How about some Sichuan food without the numbing spiciness? Free your mind at Chuan Yang Ji, where you get Sichuan style mutton hot pot, non-spicy.

The waitress says that the broth was prepared over six hours, and proceeds to ask if she can serve you some of it before you add ingredients into it to cook. This light-coloured broth contains Chinese wolfberries and some other herbs. Taste it before you toss anything in, for it's now suitably flavoured with the herbs and tastes light. To the uninitiated, it won't taste like your common perception of mutton soup. Try it and tell me if it's your idea of mutton soup? Good stuff.

Order the set (which comes in various sizes, the set for 2 is $38) and it comes with mutton tripe, mutton slices, mutton ribs, mutton wonton, various vegetables, two types of mushroom, beancurd and glass noodles, plus dessert - chilled white fungus soup. There are other things you can order, but this lot is usually enough.

Don't expect much for ambience, it's a hotpot place and the indoors will smell like it. Service from the few Chinese nationals serving my table was very good. They explain the dishes and stock, serve you the stock and tell you why you should have it first before starting to cook, explain which items should go in first and throw them in after you have given your approval, teach you to cook the mutton slices for a short while, then dip them into the chilli flakes and spices on a saucer, and then ask if the chilli flakes and spices are suitable for your taste.

The star here is the mutton slices - a generous portion - which you cook for a short time as they are thin and cook fast. Put some chilli flakes and spices in your saucer, then dip your freshly cooked mutton slices and eat. Excellent! The mutton ribs were great too.

After cooking all the food, you've changed the flavour of the soup. It's now infused with the wonderful richness of mutton and its fats. Great!

There you go, banish the thoughts that Sichuan food will kill your tongue and stomach with the spice levels. No service charge, no GST, the signs on the walls proclaim. It's closed on Mondays. Next door, Rochor Beancurd House will be opening shortly, hurray!