Sichuan Bang Bang

I went here with my wife when she was 40 weeks pregnant and ready to give birth at any time (spoiler alert - we had to wait another week and a half, Edith!). Anyway, the place looks great, but immediately there’s something odd about it. Half the restaurant is Italian. Hmmm. Ok. No, it’s not fusion and it doesn’t really mix. There are two menus and they are quite distinct. As we walked in there was a couple eating Chinese food while their kids picked at a cheese pizza. My eyeballs and brain were confused. So we order. We order dishes we have eaten before in places like Hong Kong. Perhaps the comparison is unfair, but if you are going to pride yourself on having good and real and honest and true food, then do so. To cut to the chase the food was ok and the prices were high. I would not go back as spending $100 for two people (without alcoholic drinks!) is bonkers to me.

As the Paddington store is permanently closed, we ventured to Wilston for $10 lobster special (1 pp) which had decent portions with three flavours to choose from. Unfortunately the seasoning was not authentic and the Sichuan chilli is nowhere near as spicy as it should be. We also ordered other mains which were very small sized for the price and not authentic. Lamb ribs would be decent if the portions were increased. The staff were friendly and accommodating, although we had to ask several times for water to be refilled. Personally would not go back again if not for the lobster special. Much more authentic places for half the price elsewhere.

This has probably got to be one of the most disappointing meals I’ve had in a long time. We ordered the pork spare ribs, crispy duck, special fried rice and broccoli with garlic sauce. The duck was saturated in sauce making the ‘crispy’ redundant. The supposed “wok tossed” broccoli was nothing more than microwaved broccoli with sauce poured on top (see photo). The fried rice with prawn had 3 prawns on top of some lukewarm flavourless rice. The pork spare ribs lacked any depth of flavour. Honestly the best part about my meal was the Sprite.