Applecross Chinese Restaurant

The crab was too expensive and the other dishes, like the pork, were not up to par.

The food at this restaurant is excellent, but the service can be a bit lacking. If you can overlook the slow service, the delicious food more than makes up for it.

We decided to stop by this restaurant on our way back from the beach on a Saturday morning and we were thrilled with our choice! The food was delicious and the service was excellent.

On Saturday, July 15 2017, my daughter booked a table for six [4 adults and 2 children] for dinner. It was the first time we went to SK. Entering the place, we were ‘greeted’ by empty, algae-crusted, defunct aquariums and noticed a very dirty carpet. The laminated menus felt quite sticky. We ordered two entrees and four mains plus plain rice. The spring rolls came quickly followed by one of the mains [fish]. Then nothing happened for 20 min, despite only four tables were occupied at that time. The wait person needed a reminder to bring the kids’ soft drinks. Next we were served to bowls of plain rice and 5 min later dim sim entree. Those and the spring rolls had the quality of the cheap, deep frozen supermarket homebrands. The sweet ‘n sour pork could only be identified as our ordered dish because we knew it was not the crispy chicken. All pieces were drowned in an inferior sweet sauce and varied greatly in size, from pellet to golf ball. The smaller bits were just dough – no meat. The larger ones contained rather dehydrated, brownish cubes. Pretty revolting. Another long wait was ‘rewarded’ with the crispy chicken. The skin surely was crispy, the meat very dry and super salty. Finally, the fried rice arrived. Apart from being incredibly oily, it had some isolated peas and a few small bits of chicken/prawns. Whilst waiting for the food, we observed a number of cockroaches inspecting the wall and door frame behind us. The mind boggles what the kitchen and storage might look like…In addition, the wait staff, dressed extremely casual in sloppy jeans, stained t-shirts and hoodie tops, was neither friendly nor attentive. Their facial expression and body language sent a clear message that diners are not welcome. Furthermore, when my daughter paid the bill of $103.10 [incl. credit card surcharge]. I asked for the receipt, which was written in Chinese and had no numbers. I requested a transcript with figures. Only at home I added the figures up: $89.10. It has been the worst dining experience I had in years. However, I’ll be generous and award one star because the fish was okay and the rating system does not allow ‘minus stars’.

My experience here was remarkably good. Not only did the staff go above & beyond to meet my dietary requirements, but the chef even sat down with me to discuss the meal head prepared. I LOVE this place. Happy Chinese New Year!