Just Open: Tina's Noodle Kitchen, Preston

Sichuan continues its delicious Melbourne takeover with Tina Li and Ye Shao's ninth venue opening in Preston this week. It's the latest outpost of Tina's Noodle Kitchen (also Box Hill, CBD and Highpoint), and joins three standalone Dainty Sichuan restaurants and a cheeky Dainty Sichuan Noodle Express in the basement at Emporium.

It's a long thin space that's pretty glam for a noodle shop, with lots of exposed brick and lacquered wooden tables with comfortable stools and an open kitchen where you can watch the noodle-masters at work. Come early if you want to nab one of the 60 seats spread over three connected rooms: there's likely to be a queue.

The menu follows the familiar Tina's Noodle Kitchen format: offal on sticks in piquant chilli sauces, steamed buns and bubbling cauldrons of numbing noodle soups in ceramic bowls large enough to cook a soup, let alone serve one. There's an chilli-emoji rating system and when they say three chills they're not mucking around – bring sweatbands.

It's outrageously good value – on average $13-$14 for a deep bowl of sticky, fragrant broth filled with rice noodles and toppings such as pickled greens, soybean sprouts and braised meats that come mostly on the bone.

Li and Shao expect to get a liquor licence soon. Given that they've faced a year-and-a-half of red tape since they took over the site, a few more weeks can't hurt.

Open Sun-Thu 10am-9pm; Fri-Sat 10am-10pm.

352 High Street Preston, 03 9470 6389