On our last trip to Flushing, we stayed across the street from this joint and did not go there. We instead went to You Shangai for a terrible meal. We should have come here!
Twice cooked pork was wonderful. The pork was funky and perfectly balanced between chewy and tender from the first cooking. And what was really good was how balanced the sauce components were. They used Sichuan soybean paste, black bean paste and hot oil, but you could not make out the individual components. Another deft touch was their use of 2 styles of garlic: chopped raw and big hunks of blanched cloves.
Next was string bean and minced pork. Perfectly cook beans, well fried til soft but still toothy like al dente pasta.
These two were so good that we had to order a third dish, Ma Po Tofu. Again, harmony was the star. We ordered not spicy and yet the dish had a nice kick of Sichuan peppercorn.
We have a fabulous Sichuan spot in Towson, Red Pepper Bistro. This is easily on par. In fact these two spots remind me of Brandy Ho’s in SF from 30+ years ago.
On our next trip up, we should try to do a group dinner. They have a private room and we can pre-order live seafood for some special dishes.
$46 after a cash discount, which seemed a real bargain.
. I really wanted the steamed whole fish they were eating (topped with some spicy sauce, and noodles next to it on the platter) but companion wasn’t feeling it.
