Shiqi | SA Weekend restaurant review

This restaurant takes the best parts of Chinatown from the CBD – live seafood included – and brings them to where access is easier and parking is free.

The dining room at Shiqi restaurant, Parkside.

Two chefs approach the tanks at the back of Shiqi restaurant, armed with a net and a plastic tub. One lifts aside the lid, picks his target and hauls out a squirming fish that will end up on the table of the Chinese family dining beside us. A few minutes later, the process is repeated for another celebratory gathering by the front window.

Not wanting to miss out, we also opt for some live seafood. However, our order this day isn’t murray cod, barramundi nor even eel. We haven’t won the lottery, so lobster and mud crab are out of the question. No, our pick is far more humble and easier for the chefs to “catch”.

That said, the cockles in XO at Shiqi are definitely something special. The morsel that we prise from each shell is unusually large and surprisingly tender, like a miniature scallop to bite into. They are coated in a homemade sauce with a lovely savoury punch and a touch of sweetness around the edges. It makes magnificent eating.

The cockles with XO sauce at Shiqi restaurant are something special.

Shiqi takes the best parts of Chinatown from the CBD and brings them to the eastern suburbs, where access is easier and the parking is free.

If that name isn’t familiar, you may recall Rice Chinese Cuisine, run by the same husband-and-wife owners in the same Glen Osmond Rd location until 2014.

Now Teng Fei and Amy Li have returned, at the urging of the landlord, and christened their new venture after the district in Guangdong where Teng Fei grew up before coming to Australia in the early 1990s. Appropriately, the word also can mean meeting place or reunited in Chinese (though it has also been confused with Shiki, the Japanese restaurant of the InterContinental Hotel).

Decor is basic, with white walls trimmed in turquoise, other than a large mural depicting the canals of an unspecified town that is like a Venice of the Orient.

White-clothed tables include a few larger round ones with glass-topped lazy susans to spin at the centre. Indeed, Shiqi looks purpose-built for large groups sharing a feast and, in true Chinatown style, boasts a menu of infinite variety. To make life simpler, our quartet orders solely from a Chef’s Specials list that includes the most interesting dishes anyway.

Oh, we do kick off with a few extra fried bits and pieces, including run-of-the-mill spring rolls and shallot pancakes, as well as a more enjoyable flat parcel of unidentified seafood rolled in a tofu skin wrapper. All come with the same regulation chilli dressing.

Guangdong roast duck at Shiqi.

Laziji dry style fried chicken at Shiqi.

A trusted source, who is a Shiqi regular, can take credit for recommending the Laziji chicken, in which the chunks of chook are tossed with fried peanuts and a fearsome amount of chopped dry chilli. But while the dish does have a pleasant, earthy warmth, it is the ground Szechuan pepper coating the chicken that has the biggest impact. Put them together and the combination is like an all-night party for your mouth, complete with a live band, fire-breathers and acrobats.

Phew. After that, simple but well-executed dishes such as stir-fried slivers of beef and Chinese broccoli in a soy-based sauce come as something of a relief. Roast duck is notable for the intriguing spices and deep lacquer of its skin.

Desserts include a kid-friendly fried ice cream but, if you are going to blow that many calories, I’d opt for the newer sensation of a coconut milk fritter drenched in caramel syrup. With six in a serve, there will easily be enough to share.

Dodging the traffic isn’t the only advantage Shiqi has over similar eateries in the city. The friendly waiting staff are happy to explain any food-related mysteries and there is no hint of missing out on some of the more exotic dishes.

The specials are special. Try the cockles and you will see what I mean.

For more reviews visit delicious.com.au/eatout