Burswood BBQ Cafe

About Burswood BBQ Cafe

Burswood BBQ Cafe is a Chinese restaurant and takeaway on Burswood Dr in Burswood, Auckland, trading as Burswood BBQ Cafe Chinese Cuisine. The kitchen centres on Chinese-style barbecue: an extensive skewer menu spanning lamb, beef, pork, chicken, seafood and vegetables, backed up by claypot rice, steamed rice rolls, Shunde-style congee, dumplings, cold dishes, chef's specials, noodles, snacks and drinks.

The breadth is the point. Top sellers like lamb rib-meat and pork belly skewers share the menu with house signatures such as a whole 1.0–1.2kg blue cod Special BBQ Fish (served with frozen tofu, cauliflower and fungus) and Spicy Stir Fry Chicken in Xinjiang Special Sauce. The ordering site rates the cafe 4.7, and the menu runs deep enough to cover everything from Orleans-marinated whole chicken wings to preserved egg and pork porridge.

Orders can be placed online for pickup or delivery, with secure payments by Visa, Mastercard and PayPal. Delivery fees apply and there is a $40 minimum order, with a delivery map stretching across Auckland's eastern and southern suburbs. Hours run 5:30pm to 10pm, Tuesday to Sunday; closed Mondays.

Burswood BBQ Cafe: Chinese BBQ Skewers, Claypot Rice and Congee in Burswood, Auckland

Burswood BBQ Cafe sits on Burswood Dr in Auckland's eastern suburbs, and the name it trades under — Burswood BBQ Cafe Chinese Cuisine — tells you exactly how the menu is built. This is a Chinese barbecue house first: long boards of skewers covering lamb, beef, pork, chicken, seafood and vegetables, cooked to order through the evening. Alongside the grill runs a full Cantonese kitchen, turning out claypot rice, silky steamed rice rolls and Shunde-style congee, plus dumplings, cold plates, wok-fried specials, noodles, desserts and a line-up of milk teas.

A Skewer Board Built for Sharing

The top sellers point you straight at the heart of the menu: lamb rib-meat skewers, pork belly, beef rib-meat skewers, chicken knee cartilage and squid tentacles. Beyond those, the barbecue list rewards grazers. Lamb runs from rib meat and chops to kidneys and big cubes of meat on rose willow skewers; beef brings chewy paddy whack, aorta, tongue and tendon; pork covers belly, Taiwanese sausage, trotter and pickled-cabbage belly rolls. Chicken fans get everything from breast to skin, feet, gizzards, wings and an Orleans-marinated whole wing. The seafood side stretches to prawns, squid, whole flounder, roasted eel and oysters by the half dozen, while vegetables — potato, garlic, eggplant, chives, corn, Chinese buns and a sweet sesame cake — round things out. Larger appetites can grab ten-skewer bundles of the lamb or beef.

Claypots, Rice Rolls and Congee

The Cantonese half of the menu is where Burswood BBQ Cafe quietly sets itself apart. Claypot rice comes loaded with Chinese bacon and sausage, salted fish with pork, barbecued pork, mushroom and chicken, or beef mince with egg. Steamed rice rolls (cheung fun) arrive filled with shrimp, char siu, pork kidney and liver, or kept plain with vegetables. And the porridge pots bubble with prawn, seafood, fish, mushroom and chicken, or the classic preserved egg and pork.

Signatures of the Night Grill

Two dishes carry the house's own banner under the Night BBQ Signatures heading. The Special BBQ Fish is a whole 1.0-1.2kg blue cod, served with complimentary side dishes of frozen tofu, cauliflower and fungus. The Spicy Stir Fry Chicken in Xinjiang Special Sauce is the restaurant's take on big plate chicken. Around them, the chef's specials run deep: cumin and spicy lamb chops, salt and pepper pork spare ribs, chilli-fried chicken, red-braised pork trotter, dry-fried green beans with pork mince, the eggplant-potato-capsicum classic di san xian, and four different takes on tofu. Cold dishes — beef and tripe in spicy sauce, pickled-pepper chicken feet, jellyfish with cucumber, boneless pig elbow — are the traditional counterweight to a table full of hot skewers.

Noodles, Sweets and Something Cold

Hand-made belt noodles come with beef in soup or tossed in chilli oil, and the fried rice and noodle list runs from Yang Chow and cumin lamb to a chilli-oil fried rice. Snack-wise, there are deep-fried pork and shrimp wontons, glutinous rice cake with brown sugar, ice jelly with peanut, fried buns with condensed milk and mochi-wrapped ice cream. Drinks cover original and taro milk tea, red jujube tea, honey citron and a long list of fruit-flavoured blends.

Ordering In

Everything is available for pickup and delivery through the restaurant's own online ordering site, which rates it 4.7. Payments are made securely online, with Visa, Mastercard and PayPal accepted. Delivery fees apply and there is a $40 minimum order, but the delivery map is generous — it stretches across Auckland's east and south, taking in Howick, Botany Downs, Flat Bush, Bucklands Beach, Half Moon Bay, Ellerslie, Remuera, Panmure, Otahuhu and dozens of suburbs between. Doors open at 5:30pm Tuesday through Sunday and close at 10pm; the kitchen rests on Mondays. For a taste of the east Auckland grill scene, this is an easy, well-loved stop.

Signature items

• Lamb (Ribs Meat) Skewer
• Special BBQ Fish
• Spicy Xinjiang Chicken
• Chinese Bacon & Sausage Claypot Rice
• Pork Belly Skewer
• Preserved Egg & Pork Porridge

Menu

Drinks

• Soft Drinks — Assorted soft drinks
• Wang Lo Kat — Herbal tea drink
• Ice Lemon Tea — Chilled lemon tea
• Ice Green Tea — Chilled green tea
• Jasmine Tea — Fragrant jasmine tea
• Plum Juice — Tart-sweet plum drink
• Rock Sugar Pear Tea — Rock sugar pear tea
• Soy Milk — Classic soy milk
• Wangzai Milk — Sweet canned milk drink
• Heysong CC Fruit — Citrus soft drink
• Bundaberg Fruit — Brewed fruit soft drink
• Ginger Beer — Spicy-sweet ginger soft drink
• Lime Lemon Bitter — Citrus bitter lemon soft drink
• Mogu Mogu — Bottled fruit drink
• Peach Fruit Juice — Peach juice
• Kiwi Fruit Juice — Kiwi juice
• Honey Citron Tea — Citron and honey drink
• Honey Lemon Juice (Hot) — Warm honey lemon
• Honey Lemon Juice (Cold) — Iced honey lemon
• Mango Milk Shake — Blended mango shake
• Tropical Milk Shake — Mixed tropical fruit shake
• Red Jujube Tea — Sweet red date tea

BBQ Beef

• Beef (Ribs Meat) Skewer — Grilled beef rib-meat skewer
• Beef (Ribs Meat) 10 Skewers — Bundle of ten beef rib-meat skewers
• Paddy Whack Skewer — Chewy bovine ligament for texture lovers
• Beef Aorta Skewer — Crunchy grilled beef aorta
• Beef Meat Ball Skewer — Grilled beef meatball
• Beef Tongue Skewer — Sliced grilled beef tongue
• Beef Tendon Skewer — Chewy grilled beef tendon

BBQ Lamb

• Lamb (Ribs Meat) Skewer — Top-selling lamb rib-meat skewer
• Lamb (Ribs Meat) 10 Skewers — Bundle of ten lamb rib-meat skewers
• Lamb Chop Skewer — Grilled lamb chop on a skewer
• Lamb Kidney Skewer — Grilled lamb kidney
• Lamb Tallow with Beef Kidney Skewer — Lamb fat wrapped beef kidney
• Lamb Cube on Rose Willow Skewer — Large lamb cubes on rose willow sticks

BBQ Pork

• Pork Belly Skewer — Top-selling grilled pork belly
• Sausage Skewer — Grilled sausage
• Chinese Sausage Skewer — Sweet-savoury cured Chinese sausage
• Luncheon Meat Skewer — Grilled luncheon meat slices
• Taiwan Sausage Skewer — Taiwanese-style grilled sausage
• Pork Trotter Skewer — Grilled pig trotter
• Pork Belly Pickle Roll Skewer — Pork belly rolled with pickled greens
• Intestines Skewer — Grilled pork intestines

Milk Tea

• Original Milk Tea — Classic milk tea, hot or iced
• Taro Milk Tea — Taro-flavoured milk tea, hot or iced

BBQ Chicken

• Chicken Breast Skewer — Grilled chicken breast
• Chicken Heart Skewer — Grilled chicken hearts
• Chicken Gizzard Skewer — Grilled chicken gizzards
• Chicken Feet Skewer — Grilled chicken feet
• Chicken Skin Skewer — Crisped chicken skin
• Large Chicken Frame — Whole seasoned chicken frame, per piece
• Chicken Knee Skewer — Cartilage skewer prized for its crunch
• Chicken Wing (Pair) — Grilled middle wings, sold as a pair
• Orleans Whole Wing Skewer — Whole wing in Orleans-style marinade

BBQ Seafood

• Fish Ball Skewer — Grilled fish balls
• Fish Tofu Skewer — Grilled fish tofu
• Crab Stick Skewer — Grilled crab stick
• Squid Body Skewer — Grilled squid body
• Squid Tentacles Skewer — Top-selling grilled squid tentacles
• Prawn Skewer — Grilled whole prawn
• Flounder — Whole grilled flatfish
• Oyster (6 Pcs) — Half dozen grilled oysters
• Roasted Eel — Grilled eel, by skewer or whole piece

Cold Dishes

• Spring Onion with Tofu — Cool tofu tossed with spring onion
• Shredded Potato — Vinegary potato shreds, mildly spicy
• Deep Fried Peanuts — Crunchy fried peanuts
• Boiled Green Soy Bean — Five-spice edamame
• Tofu with Preserved Egg in Ginger Sauce — Silky tofu with century egg, ginger dressing
• Cucumber Salad — Refreshing cucumber, mildly spicy
• Special Xinjiang Vege Salad — Raw vegetable tiger salad, Xinjiang style
• Mixed Vege Salad — Tossed garden vegetables
• Boneless Pig Elbow in Soy Sauce — Sliced soy-braised pork elbow with garlic
• Jelly Fish with Cucumber — Jellyfish and cucumber in black vinegar
• Pickled Chicken Feet — Pickled-pepper chicken feet, spicy
• Boneless Cold Chicken in Spicy Sauce — Mouth-watering chicken with peanut
• Beef & Beef Tripes in Spicy Sauce — Sichuan-style beef and tripe, mildly spicy
• Cold & Spicy Pepper Chicken — Boneless chicken in peppercorn sauce, spicy

Claypot Rice

• Chinese Bacon & Sausage Claypot Rice — Claypot rice with double preserved meats
• Chinese Bacon Claypot Rice — Cured Chinese bacon over claypot rice
• BBQ Pork (Char Siu) Claypot Rice — Char siu pork on claypot rice
• Salted Fish with Pork Meat Claypot Rice — Salted fish with pork over rice
• Mushroom & Chicken Claypot Rice — Chicken and mushroom over claypot rice
• Beef Mince & Egg Claypot Rice — Beef mince with egg on rice
• Pork Spare Ribs Claypot Rice — Pork ribs over claypot rice

Other Drinks

• Orange Juice — Orange juice
• Apple Juice — Apple juice
• Honey Citron Tea — Citron and honey tea
• Cold Honey Lemon Juice — Chilled honey lemon
• Hot Honey Lemon Juice — Warm honey lemon
• Mango Milk Shake — Blended mango shake
• Strawberry Milk Shake — Blended strawberry shake
• Tropical Milk Shake — Mixed tropical fruit shake
• Red Jujube Tea — Sweet red date tea

BBQ Vegetables

• Potato Skewer — Grilled potato slices
• Garlic Skewer — Whole roasted garlic
• Mushroom Skewer — Grilled mushrooms
• Chinese Buns Skewer — Toasted steamed bun
• Corn Skewer — Grilled corn on the cob
• Eggplant — Grilled whole eggplant
• Chives — Grilled chive bundles
• Quail Eggs Skewer — Grilled quail eggs
• Green Bean Skewer — Grilled green beans
• Sweet Sesame Seed Cake — Grilled sesame flatbread

Noodles & Rice

• Rice Noodle with Special Spicy & Sour Sauce — Hot-and-sour noodles, contains peanut
• DanDan Noodle — Dan dan noodles, no spice
• Cold Noodle — Chilled noodles, no spice
• Beef with Hand Made Noodle in Soup — Belt noodles with beef in broth
• Spicy Beef with Hand Made Noodle in Chilli Oil — Chilli-oil belt noodles with beef
• Bowl of Rice — Steamed rice, single bowl
• Bucket of Rice — Steamed rice, sharing size
• Vegetarian Fried Noodle/Rice — Wok-fried noodle or rice with vegetables
• Chicken Fried Noodle/Rice — Wok-fried noodle or rice with chicken
• Beef Fried Noodle/Rice — Wok-fried noodle or rice with beef
• Cumin Lamb Fried Noodle/Rice — Fried noodle or rice with cumin lamb
• Egg Fried Noodle/Rice — Fried noodle or rice with egg
• Pork Belly Fried Noodle/Rice — Fried noodle or rice with pork belly
• Yang Chow Fried Rice — Yangzhou-style fried rice
• Special Chili Oil Fried Rice — Fried rice tossed in chilli oil
• Shunde Style Fried Rice Noodle — Stir-fried rice noodles, Shunde style
• Singapore Style Fried Rice Noodle — Singapore-style rice noodles

Chef'S Specials

• Prawn with Mayonnaise Sauce — Prawns in creamy mayonnaise
• Prawn in Shell with Spicy Sauce — Shell-on prawns, spicy
• Prawn in Shell with Pepper Salt — Salt and pepper prawns
• Prawn in Shell with Soy Sauce — Prawns in superior soy
• Lamb Chop with Spicy Sauce — Lamb chops in spicy sauce
• Lamb Chop with Cumin — Lamb chops with cumin
• Stir Fried Squid with Chives — Wok-fried squid with garlic chives
• Stir Fried Small Shrimp with Chives — Tiny shrimp tossed with chives
• Stir Fried Chicken with Chilli — Chilli-fried chicken pieces
• Braised Pork Trotter — Soy-braised pork trotter
• Stir Fried Shredded Potato with Chilli & Vinegar — Hot and sour potato shreds
• Stir Fried Green Bean with Pork Mince — Dry-fried beans with minced pork
• Braised Eggplant, Potato and Capsicum with Soy Sauce — The northern classic di san xian
• Vege Stir Fried — Seasonal greens, stir-fried
• Vege Stir Fried Garlic — Seasonal greens with garlic
• Vege Stir Fried Oyster Sauce — Seasonal greens in oyster sauce
• Stir Fried Cabbage — Hand-torn cabbage, wok-fried
• Fried Tofu with Sweet Soy Sauce — Home-style tofu
• Mapo Tofu with Spicy Sauce — Sichuan mapo tofu
• Tofu with Pork Mince — Tofu with savoury minced pork
• Tofu with Pepper Salt — Salt and pepper tofu
• Pork Spare Ribs with Pepper Salt — Salt and pepper ribs
• Fried Small Yellow Croaker — Crisp-fried small yellow croaker
• Fried Squid Tentacles — Crisp-fried squid tentacles
• Fried Crispy Small Shrimp — Crisp-fried small sweet shrimp

Shunde Porridge

• Prawn Porridge — Congee cooked with fresh prawn
• Seafood Porridge — Congee with mixed seafood
• Pork Kidney, Liver & Spare Ribs Porridge — Hearty offal and rib congee
• Mushroom & Chicken Porridge — Chicken and mushroom congee
• Preserved Egg & Pork Porridge — Classic century egg and pork congee
• Fish Porridge — Congee with sliced fish

Steam Rice Rolls

• Shrimp Steam Rice Roll — Silky rice roll with fresh shrimp
• Mushroom & Chicken Steam Rice Roll — Steamed roll with chicken and mushroom
• Pork Kidney & Liver Steam Rice Roll — Offal-filled steamed rice roll
• BBQ Pork (Char Siu) Steam Rice Roll — Char siu in a soft rice roll
• Beef Mince Steam Rice Roll — Rice roll filled with beef mince
• Pork Mince Steam Rice Roll — Rice roll filled with pork mince
• Plain with Vege Steam Rice Roll — Vegetarian roll with greens

Snacks & Desserts

• Fried Buns with Condensed Milk — Golden fried buns, condensed milk dip
• Ice Jelly with Peanut in Brown Sugar — Chilled jelly dessert, contains peanut
• Deep Fried Pork and Shrimp Wonton — Crispy fried wontons
• Glutinous Rice Cake with Brown Sugar — Chewy rice cakes with brown sugar
• Takoyaki — Octopus balls, Japanese style
• Fried Chips — Crispy fried potato chips
• Fried Kumara — Sweet potato fries
• Ice Cream Ball with Glutinous Skin — Ice cream in a mochi wrapper
• Vanilla Ice Cream Ball — A scoop of vanilla ice cream

Dumplings & Wontons

• Pork & Chives Dumplings — Boiled dumplings with pork and chives
• Pork & Cabbage Dumplings — Boiled dumplings with pork and cabbage
• Chives, Egg & Prawn Dumplings — Boiled dumplings with prawn, egg and chives
• Pork & Shrimp Wonton — Wontons filled with pork and shrimp

Fruit Flavour Drinks

• Peach Milk Juice — Peach as snow bubble, smoothie or black tea
• Mango Milk Juice — Mango as snow bubble, smoothie or black tea
• Litchi Milk Juice — Litchi as snow bubble, smoothie or black tea
• Passion Fruit Milk Juice — Passionfruit as snow bubble, smoothie or black tea
• Lemon Milk Juice — Lemon as snow bubble, smoothie or black tea
• Pineapple Milk Juice — Pineapple as snow bubble, smoothie or black tea

Night BBQ Signatures

• Spicy Stir Fry Chicken in Xinjiang Special Sauce — The house take on Xinjiang big plate chicken
• Special BBQ Fish — Whole 1.0-1.2kg blue cod, with frozen tofu, cauliflower and fungus on the side

Special Fried Skewers

• Lettuce — Deep-fried lettuce skewer
• Cauliflower — Deep-fried cauliflower skewer
• Fried Tofu — Deep-fried tofu skewer
• Tofu Skin and Coriander — Fried tofu skin wrapped with coriander

Frequently asked questions

Where is Burswood BBQ Cafe located?

239A Burswood Dr, Burswood, Auckland 2013, with delivery available across much of east and south Auckland.

What are the opening hours?

5:30pm to 10pm, Tuesday through Sunday. Closed on Mondays.

Does Burswood BBQ Cafe deliver?

Yes — delivery fees apply and there is a $40 minimum order. Suburbs served include Howick, Botany Downs, Flat Bush, Bucklands Beach, Ellerslie, Remuera and Panmure, among many others.

Can I order for pickup?

Yes. The online menu supports both delivery and pickup orders.

What payment methods are accepted?

Orders are paid securely online, with Visa, Mastercard and PayPal accepted.

What are the most popular items?

The listed top sellers are lamb rib-meat, pork belly, beef rib-meat, chicken knee, squid tentacles and chicken breast skewers.

Are there vegetarian options?

Yes — plain steamed rice roll with vegetables, vegetarian fried noodles or rice, BBQ vegetable skewers, and several vegetable cold dishes and stir-fries.

Tips

• {"body":"Doors open 5:30pm and close 10pm, Tuesday to Sunday — Mondays are closed, so plan your skewer night accordingly.","title":"Time it right"}
• {"body":"Delivery orders have a $40 minimum and fees apply — bundling skewers with a claypot rice or the BBQ fish gets you there easily.","title":"Mind the delivery minimum"}
• {"body":"Lamb rib-meat, pork belly, beef rib-meat, chicken knee and squid tentacles skewers are the house's best-known items and a solid base for a first order.","title":"Start with the top sellers"}
• {"body":"Balance hot skewers with a cold dish like cucumber salad or beef and tripe in spicy sauce, plus a steamed rice roll or bowl of congee.","title":"Build a full spread"}
• {"body":"Delivery covers a wide swath of east and south Auckland — from Howick and Botany Downs to Ellerslie, Remuera and Otahuhu — but confirm your suburb at checkout.","title":"Check your suburb"}

Good to know

• {"family":"Sharing-style skewers, claypots and platters suit groups","dietary":"Menu carries gluten-free and vegetarian markers; spice levels are flagged on dishes","payments":"Secure online payments — Visa, Mastercard and PayPal"}