We ordered the spicy noodle with minced pork and the non-spicy noodle with beef slices. The spicy noodle remained one of the best in Melbourne; very spicy, very oily, very flavourful with generous pork mince. The non-spicy noodle was a nice alternative if you were not into spicy food; the beef slices were tender and the soup was still packed full of flavor. Service was typical of those cheap Chinese eateries (which was pretty much non-existent) but the noodles were definitely worth it!
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One of my favourite noodle places in the city! The noodles here are super delicious, with generous portions and affordable prices.
My go-to choice here is the Dry Noodle with Pork & Peas. The sauce is so flavourful, and I really love the chickpeas which give a nice texture. The Chongqing Spicy Noodle with Beef is also another good option if you like spicy food! The broth is really delicious, and the beef is very tender. I also loved the Spicy and Sour Potato Noodle - the potato noodles have a very unique and slippery texture.
They also have a really nice selection of sweet dishes too. I loved the Chilled Jelly with Fruits and Peanuts - it was so light and refreshing, and the perfect way to finish off a spicy meal. There was plenty of different dried fruits and peanuts, and I really liked the sour plum. The Fried Glutinous Rice Cakes were really yummy too. They were crispy on the outside, sticky and chewy on the inside, and served with a nice and sweet brown sugar syrup.
Definitely recommend checking out Noodle Express if you’re in the city!
Thank you so much for having us.
Joanne | Melbournecitay
+4
I have always been a huge fan of dainty’s Sichuan offerings at South Yarra, especially during winter. With a @groupon_au voucher, we decided to have a quick meal at their branch. The soy bean deserves a mention because it wasn’t too sickeningly sweet and a great antidote to their spicy dishes. Highly recommended!
The fried chicken noodle soup ($10, originally $15) was massive. Couldn’t honestly finish it, which speaks volumes for a noodle lover like me. There was a bit of everything to keep the meal exciting - eggs, mushroom, vege slices and a large plate of fried chicken (!!!) The mushroom based soup was very heartening, but we found ourselves missing dainty’s signature spice dishes. I was especially hoping for more spice to accompany the fried chicken. Thankfully, you can add chilli oil to the meal!
We also found the spoon quite unwieldy. Apart from these minor gripes, the price was quite worth it at $10 for a bowl of noodle soup and soy bean drink! Would be back thanks to price and location!
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Taste: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ambience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Presentation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love their noodle soup the one with pork belly. Perfect and very tasty. Very quick, you don’t have to wait too long to get your meal. Most likely people are in and out, you would get a sit straight away.
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Noodle Express is another offshoot of Dainty Sichuan, and here you can get your spicy fix satisfied quick and easy. As the name suggests, noodle is the star here, along with a selection of entrees and desserts to keep things interesting.
We had the noodle with fish flavoured eggplants, Chongqing spicy noodles with pork chitterlings and Sichuan cold noodles. All the noodles were cooked to perfection - chewy, yet with a firm bite. The fish flavoured eggplants was the most flavourful of the bunch, and it's not hard to see why with its bold and rich flavours. The pork chitterlings noodle had a nice kick to it, but could do with a bit more depth. I love the cold noodles too, somewhat acting as a palate cleanser between bites.
We also tried the veggie combination skewers in chilli oil. A good option for a snack, and to curb those chilli cravings.
Despite stuffing my face with all the noodles, I still ordered desserts to share. The fried pumpkin cake and chilled jelly with fruits and peanuts were a perfect sweet ending to the meal. The former had a beautiful golden crunch to it, belying the softness inside, while the latter was incredibly refreshing and light, cutting through the heaviness of the carb and chilli-laden meal.
Also refreshing were the beverages - strawberry oolong, pineapple oolong and fresh watermelon juice. Definitely a great pairing to the meal. Thank you for having me in.
Good thing about Dainty Sichuan Express is they will give you that hot-pot kind of fix without needing to sit there for a 2 hour session.
There is a good variety of spicy noodle and skewer options as well.
• Mix Dry Noodle with Pork & Peas – I really enjoyed this dish, it’s like a Chinese spaghetti. There is a little bit of sauce at the bottom, which have elements of Sichuan pepper, garlic, spring onion, chilli oil, and soy. The yellow peas are almost like chickpeas (maybe they are).
• Spicy Stewed Beef – Good texture with the thin noodles, the soup is *just* beyond my threshold so I took my time with this. Very tender pieces of beef.
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Dainty Sichuan had a lot of different branches and this one was called Noodle Express and located within the Emporium, Melbourne.
The place was very spacious with nice decor. There was a shelf with a lot of cute pandas displayed along the wall! Love pandas :)
We started off with some drinks: Strawberry Oolong, Pineapple Oolong and Strawberry Yakult (this was my drink and omg it was so nice!)
For entrees, we had the:
VEGGIES COMBINATION WITH CHILLI - quail eggs, potato, black fungus, califlower, bean curd sheets, dried bean curd. It was served cold and the chilli sauce wasn't too spicy until you had a bit of the fresh chilli and then your tongue will start to tingle and be numb- but it was so addictive you try to eat more and then the effect comes back again. It's a vicious cycle lol.
For the mains:
BEEF NOODLE SOUP - The broth is really nice, as well as the noodles which were chewy. This was one of the non-spicy noodle choices. A bit chewy with some beef cuts though.
NOODLES MIXED WITH MINCED PORK - This was my favourite dish! The minced pork was so flavourful, tender and super yummy! The sauce is great when mixed with the noodles!
CHONGQING SPICY NOODLE WITH BEEF - This one was a friend's dish so I didn't get to taste it. She said it wasn't spicy at the start but gets spicier and she loved it.
We finished off with some desserts:
FRIED PUMPKIN CAKES - There were three pieces in a serving but they were a bit bigger than normal ones. The skin was really chewy with red bean filling inside instead of pumpkin/custard filling like they usually do.
CHILLED JELLY WITH FRUITS AND PEANUTS (COLD) - Surprisingly good as the jelly reminded me of those water drop cake ones, and perfect when matched with fruits, but didn't really prefer the peanuts haha.
FRIED GLUTINOUS RICE CAKES - These were sticky, chewy but crunchy outside. It was nice when drizzled in the sweet sauce.
Overall, really nice dinner and very filling. Thank you Dainty Sichuan Noodle Express.
We had spicy noodles and noodles mixed with oyster mushrooms, which is a new dish here. We loved it! Staff were super friendly. We will come back again.
Delicious Sichuan food, friendly staff and great location. As a fan of Sichuan food, I always come here for lunch when I have shopping in the city center.
Always into the Chongqing spicy noodle here and just saw some Spring New Dish is available in store. I ordered dried noodle with beef and oyster mushroom. Perfect for summer without hot soup and quite tasty! Always surprise me. 😆
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