The Northeast Restaurant — Restaurant in Sydney

Dishes from north-east of China often use wheat and maize. It was the latter that drew me to The Northeast Restaurant Kingsford in the form of corn cakes cooked along the edges of their hearty hotpots. Here the soups are poured into bowls inlaid into wooden tables, but are so enormous, staff recommended against us ordering one for a party of two people. No matter, we got to try the corn pancakes ($7.80/4) by ordering them separately. They were surprisingly fluffy with caramelisation only on the side that had contact with the hot bowl, and would be great dragged through a saucy dish. We combined them with a good rendition of the cumin-heavy lamb chops ($27.80) that formed part of the first swathe of speciality dishes from this region of China to arrive in Sydney.

A simple stir-fry of chives, egg, woodear fungus, bean sprouts, dried tofu and pork ($18.80) was a pleasurable eat, particularly dressed up with chilli sauce and a splash of black vinegar. Ask for an extra bowl to create a dipping sauce with equal parts chilli, vinegar and soy for your chives pancake ($12.80/2 pieces) plumply stuffed with shrimp, chives, egg and vermicelli. This will be a dry meal, they’re not licensed and nor do they allow BYO, however Calpis ($3.50) will help you process liberally dalliances with the excellent on-table chilli sauce. The dining space is attractive, with playful theming that might not be quite authentic, but manages to convey a sense of place anyway. Parking is best on the back streets, or Kingsford light rail will drop you right out the front. Staff were friendly and supported us to order the right amount of food, delivering it fast enough for a pre-theatre meal ahead of a show at the Sydney Spiegeltent just...

Allow me to preface this review by saying I don't regularly eat this type of cuisine. After eating here it will remain that way. I was fooled by the large number of people inside and having an open mind thought I would try this establishment. It was a mistake. Firstly, the crockery is enamel coated metal. This would be fine except the enamel was chipped and rusty. Next, the atmosphere is nice and modern except for the waiter standing guard preventing my escape after seeing the menu. Lastly and most importantly the food, I chose a noodle dish and dumplings. It was strange eating food devoid of flavour, I feel that plain rice with some salt would have left me more satisfied and filled. I chose not to wash down the food with rusty water. I know this is a completely negative review. Your experience may...

It’s a home cook style Chinese restaurant and probably for the UTS students who misses their home town in north-eastern China. To me the flavours are quite ordinary and too oily.

The Preserved Sour Vegetables with Pork Ribs Stew was tasty and it’s the best of the three dishes we have ordered. The Spicy Crispy Chicken with soft bones was overloaded with cumin and oil. It wasn’t very spicy and not at all crispy as the chicken pieces were drenched in oil and the supposedly crispy skin has become soggy. The steamed egg custard was quite bland and oily as well, tasted mainly of soy sauce.

The serving portions were big but it wasn’t that cheap for a restaurant targeted at students.

I was too shocked at seeing the rusty cups and plates. We asked for takeaway plastic cups for water and made sure our bowls...