The decor inside was definitely distinctive, with photos of Deng all over the walls. Apparently even our own Bob Hawke and Peter Costello have eaten there. The maitre d' joked that we were equally important customers and joked with us. The service here was very good, in total contrast to the Dragon Boat restaurant across the road. If you are going to go to Dragon Boat next time, walk a few extra metres and go to Post Deng Cafe instead.
Here are the guys sitting around waiting for dinner. From left is Adrian, Justin (who wanted to remain anonymous so I did the media thing of pixelating his face), Harinder and Charles.
We each picked a dish and then shared it. The first dish to arrive was the Ma Po Tofu, which was very good. In fact, it was the best dish of the night in my opinion. This was the best Ma Po Tofu I've tasted. It was spicy enough and had the right mixture of spices.
The next dish to arrive was the Dandan Noodles. It had some peanuts and pickled vegetables on top of egg type noodles. The noodle broth tasted a bit like it had some duck flavours in it. The noodles were firm and quite good.
The Combination Hot Pot had an assortment of meats and seafood with a bed of green leafy vegetables. It was ok, nothing different from all other combination dishes from most Chinese restaurants.
The Duck In Beer Hot Pot sounded very interesting. I couldn't taste the beer, but the duck was tender and had good flavour. The sauce was a bit too salty for my liking so I shook off as much sauce as possible and just ate the duck.
The Mongolian Lamb in Sizzling Plate had good flavours. Some pieces of lamb were a bit tough though.
The food here is quite good, and not too badly priced. The service is very efficient and friendly. The atmosphere was quite good, with a full room not being too loud that we couldn't hear each other.
Overall Rating: 12/20, Food and service good.
Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20: Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.
After dinner, we walked to Fed Square thinking there was free comedy. It turned out they had packed up, but I had to show this photo of the Ferris Wheel that is currently there for the next six weeks. Its Melbourne's own version of the London Eye, on a smaller scale.
Also, we stopped by the small Brunetti's on Swanston Street. I got the Panzerotti Ciccolata and Pistachio Mignon. The Panzerotti was the shortcrust type pastry with a delicious filling of rich chocolate. The Mignon was like a profiterole filled with yummy pistachio cream and pistachio icing, very tasty.
Hey i was wondering where the ferris wheel is located? Is it near Fed Sq? Anytime of the day? or just in the evening? I think my boys might be interested!?
ReplyDeleteHi cenmrk, it is right at the back of Fed Square, towards the river. You will definitely see it if you are in Fed Sqaure. It is there all day for the next six weeks before they move (dismantle?) it. Apparently the view from the top is very nice. Let me know how it is if you go.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!! But I have heard that the food is spicy there. My husband and I can't take spicy food, do you think there are sufficient non-spicy dishes, or are they are pretty flexible with adjusting the spiciness of their dishes?
ReplyDeleteHi Kazmic, I didn't find any of the food spicy at all despite the menu saying they were spicy. There are also lots of non spicy dishes. Also, they definitely can alter the spiciness of each dish. For example, the only dish that was supposed to be extra spicy was the ma po tofu. But my friend asked for it to be mild since he can't eat spicy foods at all, and it was fine. It looks hot but trust me, it was only a tiny bit hot and tasted very nice.
ReplyDeleteGreat thanks for that, I will give it a go!
ReplyDelete