Where: 271 Swanston Street

Cuisine: Chinese

Ordered: Lemon Chicken on Rice

Cost: AU$8.80

Review: It looked good at first glance. The presentation looked delicious. A generous white portion of rice rimmed with a crispy looking chicken cutlet with a dollop of lemon sauce on it. It all went wrong when I tucked in. The rice was too starchy for one thing, and the sauce was a bit too sticky and too sweet. I took a sip of my ice chocolate (AU$3.80). Not the best I'd tasted but still good, with a serving of vanilla ice cream floating on top. Bit sweet though. Took another bite of the chicken. Could still taste the artificial sweetness. Maybe a bit of ice cream would help to dull the taste a little. No luck. That has got to be pretty sweet! At least I was full when it was done though. A return trip? Maybe to try out one of the other dishes.

Ratings (Out of 10)

[I'd realised the old system that rated the places out of 5 was doing little to distinguish between good and bad hence the change.]

Service: 5

Nothing special. Staff a bit hesitant when customers approach.

Ambience: 5

Dark and with lots of antique looking furniture. I took a seat facing outside and the cold draught blew in through the wide open doors. I realise they've switched on the lights in the picture above, but that was taken some hours later when it was nearer to the evening.

Taste: 4

Poor lemon chicken sauce. Had to use the rice to soak up all the sauce so it wouldn't be too sweet.