Dainty Sichuan, South Yarra, Melbourne

Did I mentioned that we had Asian food most of the time while we were in Melbourne? The only times we had non Asian were when we got out of Melbourne city itself, in Mornington Peninsula and Great Ocean Road. Reason is, one of us doesn’t really like Western stuff… so, that’s why.

On our second night, we were brought to South Yarra as PeiYin told us that there is a good Sichuan restaurant there. To our surprise, the place was packed to the brim eventhough we reserved a table! We end up waited for about 15 minutes before we could get a table, which was rather small for 6 of us but better than none, huh? All the workers here speaks either English or Mandarin, so if you can’t speak Mandarin, it’s okay!

We left the ordering task to PeiYin and Ramon and since 2 of us are not ardent fan of spicy food (Sichuan is famous for its tongue-and-lips numbing spicy dishes), they ordered only one spicy dish for that night. The Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs (AUD15.80) was the first to arrive. Basked in a sticky and sweet sauce, they were quite good except the meat was a little too tough for me. The Crispy Sichuan Duck (AUD15.80, can’t really remember whether it was quarter-portion or half-portion) has a lovely smoky aroma whaffing from the skin. The meat was tender, well-seasoned and gamey smell is non-existent.

I insisted for greens, so we got Dry Stir Fried Beans with minced pork (AUD18.80). Came in big portion, the French beans were briefly deep fried before being stir fried with garlic, some spring onion, chilli flakes and minced pork. I think I made the correct choice for greens, as everyone loves it!

The one and only spicy dish of the night; the Stewed Lamb Ribs Sichuan Home Style (AUD23.80) came piping hot in a deep dish. The spices and chillies removed any gamey smell completely. The meat was tender and succulent but as expected, the spiciness was kinda overwhelming (at least for me). On the other hand, PeiYin’s favourite brinjal dish, Fish Flavoured Eggplant (AUD17.80) was very good, albeit a little bit greasy. Another big portion dish, the brinjal were cut into thick slices before deep fried and coated with sticky, sweet and slightly spicy sauce and garlic.

Although we had no Ma La dishes that night, we enjoyed the dinner immensely, coupling with good chat and companion to boot. Although most of the dishes are heavily laced with chillies, the spiciness level are tolerable, so for those who can’t take spicy stuff, this might be a good news for you.

Dainty Sichuan Food
176, Toorak Road,
South Yarra,
Melbourne VIC 3141,
Australia.
Tel: (03) 9078 1686