sichuan style 重庆味道

this place got my taste bud dancing. love love love the food, so much so i am happy to drive from auckland to hamilton to just have fried lamb with cumin, it's the bomb. we also had.fried chicken n lamb noodles which was very tasty. the service needs work cause the place is busy and despite the fact we reached there post lunch time, people were still flowing in. ambiance is as any chinese restaurant so nothing fancy, what is amusing is they have a waiting lounge for people to wait with couches n television,lol. yes it is overpriced but i am sure you can find some dished well within cheap eat budget. definitely recommend this one!

every time we went pass hamilton, we used to eat here, but no more. the taste has gone down gradually, the service has gone down drastically. i guess when the boss isn't here, that's the attitude you get served. while we were waiting, 3 guests were turned away rudely, 1 guest cancelled the entire order as they waited too long. we got there 30mins early, so we had to be served after many guests that hasn't showed up yet... what's the logic...

i have been going to this place for 4 years now. and it is the best chinese in the tron. a little bit on the pricey side but worth it. it is usually full, even for lunch! and the menu is extensive to say the least. and some of things are a bit too adventurous for me. but i can definitely recommend the dan dan noodles and fried rice. however if you look around at the tables, the steamboat seems to be very popular too.

my favourite chinese restaurant outside of china. authentic chinese cuisine at more than reasonable prices. the dumplings are amazing.
be patient with the staff. it's the language barrier that can slow things up but they are lovely, helpful and will not disappoint

if you are a spicy food lover, i highly recommend you to visit this place. they have about 200 dishes.. they are all somewhat spicy tho. serving is a bit slow, and booking is essential.

new years eve at 9 p.m. 2 adults.  seated amongst families of screaming, running misbehaved chinese children, and screaming babies.  seated next to toilets.  no condiments available on table, food served up ungraciously at irregular intervals without bowls.  meat in stir fried rice completely inedible - too  tough.  left most of food, complained and was charged full price.  disgusting, absolutely not recommended.

this restaurant is very popular so we were told that a pre-booking is essential otherwise it may be hard for you get a seat.

food is good with taste, view and reasonable price.

dish recommended: steam bread 蒸馒头.

i had recently gone to this restaurant with two other people on christmas day and i have to say that service was terrible. a friend pointed out we were the only non asian in the restaurant but what was worse is that we watched the good service being given to other tables. so, we thought okay we were the last to be served so we thought the food must be really good. we almost cancelled half the order because they had taken so long because they were serving customers who came after us but we decided to wait because we wanted to try the dishes. but sad to say we could have gotten better food at a takeaway restaurant for less in auckland. wasn't worth the wait...we should've have left after waiting so long and watching how they were serving people who came after us. the friend i came with said 'i saw the red flag when they put us by the toilets.'

looks are deceiving at sichuan style restaurant. firstly, i thought the place was called hot & spicy (!), and its kitschy chinese décor held a sense of foreboding. the hint of the deliciousness to come was a photocopy of the chef’s certificate on the door, which heralds chef jian wen’s honour as an ‘international top-level chef’ by the league of chinese master chefs. if you say that out loud, it sounds like a parody of a marvel superhero group.

the second thing that proved that this was going to be a great evening was how busy it was at 5:30pm. it was nearly full and every empty table had a reserved sign on it; booking is essential at sichuan style if you want any chance of getting a table. middle brother who had moved to hamilton a couple of months ago sold this place as the best chinese food in ‘the tron’.

if you’re a visual person, the entire menu in pictorial is on the ipad which is offered to you as well as the more traditional a3-size laminated menu. the menu is extensive, and there is much to sample.

there was a big group of us, so we tried a wide range of dishes. the steamed eggplant in spicy garlic sauce ($8.80) is fragrant and delicious. the lamb in cumin ($18.80) has a warm spicy kick. the stir-fried pork and leek in soy bean paste ($18.80) is sauteed thinly-sliced belly pork; the fatty morsels held the salty paste well. the chicken stew with gingko nuts soup ($28.80) one of sichuan style’s recommended dishes, and is served in a clay pot. note: this is large enough for a dozen people.

dan dan noodles are a famous traditional sichuan noodle dish, and the version here ($9.80) is excellent. the noodles are served with bok choy, preserved mustard, roasted peanuts, marinated minced pork sprinkled with sesame seeds and spring onions in a savoury broth, and you mix all the ingredients before eating. this typically comes with chilli oil, but you can also ask for a mild version. the sichuan style dumplings ($9.80) is my pick of the dishes. the savoury pork filling in slightly chewy dumpling skin is complemented perfectly by the spicy hot sauce, fried garlic and roasted peanuts. perfect.

for more photos and the rest of the review, see: http://easyfoodhacks.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/sichuan-style-restaurant-cbd-hamilton.html

i would give it another half point if i could. for people who love asian food, i would highly recommend this place. food was authentic and tasty and portion sizes are good for the price.