I need to tell the people at Yong Jing’s something. I need to tell them that the menu outside their restaurant makes everything look positively drab and dull. In a corner of the street where three Chinese restaurants sit side by side, we have Yong Jing’s Kitchen Enlightenment on one end, Dong Dong Noodles in the centre and Kingsford Chinese Restaurant on the other side. Kingsford Chinese is packed so we choose to eat there until we see the menu and decide that there’s nothing really jumping out at us on the menu. So we did what a potentially embarrassing thing and left. But we had our stomachs to consider you see. I’m of the firm belief that you only get a certain number of meals a day and you should either make them fabulous or very healthy. I’d had my 2 healthy meals already and I was in the mood for something fabulous. But because we’d already been to Dong Dong, the interestingly named Yong Jing’s Kitchen Enlightenment was our choice.
The menu
Which brings us to what I need to tell them. When we open the colourful menu it explodes with a tantalising array of dishes. Indeed it takes us a good 10 minutes to decide what to order as everything looks so damn good in the pictures. Prices are also reasonable for the food and we find it hard to narrow it down to 5 dishes but we finally do after some umming and aahing. If they’d only put this menu in the window I suspect their restaurant would be as full as Kingsford Chinese two doors down.
Deep fried chicken fillet cooked with special sauce $11.80
The tables and chairs are in a traditional Chinese lacquered wood and give it a lovely sophisticated touch as do the matching frame paintings and calligraphy. We’re not waiting long before our piping hot dishes arrive. The first dish, the deep fried chicken fillet cooked with special sauce comes with the sauce on the side. It’s an enormous serve of freshly fried chicken, very similar to Japanese Chicken Karaage but much larger in scale. The accompanying sauce is similar to a Singapore Chili crab sauce with egg. it’s nothing short of fabulous and it goes within minutes, every huge hulking freshly cooked piece.
Honey King Prawns $13.50
Our Honey King Prawns are a huge serve comprising of 17 of the huge beasts. I know, I know, it’s not exactly adventurous I hear you say and we may as well order Sweet and Sour Pork, Fried Rice and Lemon Chicken but I have an extreme love for these crispy puffed honey drenched king prawns and so does the rest of the table. So if you’ll leave us well enough along and keep your snickering down to a minimum we’ll carry on enjoying these enormous battered morsels of deliciousness.
Slow cooked marinated pork $13.80
This dish was one that looked so luscious on the picture but in real life it’s smaller than we pictured (the first two dishes were much larger than were pictured). However the fatty belly pork, cut into rectangles through the layers of fat are cooked in a rich sauce with cabbage. It’s not bad but I’ve had better pork belly, when the rind is crispy and the fat is more meltingly soft.
Beef Mince Fried rice $7.50
The fried rice is pretty good and tasty, with small strips of beef scattered throughout.
Be for Time Soft Shell Crab (Spicy) $22.80
We’re not quite sure what “Be for Time” means but there was a delay on this dish so perhaps it’s a hint that it takes longer to make. When it’s sat down we gasp at the size of it. It’s not the most photogenic dish granted and unfortunately the taste is a little bland for us with a slight bitter taste. We ask for some chili sauce and dunk it in it and this helps somewhat but it’s a bit of a disappointment considering its gargantuan size.
Chinese characters for “Taste”
If it weren’t for the last dish we’d be chuffed. Oh who are we kidding, we still think it’s a find and tip generously knowing that we’ll be back.
Yong Jing’s Kitchen Enlightenment
430 Anzac Parade, Kingsford, NSW 2032
Tel: + 61 (02) 9697 0011
Open 7 days
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29 Comments | Add your own
I love menus with lots of pictures! Everything looks yummy esp the pork!
i’ve always walked straight past this restaurant! soft shell crab looked great, pity it wasn’t exactly to your liking. thanks for the review!
Ooh wow look at that menu! I can totally understand you taking longer to decide on your order. Yay for another restaurant to add to your Anzac Parade eating tour! My best friend lives in that area and whenever she’s stuck for a place to go I send her your list of anzac parade reviews
Looks great! That’s one huge serve of honey king prawns too-17!
I have to say keep on doing the Anzac Parade series. It’s reliably great and we often make the trip to the area in a large group to partake of these inexpensive but satisfying places.
I love the name. Sounds like they’ve used a generic internet translator tool to come up with that!
Sounds good but shame about the soft shell crab – always a heresy to spoil crab.
imagine if everywhere you went, you had The Picture Menu?! i would be in heaven. only it would possibly take me hours to choose.
are you sure that crab wasn’t fantastico? it just looks so damn good in the picture!
Thats it! Im going there tonight. Were in the area and I am craving some chinese food!
Love the chairs, the honey king prawns look delicious to me!
No snickering from me! I practically grew up in a restaurant and fried rice, crispy skinned chicken and sweet and sour pork is sacred comfort food not to be interfered with!
Great looking deep fried chicken – that’s what I would have chosen
I am ashamed to say I eat here almost daily (the things that uni life make you eat!) when I’m supposed to be on my LiteNEasy meals. :S
YUM YUM…I’m feeling hungry just looking at the menu. Love the interiors & the whole feel of the place.
Interesting post. I’ve been to the other two places a number of times and never really thought of it as a place to eat.
Guess I’ll give it a looking over one lunch time as some of the food and the prices seem about on par with what else is on offer in the area.
I like the way you think about meals (healthy or fabulous!)
I’ve been meaning to visit here simply for the fact that ‘enlightenment’ is in their name – haha. Looks pretty decent – might have to go for some enlightening
Although there s no hope I ll be visiting the places you post about(since it s so far away) I m never get fed up of looking at your awesome photos
I’ll confess to loving Honey King Prawns as well. So daggy – but so good.
The pork looks so tender, and the prawns are just wow! The menu is so enticing too!
have been with the family once before to this place. was OK but Kingsford Chinese I think is better and cheaper, that’s why it gets so crowded. i didn’t like the old chair stools too because they get a bit uncomfortable after a while, especially for my elderly parents. i think their sang tung chicken was pretty good though.
Hi pigpigscorner-Hehe I know high end places don’t do them but I love them too! I’m forever checking out other people’s dishes
Hi Betty-Yeah I had so many times too! You’re welcome
Hi Steph-Yeah it was hard to narrow it down
Oh wonderful, I’m so glad to hear that! 
Hi Anallise-Yeah it was humungous! And a great price for that many too
Hi Mike-It’s no hardship doing it at all
Sounds like a great evening!
Hi Forager-Hehe yes it certainly stands out with that name!
Yes I hear you-we were so let down!
Hi the projectivist-Haha yes it wouldbe great! No misunderstandings (unless of course the dish didn’t look like the picture).
Yes sadly it wasn’t great. We wanted it to be, after all we are all seafood lovers but it was not to be
Hi Brianna-Fantastic! Hope you had a great meal
Hi Cappucino-They were very nice
THey were great!
Hi Moya-Hehe cool! Yes it may not be authentic in the traditional sense but it tastes great!
Hi Anita-It was so good! I love karaage chicken and this was like a larger version!
Hi Vivz-Hehe cool! Lucky you to be so close!
Hi deeba-It’s one of the nicer outfitted places on Anzac Parade and looking at the menu pictures makes me hungry all over again
Hi Simon-Why is that? The menu outside doesn’t do it any favours I have to say.
Hi anna-Hehe thanks! If it’s not healthy then it has to be great (and if it’s a combination of the two, even better!)
Hi Tina-Hehe isn’t it a funny name! As it enlightenment is part of the experience!
Hi snooky doodle-Hehe thankyou so much!
Hi Belinda-I know, so kitsch and daggy but so moreish and I cannot resist!
Hi Trisha-Thanks, it was great! So hard to decide though but I think we got some pretty good choices in the end
Hi Simon-Well I’m planning to give Kingsford Chinese a try but I thought the Yong Jing chairs were great. What do you think of the stools at Billy Kwong? Shangtung chicken is not a favourite dish of mine, I find it too vinegary.
i just think that’s an awesome name for a restaurant. kitchen enlightenment indeed!
The chicken dish sounds yum! Thanks for the great post. H and I are always outside deciding if we should try this place but end up at KCR instead.
Hi grace-It makes it hard to forget doesn’t it!
Hi foodie-central-Cool, you’re welcome! I hope you like it-please let me know what you think if you go!
LOL, the food does look delicious!
Love the name of this restaurant
Hi ArtemisIII-Hehe it was!
Hi Y-It’s definitely unusual and memorable!
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[...] Yong Jing’s Kitchen Enlightenment 430 Anzac Parade, Kingsford, NSW 2032 [...]
[...] the serve of 12 honey king prawns isn’t bad although it isn’t as fluffy or crispy as Yong Jing’s honey king prawns next door where they also add sesame seeds for flavour and crispy noodles [...]
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