Newly Opened Qi – Nine Dragons, Tsim Sha Tsui: red-hot fare with a killer view

For those looking for a way to spice up their dinners, look no further than Qi, which with its new branch Qi – Nine Dragons, has expanded from Wan Chai to cross the harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui.

Located on the top floor of Prince Tower on Peking Road, the restaurant has a fantastic view overlooking Wan Chai all the way to Western district – if only that pesky One Peking Road tower wasn’t in the way.

When we arrived at 6pm, the hostess wasn’t at her station and a waiter walked right past us as if we didn’t exist. That was soon remedied, but it was an awkward start.

The menu is all about Sichuan cuisine – chillies, chillies and more chillies. There are a few non-spicy items for a bit of respite from the heat, such as smashed cucumber (HK$55) with a lot of minced garlic mixed in with vinegar, and we liked the eggplant salad (HK$60) with a kind of hoisin sauce and garnished with coriander.

The flaky scallion pancake (HK$55) was on the oily side, but we still liked the lightness of it.

A signature dish is the braised mandarin fish fillets in chilli oil soup (HK$200 small, HK$300 large). The iron pot was a pond of red, and chock full of ingredients, including bean sprouts, mung bean noodles, spring onions, garlic and mushrooms. While the fish fillets were tender and very spicy with a mala numbness, some had odd small bones, which means you need to eat it carefully.

Another signature dish is the sugar-glazed ginger scallion chicken (HK$160). Chicken fillets were breaded, seasoned and deep-fried before being drizzled with chilli oil. We liked the sweetness, which added another dimension to the taste.