ALERT****** GEM (with minor flaws)*********for*********** SICHUAN*********
This Chinese Restaurant is for people that enjoy Sichuan Style Chinese Food.
The interior is rich with granite and beautiful decorative gold on the walls. I noticed several small rooms around the dining room that might be for private dining. I found that ordering a beverage might be a problem........I'll explain at the end.......but the food is really amazing.
You should ask more questions than I did.....I thought they were expensive because prices on some plates ran high but the price reflected portions that I was unaware of so I came home with tons of leftovers. But it wasn't a bad thing.
We started out sharing Sichuan Cold Noodles. The cold noodles were chewy and were topped with a ground peanuts with Asian seasonings and chili. The dish also contained cucumber to cool you off and lighten it up. As you ate this dish the flavors and heat grew and the dish became more interesting and delicious.
I ordered the New School Sichuan Fish Filets in Hot Chili Oil. This dish is very large and I think it can feed 2-4 people depending on how much rice you eat. This dish is similar to Water Boiled Fish but better. They made the dish with sole that was meaty and mild. This was hot and spicy but not as spicy as the Cultural Center makes it. This dish was very good.
My husband ordered the Beef in Hot Chili Oil. YOU MUST GET THIS DISH because it was PHENOMENAL! This dish was far more complex than the fish. The beef was so flavorful and melted like butter in your mouth and it was in a beefy light sauce with lettuce. It was amazing. I never had any beef in any Chinese Restaurant that was this good before. I think they held back on the chili a bit because they came out and asked us if we like spicy.......
The food and atmosphere seemed like 5 stars....
The problems......
I tried to order an iced tea.....Our waiter at first says yes and then looks at a nearly empty clear ice tea dispenser. I then noticed the dispenser and realized it was left out over night and nobody cleaned it out...THAT IS NOT GOOD. I then asked for a glass of water and got water without ice. The water is terrible......undrinkable.......maybe it was leftover from something ....so I didn't drink anything.
They give you one serving plate and one bowl...After the Sichuan Cold Noodles that we shared we didn't want to use the same bowl for other foods so we had to steal bowls from another table ourselves.
We were the only table in the restaurant and it took them a good 15-20 minutes to pack up our leftovers on the table next to us....I sort of fear what the service might be like if they get busy.
If you are a fan of Sichuan you will want to check this place out...but you might want to sneak in your own beverage.
I'm not sure if I should have awarded 4 stars because of the beverages but in this case I let them slide mostly because the food was good and they are a new business.
Next time I'm going to try the Lotus, Snowbeans, Black Fungus and Carrots!