Review: Red Chilli Sichuan, Burwood

Be warned. My photos came out TERRIBLY. I shall refrain from fiddling with the camera settings next time. I promise. Please also excuse my description of the dishes. We ordered everything in Mandarin and I stupidly forgot to take note of the English translations

Last night was my dad's birthday. While his first choice was to head towards some Korean BBQ restaurant in Strathfield, if you know anything about this family, you'd realise that half the time it is my mother who calls the shots.

Nagging power wins. Lots.

Either way, my mother's tastebuds forever linger for the incredibly your-stomach-will-make-you-regret-it type of chilli flavours of Szechuan cuisine. Luckily for her, Red Chilli Sichuan decided to open store in Burwood, and for the past year or two, it's possibly the most frequently visited restaurant by this family.

Fu Qi Fei Pian - (夫妻肺片)

This was a really refreshing starter to the night. Sichuan cuisine is definitely not the place to take anyone who cannot take chilli flavours, but having said that, this dish, when compared to others, is quite tame in terms of heat. It has a well balanced flavour of vinegar, chilli, sugar, soy and garlic, and definitely what the Chinese would describe as kai wei, meaning "opens the stomach" or a good appetiser.

Suan La Liang Fen - 酸辣凉粉 - Sour and Chilli Vermicelli

I personally love this dish. The slipperness of the vermicelli and the tanginess of vinegar mixed with the aromatic spices is really a delight that lights up the tongue on a cold, wet evening.

Stewed Sliced Fish with Sichuan Chilli and Pickled Vegetables - 山椒酸菜鱼

Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to present to you a dish that you would definitely find in heaven.

Do not doubt me, but just embrace this dish should you ever find yourself in a Sichuan restaurant.

The fish meat is SOOOOOOOOO delightfully tender and full of flavour. The pickled vegetables are really a highlight as well and complements the sweetness of fish as if a match made in heaven.

Seriously, just do yourself a favour and give this dish a go.Mud Crab fried in Salted Egg Yolks - 金黄蟹

To be completely honest I was really looking forward to this dish. I love salted egg yolks and crab, except while the dish was well executed, the quality of the crab itself was a really huge let down. The meat was dry in places, and there was really little of it. Overall I probably wouldn't be ordering it from this place again.

While we did have other dishes on the table, the quality of my photos simply did not do it justice, so I've decided to leave them out for next time. We'll definitely be returning as this place really does produce consistently good food at a great price.

Just word of advice, leave the non-chilli-eaters at home with a bowl of soup or something. They'd just wilt and die in this place.

Nom it like it's hot hot hot.

Red Chilli Sichuan - Burwood
35 Burwood Road
Burwood, NSW 2134
Tel: (02) 9745 2258