Spice Temple

Posted by: GSH | 23 September 2009, 12.17pm

I am from Auckland, so I rang a friend in Sydney to book a dinner for 29 people in Sydney. She had been to Spice Temple a couple of weeks before and said that it was great. So her husband paid a $1200 deposit and we were booked in to a $69 per person set menu.

We arrived to a fantastic looking bar, and we were met by delightful bar staff, who made interseting cocktails for everyone there. At the time I thought the female bar tender who was on the customer side of the bar, selling cocktails a little different to what I had seen in other bars/restaurants. We were asked to choose some wines, which we did, they were around $80 a bottle.

We sat down for dinner over 3 tables, in an area that have four large tables, so strangers in the fourth table. The atsomphere was fantastic and we were all having a great time and looking forward to dinner, (a number of guests still on Kiwi time). The first couple of dishes were nice and very flavoursome, then we were served a large bowl, that was full of white and red, given it is a dark atsomphere the guys all tucked in for something to eat, the red (about 60 of them) were red chillies and the white was fish. My husband and his friend love hot food, but this was mind blowing, they burnt their mouths and taste buds and had tears streaming from their eyes. The waitress then after 10 minutes came and removed soem of the chillies and said they were meant to be eaten and were there to give the fish some heat! It was inedible!!

Then finally some red meat turned up, but it was veal shanks (a little bit of meat) and veal tendons (which were another name for 2 inch chunks of fat), then some chicken pieces with 70% bone came and tasted like they had been dipped in cigar ash.

Meanwhile they didn't ask if we wanted more wine they just kept opening the bottles....

At one stage my my and dad (in their 50's) were laughing at their table, and the waitress told them to be quiet and that they were ruining the fourth table in our sections night. That 5 minutes later started loudly singing Happy Birthday to someone at their table obilvious to the waitresses telling off!!

Then came the bill, they had taken the $1200 deposit off to total, so that poor guy wasn't going to get reimbursed by the 29 dinners, and the bill came to $5,800 (so $7k including the deposit), so that would be $241 per person ($69 for the disgusting food and $172 for alcohol), given we had a pregnant lady and someone driving, that is a lot of money for people who were "happy" from alcohol, but certainly not stumbling! So my thought is, how many cocktails and bottles of wine did they claim we drank, as they were so many people we weren't keeping a tally. I think that they ripped us off.

Most of us at the dinner, spend a lot of time in restaurants all over the world, and I have never been told off, given the worst food and overcharged for it!

Do not go to this restaurant if you are in a large group! They might be better suited for a table for two!

Food:			Visit: Fri 18 September 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: polja | 31 July 2009, 10.14pm

The Spice Temple is without a doubt my all time favourite restaurant. The food is absolutely amazing and keeps us going back again and again to work our way through the menu. The food is very reasonalby priced, great value for money.
The staff team do an exceptional job looking after us each visit. The team are to be commended on a job well done.

A must visit if coming to Sydney. Everyone we have taken to the Spice Temple have really loved it.

Food:			Visit: Fri 31 July 2009
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Posted by: jsw_c | 9 July 2009, 5.04pm

It's expensive Chinese food but you have to give Neil full marks for having the courage to test Sydney's appetite for the 'numbing' sensation that is so prevalent in Sichaunese cooking. For my wife's birthday, we went tried the banquet to get a taste Neil's next adventure. I was surprised by the level of heat in the food and even more surpised by his liberal use of the 'numbing' Sichaunese pepper. Wasn't such a fan of the 'fire-water beef' but loved the earlier chicken dish that also had a 'numbing' aspect to he flavouring.

Sichaunese food doesn't get much of a show in Sydney (Sichaun Garden in Crows Nest?) and Chinese food really deserves a face lift. For these reasons, we were happy to pay a premium to try something a bit more on the 'fine' end of the Chinese dining experience.

Despite other reviews I've read about the service, we found the service professional and friendly. The atmosphere was very much tilted towards the date scene. Our only question was, "What's with the intense close up photos of asian women?"

Food:			Visit: Fri 8 May 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Jackie Bear | 30 June 2009, 2.30pm

The service was a disgrace. Rude, slow and lazy service persons everywhere they should remind themselves that they are working in a basement serving a cuisine that is between Asian and who know what!

Price was highway robbery based on the service and food.

Time will tell how correct or wrong I am...

Food:			Visit: Tue 30 June 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Raquel&MJ | 29 May 2009, 4.08pm

I enjoy a nice meal on a regular basis and was recommended to try Neil Perry's new sensation.

I was very disappointed.

The meal started with our cocktails splashed (and not duly wiped) all over our tables.

The entrees were then served. No complaint here.

The main was incorrect. We ordered stir fry lobster and were served deep fried lobster. When addressing with the waitress, she advised me that there was only one lobster choice on the menu.

There were in fact 2, no apology was offered. We ate our lobster and wondered about the snootiness.

We were then not offered desert instead given a complimentary desert. (We assume for the main mix-up); Mandarin and Grapefruit slices fancied up as dessert.

Everyone around us was offered biscuits with the bill. We were not. We got the bill, no thanks, and left.

I would not return and would also not recommend.

Food:			Visit: Fri 29 May 2009 Mealtime: lunch
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Posted by: Interstater | 24 May 2009, 6.03pm

After reading the SMH review, we had very high expectations. The entrees were better than the mains. We really enjoyed the lamb & cumin pancakes, and the fried squid. The mains were OK but nothing out of the ordinary, in fact the four of us thought that we have had equal or better in other more modest Chinese restaurants around Sydney. We don't think that it was value for money and would not go back.

Food:			Visit: Sat 23 May 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Sir Lumpy | 10 May 2009, 11.26am

I really wanted this to be great. Bottom line is that it was not. The pickles were fantastic and the lamb and cumin pancake tasty. The tea smoked duck was subtle with a delicate sweet sauce. The roast pork salad could best be described as an overpowering homage to fresh coriander and the steamed shredded chicken just a pale version of Hainanese chicken with ginger and shallot sauce. The biggest letdown was the stir fried king prawns with salted duck egg and four chillies. I cannot abide mushy prawns, let alone a muddy sauce. I love NP's food but this was ordinary.

Food:			Visit: Sat 9 May 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: thelionpassant | 20 April 2009, 9pm

Okay, I know it's been hyped, I mean it's Neil Perry and I also have read the reviews, but the food is truly good and it is unique.

I thoroughly enjoyed our dishes, such as Hot and Spicy Squid, Pork Belly with Smoked Tofu, Wagyu Beef with Eggplant, Three Shot Chicken and Lobster with Chili. The wine list is well chosen and we had the Albarino, which was perfect for the spicy dishes.

The service was good and while mildly pretentious, it wasn't rude by any means. They did ask if we wanted fresh bowls so that the flavours from one dish wouldn't interfere with the others. Is that being pretentious or just good service? You can decide.

It is indeed somewhat expensive, but the quality is excellent and the dishes are not something you would find most anywhere else. The music is great and the atmosphere is modern opium den. If that's not what you like then stay away, however if it is, then I'd venture a guess you will like it.

Food:			Visit: Mon 20 April 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: jason101 | 16 April 2009, 11.06am

I'm afraid the brilliant atmosphere of Spice Temple could not save what was a disappointing meal. Between a group of three we shared three entrees and four mains. While the entrees were reasonable the mains were a huge disappointment. In fact three of our mains were inedible - a bbq pork dish was very dry and a fish dish was very salty.

The wait staff didn't even notice that we left 3 dishes almost untouched and never asked whether we enjoyed the meal. The bill came to $256 for three people which would have been OK had the quality been there - the quality wasn't there and things were definitely not OK!

Food:			Visit: Tue 14 April 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: phillip mcrevis | 10 March 2009, 5.26pm

My partner and I, who is the sous-chef of another high profile Asian eatery came here for my birthday dinner.


The moment you push the LCD-screen door and walk down the stairs, it literally feels like you're walking into an underground Chinese Temple. The smell of incense lifts your senses and with the smiles that welcome you at the bottom of the stairs from the staff and manager, it's like walking into Singapore Airlines first class.

You're asked to sit down and choose from the selection of Chinese horoscope cocktails. FABULOUS. Then asked to follow your waiter to your table. The menus are like "Chinese Vogue" with a beautiful, almost Eurasian, model pouting on the front. We had the banquet, which was perfect.

Neil Perry's gamble has paid off, in a big way. Sydney residents are very lucky to have this AMAZING restaurant, my partner and I can't stop talking about it.

Food:			Visit: Wed 11 February 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: jonslade | 4 March 2009, 4.59pm

Knowledgeable service staff, great atmosphere, and fabulous gourmet menu at reasonable prices.

Food:			Visit: Tue 3 February 2009 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: Gozzy | 2 March 2009, 5.28pm

This is a fabulous new, interesting and decadent place to take someone for lunch or dinner. The entrance in enticing - with its simple doorway leading to a fabulous underground, exclusive hideaway. The service was impeccable - there at the right time with the right amount of interaction. Food - so new, so interesting, not your standard Sydney cuisine. Highly recommend. Been there Friday and taking my best friend back for dinner on Tuesday the next week. You have to try it soon!

Food:			Visit: Fri 6 February 2009 Mealtime: lunch
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