Szechuan Garden

LOCATION
A five-minute walk from St. Leonards station.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Tucked away behind a row of neatly planted shrubs and trees, Szechuan Garden is a surprisingly large restaurant. Its modest entrance leads into a dining room brimming with a throng of beautifully set round and square tables. The decor is reminiscent of a five-star hotel crossed with an art gallery – sharp, snappy yet warm and inviting. Every corner of the restaurant flows into the next with shape, colour and texture. Brown walls are complemented with olive installations, pot plants and highlighted with red lights, a red bar feature wall, square amber floor lamps and a golden Buddha statue.

The chic furnishings are in many ways an introduction to the menu. Comprised of Chinese dishes which have been altered to suit the Australian palate, the flavours and textures vary from Hunan-style braised pork ribs to Szechuan peppery chicken crunch (a dish which receives the particular attention of regular diners). Salt and pepper calamari and diced chicken with special Peking sauce also find a place among the most loved. To further romance the Australian palate – and provoke deep sighs of relief from the health-conscious – Szechuan Garden steers away from using animal fats, peanut oil and MSG (which are popular in traditional Chinese cuisine). Astoundingly however, the end result is that ordinarily polite and generous people become excessively greedy, timid folk become territorial and “steak-and-three-veg” types transform into devout stir-fry and bok-choy fans. So before you follow your cravings to this hub of Chinese deliciousness there’s just one thing you have to ask yourself: are you prepared to share?

Agnes Gajewska