Fancy fare and a relaxed vibe at top-notch Chinese restaurant Dong Lai Shun

FARE Beijing, Huaiyang and Sichuan.

AMBIENCE Dong Lai Shun is pleasantly relaxed and not as uptight as many other fancy Chinese restaurants in town.

COST Basic noodles and rice dishes start from HK$78, with main course dishes around HK$300 to HK$450.

WHO TO BRING Works just as well as a date spot as a place for a pleasant family meal.

TURN-ONS Everything is of excellent quality here. Chicken in chilli oil is a standard dish in any Sichuan restaurant but rarely is the meat so tender and expertly filleted. The crispy eel in honey was fried to perfection and delightfully crisp without tasting of oil. Coated in a sweet sauce, it was incredibly moreish – we could have eaten an entire main course serving. Our Long-Jing tea leaf-smoked duck eggs were the perfect consistency – the yolk deliciously soft and gooey but not a touch undercooked. There was a wonderful smokiness but it was subtle.

For mains, the poached Mandarin fish fillet with chives and bean sprouts in spicy soup was served minus its head and tail – a sop to our Western sensibilities, but not the norm for Chinese guests. Even without, the quality was still excellent. The fish was plump and flavoursome, and tasted exceptionally clean, allowing the soup to display its delicate pepperiness. A rack of fried Hulunbuir mutton spare ribs with Dong Lai Shun home-made Sichuan chilli sauce arrived surmounted by a mound of chopped chillies and said sauce. This lent the dish a pleasant kick but it was nothing too substantial and we made it through without needing extra drinks. Our stir-fried crab with hot spicy sauce, which sat atop a bowl of chillies and other spices, was neatly cut up for us. Digging through the claws and other appendages, there was a wealth of sweet meat for us to enjoy.