Pappa's Stew Chilli Cuisine Newtown — Restaurant in Sydney

I am extremely disappointed and angry about our recent dining experience at your restaurant. I feel it is my responsibility to provide feedback so that you are aware of the issues we encountered and I hope that you take appropriate measures to improve.

First and foremost, I must point out that your restaurant is severely understaffed, resulting in an incredibly slow service. We ordered four dishes, and the second dish took half an hour to arrive, which is simply unacceptable. To make matters worse, we had to wait for over half an hour for the third dish. These unnecessary delays caused significant inconvenience and displeasure, severely impacting the overall dining experience.

What further infuriates me is that our fourth dish might not have been prepared at all, as it was directly canceled. As customers, we expect to be able to taste all the dishes we select. The fact that your restaurant couldn't deliver the food we ordered on time greatly damages your reputation and credibility.

Furthermore, I must address the issue with the clams. We ordered clams, but they were mostly shells with hardly any edible content. The chicken gizzards were extremely dry, almost like pieces of wood. These subpar ingredients and poor cooking techniques made our dining experience even worse.

Lastly, I want to mention the dining environment. The area where we were seated was unclean and lacked any sense of comfort. The tables were also dirty, and the drinking glasses had a strange odor. I can say with certainty that the utensils were not properly cleaned. This raises serious doubts about your hygiene standards.

As a restaurant, your primary duty should be to provide quality service and delicious food. However, our entire dining experience contradicted that goal. I sincerely hope that you take these issues seriously and implement effective measures to address them. I look forward to receiving a response from you regarding this matter and learning about the steps you will take to ensure that similar problems do not...

With a temple-like wood-heavy interior culminating in rising shelves of offerings set u a pagoda-style roof, Pappa’s Stew stew 廿伍味 Chilli Cuisine is certainly an interesting dining proposition. Popping up on the City end of King Street about five years ago, this restaurant serves up spicy hot chilli in the Hunanese style, which includes braised, stewed and preserved dishes. The menu is arranged by protein or cooking style (rather than entree and main), so it’s hard to gauge exactly how much to order.

Stewed eggplant with pork mince ($23.80) proved quite a substantial serving dish filled with green eggplant fillets tangled with pork mince, greens and bright red chilli. While slippery to pick up with chopsticks, the tender eggplant slices were perfectly cooked, retaining texture but none of the raw flavours that so easily ruin an eggplant dish. Eaten over Hunan fried rice with egg ($13.50) these two dishes combined would probably be sufficient for two people. While the rice was relatively plain by “Chinese fried rice” standards, it grew on me as a source of relief my palate contended with growing chilli heat without the numbing element more common to Sichuan cuisine. It came in the form of a stir-fry featuring firm, dry-smoked tofu slices and soft fatty pork hock slices ($24.80) mingling with both red and green chillies. By this stage I was onto my second TsingTao beer ($7/each) applying frequent slurps to restore my palate. Overloaded on endorphins, I forgot to photograph the half spicy duck ($28.80) that tempered its chilli with rich duck fat and a soy-based braise. We left way too much food by over-ordering but felt grateful for having had the opportunity to try four dishes that extended our understanding of Chinese home-style cookery beyond the city’s...

We had to wait outside for the owner to come 20 minutes later.. I asked my hubby we should just go. He wanted to try because it has been reviews by a for blogger. It is only husband and wife plus the 2 kids who helped clean the tables. Which was sweet but they are strictly family business. Service is slow because only 2 adults serving. 1 cook 1 serve, cashier, waiter. The food is OK..not like modelled in the restaurant. The portion is small. Chicken chilly was horrible.. it has bones all over the dish.. my kids would not eat those.. the fresh beef with chilly seemed to be heated up rather than cooked fresh. Beef is hard to chew. Vege within the dish is not fresh. the pork is not my cup tea. Infact I have tried so much better than this Personally,. I think the 3 dishes we ordered seemed to have been cooked previously.. they don't feel fresh.. the heat was not consistent across each dish. Some part is hot, some part, not hot at all. If they are cooked fresh, it would have been so apparent. The smell, the fragrance. the Price $$$$... it is 5 star... Expensive!!! Compared to other Chinese restaurants I have visited/tasted. We love to eat out and this is not there ... definitely NOT coming to this place...