This place sells shark fin soup. Over 100 million sharks per year are killed just for their fins, most of the time the fins are sliced off while the shark is still alive. The shark is then thrown back into the sea with no fins to die a cruel and slow death.

I will never eat there until shark fin is removed from the menu.

Some of the best Yum Cha in Wellington

Also do quite good dinner meals

We go here most Sundays for yumcha and every time it never fails to impress us. Me and my family have tried majority of the yumcha restaurants around wellington and this is definatly our favorite! Good staff, and the manager is very approachable and friendly. Great variety of tasty foods sometime is can be a little cold but that’s expected because they are always completely packed (have to make a reservation each time). And to top it all of the delicious deserts, I can’t go without having a mango or coconut jelly!

YUM! I’ve been to a lot of yum char restaurants in wellington and this is my absolute favourite, very friendly staff, hot delicious food and very reasonable prices, when I go with a group of friends we never pay over $20 per person (normally under $15!) but it does depend on how much you order and eat of course

We used the “Groupon” voucher and received two mains and entree for $19. The meals were a good size and very tasty. We haven’t been here before so having the voucher was a good way to check out the restaurant.

The staff were very friendly and attentive.

The meals came out very fast and hot which was fantastic, the food was great, especially the dumplings, very tasty indeed. The orange beef was also delicious.

The food just looked spectacular, well presented and very delicious.

We were very happy with our overall dining experience here and will definitely be back.

I went here for Yum Cha yesterday. The service was good and not much waiting for food or a table. However, the food was probably some of the less good yum cha I have had. Everything was really greasy and just tasted of MSG…so I was disappointed. I have had a lot better in other cities.

This is our favourite Yum cha restuarant and also we often get the wonton soup (prawn) for takeout. I just looked on our household records and we have spent $2550 in the last 12 months there. We are of NZ asian ethnicity and live in Mt Vic. The chef they have there at the moment does good particualarly good yum cha.

Not sure what the guy talking about sharks fin soup is going on about, maybe he shouldn’t eat anywhere where meat isn’t slaughtered in a halal fashion. I don’t really think MenuMania is the right forum for his views.

i really love the regal the staff are friendly and the food is so good so you should try it for yourself!

i would say good but not excellent.

This place is great! me and my man go here very often, i love the busy atmosphere and the friendly staff.
Great range of dishes and any problems we have had are fixed ASAP and if your looking for a specific dish don’t hesitate to ask as they will go and get it for you.
You might pay a little more but its worth it!

Been here for yum cha 5 or so times now at the time of writing. The pros for this place include: the upstairs location; if the blinds are open, you get a nice view down the far end of courtenay place, however, they are usually drawn closed. Perhaps the greatest aspect of this place is the quick service; food is brought round much, much quicker than other Wellington yum cha places – especially Grand Century, which can be very slow. So overall, lunch takes far less time – food is brought round in pretty quick succession, and you have everything you need promptly. Even on weekdays – everything seems to be avaible on the menu, which can not be the case in other Yum cha restaurants (a big plus) – full menu seems to be available throughout the week. This is great if you’re one of these types who goes to lunch on work breaks and expects lightning quick food. Another cool thing is that each table has big jugs of soy sauce and CHILLI, which is just great to drown your dumplings and sticky rice in – a GREAT touch! Saves you having to ask for more, or get up continually to get it – which can be the case at other restaurants.

Aside from the above pros, Regal suffers from the usual fare of cons. If you get there early in the lunch/yum cha service (weekdays), you will have to order from menu, which can be a bother, and take a little bit more time to eat. Also, some of the staff suffer from the usual poor communication – as English is a second language of course – don’t bother asking questions about the menus etc, as more often than not, they won’t understand. Doesn’t bother me too much though – you get used to these things if you eat a lot of yum cha. As seems to be the norm in Chinese restaurants, you won’t automatically be given a jug of water for your table – this is ANNOYING! And is a rather lame feature of ALL yum cha places i’ve eaten at. That would be fine if there were A TABLE WITH WATER ON IT you could get at yourself, as staff seem not too keen on fetching water for you, even when asked very politely. Sometimes, it seems they don’t understand. Anyway, this could all be avoided if water put out on each table as it’s set!

Anyway, the atmosphere in here is nice and quiet and relaxed, it doesn’t seem to be as common to encounter masses of children, or large noisy groups as you do in other places, so that’s a plus. The food is decent here too, serving much of the dishes common at other places, and some unique ones i havent seen elsewhere. However, some of the dishes are not quite as good as elsewhere. For example, the deep-fried pork dumplings are better at Grand Century, though the sticky rice here is great. Overall a neat yum cha place though, quick service, decent food, and relaxed setting. Try it.

Been here a coupe of times now for yum char but sadly the last was a bit of a let down. We were in a corner and had to fight to get any food brought our way. Its a tightly packed place. You need to book and if you do always take the earlier seating because not everyone vacates on time and you may end up waiting for a while as they reset the tables. Food when you get it is good for yum char standards.

Yum Cha culture can be a whole new experience for new people who never been there and don’t know how the place is run. But I find this place hold an excellent title for the yum cha market in Wellington. Very good food, quick service, cheap and cheerful, takeaway. The decoration is simple, somewhat outdated but the food is simply amazing every time we go there every weekend.

Seriously good place to eat, after living in asia for 3 years I can honestly say this is the real deal. The place is cramped, bustling and noisy, just the way it would be in China. Fab food, great atmosphere. I am never dissapointed at the Regal.

I find the yumcha food at Regal to be quite average. Too salty and too much thick sauce. Their deep fried squids and buns are quite good but their dumplings are disappointing. Skin too thick and fillings fall out easily.

A working lunch at Regal today – I didn’t even know the place existed. Being right above Majestic there would seem to be a fair bit of competition for Yum Cha.

I found Regal to be as good if not better than Majestic. It is a much larger venue than Majestic and the tables are further apart, depriving you of that feeling of claustrophobia – which is not a bad thing!

The food was very nice, the service quick and friendly, with service staff quick to come around and market their goods to your table. It was a little hard to understand some of them at times, but you want Asian, expect a few Asian accents to contend with.

Overall I found this to be a great place to dine.

We have lived in Courtenay place for a year now an d go for dim sum (or yum cha) almost every weekend. Out of the four places in Courtenay Place the Regal is our favourite – the manager is very good. Don’t be suprised if you have to wait a few minutes for a table on a Saturday or Sunday at 12.30 for gawd’s sake. The dishes are sometimes a little cool but I find that is the case in all yum cha restuarants when they are not cooking to order. What keeps us going back is the variety on offer, and of course the best custard tarts in town. Will miss this palce when we go.

One of our faves for yum cha. The food is fast, plentiful and fantastic. We have no problem with waiting as we book ahead. Rob is too harsh – the place is always packed over the weekends, and yes it is small so you trip over people getting in and out, but so what?