be warned. lengthy review.
overall:
service not bad, mostly friendly and helpful staff.
dinner service: tasty food but just your classic run of the mill asian style, and the quality and price is pretty fantastic but overall wasn’t massively blown away by the dishes. 3.5/5
yum cha service: 5/5 big yes best yum cha in dunedin so far! every dish was quality and tasted fabulous!
update 24/8 came for dinner and was pretty.’ busy, served kindly and prompt, my only complaint is that their space is quite small and the tables are just a tad too small.
we ordered fried prawn (25), hot pot egg plant and pork (22), hot pot beef brisket (22), sizzling plate lamb (22) and a medium sized bowl of rice (5). the quality and price were both very amicable, and just as good if not better than good ol chopsticks. i think the only difference is that their portion sizes are slightly smaller but everything was still made to a very high standard-the tastes all very authentic with the perfect saltiness and sweet, the meat tender and the texture just right (crisp levels, soft chewy meat, crunchy vegetables).
the best dish for me personally was probably the hot pot egg plant and pork, both egg plant and pork was amazing tender and worked well together, however there was just a tad too much potato starch which left us with bobs of starch remnants. however it was still delish. 4/5
the fried prawns were better than i thought, since i’m not a seafood gal unless they’re authentic fried coconut prawns, the shell was pretty crisp although not fully crisp enough to devour the entire thing. the meat was soft and well done but the best of this was the fried garlic spring onion topper, so simple but delicious. 3.8/4
beef brisket was tasty, not too salty with a good soy based marinade. the meat was tender but i did find occasional bits that were slightly stringy and tougher to chew. maybe that’s just the beef though. 3.5/4.
lamb sizzle plate was really tasty, the sauce was really excellent and smooth, the lamb was tender with no aftertaste of lamb at all (although personally i like that distinct lamb taste), however i wasn’t a particular fan of the lamb meat itself, it just didn’t feel like i was seating lamb but pork. sauce was excellent but the meat itself-didn’t please me that much. 3.5/5
overall a fantastic place to dine, both yum char and dinner. would absolutely recommend!
dinner 3/5/19
slightly cramped seating but nice cushion sofa area if you get a seat there. not too shabby an ambience, and let’s be real, asian restaurants are way more about the actual food than the setting itself, and i’m definitely not complaining! staff were helpful, the wait wasn’t too long and we were happy with the overall quality of the service!
roast duck
classic roast duck with crispy skin. upon first bite i found that the meat was a bit tough and dry. however some pieces were tender. the meal overall was juicy and tasty, and the sauce was well made, my only complaint was just that the meat texture was inconsistent and at time a bit hard. 3.5/5
ginger spring onion lamb sizzling plate
lamb was very tender upon first taste and was very happy with the texture of the meat. however the overall flavor wasn’t super strong, just a light peppery mix, but i guess it was what i chose. the spring onion and onion accompaniment was deliciously crisp, well cooked not overdone, with a clean taste. for quality of the dish 4/5, for personal taste preference 3.8/5.
sizzling eggplant with stuffed pork mince
recommended to try this and had high expectations. definitely pleased upon the first bite-the eggplant was so tender and soft making it melt in the mouth, yet the outside lightly crisp due to the deep fry batter, and the mince was soft but still presented in a firm ball with a good eggplant to mince proportion. everything worked very well together but it’s a dish that must be enjoyed hot to get the full experience of the sizzling eggplant! the sauce was also wonderful and would have been tasty with rice. 4/5
garlic pork spare ribs
was tossing up between this and the sichuan pork belly, but my love for ribs and picking meat off bone won over. although each rib was crunchy due to the batter coat, it was not crisp and i felt that it was slightly over cooked and left for a bit too long on the stove as some of the meat and coat was a bit tough to chew. tasty overall but underwhelmed and i’ve definitely had better. yet was nicely salted and good for munching as there was a good proportion of meat on the bone. 3.5/5
yum cha 4/5/19
two days in a row at sichuan88? big yes! heard so many good things about the quality of the yumcha here so definitely had my hopes up. does it live up to the standard of being the best place to have yumcha in dunedin as said by so many asians? we shall soon find out.
for customer service, the staff are very helpful (exception with a few clueless waitresses no offense) and i was able to book a time and preorder a few special dishes prior to coming in the following day. sad they didn’t have the pork taro taro in store but was pleased with the extensive yum cha choice!
baked bbq pork bun (special)
bun was crispy on the top really delicious with a sweet bun and although the filling was a little low the sweetness of the bun really complimented everything.
coconut custard bun (special)
this one was average, the bun was sweet and the filling was a dry coconut. tasty, but wasn’t wowed. can skip on this one.
seaweed pork sew mai
very tasty the seaweed and complimented the pork nicely. not a huge fan of prawn in my yum chas but this made an exception.
spare ribs black bean sauce
cooked with a slightly spicy sauce and very well done. nailed the classic. chewy meat and bone, meat was well prepared.
steamed chicken feet
super well done. feet were very juicy and fat. good saltiness and sauce.
bbq pork crisp
delicious! super crisp and flakey, the roll was fresh and the pork sweet and savory.
custard bun
just your average custard bun but these had a very generous filling of custard yas!! would be keen to
pork bean curd rolls
yum!! good mix of veg and meat with a soft bean wrap.
sweet red beans mochi
just a thick mochi with a little squirt of red bean. not anything too special.
xiao long bao
well souped, and the meat was tender, cooked well.
beef rice rolls
tasty tender beef with a very thick roll. normally i don’t choose to order this but thought to give it a try and was pleasantly surprised.
deep fried taro cake
super crisp with a very well done taro filling and a little mince. amazing taste, super freshly made.
deep fried squid
crisp and tender, pretty tasty. different to the auckland types where it isn’t as chewy and hard
xo sauce with fried turnip slices
wow really good!! definitely need to try. crisp with a hot filling! so tasty with a little spice!
steamed garlic squid
tender and chewy, not too bad. have never seen it on a menu so thought to try. not super special in terms of taste so would pass!
walnut bun
cool walnut shape with an intense actual walnut nut sweet paste filling and was not bad! don’t really like nuts in my buns (hehe) so wouldn’t order again but was still yummy.
deep fried chess prawn ball
very cool to look at, outside was a thing crispy layer and the inside was literally a prawn ball with cheese filling. not something i loved but was a funky thing to try.
loved yum cha, defs recommend and go with family or a bunch of friends so you can try everything on the menu!!!