This week while I was shopping in the city I decided to have lunch at Chopsticks, a “Szechuan fast food” restaurant on Barrack Street. I ordered the garlic pork and rice (AU$7.50). My food came pretty quickly. The pork was very thinly sliced and each slice had a layer of fat at the top (which no doubt you can see in the photo). The pork was tender and had a lovely flavour. I loved the chunks of garlic, though I must say the chilli just about blew my head off. I am a chilli wuss, so it is most likely an average to respectable chilli eater would’ve found the heat level pleasant.

So why did a chilli wuss go to a Szechuan restaurant for lunch? Well, I’ve been walking past this restaurant ever since it opened and have always wondered what the food was like. My only experience of Szechuan food before this was the ma po tofu we get when we order Chinese home delivery, and I love that, so I thought it was worth a try. If you like Chinese food, and love spicy food, I reckon you should try Chopsticks. My only gripe was that the rice was a little mushy – I’d say cooked with a tad too much water. But the beansprouts were yummy and the pork was delicious (even if my nose began to run as I ate it!).

When the dish arrived I thought it looked very plain, unexciting and like it wouldn’t be filling enough but I was very wrong. I was satisfied and ready for a nap on the train ride home.