Continuing my quest to eat all the food along Latrobe Street, Paddington, we found ourselves there yet again, this time not for brunch but for an early dinner at the long established King Tea, which boasts Modern Chinese with Sichuan influences, not usually going out too much for Chinese food, I was keen to try.
The restaurant was dim and moody, the theme was very wooden and had an interesting red hued light. Luckily for us, we had window seating which meant we could still take great photos of our food in the natural light.
The menu was quite substantial, covering off on all major bases of Chinese cuisine, rice, noodles, bao, along with mains, and sides. Luckily our dinner course was set for the night and we didn't have to deliberate what to order.
Always starting off with a Prosecco, the crisp bubbles whet the appetite for a delicious meal.
Commencing the meal, we had a few appetizers to share.
This was the Pork Pot Stickers, they were freshly fried and served with a side of chilli oil. The base was crisp and the fillings were moist and juicy, but I found the skin to err on the side of being a bit thicker than my preference.
These were the Xo Pancakes with Mushroom Glaze. A non traditional take on one of my favourite scallion pancakes, I was a little hesitant to try it, but they were quite tasty. The pastry was light and flakey whilst the toppings were flavoursome.
Second lot of appetizers comprised of more dumpling options, these were from their highly popular yumcha menu.
The Whole Prawn Dumpling was very fresh. We really enjoyed the crunchy texture of the prawn and the bounce of pork mince inside each dumpling but again the skin was a little thicker than usual.
Final dumpling we had was the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Dumpling, definitely a modern fusion dish. Although the skin wasn't particularly thick here, this was my least favourite of the appetisers as the fillings were quite dense and dry. The cheese was noticeable, but the bacon and egg were at best just hints within the dense pork filling.
Already starting to get full from our entrees, we were treated to a fairly spectacular array of mains.
These were the Hoisin BBQ Pork Ribs which we all really enjoyed. The ribs were tender to a point of falling off the bone when we tried to lift them. Compared to the usual pork ribs we have tried elsewhere they were very meaty. I really liked how well infused the sweet comforting hoisin sauce was in the meat.
Another dish we tried was the house roasted crispy skin duck. The duck was well infused with soy and spices, but the skin was definitely not crispy. It had a chewy texture that was more akin to tea smoked duck than crispy skin duck.
Another main we had was the black pepper beef stir fried with greens. Quite a homey dish which I also often eat at home, I really liked this iteration. The beef was spicy and tender with a delicious pepper glaze, the greens were fresh and crisp, complementing the sauces well.
In the interests of good health, we had a dish of Steamed Kailan. Compared to my mum's often undercooked veggies, this was cooked wonderfully with a soft tender texture. I liked the crunchy fried onion pieces on top for extra fragrance.
Finishing our meal on a high, this was the Moreton bay bugs with ginger scallion sauce. The portions were generous, the bugs were quite meaty. I really enjoyed how the juices absorbed into the deep fried e fu noodles, which was an enjoyable twist on a classic favourite. Definitely a great way to conclude a meal.
Espresso and Matcha got to enjoy this complimentary meal by freeloading off FoodieAdam's invite. But as always, my opinions are solely my own.
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Environment: 7.5/10
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