Dainty Sichuan Food Box Hill - The Age Good Food Guide best new under $30. That accolade is enough to make someone want to go. After a recent unexpectedly good Sichuan experience in Canberra filled with numbing chilli, it seemed a good idea to try for a casual quiet lunchtime.
The food ordering process is 3 steps: 1) Select two broths in a ying-yang shaped pot. 2) Select the meat/fish/vegetables you want to self cook in your hotpot. 3) Select from the large variety of condiments/sauces to complement your meal.
Mine turned out to be oxtail and super spicy soup. Wagyu beef, mushrooms, lamb ribs skewers, (frozen) baby squid, mixed balls (squid, fish, meat). Condiments included coriander, spring onion, raw garlic, chilli sauce, sesame oil, sesame dipping sauce, and for some fun value, good old MSG.
What can I say - the super spicy soup is cough-inducing spicy. Oxtail soup tastes quite generic. They also top all soups up with the same murky yellow (MSG-laden I thought) stock. The ribs were good, the squid balls were smooth, all the rest was pretty ordinary. The sauces and condiments add to the flavour but none are really required. (Note adding MSG doesn't change the flavour a whole lot - perhaps that's an indication of how much is in there to begin with?)
It isn't all that cheap, it isn't all that fantastic. It is fun though, and a good way to spend time with people. Go for the right reason. I can't understand why else people would come here for the food itself.
(PS. It's quite possible their non-hotpot food is better. My preferred Sichuan meals have all been dishes, so maybe that's the difference.)
