Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Fei Teng Yu Xiang Restaurant

Simon and Margaret are always such gracious hosts, bringing us to the best eating places: Dragon Boat for dim sum and New Royal Garden for an unforgettable 9-dishes banquet the last times we went to Melbourne. This time, Margaret, under pressure after following my blog (...), brought us to a Sichuan restaurant, the name of which is a mouthful.

I showed Leila, my Sichuan friend, these food pictures and she was surprised by the authenticity of the dishes. In fact, when we were there, all the other patrons spoke mandarin with a China accent, so I was pleased because that usually meant the food would be good. And boy, it was. It was the only but best Chinese dinner we had this trip. Thanks again, S & M (!).

The highlight was a dish I have read about and eaten in Chengdu, although at that time I could not appreciate it: 'water-cooked fish', sui ju yu. Don't be fooled by the name because the 'water' is actually oil.

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'Water' cooked fish

This dish should come thickly covered with fried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. It did, but the waiter had scooped it out before serving us. The dish is numbing and hot although you don't feel the hot like fresh hot chillies. The hotness is more like heat that gets hotter and hotter the more you eat. Surprisingly, the oiliness is not heavy. The flavor of the peppercorns and chillies was oh-la-la! Very special dish to us although Leila said it is pretty ordinary in Sichuan but all the same, very popular all over China.

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Beef with peppers

Ah, this was so, so good. Beef with peppers in a sauce so good I could eat a whole plate with a bowl of rice all by myself (which is what Wey did basically, but with 2 bowls of rice. Btw, Oz rice is real yummy.). Beef dishes in Malaysia suck because tougher (cheaper) cuts are tenderized until there's no flavor left. Oz beef is yummy, even if its not exactly wagyu. Leila said its a twist on the famous Sichuan dish 'twice-cooked pork'. I didn't realise that until she told me.

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Dry-fried french beans

Another famous Sichuan dish cooked really well.

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Steamed garlic prawns

After the rich flavorful dishes, this dish was a bit bland but refreshing.

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Smoked duck?

This dish was comparatively mediocre.

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Fei Teng Yu Xiang Chinese Restaurant is at 276-278 Highbury Rd, Mt. Waverley. Tel: 03)9808 8608

6 comments:

ekeng said...

the name of the fish are so special..what Boiling Fish Slices in Chili and Sichuan Pepper Soup..haha..

Big Boys Oven said...

Oh I just seem like being in heaven of food!

Coketai said...

I am not sure whether this restaurant is the branch of the same chain of restaurant in China???

There were a chain of Sichuan restaurat in China bearing the same name.

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

ekeng:chinese dishes are always poetically named...

bboven: :0

coketai: oh, it must be if there's a chain of them in China. tt explains the quality. i'll watch out for them in china; thanks for telling.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely adore FTYX while being in Beijing. IMHO best Sichuan food in town...

Unknown said...

Hello! nice informative article, thanks for sharing with us. If it the same chain of restaurant in China will in good.

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