Get into the spicy spirit! There are quite a few Sichuan style Chinese restaurants opening up in the Phoenix area. I say bring on the heat!
Set in the corner spot of the same plaza Asian Cafe Express is in (But on the opposite side), Spice Spirit opened up just a few weeks ago. I'm not sure what the space used to be but the interior is quite lavish and beautiful, with a lot of tables and booths. I'm sure they spent a pretty penny on upgrading this area to make it look so nice.
We decided on the hot and spicy cumin fish fillet, dan dan noodles and the chef's special dry chili tofu. The fish and tofu were prepared in a similar way, lightly breaded and fried, then coated with a chili mixture. I enjoyed the light crispness of the tofu, the soft molten creamy center, and the tongue numbing chili spice. The fish was tender, also lightly crisp, with a bold punch of ground cumin dusted on it along with the chilis. The dan dan noodles by comparison were more tame. The noodles had an al dente chew to them with a mound of seasoned ground meat and fresh cooked greens. I was surprised to see fresh vegetables instead of the pickled vegetables I usually see in dan dan noodles.
Service was friendly and water was refilled as needed. Prices were a little high but I did feel like the product we got was high quality.
As we left the owner was there and he thanked us for coming which was a nice touch.
There's a lot more off the menu I still want to try so I will definitely be back to try more dishes.