Dainty Sichuan, Toorak Road

176 Toorak Rd, South Yarra. (03) 9078 1686
Score: 30/40
An outpost of the CBD version of the same name, this place doesn’t disappoint, with the same fiery, tasty food, at reasonable prices.

I wanted to take Touchmai Radish out for dinner and chose this place as the location, mainly because of the Chongqing Chicken, which makes me happy for days after I eat it.

But I had to explain to him – he hasn’t had a huge amount of experience with authentic Sichuan cooking – that we really needed to balance the meal with some spicy, and not so spicy dishes, because otherwise we’d suffer serious consequences. He laughed in the face of danger and we ordered one moderate, two non and one face-eatingly spicy dish. Here’s how it panned out.

I demanded that we order at least two moderate-to-non-spicy dishes. I chose the preserved egg in beancurd ($10.80) and shredded pork with black fungus ($19.80). Both were great, with the garlicky pork being particularly tasty and the cold tofu dish providing the flame retardant we so desperately needed.

Next up was the moderately spicy Chongqing Chilli Chicken ($23.80), which I call chicken lucky dip. Whenever I’m in China I really try to hunt this dish down, but it’s made a resurgence in Australia in recent times, showing up on almost all Chinese menus, Sichuanese or not, so I don’t have to go quite as far afield to get a hit.The chicken is fried and golden and hidden in mounds of dried chillies. The little chicken pieces are succulent and spicy, but not so much that you can’t still taste the more subtle nuances of the flavour. Which is more than I can say for the next dish we ordered…

Which was the Hot and Spicy Fish Slices Hot Pot ($27.80). I basically dared my brother to order it, and he did, and in the process almost burnt both our faces off. Seriously. We both felt nauseous and sweaty and a little bit emotionally drained after eating what would probably equate to a 16th of this massive bowl of hot pot. Most of the liquid (or should I say lava) in the bowl consisted of high-grade chilli oil, including some actual floating chillis and about five handfuls of Sichuan peppercorns, which numb the tongue. The fish was delicate and light, but only in texture. I have no idea what it tasted of, because all I could taste was fire.

When I chatted to the waitresses about it and explained in Chinese that I felt like my face was on fire, the young Chinese kids at the next table started laughing – apparently even they don’t order that particular warming specialty, claiming it’s just far too hot!

Anyway, Touchmai certainly learnt his lesson – Sichuan food must be taken seriously. When they rate it at the top of the chilli scale (as they clearly do on the menu), they really mean it.

Dainty Sichuan never disappoints – the food is hot and fresh and tasty and the prices are very moderate. The only suggestion I ‘d make is come with a larger group, if possible. The portions are large and the more people you bring, the better the value. But as with most Chinese places nowadays, if you can’t get it all intya, just ask for some takeaway containers – they’re more than happy to oblige.

Atmosphere: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Value for money: 7/10
Food: 7/10