I am a long-time fan of Sichuan cuisine, and Dainty Sichuan provides a
more (unnecessary) up-market take on well-loved dishes. They recently opened a
new location in the city which offers both their a la carte menu and hot pot
style dining, so we jumped at the chance.
One thing you cannot expect from most Asian restaurants, is good or
friendly service. Dainty Sichuan is no exception. The service was slow, and due
to no one waiting at the front desk, it took a long time to be seated. A brief
check of the menu showed a lot of my staple dishes were missing, but that’s ok,
bring on the Chong Qing Hot Pot ($31.8/pp).
There is a lot of choice of items to cook in your hot pot, and all of
the meat is fresh and tastes quite nice. You are able to split your pot into
half-half, for the diners who don’t like chilli as much. The spicy side is
saturated with spices and chilli and really makes it a Dainty Sichuan
recognised soup. The non-spicy side has a lot of Chinese herbs and is chicken
stock-based.
There were a few starters you could order as well, the pre-cooked fried
chicken bits were reminiscent of the a la carte “kung pow chicken”. The lap
cheong sausage was a favourite, but I typically don’t like the oily fattiness
of the Chinese sausage. My favourite items were definitely the raw meats, meat
balls and the pig’s blood cubes. The vermicelli and potato noodles were great
as well, and the unlimited factor is definitely a plus. For those who need a bit
of green in their meal to not feel guilty, there are plenty of leafy bok choy
and cabbage to go round.
Just a warning, the soup gets quite oily after a while, so you may want to
ask the waiters for a new bowl, and use one as an oil dumping ground.
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