China Sichuan

Easter Monday was dull and wet, so we decided to treat ourselves to lunch in the China Sichuan restaurant in Sandyford.

We had rung ahead of ourselves and Kevin told us that it was à la carte, i.e. not the standard Lunch menu. We decided to go ahead anyway. We were the only customers in the restaurant. A man on his own arrived about 10 minutes before we left. I know it was Easter Monday, but I had expected a bit more buzz. I guess if they had had the lunch menu (and the lunch prices), the place would have been busier.

The food was very good. Brendan was disappointed with his hot and sour soup, which he found flat, lacking in bite and flavour. But everything else was excellent. I had the hake that Kevin recommended, with crushed pepper and a chilli sauce I think - simple and full of flavour, and Brendan chose a few dishes from the dim sum menu, including the Loh Bak Gou, a really tasty radish - it sounds like an oxymoron but it's not, it was very nice. I had the scallop Har Kow, which I really enjoyed.

And we had a smoked black tea that Kevin recommended - really strange - it smells smoky, but the flavour is not.

Now, the bill - €65.50. We had no wine, just tap water (it wasn't filtered), and only 1 rice. Far too much for lunch. I enjoyed the food, but we both found that it was too expensive. The hake was €28. It was good, but I would pay €16 or €18 for it, not €28!

I really like China Sichuan, but I will only be going for special occasions in future - it's just too expensive -, or to try out their lunch during the week, which is supposed to be much better value.