.CN Cardiff Chinese restaurant revisited

We revisited the brilliant .CN last night and I thought I'd share a few photos. The food was once again unique, expertly cooked and most importantly delicious. If you want to read my slightly more detailed thoughts on .CN then check out my previous review here.

Half of our table of 7 opted for Chinese hotpot. A bubbling pot of broth (half chicken flavoured and half fiery red, littered with dried chilli, chilli flakes and sichuan peppercorns) was brought to the table along with a cornucopia of raw ingredients. The table groaned with overflowing plates of king prawns, scallops, whole squid, wafer thin lamb, tofu, fish cake, fresh vegetables and noodles. A couple of bowls of sesame sauce and garlic and chilli dip also accompanied the hot pot to add a bit of extra seasoning. For £15.99 you can eat as much as you want for 2 hours (dangerous for those with large appetites). It was greatly enjoyed but after a while there were a few jealous glances from the other half of the table as they began to crave a little more variety in texture and flavour.

Myself and the other half of the table ordered from the regular menu. New highlights included a spicy, sticky and sweet kung po chicken and some addictive guoti (pan fried meat dumplings) filled with a moreish combination of pork and leek. Dan ordered the slightly more off the wall cold shredded pig maw with spring onions in chilli oil. The cold chewy maw was pretty tasty but ultimately just a bit too different for my palette.