A different sort of Chinese restaurant, Chong Qing Hot Pot has a good reputation for offering high…read morequality authentic Szechuan meals. This means that there will be a certain spiciness to many of the dishes, as compared with the more common Cantonese, Szechuan is typically hotter. Order yourself a hotpot. There is a good range of ingredients to choose from, and invariably the meal you are presented with will be delicious. A few times, I've gone with a fairly spicy option, and although it was probably too hot for me (if I'm truly honest with myself, it was pretty much thermonuclear, heat-wise), I could not stop myself from enjoying it. The service was alright. Typical suburban Chinese restaurant. Nice atmosphere, and it can be a busy place at times. Worth a look if you're feeling adventurous.

Came here one cold winter night for dinner. This place offered a choice of hotpot buffet or cooked…read moredishes. If I had chosen the hotpot, I would have likely written a negative review because the choices looked unappealing for the price. Luckily, I went for the cooked dishes instead. A night at a Sichuan restaurant wouldn't be complete without the signature spicy fish. This came in a massive bowl with lots of soft smooth fish meat. Though it was milder than many other places, it was still delicious on a cold day. The gong bao prawns were more honey sweet with peanuts than spicy. The three cup chicken looked ordinary but was surprisingly well made. The chicken pieces were crispy, and tasted great because of the fragrant garlic with a hint of honey sweetness.

The food is generally very nice here but the service is just the worst you will ever get. They act…read morelike you are eating for free. They dont offer drinks and the bar staff huff and puff when u go and order your own drink. SUPER SUPER EXPENSIVE TO BE TREATED LIKE A PEASANT.

Some dishes like cold noodles 风味凉面 and chilli chicken 辣子鸡 (very bony) are quite fragrant &…read moredelicious. But the main dish, spicy fish 水煮鱼, turned out to be rather bland. Disappointing for the price.

I wasn't altogether enamoured with my dining experience here…read more The eatery is nice enough, it's very casual so I wasn't expecting anything too special, but I was still disappointed. The wait staff were unobservant and slow. It took them too long to come over to our table with menus and then again to take our order. When they finally did, we ordered jasmine tea and two Tsing Tao beers. The drinks arrived after the food did, which is just wrong. Then the vegetarian dumplings we had ordered arrived but they were pork ones, so of course these had to be sent back, and thank goodness it wasn't the only vegetarian at the table who discovered the dumpling's meaty filling. The spicy fish we ordered wasn't all that spicy and we've definitely had this dish in a few other szechuan eateries in Melbourne and enjoyed it a lot more. The flavour was nice enough though and the serving HUGE. The claypot eggplant was too sweet and had tonnes of black vinegar in it, which threw the balance of flavours off. The best dish was the cold starter of silken tofu with preserved egg which was a hit with everyone at the table. Just as a side note in case anyone from szechuan restaurants in Melbourne reads this - with regards to the spicy fish dish, why not add less fish meat, but make it a better type of fish? I'm sick of fatty basa, and putting loads of it in the dish doesn't make up for it being the most insipid white fish around. I'd happily pay more for a better quality, meatier and more substantial white fish.

The name of this place put me off for awhile. I don't eat much seafood, so I just wasn't…read moreinterested. I really should have looked more closely, because there is quite a bit of variety at Spicy Fish. It's traditional Szechuan cuisine, according to the menu. Not being Szechuan myself, I'll have to trust them. There's definitely a bit of heat that makes you aware that you're not having the usual Cantonese dining experience though. I tried a chicken dish which I quite liked. Something with chilli in it, but I suppose that's descriptive of most dishes here. The chicken itself was tender and really quite pleasant, which was a nice surprise as ordering chicken dishes in Asian restaurants often leaves me disappointed. My wife ordered dumplings which she really enjoyed too. The service was alright. Not fantastic, but better than many of the places in the immediate vicinity.

have been here on and off over the years. I go to it more out of convenience when I need a hot pot…read morefix. Quality wise and variety .. it is acceptable .. can get by. The sauces are a bit meeeh.. forgettable. But overall still worth a repeat as the soup base is not bad.

One of my favorite haunts I visit every time I find myself in Melbourne. There is large variety of…read morebridge noodles to choose from but my favorite is definitely the spicy cold Sichuan noodle and the spicy sticks. Beware though the spicy cold noodle is really just an appetizer (or at least it's sized that way) and the sticks won't fill you up either. The bridge noodles though is good enough to share so come with at least 1 friend and you will be able to taste a variety of dishes.

Pretty mediocre Chinese fast food joint specializing in rice noodle soups. Very greasy and oily and…read morefilled with sauces, oils and subpar ingredients. It's always packed given the fast turnover. I'd rather eat cup noodles or instant noodles over this, if given a choice.

This establishment, previously known as Han Palace (and if you ask most of the locals, that's what…read moreeveryone calls it), has been here for a long time. It is a popular place to grab some delicious takeaway when you've gotten home after a long day and you just cannot be bothered to cook. The food is very good. My traditional favourite is beef with blackbean sauce, but occasionally I'll be adventurous and order something like the roast chicken with plum sauce. I don't often dinner eat in the restaurant though. The atmosphere is average, but most of the staff are lovely. What is good is the yum cha. I'm more than happy to sit down and be presented with all manner of delights. The standard of the food is on par with restaurants that charge a significant amount more per dish. In summary, it's a local institution. It's convenient, the food is good and the people there are nice.

A friend organised Yum Cha here so I didn't get a say in the venue. We came for the second seating…read moreon a Sunday and there was nothing fancy about it. It's what you would expect when you go to eat Yum Cha but nothing stood out. The taste of the food was average and the service matched that. If I had a choice I'd go somewhere else.