavour. I really enjoyed the meal, even though my mind was elsewhere and I’d expected to just scoff the food absently. Portion sizes were probably on the small side, but were smartly presented in a way I didn’t expect from such a plain-looking establishment. Price($ 7.50) was very reasonable, I thought.
Hannah J V.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Portland, OR
This place was recommended to me as a «fine» alternative to Zap2 Thai, which is a little bit further down Dominion Road from the pink palace that is Boonchu Thai. I’m not a very cultured Thai food eater, so I asked the recommenders if the red curry sauce was«creamy, rather than watery» — it’s a pet peeve of mine to get a red curry that tastes more like red water than it does delicious, fatty, creamy curry sauce. While I was assured that Boonchu’s sauce was creamy, what I received was watery and unappealing. I’m sure this style of curry is what some people want and expect out of a Thai restaurant, but what I ate very much left me pining for the spicy, creamy goodness of the red curry down the road. I think in future I’ll wait in Zap2’s lines or not eat Thai at all.
Shelly-Ann S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Auckland, New Zealand
So Boon Chu. I like that they really care about their shop — it’s had I think three makeovers since it’s been here; brown, purple then finally settling on the pale pink with purple that it features now. I like to share my love around Balmoral’s Thai places and Boon Chu is first choice for takeaways. It is cheaper than the rest and although you can dine in if you want, it’s not really asking you to. They do Spring Rolls without meat which are deep fried white peppery goodness. There’s all the classics and while I would say their contemporaries are better at vegetarian, I know my husband reckons the curries from here are the shiz. You really can’t go wrong — it’s ALL good.
Linda Jane K.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Auckland, New Zealand
Looking for delicious and reasonably priced Thai takeaways? Then Boonchu is for you! I can’t remember what I ate there but I remember it being really tasty. We didn’t have to wait long(although it wasn’t busy at the time) before we were on our way. There’s seating inside, which is clean and tidy enough, but there’s nothing that really screams out to keep you there(although, to be fair, we live around the corner and eating takeaways at home on your couch is hard to beat). It’s a nice alternative if you still feel like Asian cuisine but want something other than Chinese or you’re all New Flavoured out.
Eddie D.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Auckland, New Zealand
The sad thing about Boonchu is that because of its location it will inevitably get compared with Zap2 which is just down the road. It’s a shame because on the surface, Boonchu doesn’t do so well out of the comparison, but this isn’t entirely fair. Boonchu isn’t flash looking(although it is distinctive thanks to its bright pink exterior), and inside it’s pretty small. It’s a good place to get takeaways but I don’t know about eating in — I think personally I’d feel a little claustrophobic. What redeems Boonchu is the quality of the food. I’ve tried several dishes including obvious standards like Pad Thai and less obvious guesses that we picked basically by hazarding a guess at what sounded nice in the description. Everything was fresh and tasty though, we’ve yet to order anything that was less that satisfying. Boonchu’s other plus is that overall it’s a bit cheaper than Zap2 down the road for equivalent meals and portions. If you want Thai takeaways in this area, I’d give Boonchu my vote.