The food was delicious, the portions large. The staff helpful and eager to answer questions regarding the menu and some ingredients.
Two of my friends came up to me and asked, do you like spicy food? I said yes I love it so they said we’ll take you to a Chinese restaurant where you should not go if you don’t eat spicy food. So I was all up for it. This place is on Lonsdale street, very close to Melbourne Central. The first thing that I noticed on entering the restaurant was the smell of chilli in the air.
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😱Lizzie’s first impression: first time having sichuan food in Melbourne after trying some delicious places in Sydney I was a big hunt. I came across this place that I’ve walked past but never bothered to try until now.
🍩Lizzie enjoyed: the fish in oil was delicious - they have a red chilli oil and a normal chilli oil. We opted for a red chilli oil just to see how spicy it would be but it was fine. The cold noodles were delicious and had a good hit of spice and sweetness to it. We also ordered the Kung Pao chicken which I thought was the highlight of this place - the chicken was juicy and tender but had bursts of flavour and good punch of spice! Delicious. The string beans also had a good flavour.
🍅Lizzie did not enjoy: the decor is all very old - think white parlour seats with red cushion support. It felt like an old school Chinese cafeteria almost except the staff were grabbing the food for us instead. So don’t expect anything fancy. If you don’t like anything fancy then I wouldn’t bother with this restaurant as you can see glazed oil in every dish.
🥇Lizzie rates overall: a great sichuan house which is so convenient to get to - I will be back for more!
The Domestic Traveller
+4
Quite a lot of my old work colleagues would also mention about this location. And I thought – you know what, I need to finally go and check it out. And you know what? It did not disappoint. Make sure you bring cash and an appetite!. Your best bet is to get here via public transport. It’s such a small venue that you could go past it. If you are doing lunch here, I would highly recommend that you go here around 11:30am to avoid the lunch time rush. And if you are conntemplating dinner, then make sure you get here before 7pm.
Good Szechuan, Mala, Chong Qing food. Big portions. Priced reasonably. Just the spicy fish we ordered was not fresh. The fish was mushy and wasn’t good.
If you love spicy food you should come and try this place out. This is one of the best sichuan restaurant I have eaten in Melbourne. The service was good 4/5, food came out in a timely manner. Food was 5/5!! Amazing, we have dined in here more than once, we always come back here for sichuan food family dinner. You will not go wrong with the food here 👌🏼
Not a big fan of basa fish altho the flavours were superb. Ordered the clams with wasabi and the taste is interesting. But not something that you want to have too much of. Overall it was a pleasant meal.
Quite well priced compare to other restaurants in the CBD area. Service is quite quick and attentitive. would give it a 4/5 for favours and serving size. Location is definatly 5/5 as it is just around the corner from MC.
The place looks better than I expected and the service was quick. Nothing else I could give compliment. Ordered fish dish, cold mug bean noodle and fried pork chitterlings. The oil in the fish fish doesn't look fresh, and it's full of MSG as if it's the only source of its taste. compare to many other Sichuan restaurant in Melb it's just not an outstanding one for me.
I really like the food there. my friends and I had a big meal and we felt like we were in the hometown. the fish is my favorite I like it very much maybe i will go there soon
Had the malatang 2 years ago, but this time around it didn't feel as good as I thought or remembered. Only given 3 prawns for an extra $3 of add on. But the chicken was VERY good. Probably the best in a while I've tasted.
A very nice place to dine with a group of friends or family, if you love Sichuan food. I have been dinning @charming spice for over 6 years, every time come out with good experience. Always Big serve, delicious and spicy food for the money spend. The staff were attentive and friendly in my experience. My all time favourites are Bang Bang chicken ( Cold dish), Cold noodles with chilli oil, beancurd noodles in chilli and Mao xue wang (assorted items cooked in chilli pot). A different experience from hot pot.
Amazing Sichuan food - does NOT cost $80 for two people - me and my partner has never spent over $60 here and if you want to have lunch here it is $10-15pp including a drink and rice. The food is more traditional than Sichuan House (which I also love, just different), so if you're after a very traditional Sichuan fare then this should be your go-to.
Food was alright but wasn't as good. Was quite disappointed when they reduce on their spiciness and portion wasn't as large too.
Nonetheless the environment is better now compared to last time and service was better too.
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Very satisfying slice of Chengdu in Melbourne. I'd passed this place several times and always wanted to try it out (I think the funny name got me) being a fan of spicy Sichuan/Szechuan cuisine.
Upon entering I was overwhelmed by somewhat gaudy, red (of course since it's Chinese) surroundings including a large altar to a Taoist God. The service -well, it's a Chinese restaurant (not to stereotype) so not very attentive, had to hail the waiter's attention.
Anyway I ordered the Sichuan style noodle soup with minced pork. What can I say, the plethora of more authentic Chinese restaurants mean that handmade noodles are now de rigeur instead of a speciality in Melbourne town. The noodles were thick, doughy and 'meaty' (in the sense they had substance, not that they tasted like meat), the broth savoury and spicy, and the pork delectable. I finished every last drop of the VERY generous portion. I went a bit overboard and ordered a side of scallion pancakes, and that day I still felt funny at dinnertime (I ate at lunch). For $10 or so for the noodles i cannot complain. Thumbs up Charming Spice!
Whole decor and atmosphere here feels like it's actually in Asia. Great place for a large group banquet. Huge serves, and even though the ingredients used are a bit average quality, the dishes are tasty and fresh.
Good Sichuan in the city. Found this place after another favorite sichuan restaurants was closed for renovations. Must say im very glad i found this place. The dumplings are good nothing great, but the big and spicy Sichuan dishes is what its all about. The cumin spiced pork ribs are amazing, everyone gets addicted to these bad boys. The cold noodle dishes are massive of what looks like it would be a entree size, yet really light and balanced. The tofu and minced pork is really sensational too.
Just remember the spicy dishes are going to be really spicy and chilli is not a garnish or condiment its part of the main theme. Also its not a dumpling house.
Cumin spiced pork ribs
Try the hot and sour Noodle soup with pork. Packed with noodles in a wonderful spicy peppery broth, a bargain for $8.50.
Large and tasty plates. Its a perfect place for lunch, the fried rice is tasty and it is soooo large, i tried my best to finish it and i failed, strongly recommended
The second you open the door you can smell the spice, flashbacks to Chengdu...good sign. My partner and I were the only non-asisns in the place...another good sign. Ordered chilli beef soup, came out in a 'bucket' that was filled with chillis and more beef than you would find on your average cow...good sign. More rice on our plate than in China, dumplings fatter than my belly at the end of the night...loved this place...not as spicy as you would think, a must try Melbourne restaurant.
So far, it's the best chinese restaurant
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Delicious and value for money. Came here over the weekend, and first thing I thought was, " It must be very authentic because it is filled with asians, not 1 single caucasian in sight!".
As much as the dishes in the menu seem highly tempting, because it's just the 2 of us, we decided to go for the individual dishes instead. Husband ordered the Spicy beef noodle soup, and I ordered the Kung Pao Chicken on rice. We also ordered a plate of pan fried dumplings on the side. The dumplings were a little bit on the pricier end, being $9.50 for 10. But each one was bigger than usual, and had generous stuffing.
When the mains were out, we were so impressed by the portion size! They had lots of beef in the noodle soup (which is often rare), even husband couldn't finish it! And unsurprisingly, there was a generous amount of chicken and rice on my dish. Taste was good as well! Had the kick you needed from the dish.
I saw many people going for the mini hotpot deal- $8.80m for a bowl of soupy something, rice and a drink!
Extremely value for money. The spicy fish seemed to be the hot item in this category. Definitely need to try it the next time round.
Will definitely be back!
Fire and spice. Much in the style of Dainty Sichuan (which sadly moved out of the CBD a couple of years ago), fiery szechuan style hot pots and chilli ladden dishes are the specialty here.
Prices and reasonable, servings are huge, and service mostly non-existant. Great for a group.
Meals are incredibly well priced and like the other reviewers stated huge in size. I would suggest erring on the side of caution in regards to the chilli rating, when they say hot, they mean it. Service was friendly and food was fantastic!
I too am the only non Asian in the restaurant! On business in Melb from Adelaide and decided to try because of urbanspoon reviews. I love a good dumpling or wanton so I ordered hoping for some great, authentic food. Yes they were fresh and silly smooth but the schezuan dim sims lacked flavour. I was desperate for some soy sauce to add 'something' to help out my taste buds. Overall though, a pleasant experience. My advice; you have to try the Chinese food in Adelaide, it's excellent.
I came here a couple of months ago with a chinese friend. The food was great with massive portion sizes for a great price. As one other person said the service is terrible, but the food is what really matters, so don't let that put you off.
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If always being packed with Chinese uni students is any indication???. Food here is in a word 'sensational'. I've been a handful of times and mine's always been the only ugly western face, usually surrounded by a sea of young chinese dudes and dudettes, with singsong mandarin bouncing off the walls. My super charming (but may or may not be....... 'spicy') kung fu master buddy always does the ordering and it's always AMAZING. I intend to continue going again and again and again before it's spoiled the way 99.9% of places eventually are.
Not sure how to write ''4-rivers' in roman alphabet, but the food is generally pretty 'spiiiicy' (the name may or may not be a clue to this). But in addition to the amount of chillis that are sacrificed at this hallowed mantle for our dining pleasure (no really... more chillis go through this place than even god has ever seen!), there's another fairly ubiquitous flavor in the mix... no idea what it is, but it may not be for everyone.
If you're a tool who likes places like Shanghai ling and other places that serve appallingly westernernised slop, you may struggle with the flavours (and atmosphere) at the Charming Spice.
It's always pretty busy and the service is pretty basic. They want you in and then out, so you'll definitely get served way quick. If you want to linger, best to eat slowly, as they won't have you sitting taking up a table if you've finished everything and are not inclined to order more!
Being booted out for finishing quickly and not ordering more can be confronting, but then the view aside (thanks to the fact that the place is usually full of seriously hot babes in tiny shorts / skirts), it's prolly not the kind of place you want to linger over............ unless maybe you've booked (they get booked out early) one of the window swingy-booths (which might cost more... never tried them). Big thumbs up!
This place has been around for over 10 years and recently I have been there twice because the food has improved significantly. Recommend pretty much every dish on their menu - nothing will go wrong! Whether you want spicy or non-spicy, it will be delicious. Service is always attentive and friendly! Can BYO as well.
Verdict - would return: great for sharing and various spice levels for all, still a lot more to try!
Liked - dry pot chicken with bamboo shoot, portion size
Disliked - some dishes need a bit more “oomph”
Other comments - rolled out of the restaurant, slightly pricey but could have ordered less!
Decor is on the tacky side but dishes have a fantastic blend of flavour and texture.
If your spice tolerance is high, you’ll be fine.
Highly recommend the stir fried lamb.
Service is also commendable so an enjoyable experience overall.
This is one of best my favourite SiChuan restaurants, also almost all my friends around me we all love with, also the most the important pint is the traditional taste. Overall i will give the 5 strar to Charming Spice !
Very good food, authentic flavors, and huge portions! They graciously made us several dishes for takeout just before they closed, and it was all delicious. They were even thoughtful enough to cut the corner in the lid of the crispy chicken dish to prevent it from softening!
Has this place closed for good? Loved this restaurant. Spicy fish and diced chicken with ginger and chilli was a must try for spice lovers.
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