There’s a restaurant in Crows Nest that rather bafflingly (to me), is called Pinnocchio Chinese Restaurant. Either it’s an Italian/Chinese fusion restaurant, or.. I can’t even imagine what the other reason behind it’s name would be.

Excellent Chinese Seafood Restaurant in Carlingford, is another intriguingly named restaurant that either sets itself up for ridicule and failure, or perhaps it manages to surprise by delivering as much as it promises. I enter, indulging in the former, and come away praising it for being more of the latter.

There are two reasons to go to this restaurant, but the service isn’t one of them. If you want the cliched example of a Chinese restaurant with bad service, Excellent Chinese Seafood Restaurant would probably make it into the dictionary. During this visit, plates are thrown down onto the table with such angry determination that I feel as though the waiter is about to shout at us any second; for daring to enter the establishment, or for bringing noisy kids (the 7 yr old is showing me magic tricks by forcing me to shut my eyes while she hides the pink napkins behind her back).

So if not for the service, the first reason to visit would be to have the Vermicelli Crab Hotpot, which this restaurant is apparently famous for. It is a deviation from the salt and pepper norm that my family usually loves and as salt and pepper is my favourite way to eat crab, I was initially sceptical of anything that would mask the crab in such a large mound of vermicelli noodles. As it turns out, Vermicelli Hotpot could now well be my second favourite way to have crab. The sauce is delicious, the noodles moreish, and the crab is of course, juicy and very well cooked.

On this my second visit, we accompany the crab with salt and pepper squid, salt and pepper fish (did I mention I like salt and pepper?), garlic stir-fried kangkung, tofu pockets stuffed with mushroom, fried pipis and sizzling beef (there are two things my brother must have when in a Chinese restaurant : Crab and beef; surf and turf) – All of which are either very good, or excellent (as it were).

Then comes the second reason to visit Excellent Chinese Seafood Restaurant : the deep fried ice-cream at the end of the meal. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll love these crumbed boulders that they serve here. I say boulders, because they’re the biggest versions of d.f.i.c I’ve ever encountered. Positively planetary. Lucky you get a fork and spoon with this dessert, or it would be like trying to excavate your way out of an icy situation armed with only a toothpick.

If you don’t like fried ice-cream, well, there’s still that one reason to visit this restaurant, and let me assure you, it’s a very worthwhile (possibly, excellent) reason indeed!

Excellent Chinese Seafood Restaurant
Carlingford Rd (cnr Carlingford Rd & Rembrandt St)
Carlingford 2118