Spice World Sydney

Deep in the heart of Sydney’s Chinatown is a Chinese spicy Sichuan hot pot restaurant with wagyu beef wrapped Barbies, hello Kitty and dog-shaped mala cubes, and robot waiters.

There are several public parking structures within walking distance to the restaurant if you have a rental car.

spice world street enterance — Spice World’s street enterance may be difficult to find. The host will send you up the escalator and you will be greeted then seated.

When you enter the restaurant, the waiting area is filled with iconic leisure machines. A claw machine, Street Fighter clone, massage chairs, and a “deodorizer” machine that sprays scented mist all contributed to the festive atmosphere of Spice World.

spice world lobby games — Spice World’s waiting area has plenty to do… from video games and prize machines, to massage chairs.

spice world dining area — Spice World’s dining area has spacious tables, colorful mood lighting, and a sauce bar to create customized dipping sauces.

There are a variety of dishes to order. So, as first-time visitors, we asked for help. Our server did a great job assisting us with fun menu choices, had a unique presentation, and was delicious. We hid the menu from our boys to surprise them with a one-of-a-kind dinner.

spice world wagu beef barbie doll — The Wagu beef dressed barbie is the strangest presentation of meat we’ve seen to date.

One of the first responses we get after showing this picture of the marbled meat dressed barbie is sanitation. I guarantee that these Barbies are only used for serving meats and are well cleaned. They also are dressed underneath with a special embossed plastic outfit; Unique experience ✔.

Spice World soaks their cute animal shapes in Sichuan peppercorn and various spices to be the base of their spicy, numbing Chinese mala sauce.

spice world spices — In the lobby are large cases of different spices. The customize shaped mala cube rests in these spices and absorb the flavors before serving.

Another unique item we secretly ordered was the dog-shaped bouillon cube to flavor our broth. The boys were so relieved once they brought this little puppy to our table. All they heard us ordering was “dog,”; Unique experience ✔✔.

spice world mala dog broth — Hot pot broths heating up for dinner. Dog still intact before dissolving and creating an aromatic flavorful mala broth.

spice world veggies shrimp paste baskets — The veggie and shrimp paste baskets were gorgeously arranged like a bouquet.

The servers continued to bring out artistically presented foods we ordered. The earthy woodwork style added character to the experience.

spice world mashed shrimp — Beautifully presented bamboo filled with mashed shrimp is scraped with a spoon into bite sized clusters and cooked in the broth. It is delicious!

The salad is included with the dinners and compliments the hotpot meals, including various delicious salads, fruits, and roasted nuts.

spice world sides bar — The salad and fruit were delicious and the only thing that helped with the spiciness of the food.

On the other side of the salad bar is the sauce bar, where you can choose a recommended recipe or create your own. We all enjoyed mixing and matching various sauces to create a flavor to each person’s likings.

spice world sauce bar — A large variety of sauces were available to make your own blend. Also, popular “recipes” were listed to follow for those not feeling as adventurous.

spice world full table — Once the mala “dog” had finished melting, and our food was set, we were ready to eat.

We ordered three types of broth: spicy mala, fresh tomato, and a plain wild mushroom. All were flavorful, but even at the lowest level of spice, it was too spicy. We also ordered various meats and vegetables, mashed shrimp, deep-fried pork belly, udon noodles, and swan cakes. It was all perfect!

spice world swan cake — The Swan cake was filled with either durian or purple sweet potato. It was very light and flakey.

spice world robot waiter — I was glad to see their robot “waiters”, as they add to the uniqueness of Spice World. Unfortunately, they were powered down and regulated to mint caddies.

At the end of our time at Spice World, we left very happy and full of delicious foods and fun memories. It was one of the best Sydney experiences from that trip.

Tips:

Book a reservation to guarantee a table. Let them know if you are celebrating a special event.
Locate a parking garage in advance on a maps app, so you know where to go. The downtown streets are hard to navigate if not familiar with them.
Take advantage of playing with the different machines available in the lobby.
Ask the server for help with ordering right away. Be clear about what kind of experience you are wanting.
Don’t pass up the fun and take a lot of pictures.