If you've been to Rhodes Phoenix, you would be no stranger to its long queues for Yum Cha but have you ever tried A La Carte? If you have a party of 10 people and more, I'd say go for the good old Chinese food where you get that cool spinning round glass in the middle of the table. As my non-Chinese friends always say and get excited about.
It was M's second birthday dinner celebration with a bunch of our friends and also my first time trying A La Carte at Rhodes Phoenix. Thankfully there were no lines as it was a Sunday night and the restaurant's massive dining room was relatively quiet.
The Seafood and Bean Curd Hot Pot ($23.80) was quite clean and fresh but if you're all about strong flavours, steer away as you may find this a bit bland. Personally I loved it: the fish and scallops were delicious!
When I dine out with my family, we almost never order Deep Fried Calamari with Salt & Chilli ($21.80) but turns out, it's a winner dish with most people. Surprisingly I loved it here as well! It was fried with full-on salt and chilli flavours and ultimately just quite addictive.
As I don't eat lamb, I did not touch the Mongolian Lamb ($19.80) but I heard from everyone else that it wasn't too great.
Now, the Fujian Fried Rice ($19.80) with diced prawn, scallop, and duck meat was absolutely amazing. Just look at all that oyster sauce slathered on top and the generous amounts of seafood. The sauce soaked right through into the rice, making each spoonful oh so scrumptious.
Now, I totally regretted ordering the Seafood Combination Fried Noodle ($23.80) as the taste was almost identical to the Seafood Beancurd Hot Pot. Everyone agreed that the noodles were too dry and that the dish lacked flavour.
One of my favourite dishes of the night was definitely the Beef Fillet Cubes with Wasabi Sauce ($24.80). I had heard raving reviews about this dish prior to ordering and hence was greatly anticipating how wonderful it would be. As I do. The beef cubes were absolutely sensational in both its taste and tenderness. However, I went sans wasabi.
The Roast Duck ($19.80) is a classic Cantonese dish and it was cooked well here. However, I noticed that the duck flavour was quite strong and for many, that is probably not ideal.
The Sweet and Sour Pork ($19.80) was definitely not awesome as I found the skin to be too thick. Then again, I've never been a huge lover for the sweet and sour.
Now, M was persistent that the Boneless Crispy Chicken Shandong Sauce ($21.80) would surpass my option of Kung Po Chicken. The verdict? Sure, the skin was super crispy and the meat very tender but overall, I thought it was a bit dry. Kung Po would have had more flavour for sure :P
The King Prawn in Singapore Style ($26.80) was actually quite yummy. It was the first time I had tried this dish and was a great option to mix with white rice. The sauce and serving was beyond generous.
And with that, we had a great 10 dish feast for 10 people, continously spinning that cool round glass in the middle. On the whole, A La Carte wasn't too bad at Rhodes Phoenix but I would definitely say that the Yum Cha shines through more!
Service was nice and quick but be warned, if you BYO cake, it's $1 per person. But they do cut the cake for you, which saves you the trouble from stressing about equal proportions for each person. :)
Rhodes Phoenix
Level 5 Rhodes Shopping Centre
1 Rider Boulevarde Rhodes
NSW 2138
9739 6628
http://www.phoenixrestaurants.com.au/rhodes-phoenix/about
Labels: Asian, Chinese
