China Red

Well I had no intention of buying anything at the Boxing Day sales but after getting a haircut and spending an afternoon of familiarising myself on previously familiar grounds (when did they knock down the Myer Lonsdale St building?!), I of course was hungry.  Spu was around for the eating too.  After realising that both Hutong and a new ramen shop were closed, I called Tina who suggested we try China Red, located in the old Village Cinemas arcade.  

Supposedly China Red is owned by the Hutong peeps.  The shopping crowds were definitely out and about so getting a table wasn't necessarily going to be easy.  But fear not!  Despite China Red looking full, we were instructed to go downstairs where an even larger space housed more available tables.  

The nifty (and maybe gimmcky) thing about China Red is the ordering system.  There's no waiter interaction - instead you get to order via a touchscreen whereby each menu item is accompanied with a photo.  You get the option of three languages too!  English, Chinese, Japanese.... although I kinda doubt the Japanese menu gets a workout.  It's a win-win situation for everyone:  I don't want your rude service and generally the waiters don't want to give service.  No more rude waiters.  No more ambiguous menu descriptions.  

The only problem was that the menu didn't prompt you to confirm and finalise your order.  Once you selected an item to your order list, it was considered ordered.  They really should put a final step in the end saying 'Please review your items and press confirm'.  You know, like an internet shopping basket.  There didn't seem an option for cancelling items either.  Oh well, minor gripes for a newbie, but now I've learnt my lesson.  

The food came quick swiftly.  Within five minutes of ordering my hot and sour soup, they had scooped it out from the (hopefully clean) vat and it was on my table!  Naice!  

My hot and sour soup.  I had a craving.  It tasted like how it should.  No surprises here.

Zhajiang mian.  The noodles didn't seem homemade and it was served with a peanut sauce.  I've never had it with peanut sauce before so I'm not sure if this is normal.  Regardless, I think added a nice flavour to the dish!  Pleasantly surprised.  I could eat China Red's version again.  I think it was better than Hutong's bland version.  

Steamed Peking dumplings which were dumpling-y.  They were ok but nothing memorable.  

Xiao long bao.  If it is true and that China Red is own by Hutong, well the XLB are pretty much on par!  I've definitely had far worse XLB.  I'd definitely come back for these.   

To finish, we had the pork floss bread pancake thingy.  I forgot what it was officially called.  I actually ordered this hoping it would come out as an entree but because it was an add-on, it came last.  Flaky, roti-like bread finished in a swirl and topped with pork floss.  The bread was sweetish and I really liked it!  Will be happy to eat it again.  

Ok, so as usual, we ordered too much food for two people.  I shouldn't have filled up on soup.  Overall, China Red gets a thumbs up.  It is what it is - a Chinese restaurant with minimal service but the food turns out decent enough for a return trip.