Iron Chef Review

So this post has been sitting on my to-write list for quite some time, I have to admit I have some reservations- ill words- about this place, which would explain the lengthily delay in dining here and me writing this. I have to admit that I am one tough critic when it comes to Chinese food, though it goes without saying since I'm Chinese. And because I'm such a tough cookie to please, since I cook Chinese for myself, it is rare for me to find a place that I love and blows me away with their food. Iron Chef was of of those places whose food was on point and left me very impressed and disappointed at the lack of decent quality Chinese restaurants in Sydney.

 In saying that, you might be puzzled as to why I began this post by implying that I will have ill words about this place. The service was also spot on at least when it came to being served food, attended to and all but, paying was a different matter altogether. I should flag now that I actually dined here using my $50 Dimmi voucher from all the points that I have accumulated. And as an affiliated restaurant under the voucher  program, Iron Chef should accept my voucher right? Well no. Apparently because I ordered specials (see which ones below) this invalidated my voucher which was not even recognised to begin with. So it was a bit of a shock to see my $300 bill with no discount applied when I was never notified of the terms attached to the use of my voucher. It was also disillusioning to be told that I didn't follow the correct procedure when booking and that I didn't all the steps to bring to their attention the fact that my booking had a voucher attached to it. Contrast this with my previous post at Otto Ristorante, where I had no issues with the booking and the staff recognising the discount to be applied to my bill, where I followed the exact same procedure in making the booking. So if you're thinking of using your Dimmi voucher here, I would advise against doing so because it was only after I wrote a passive aggressive, complaint email to Dimmi, that I was able to get reimbursed with the points that Iron Chef procured- the Dimmi team, on the other hand were so understanding. 

Silver Perch at market value roughly $40

It may not come across as my favourite cuisine, based on my blog posts but I actually love Chinese the most (a bit biased here) and if when it comes to seafood I think that the way it is cooked in Chinese dishes is unparalleled. That is why, if you're at a Chinese restaurant, you must judge them on their seafood. The perch was so delicious, loved the coriander, spring onion, ginger and soy sauce combination- it was spot on. And if you think I'm hard to please, then my mother and godparents are perhaps even bigger critics so it means a lot when they really enjoy the food. 

This actually started the meal but because my first photo is the preview photo on the main page, I placed this one out of order. Just the usual soup to start off the meal.

Lobster I ordered, it's actually on the small side, would have liked to order a bigger one but my mother told me not to. I like my lobster very much.

Lobster is faultless. If you have tried it before, Chinese style that is, run to a reputable Chinese restaurant and order it because it is so sweet and tender and yeah just melt in your mouth. Make sure you get it with noodles as well when they stir fry the lobster because the noodles absorb all the lobster flavour in the sauce and it is ridiculously delicious.

My next issue with Iron Chef is their pricing, in particular, their specials which I feel are grossly misleading. I can say with confidence that I am quite familiar with fair Chinese restaurant prices so the 'half price SPECIAL' on Thursday night is ludicrous if I am charged $114 per pound of lobster. Let me repeat, it costs $114 for 0.453592kg or $251 per kg of lobster (we're including the shell in the weight here) which would mean that the supposed full price on any ordinary day would set you back $502 per kg!!!!!! If you are not wanting to flip tables right about now then you are incredibly desensitised to the gross mispricing and questionable business practices going on here. Though I rare foot the bill when lobster is on the list, I do know the rough price range and let me say that no restaurant has come close to gauging such an insane amount out of their customers, to do so would be to write off lobster from your menu. So when they say 'half price' please do scoff along with me because that makes no sense what so ever. 

Free Range Chicken (Half) $23.80

This is another supposed special which if you ask me isn't much of a special, it is pretty much just normal price. I mean it was nice an all-super tender, sinfully good skin- but looking back I am still rather bitter over how I had to question my bill and also their ethics in their specials pricing.

Cantonese style open fire roast duck (half) $24.80

They also have a BBQ on site where you can get favourites like Peking Duck, and also Roast Duck. This is the roast duck which I have to say was incredibly good and also very different from the Chinese BBQ shops. This mainly has to do with the crispiness in particular of the skin here which is because of the particular cooking technique. The peanut based sauce on the side was a lovely accompaniment. 

Braised Green Vegetables with Bamboo Fungus Topped with Dried Scallop Sauce $28.80

I was actually surprised by this the most because it was that good, if you hate eating greens then this should change your mind. Yeah it was that nice.

Some Red Bean Sweet Soup and Cantonese biscuits to finish along with fruit.

All in all, I have already expressed my thoughts about how despite loving the food, I could not reconcile with one the price injustice and my annoyance over having to pay more than what I should have since they didn't accept my voucher (wasted 30min trying to explain to them what it was and that I did everything that I had to do to bring it to their attention that I was dining using it, note it is all online so you don't print it out or anything). I think that I have been slightly scarred and despite my friends liking this place particularly for yum cha, I probably won't be back for some time mainly because I tend to harbour a grudge towards these things. Over and out.