Tina's Noodle Kitchen

Tina’s Noodle Kitchen – named for owner Tina Li – is a casual Chinese eatery that serves the cuisine of Chonqing, a city that borders Sichuan province and shares its love of spice. It’s from the same team behind Dainty Sichuan, so you can expect plenty of heat and chilli throughout the menu.

There are two types of noodle soup broths – a pale and milk-hued white stock made from stewed chicken and pork bones, and a spicy number with bright orange chilli oil floating on top. You can also get versions of the base with pickles or a mix of pickles and chilli.

Bowls come filled with silky and slurpable rice noodles, vegetables (oyster mushroom, bean sprout and konjac cake, to name a few) and your choice of topping: beer-marinated duck, slices of Wagyu beef, hot and spicy fish, and mixed seafood are just some of the options.

The menu has other dishes too, such as dry noodles (with chilli sauce and pipis), Chonqing snacks (sweet glutinous rice cakes), hefty wontons (in spicy or mild chicken soups), skewers in chilli oil (such as beef, quail eggs and tofu) and cold meats for appetizers (there are pig ears and even duck gizzards on offer).

Plenty of natural light streams into the Box Hill outpost during the day. Off one side of the baby-blue space you can take a peek into the busy kitchen. There are also outposts in the CBD, Preston and The Glen Shopping Centre.