China Doll, Woolloomooloo

The rule - If its not in the book we shall not go. Not this time.....

We had to break the rule. Whatevs. It was our anniversary so we thought that the occasion warranted a trip to our most favourite of eateries - China Doll, even though it was nowhere to be found in the good food guide. Despite the fact that its been knocked off the pages it was still difficult to get a booking. Not hard to believe though considering its location by the water in Wolloomoolloo with views of Sydney's breathtaking city scape.

I digress. We love China Doll because it has amazing cocktails and never ceases to impress in terms of food. Cocktail selection here is always fun, the menu changes so there is always new to look at trying with each visit. On this occasion we settled for the "China Colada" vanilla infused rum with pineapple juice, coconut and vanilla sago.

To line our stomachs we started off with the chilli squid.

The squid was fresh and went down a treat. The light and salty chilli batter creates a texture that really suits squid. Not coated in a heavy and oily batter, the flavour of the squid could still stand out on its own. Always a favourite.

Our mains for the evening consisted of the tea smoked duck, barbecue pork and prawn fried rice and a special for the evening - slow cooked sichuan pork belly.

The duck is the main draw card. It is one of the best dishes on the menu. It looks and tastes better than all the other duck we have ever had and is one of the reasons why we keep coming back time and time again. Really there isn't any fault we could ever think of. It is simply too good.

The fried rice is also a favourite. Excellent to help appease those appetites that always seem to open up after that first bite.

The special for the evening - slow cooked sichuan pork belly was somewhat of an interesting dish. Served at room temperature gave us somewhat mixed opinions but the sauce was amazing and the crisp crackling made this dish a winner in the end.

Last but not least there was room for desert. Deciding to get the 3 desert sampler - coconut and ginger gelato, black rice pudding with ginger and vanilla flavoured sago with passionfruit. A perfect way to finish up a beautiful dinner.