After extensive renovations in 2024, Dainty has settled into its new skin: floral banquettes, etched glass and a ceiling that glows like a lacquered jewellery box. The CGI forest projector mightn’t always work, but the kitchen does, firing off a 100-plus-page leather-bound menu running from street-style rice puffs to tank-fresh lobster.

You’ll need an army with you just to make a dent. Put them to work on cumin-laced mapo tofu, or cold noodles dressed in a signature chilli oil and peanut dressing, or spicy beef heart and tongue. Fish-fragrant eggplant’s coating of garlic and syrupy vinegar is like sweet and sour candy.

But the true Dainty spirit will always be imprinted in the Chongqing chilli chicken: an avalanche of Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies and cleavered wings. This room is the flagship of the Dainty empire: dressed to impress and still sizzling.

Must-order: Chongqing chilli chicken.

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