Ma La Xiang Guo Chinese Restaurant

I am a weakling when it comes to spice, so what the hell was I doing at this house of pain? I have no idea either. The good thing is I lived to tell the tale and for now, that might just be enough. Sichuan, known for their liberal use of Chilli and peppercorns not only likes to smack you across the face with their fiery dried red chillies but then follows it with a sucker punch directly on your mouth with their green peppercorns to render it numb for an indefinite amount of time thereafter. We settled on the 'Xiang guo' which is in essence a dry pot where you design your own stir fry by choosing a minimum of 5 ingredients from their suggested list. This is then cooked with your desired level of heat (taste not temperature). We chose spam, dried tea mushrooms, fish fillets, noodles, pig jelly and dried bean curd. The dish also comes with a few staples of bok choy, cabbage, spring onions and coriander. Although our chosen level of intensity was 'mild', the... read more

WHERE TO START FROM!?!?!?!!  BAD EXPERIENCE! Last night, 26th April 2016, we (girlfriend and I) decided to have dinner at this place after our study session. After we got into the place, seated after a couple minutes, we selected our dinner choice and provided the sheet we needed to fill in for the waiter.  Roughly 10 minutes later two groups sat next and across from our table and about 5-10 minutes afterwards, they also ordered.  After 30 minutes time, the waiter came out and served the other two tables first, so we just discussed how our food wasn't here yet where as the others who came 10 or more minutes later than us, had got theirs. So my girlfriend kindly went up to the counter and asked if he could check at the back for our order, waiter replied "we have a system that is a first to order, first to get the food basis". She replied that she understands however it's been over 45 minutes or more wait and still not being served.  He then gave her attitude and girlfriend pointed out to him that other tables received their food already and they arrived later than us. As a customer, you would think prior to giving attitude or arguing with a customer to best to check the back to see if the order is ready. My girlfriend went back to our table and literally 3 seconds, after girlfriend being seated, he came out with our food. As we expected it was most likely sitting there on the counter but no one picked up on it. He didn't apologise, just dumped the food and walked away, food was not so bad, only down side was the food wasn't really hot anymore and just warm, most likely due to it sitting there for probably 20 or more minutes on their counter.

I am a weakling when it comes to spice, so what the hell was I doing at this house of pain? I have no idea either. The good thing is I lived to tell the tale and for now, that might just be enough. Sichuan, known for their liberal use of Chilli and peppercorns not only likes to smack you across the face with their fiery dried red chillies but then follows it with a sucker punch directly on your mouth with their green peppercorns to render it numb for an indefinite amount of time thereafter. We settled on the 'Xiang guo' which is in essence a dry pot where you design your own stir fry by choosing a minimum of 5 ingredients from their suggested list. This is then cooked with your desired level of heat (taste not temperature). We chose spam, dried tea mushrooms, fish fillets, noodles, pig jelly and dried bean curd. The dish also comes with a few staples of bok choy, cabbage, spring onions and coriander. Although our chosen level of intensity was 'mild', the dish was still way above my capabilities. I feel with Si Chuan restaurants, they cook so much chilli that even the woks have the flavours burned into them. All I could muster were small bites washed down with large gulps of water. The taste was mind blowing and it was damn good. Chilli really does accentuate the flavours of each ingredient and keeps you salivating for more. In China, yoghurt or milk drinks are supplied where spicy food is in abundance. These are a saving grace as they remove the pain and throbbing of the tongue and lips. Unfortunately Sydney doesn't appear to have caught on. We ended up having to take half the dish away for a second attempt the next day. The bold flavours were surprisingly weakened by this stage and made it easier to finish. Ambience and service is that of your usual token Chinese restaurants. Apathetic at best but that certainly doesn't stop the queues outside the doors. They have recently opened up a chain spicy charcoal fish store down the road so crowds have been dispersed. What a perfect time to give it a go. Prices aren't cheap as they certainly add up with the ingredients, but if you like spicy food this is a must try.

WHERE TO START FROM!?!?!?!!  BAD EXPERIENCE! Last night, 26th April 2016, we (girlfriend and I) decided to have dinner at this place after our study session. After we got into the place, seated after a couple minutes, we selected our dinner choice and provided the sheet we needed to fill in for the waiter.  Roughly 10 minutes later two groups sat next and across from our table and about 5-10 minutes afterwards, they also ordered.  After 30 minutes time, the waiter came out and served the other two tables first, so we just discussed how our food wasn't here yet where as the others who came 10 or more minutes later than us, had got theirs. So my girlfriend kindly went up to the counter and asked if he could check at the back for our order, waiter replied "we have a system that is a first to order, first to get the food basis". She replied that she understands however it's been over 45 minutes or more wait and still not being served.  He then gave her attitude and girlfriend pointed out to him that other tables received their food already and they arrived later than us. As a customer, you would think prior to giving attitude or arguing with a customer to best to check the back to see if the order is ready. My girlfriend went back to our table and literally 3 seconds, after girlfriend being seated, he came out with our food. As we expected it was most likely sitting there on the counter but no one picked up on it. He didn't apologise, just dumped the food and walked away, food was not so bad, only down side was the food wasn't really hot anymore and just warm, most likely due to it sitting there for probably 20 or more minutes on their counter.

WHERE TO START FROM!?!?!?!!  BAD EXPERIENCE! Last night, 26th April 2016, we (girlfriend and I) decided to have dinner at this place after our study session. After we got into the place, seated after a couple minutes, we selected our dinner choice and provided the sheet we needed to fill in for the waiter.  Roughly 10 minutes later two groups sat next and across from our table and about 5-10 minutes afterwards, they also ordered.  After 30 minutes time, the waiter came out and served the other two tables first, so we just discussed how our food wasn't here yet where as the others who came 10 or more minutes later than us, had got theirs. So my girlfriend kindly went up to the counter and asked if he could check at the back for our order, waiter replied "we have a system that is a first to order, first to get the food basis". She replied that she understands however it's been over 45 minutes or more wait and still not being served.  He then gave her... read more