The Blue Breeze Inn is a modern Chinese restaurant at Ponsonby Central on Ponsonby Road, where regional Chinese cooking meets fresh Pacific produce. The menu is built for sharing and leans on bao and dumplings, so a table of friends can order a spread and pass it round. The room is laid out for different visits: a chef's bar for solo diners, intimate booths for date nights, and an exclusive semi-private dining booth for larger groups. The bar is the other draw, with cocktails and a rum list the restaurant says is unmatched in Aotearoa, alongside a curated wine list. Lunch runs from noon and dinner goes late, open Tuesday to Sunday. Book online or call +64 9 360 0303. Our pick in Ponsonby for a group dinner that starts with bao and ends with rum.