RESTAURANT: Red Chilli Szechuan (Harbour St, Chinatown)

Yesterday I wrote about the Dixon Street outlet of Red Chilli Szechuan. Today, I write about the one a couple of minutes walk away on Harbour Street (at the bottom of Goulburn St).

It's newer, the fit-out is nicer, the food is a little more refined (not by much) and it's more expensive.

Oh, and it's fucking amazing.

Really. I was expecting it to be pretty much the same food as the Dixon St restaurant, but in a nicer setting. How wrong was.

Somehow the food is better. It tastes cleaner. The flavours are clearer: It's like every flavour has been set to target an exact area of the mouth.

The beef hotpot was stunning. Fiercely hot, but with a sauce so complex I nearly felt like I could drink it by itself. The sliced pork with leek was also brilliant. Though it was a simple dish, every bite was clear and perfect. Big flavour and big taste.

I can't wait to go back and have more, maybe even some of the seafood they have on the menu.

My only complaint is that the Tsingtaos weren't as cold/glacial as they are on Dixon Street.

RATING: Will constantly return to [?]