Ascot Chinese is a Chinese takeaway on Tay Street in Invercargill's Glengarry, serving the classics people expect — sweet & sour pork, combination chow mein and fried rice, chicken cashew nuts, wontons, garlic spare ribs and Singapore-style chicken wings — in large or small portions.
The menu stretches well beyond the usual list: sweet, sour and lemon honey dishes, fried rice and egg foo young, chow mein and noodles, stir-fried vegetables with meat, dumplings, soups, specialty and vegetarian meals — plus fish & chips, gourmet hamburgers, appetisers, drinks and sauces.
There's a Southland streak, too: Bluff oysters by the dozen or half dozen (limited stock), cooked crayfish ready for a salad or simply heated and eaten, frozen paua mince in 200g pottles, and lemon honey blue cod in a bright, tangy sauce.
Orders go through the shop's own website for pickup or delivery (delivery has a $50 minimum purchase), with meal deals that bundle crowd-pleasers and a free drink for easy family nights.
On Tay Street in Invercargill's Glengarry, Ascot Chinese runs a takeaway menu that starts with the Chinese classics everyone expects and then keeps going well past them. Alongside the sweet & sour pork, combination chow mein and chicken cashew nuts you'd hope for, the kitchen turns out lemon honey blue cod, Chinese dumplings, stir-fried vegetables with meat and vegetarian meals — and, in true Southland fashion, Bluff oysters, cooked crayfish and frozen paua mince. Add fish & chips and gourmet hamburgers to the same menu and you have a shop built to satisfy just about every order at the counter.
The menu is organised into generous territory: sweet, sour and lemon honey dishes; fried rice and egg foo young; chow mein and noodles; stir-fry vegetables with meat; meat lovers' plates and soups; Chinese dumplings; specialty meals; vegetarian meals; fish & chips; gourmet hamburgers; appetisers and snacks; drinks; and sauces. Nearly everything comes in large or small sizes, so the same dishes work for a solo dinner or a full family spread.
The most popular picks tell their own story: combination fried rice, combination chow mein, chicken fried noodles, sweet & sour pork and sweet & sour wontons, garlic spare ribs and spicy Singapore chicken wings. Ribs and wings come packed by the dozen or half dozen, and wonton fans can order their favourite golden parcels large or small.
What sets Ascot Chinese apart from a typical suburban takeaway is the seafood. Bluff oysters are sold by the dozen (large) or half dozen (small), with limited stock — if they run out, the shop contacts you rather than quietly substituting. Cooked crayfish is another headline act, offered in large and medium sizes and described by the shop as equally good in a crayfish salad or simply heated up and ready to eat. There's also frozen paua mince in 200g pottles to cook with at home, and lemon honey blue cod for those who like their fish in a bright, tangy sauce.
Ascot Chinese takes orders through its own website, and the process is deliberately simple: choose your products, finalise your order, remember your order number — then either come and pick up or wait for delivery. Delivery requires a minimum purchase of $50, and both delivery and pickup orders are placed with time slots.
One quirk worth knowing: the kitchen isn't taking orders during the day on Thursday and Friday mornings because of its maintenance process. Pre-order time slots after 4pm are the way to plan around it, whether you're collecting your food or having it delivered.
The special instructions field on each item is worth using. It's how you flag spicy or non-spicy Singapore wings, and on very busy days the shop may ask customers who can pay cash to note it there — with only a handful of mobile EFTPOS machines on delivery runs, cash helps food reach doors faster.
For easy family nights, the meal deals do the planning for you. The Value Pack brings together combination chow mein, plain fried rice and a standard sweet & sour combo. The Premium Pack steps things up with combination fried rice, chicken cashew nuts, lemon honey blue cod and sweet & sour wontons. Both include a free drink, with the honest caveat that supply issues occasionally mean your preferred drink isn't available — the shop simply asks for your understanding.
Updates land on the shop's Facebook page, and orders flow through its website for both delivery and pickup. Whether you're after a weeknight chow mein, a dozen Bluff oysters while they last, or a crayfish for a special salad, Ascot Chinese keeps the range wide, the portions flexible and the ordering simple.