Best Known For
Twice cooked spicy chicken with capsicum, dry chilli and chilli oil.
About The Cinnabar
Sitting with a stylish presence along Kingston’s foreshore, The Cinnabar restaurant attracts a cultured crowd of Canberra residents looking for an exotic culinary experience. An interior of extravagant elements is sure to impress those with an eye for design; lampshades of gigantic proportions reflect rays of light and tables are divided by a veneer of thin tassels dangling from the ceiling, stretching all the way down to the floor surface. A number of spaces are offered to suit the needs of any occasion and diners with a palate for Asian fusion cuisine can ready themselves for gastronomic indulgence. Perhaps begin feasting with signature duck rolls, before devouring wok fried King prawns, with capsicum, fresh chilli, garlic and fried rice; finished with fried ice cream and caramel sauce.
Features & Facilities
Payments Accepted: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Eftpos
Seats: 110 Chef: Kevin Yu
Opening Hours
Traditional Chinese food in a modern Chinese environment
On a whim, we decided to try out Cinnabar. It's directly facing the waterfront so it would have very nice views and would probably be quite pleasant to dine outside on balmy days. The interior of the restaurant was nicely decorated, modern furniture with elements of traditional Chinese decor e.g. the two terracotta soldiers on guard at the entrance, Chinese vases and paintings. Quite liked also the understated Cinnabar branding on the diningware. We were attended to quite quickly by the friendly waitress who was very obliging in answering our questions about what we planned to order. We had the twice cooked spicy chicken with capsicum, dry chilli & chilli oil and the salt & pepper soft-shell crab with steamed rice on the side. I would say that based on the menu, it's more of the traditional Chinese than modern Chinese cuisine. The food didn't take too long to arrive and we were impressed with the portion sizes. The spiciness of the dishes were welcome and although it was a little on the salty side, that was offset with the plain rice. Prices were reasonable enough for a nice dining environment and for a place along the Foreshore. Worth checking out if you live nearby and would like a fancier dinner instead of a slap dash eatery.
More traditional than trendy
It was a gloomy Thursday evening when my partner and I arrived at Cinnabar. First impressions were positive. We were greeted and seated promptly by the attentive staff. The restaurant has an upmarket and trendy feel, with a decor that combined the modern with the traditional. The menu options were more traditional than the trendy styling was suggest. We had expected to see more adventurous meals on offer. For entree we chose the Shanghai Drunken Chicken - with the emphasis on drunken! We found the alcohol taste to be too overpowering and the flavours weren't as well balanced as we're accustomed to. For mains we shared the pan fried Wagyu, Asparagus, Pine nuts and Silverfish and the Ma Po Tofu with pork mince chilli and sichuan pepper. The portion sizes were generous. The wagyu was tender, and the crispy silverfish and Chinese croutons provided a nice contrast to the tender wagyu. It was a very flavoursome dish. The downsides were that it was served in what I'm sure was meant to be a crispy edible wrapper however it came out soggy and the wagyu pieces were chopped a little too finely. The Mo Po tofu was a spicy and flavoursome dish, however it would have benefitted from more pork mince which was barely noticeable at all. The staff were friendly and attentive. Overall, we had an enjoyable experience, however it doesn't offer any particularly compelling reasons to return given the abundance of other dining options in Canberra or even the Foreshore.