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V Rating: VV Li Zai is a self-described ‘Asian tapas’ restaurant. This is either an excuse to serve smaller dishes for the same price as a regular meal, or a great way for groups of people to try lots of different items on the menu. I’m undecided. While the menu is weighted towards meat and seafood, there are some vegetarian and vegan options. At first glance these appear to be helpfully marked on the menu by a vegetarian symbol. Unfortunately, Li Zai’s definition of vegetarian includes seafood – our seaweed and tofu salad came garnished with roe and two so-called vegetarian dishes on the menu include prawn crackers and oyster sauce. This almost earned Li Zai a V-ware rating. As our vegetarian san choi bow and Asian vegetarian BBQ appeared to be meat and seafood free I’ve given them the benefit of the doubt; however, I’d recommend checking with the waiting staff before ordering the vegetarian dishes just to make sure you are not in for a nasty surprise. Doubts about the contents of our meal aside, the food was OK if not particularly flavourful. The Asian BBQ is actually two veggie kebabs. The cold tofu and seaweed salad was refreshing, but lacking in flavour. The vegetarian san choi bow was a fun dish to share, although the filling was perhaps a little over-spiced. The real appeal of Li Zai’s is its funky apartment style layout. There’s a smaller room with a single large table, ideally suited for groups wanting a dinner party away from home and a larger room with a series of intimate tables. Li Zai’s best feature is a great outdoor deck with a stunning view of Bondi Beach. The deck is ringed with fairylights and a comfortable couch seating. This is a great spot for a romantic dinner, sunset cocktails or even a party (provided that it’s not blowing a gale as it was the night we visited). Li Zai is a fun option for a summery Bondi dinner - just v-ware the liberal bestowing of a vegetarian friendly label!
Comments:
1 Comment posted on "Li Zai - Asian Tapas, Bondi Beach, VV"
bk2ya on December 25th, 2008 at 12:12 pm #
This is the worst dining experience I have ever had. Arrived here with a booking for 24 people for a party but was not given sufficient tabling and they had to continually add tables as guests arrived and would not fit. Staff were rude and annoyed that we were taking so much of their precious balcony space. They were extremely pushy in trying to get us to buy as many drinks as possible. Food is asian tapas but all this really is, is extremely deep fried yum cha with a twist to appeal to western tastes. Most overpriced, undervalued place I have ever been to. We paid $30 for 6 pieces of different finger foods. Rice came at the end when we had finished…and no one was full. On top of all this, the staff had the nerve to charge us $17 for bringing out the cake..which they did not even cut or bring a knife for. Drinks are extremely overpriced! We were charged $24 for cocktails. This place was not busy and I can see why. Glorified yum cha at ridiculously inflated prices, dirty cuttlery and the worst service I have ever experienced. This place will be out of business within half a year. AVOIDD!! unless you wanted to be charged for every little thing and be given attitude by a money hungry hostess. Post a comment
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