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Game, set, match to Melbourne's Chinatown

Li Na at Crown in Melbourne earlier this year.
Li Na at Crown in Melbourne earlier this year.Jesse Marlow

Chinese tennis player, Li Na, seeded sixth in the Australian Open currently on at Melbourne Park, loves her country’s cuisine and Chinese New Year almost as much as her game. She recently confessed that, in her opinion, Melbourne “has the best Chinatown” and nominated restaurants including South Yarra’s Dainty Sichuan as amongst the best she’s eaten at on her extensive travels.

Li tries to celebrate Chinese New Year regardless of where she is. It won’t be Melbourne this year, with Chinese New Year falling on February 11th, and she still doesn’t know where she’ll be. But, “if there’s a tournament on, all the Chinese players get together at a restaurant to celebrate.”

Li confesses that she doesn’t cook much but loves eating; “it’s easier”. And while she favours spicy Sichuan flavours, she says fiery does not work before a tournament. “I eat some rice, vegetables and a little bit of fish the day before a game.” She also loves the Cantonese flavours of Silks in Crown, and her tip to celebrate the Year of the Snake? “You should have a whole fish on the table, steamed, with some soy sauce and ginger.”

The team at Crown recently sent the Espresso team a list of tennis players who had been invited to dine at the complex's restaurants this month. It seems Maria Sharapova and Li Na are fans of Man Tong, while the menfolk (Andy Murray, Roger Federer and David Ferrer) prefer the Japanese flavours at Nobu. Meanwhile the team at Bistro Guillaume must have put on their best gluten-free showing when world number 1 men's player Novak Djokovic stopped in for a bite.

Let us know who you've spotted this month in the comments section below.

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