RESTAURANT REVIEW:  SPICY PANDA, CHINATOWN (FRI 22 JUNE 2012)

Food at Spicy Panda

Thanks to 'Grab your fork' food blog, I decided to dine at Spicy Panda on Dixon Street for one of my birthday celebrations.  The restaurant is fairly modern and clean - new blue royal chairs, nice wooden tables with matching bowls, plates and cups.  Spicy Panda exuberates an oriental flair given the nice wooden frames and lanterns surrounding the restaurant.  The service was pretty good for an asian restaurant but the food was pretty cheap and average as a result.  I was with nine other friends and majority of us cannot take spicy food so we ordered dishes that had no chilli or were pretty mild.  I suggest if you go to a chinese restaurant like this one, you should go with a big group as you get to try out many dishes.  We started off with some light dishes such as the Sichuan Mung Bean Noodle in Spicy and Sour Sauce ($8.80) and we quite like the tangy and spicy sauce.  The noodles were quite nice too.

Sichuan Mung Bean Noodle in Spicy and Sour sauce $8.80

The jellyfish didn't have any spice at all and is a cold delicacy that came with strips of cucumber and carrots.  It's kind of mushy and dipped in sauce that wasn't too overpowering.

Jellyfish with cucumber in garlic sauce ($10.80)

My favourite dish was the Sichuan duck which is tea smoked.  The skin was really crispy and duck wasn't too dry.  The duck came with some seaweed to add texture and colour to the dish and dipping plum sauce.

Sichuan smoked duck ($19.80/half)

The other favourite dish on the night was the stir fried eggplant with green beans.  Eggplant was so soft when stir-fried and was bursting with colours and flavours when served with green beans and chilli.

Stir fried eggplant with green beans - $16.80

The Kung Pow Chicken was quite nice too with green and red capsicum.  The chicken was tender.  We were just surprised how all the dishes came with peanuts though including this one.  This dish was not spicy at all so great for those who doesn't like chilli food.

Kung Pow Chicken 

The scallops were leaning towards sashimi style as they are semi-raw.  I didn't quite like it with cauliflower and brocolli.  This dish was fairly average as it tasted a bit bland even with the added cashews.  I wouldn't recommend this dish.

Stir-fried scallops with cashew nuts - $24.80

We ordered a pure vegetable dish - fried spinach.  It was nice and light but nothing special.

Stir fried spinach $12.80

Our last main dish, the live barramundi dish was a true let down.  Having tried fresh fish from Golden Century, you cannot compare the two.  The sauce was a bit light on taste and the fish wasn't cooked well as it didn't fall off the bone when served.

Steamed Barramundi

If you want a place that can serve spicy food, is very cheap and food can come out quickly then this Spicy Panda is good place to dine.  If you're more often authentic and tasty food then I suggest you go elsewhere but you'll have to pay more.  If you're game, you should order the diced rabbit with cucumbers as that is their signature dish.

Summary Review of Spicy Panda:




Food rating: 6.5/10


Service rating: 6/10


Ambience rating: 7/10


Price: $ (Cheap)


Overall rating: 6.5/10


Spicy Panda
Level 1, 2-8 Dixon Street
Sydney NSW 2000
PH: (02) 9262 7007

Opening Hours
Open 7 days for lunch and dinner.