Impression Restaurant: A Taste of Authentic Chinese Food in Dunedin
I always like trying out Chinese food in different places (just like the Panda Restaurant in Oamaru and the Shanghai Restaurant in Christchurch). I found a restaurant called Impression Restaurant in Dunedin and I decided to have a meal there. It was housed inside an old building in the centre of Dunedin.
There were gates at the entrance which then led towards the front doors. I pushed open the doors and went inside.
A big aquarium had been kept at the front of the restaurant. I had to walk around the aquarium to get to the main area of the restaurant. It wasn’t a very big restaurant but there were quite a few tables.
A painted screen was right next to the aquarium. It gave some of the tables more privacy.
There was a bar area at the front of the restaurant. Wine glasses hung from above the bar and a few bottles had been kept on shelves behind the bar.
There was a large round table right behind the screen. It was perfect for a big family or friend’s group.
There were a few round tables that could seat six or eight or more people. So I was sure that big groups came to Impression Restaurant.
But there were also smaller square tables for groups of two or four people.
Colorful red and gold paintings had been hung on the wall. There was a series of shelves that separated one side of the restaurant from the other. Each place setting had a teacup and saucer.
The first thing that I had ordered was the tofu egg soup. It was warm and creamy and the tofu pieces were nice and firm. The soup immediately made me feel good. I was looking forward to all the other food that I had ordered.
Then I got the hot and spicy fish. The restaurant served this dish garnished with lots of sliced red peppers and sesame seeds. The sauce was bright red in color and it was really spicy. The fish was also fresh and tasty.
I had ordered plain steamed rice to eat with my food (Look at the portion!).
Mao’s braised pork belly was a simple dish. It had less sauce but it had a lot of flavor.
I had wanted to try some vegetables so I also got the hot and sour fried Chinese cabbage.
And finally, there was the Sichuan boiled beef. It was a lot of food. But the food was so good that I was happy I had ordered a little bit of everything.
Menu of Impression Restaurant Dunedin
The menu of Impression Restaurant looked very fancy. It had golden colored handles in front so that I could open the menu.
There were appetizers like dumplings and fried squid.
Other options were cold plates with noodles or chicken. Each dish had a little description and the Peking Duck had a whole page dedicated to it.
Everything had pictures next to the dish and it all looked very good. There were pork and chicken options.
They also had beef, lamb and seafood. Some of the options were skewers, chili pot, stir fries and fish fillets. There were so many things on the menu that I could hardly choose what I wanted.
They even had a number of tofu and veggies, as you can see in the images above. Staples like steamed rice, fried rice and noodles were also available.
The drinks menu had red and white wine. Customers could buy a glass or a bottle.
Beer and non-alcoholic beverages were also an option. There was a special flower tea section, which included rose jasmine tea or king chrysanthemum tea.
But there were standard teas like Oolong or black tea as well.
