China Sichuan

What will I talk about now that the extension is all done? I think I'll just go back to my good old topics: watercolours, books, eating out, music. Not quite as focussed as a blog about building an extension, but it doesn't really matter.

So, let's get started!

We tried out the new China Sichuan last night. They recently moved from their old haunt in Stillorgan to a beautiful new restaurant in The Forum, Ballymoss Road in Sandyford Industrial Estate. It's a strange location. Not that easy to drive to - a lot of one way streets in the estate make it difficult to reach. The simplest way to get to it is to park in the Luas car park and walk across the road. It's at the bottom of one of the apartment blocks in a quiet cul-de-sac just across the way from the Stillorgan Luas stop. Once you're in, you forget you are in an Industrial Estate, so don't be put off by it.

We decided to make an evening of it, and invited Padraig and Mary, who were regular diners in the Stillorgan location, within close walking distance of their house.

We arrived around 6:30, and were greeted by Kevin. We were seated in the quieter of the 2 dining rooms, which suited us perfectly. The air conditioning was a bit cold, but the Maître d' promptly adjusted it on our request and we were very comfortable for the rest of the evening.

The décor is a lot more tasteful than in the old location, very posh and discreet, with a few hints at Chinese influences, such as a bamboo glass panel, a black lacquer screen with Chinese characters. The tables are bigger too, and we were a good distance from the next table.

There was a good buzz about the place, and by the time we left, at about 8:30, our dining room had filled up with a big party at a long table behind us.

The staff seem to be mostly new. Kevin did the meeting and greeting, while his parents seemed to keep more of a background role. There were a good few waiters around, all looking very professional. The Maître d' is Irish, and very polished. He knew his menu inside out (a much smaller menu, it has to be said, but nicely complimented by specials - more about these shortly) and was very good at explaining the various dishes that we asked about. He also described the specials very well, tempting us into trying 3 out of the 4 specials - a pork dumpling, a pork belly main dish, and a pork liver starter. I had the liver of course, and it was to die for, very thinly cut, well cooked and very sweet, and perfectly complemented by a dark sweet sauce. The boys had a starter platter, with some of the China Sichuan's old favourites - shredded squid, bon-bon chicken and cold spice beef, along with a spring roll and another dumpling-type dish. I thought the presentation of the starter platter wasn't great - it was a bit packed together on a small plate, and it could have done with a few colourful vegetables to liven it up - the colour was too brown and not very appealing. Mary had the dumpling, which was served in the bambou basket and looked very nice.

For main courses, we had the crispy pork belly (delicious, with a simple mustard - it should have been served with some veggies on the side maybe), prawn with ginger and spring onion (simple but nice), a spicy kung po (I think?) chicken (served spicy as requested) and a hot pot chicken dish (I can't remember what it was called - it was a very homely dish, in a nice sauce, and even a few potatoes).

And for dessert, we persuaded Padraig to order the Peoni special (it tasted a bit like a fig roll, and was presented beautifully, like 3 little peoni flowers opening - I was the only one to like it), Brendan had a mango custard dish (not bad - would be lovely on a hot summer night), and Mary and myself had the toffee banana - the good old banana fritter, but presented beautifully, as 6 or 7 little banana fritter balls, dipped into a toffee sauce by the waiters while we watched, and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. It was delicious, needless to say.

I really enjoyed the experience, and we were pleasantly surprised by the bill - roughly the same as in the old place. It has lost a bit of the feeling of the old restaurant, where you felt you could go on a Tuesday night if there was nothing in the fridge. This is definitely more the place for a special meal, but that's not going to stop us. We'll be back.