Lychee Cafe

I recently discovered Lychee Café through a friend who claimed the vegetarian menu was interesting and delicious.
Personally, I love meat. I eat animals from the rooter to the tooter (although not always at one go).
I’ve sworn against eating out with vegetarians after a few rather unpleasant veggie restaurants I’ve sampled in the greater Wellington region, and though skeptical I’d enjoy a purely vegetarian meal, I went along with my good friend and we turned to the café for dinner. I figured time spent with good company is never a disappointment even if the meal is.
I was pleasantly surprised when they rolled out the pan-​fried dumplings for our entrée. The skin was perfect, the veggies inside were finely chopped and seasoned Asian greens and not the usual array of cabbage, shredded carrot, or worse, a Watties frozen mixed bag of western veggies crammed into store-​bought wonton skins (shudder). The dumplings came with a sweet soy and garlic dipping sauce. Outstanding dish of the night.
A few days later, when I had another craving for Chinese food (this time for the specialties with meat), I dragged Mr. Kiwi with me to dinner. Having lived in Asia for many years, Mr. Kiwi knew a few items on the menu and was able to practice his Mandarin with the staff.
It was an outstanding meal with the Peking beef rolls (sesame flatbread with sliced braised beef, scallions and hoisin sauce) and Taiwanese-​style beef noodle soup the stars of the evening. The beef they use is perfect: fatty, tendons and some gristle attached for a nice bounce when chewed. It never ceases to amaze me why some people always complain about having a little fat and gristle with their meat. If cooked properly, these things add wonderful flavor and texture. We had one rather forgettable dish, the three cups chicken.
We ate everything else with gusto.
They have Tsingtao Beer (yay), a limited wine list and a nice selection of Chinese teas. The tea list is very good if you enjoy this kind of stuff.