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Eat & Drink
New & Special
Vivarium
The recently opened Vivarium is introducing a contemporary Sichuan cuisine concept that is sure to interest connoisseurs of spicy food. Tucked in a two-storey space on busy Wellington Street, above Central, Vivarium offers a full-throated spicy Sichuanese menu comprising lunch and dinner sets, plus à la carte items. Several lunch-set menu options feature either Taiwanese herb soup or chilli lunch set. All set lunches include dim sum and appetiser.
We sampled quite a few dishes, ranging from the traditional to the innovative. For snacks and dim sum items, we chose Chilli Sliced Lotus Root ($23), Chilli Shrimp Toast, 2 pieces ($28), Chilli Mushroom Bun, 3 pieces ($32), Spicy Spring Roll, 2 pieces ($36), and Chilli Pork Dumpling, 3 pieces ($36), plus Shrimp & Pork Wonton in Sichuan Chilli Oil, 5 pieces ($69). To us, Vivarium’s spiciness is subtler and more refined than the redhot Chongqing spicy cuisine, closer to Chengdu cuisine, but is nevertheless spicy enough. We then tried several Sichuanese pickled fish soup dishes – they tend to be tangier and zestier than spicy, but appetising as well.
We had Fish Fillet in Sichuanese Picked Soup ($86), and Angus Beef in Sichuanese Pepper Soup ($86), which is quite tender and flavourful and a real treat. As part of a lunch set, diners can choose among rice noodles, steamed rice and the house-made sliced noodles.
We also had Poached Chicken in Sichuanese Chilli Sauce with Rice ($80, lunch-set price), another popular Sichuan dish, before embarking on desserts that included Iced Noodles in Brown Sugar Syrup ($28) and Mango Pudding ($28). Vivarium also offers craft beers and cold brew tea. Our Cold Brew Peach Oolong Tea ($30) and Cold Brew Phoenix Oolong ($30) are both worth trying.
Vivarium was a pleasant surprise for us. It offers good, down home spicy Sichuan dishes at reasonable prices and is conveniently located. If you are looking for a casual, quality spicy meal, give Vivarium a try.
