Majestic Cuisine is a Chinese restaurant on Courtenay Place in Mount Cook, Wellington, serving yum cha and dinner with dim sum made fresh daily. The kitchen's own promise — artisanal dim sim creations, crafted every day — shows in a menu that runs from steamed prawn dumplings and pan-fried pork dumplings to BBQ pork buns, rice rolls, Portuguese egg tarts and mango puddings.
The yum cha menu is built for sharing: dumplings in steamed, pan-fried and deep-fried styles, classic buns both savoury and sweet, small plates like deep-fried squid and spring rolls, and traditional steamed dishes such as chicken feet and beef ribs. Alongside yum cha, Majestic Cuisine also serves dinner from a separate menu, making it a natural stop for both long, leisurely lunches and evening meals.
Reservations can be made through the restaurant's website booking page or by phone on +64 4 381 0338, and the team shares photos of its dumplings, buns and tarts on Instagram and Facebook.
On Courtenay Place in Mount Cook, Wellington, Majestic Cuisine puts yum cha at the centre of the table. The restaurant's own invitation sets the tone — artisanal dim sim creations, crafted fresh daily — and the menu behind it backs that up, with more than a dozen dumplings, buns, rolls and steamed classics made in-house and served alongside a full dinner menu. It is a straightforward proposition: come hungry, order widely, and let the baskets arrive.
Yum cha is as much a rhythm as a menu. Tea stays on the table, dishes arrive steadily, and everyone reaches across the middle rather than guarding a single plate. Majestic Cuisine's list is designed for that pace: a basket of prawn dumplings, a plate of pan-fried pork dumplings, spring rolls for the crispy-minded, rice rolls to round things out and something sweet to finish.
First-timers needn't overthink the opening order. A sensible start is one steamed dumpling, one fried and one bun — then build from there, because a second round can correct any regrets. The menu rewards groups in particular, but a table of two can work through a surprising number of dishes when each is only a few bites.
Dumplings anchor the yum cha menu here, and they come in three distinct guises. Steamed, there are Prawn Dumplings — the benchmark dish of any yum cha table — alongside Chilli and Prawn Dumplings for those who like heat, Chive and Prawn Dumplings, where chive sweetness plays against the prawn, and a heartier Prawn Dim Sim. If texture is what you're after, the kitchen also pan-fries its pork dumplings and offers a deep-fried version, so the same savoury filling arrives with a crisp edge. Ordering across all three styles is the move regulars make: it turns one filling into a comparison of textures, and gives the table a reason to keep the tea coming.
Around the dumplings sits the rest of the traditional lineup. BBQ Pork Buns are the classic sweet-savoury bun, joined by Baked Coconut Buns and a Baked Custard Bun for diners who drift toward the bakery end of the menu. Rice Rolls bring a soft, gentle note to balance the fried dishes. For the adventurous, Steamed Chicken Feet is a yum cha rite of passage, while Beef Ribs offer something more substantial from the steamer. Deep Fried Squid and Fried Spring Rolls cover the golden, crunchy end of the spectrum — usually the plates that empty first.
The finish is handled properly. Portuguese Egg Tarts bring set custard in a flaky shell, and Mango Puddings close the meal on a cool, fruity note. Between those and the sweet baked buns, it pays to pace the savoury orders with dessert in mind — a quiet argument for leaving space, however full the steamer baskets may look.
Yum cha is only half of what Majestic Cuisine does. The restaurant also serves dinner from a separate menu, so it works equally well for a long, graze-at-your-own-pace yum cha session and a proper evening meal. Reservations are taken through the booking page on the website, or by phone on +64 4 381 0338; since service times aren't published on the site, a quick call is the easiest way to confirm when the kitchen is serving before you set out.
You'll find Majestic Cuisine at 11B Courtenay Pl, Mount Cook, Wellington. For a preview before you go, the restaurant posts photos of its dumplings, buns and tarts on Instagram and Facebook — a fair indication of what will be coming out of the kitchen when you sit down.