Sheep thrills at Rams Restaurant

Joshua McCorkindale (he/him) is a graduate of Massey Distance, a bon vivant, and an avid foodie. The great thing about dining out on Cuba Street in Wellington is the variety; Middle Eastern, Argentinian, Asian, and everything in between. You can spend $10 on a kebab, or several hundred on a degustation. In the dead centre of Cuba Street, at number 171, is an unassuming Chinese Restaurant by the name of Rams. With Formica tables and laminated A4 menus, this restaurant would not be offended by being labelled ‘cheap eats’.

Rams markets itself on their signature dish, Chilli Oil Dumplings. This is not surprising as they have the title of ‘Best Dumplings in Wellington’ which was bestowed by a food reviewer not long after they opened. Yes, the dumplings are great, and any restaurant critic could write 500 words on these tasty morsels. However, they are not what brings me here on a fortnightly basis.

The crowd tonight is mostly younger people, it’s a Thursday night and it looks as though everyone is ready for the weekend. It is windy (as per usual in Wellington), and I’m seated at a table in the window, great for watching over this infamous street. The walls are painted beige — again, very unassuming. There is a small wooden cylinder on the table that houses metal chopsticks and a few knives and forks. I might be white, but I am NOT eating Chinese food with a knife and fork.

To say this restaurant is understated would be…. well, an understatement. It lacks ambience and ‘vibes’, but I assure you that the food is worth the visit. I would say that the mood they are going for is unpretentious. There is table service, wine by the glass, and BYO.

We order the usual: Kungpo Chicken ($18.50) and Sweet & Sour Pork ($18.50). Both dishes come with rice. They are phenomenally generous sized portions, if you added an extra rice, you could easily feed three people.

Within minutes, the Sweet & Sour Pork arrives. It consists of juicy deep-fried pork pieces in a sticky sauce with some onion and pineapple. This dish is a staple at many Chinese restaurants, and some might argue it’s a cop out to order something so basic. I would say that those people are missing out. It is a really balanced meal, and perfect for my carnivorous appetite. Between me and my partner, we make easy work of this succulent dish, washing it down with a glass of Pinot Gris.

A few minutes later, the Kungpo Chicken arrives - my personal favourite. This is a classic dish from the Sichuan province of South-Western China. There is also a pepper by the same name. The chicken in this dish is delicate. The onion, celery and bok choy is fresh. And the peanuts are soft – how do they make them like that? The sauce is something to write home about. Slightly spicy, a touch of sweetness, and a pinch of MSG. It can best be described as umami.

The clever balance of flavours in this dish makes it a real treat for me. It feels wholesome, like an old family recipe. It feels authentic, like you are eating this dish in a restaurant in the Sichuan Province. It feels moreish – I’ve eaten this dish more times than I have had fast food this year. It has always been the highlight of my visits to Rams.

Rams is a very unpretentious restaurant on Cuba Street in Wellington, but it dishes out some of the best Chinese food in the city. P.S. they also deliver through Delivereasy and Uber Eats.