As someone who can eats just a little bit of spiciness, when I dine at a restaurant that specializes in spicy food, I often order both spicy and non-spicy food to even out the heat. This was what I did at Hunan Style Restaurant. We ordered 2 spicy entrées (braised pork and fish in soup) and 2 non-spicy entrees (vegie noodle and stir fry mushroom). Both of the spicy entrées were noted as 1 chilli level on menu.
The spicy food tasted very good. My BF and I could handle the spiciness alright. For reference, the 1 chilli level of spiciness here is as spicy as the "hot" wings at St Louis Wings (I trust I have given a benchmark that most people can relate). The fish was cooked in soup with sour pickled vegetable. I always like the spicy and sour combination, so I loved the dual flavours of this dish. The spiciness was mostly in the soup. The fish fillets were mildly spicy. My mom drank half the soup (ouch!). The braised pork was oily (no surprise) and delicious. This dish can lead to artery clog if you eat it often. The pork itself was (surprise!) not spicy whatsoever. The spiciness was in the sauce. The sauce had layers of flavours. The sauce would have gone well with white rice.
The non spicy entrées were both bland. No, not bland when compared to the other dishes. They were bland/uninteresting on their own. They needed more salt, more sugar, just more condiments. The noodle was *flat* in presence. They seemed way overcooked in water. I would have preferred a bowl of white rice over it. The mushroom fared better. Just add condiment.
So Hunan authentic or not, I love the spicy food here. The flavours are interesting, and even complex sometimes. 5 stars for the 1-chilli hot food. No comment for the 2 and 3-chilli hot food.
The non spicy food is below average. 2 stars.
I average it out to 3.5 stars. I round up to 4 because the spicy food is so good, And it should not be too difficult to improve the non spicy food. Just add more condiment and don't over cook things.