I have been back several times feeding my addiction to the Fish Filet with Napa Cabbage and Spicy Chili Sauce and have increased my spice tolerance as a result. This was good as last night I forced myself to try something different. I went with the Chengdu Fish Filet w. Pickled Green (F09 on the dine-in menu). It is marked with one chili but should really have two chilis – it was spicy! And there was nothing I could see to make it spicy (no chilis floating around) – my desultory research suggests white pepper was the spice agent. It was also pleasantly sour/astringent due to the pickled greens and contained tons of fish as well as tofu and glass noodles. Absolutely delicious.
I also ordered Minced Pork w. Sichuan Long Green Beans which they were very concerned I understood was made with pickled green beans, not fresh. It too was fabulous and also pleasantly sour/astringent from the pickled beans.
I will definitely order both again but not together as they were both quite lean as well as astringent and needed something a bit fattier and without astringency to balance them. Thinking the delectable Sichuan Double Cooked Bacon with the Cheng Du Fish and maybe my beloved Fish Filet with Napa Cabbage etc with the minced pork dish. And my leftovers will make a bunch of great lunches!!
Interesting, there is no F09 on my takeout menu. This is a new addition to the menu and they also have an F10 now. I haven’t tried the Minced Pork w. Sichuan Long Green Beans but they look interesting.
It’s probably on the dine-in menu only because it’s tough to pack. The glass noodles have absorbed a bunch of the liquid while sitting in the fridge but it’s till delicious!
@GretchenS, I was going to have the new fish dish today but I got sidetracked by the Braised Pork Belly on the specials board. Super tender and tasty belly and when it has been braised down like this the fat is just a silky texture. I’m so happy having this place close. They keep adding specials and the staff is just super nice. Now I have to go back for the fish but I can manage that.
Yes, that’s some attractive belly. I envy you that it will soon be in yours. I won’t be able to make it out there in the near future, so my belly will have to live vicariously through yours and Peter’s.
That was amazing. Definite flavor of five-spice. Would pair really well with the Chang Du Fish Filet with Pickled Green I posted about above as that is quite lean and astringent.
OK I don’t normally go back the very next day but a friend I was meeting for lunch wanted to go so…
Chang Du Fish Filet with Pickled Green and Sichuan Double-Cooked Bacon. Much as I like the latter, I wish we’d gotten the braised pork belly instead. My friend was crazy about the fish, as was I.
For the GF folks among us, my friend asked at the hostess desk as his wife must be strenuously GF and they took out their master gluten-free list, grabbed a paper to go menu and using their master list, lined out every dish his wife would need to avoid. It was incredibly kind of them. Luckily all the fish dishes are GF so he is bringing her back to try them soon!
ETA: both times I have ordered that Cheng Du fish they have wanted me to know it is sour and soupy and they need to be reassured that I really want it and that I really like it so be prepared.
I had their Hot and Sour Wonton Soup ($8.95) when it was on the lunch menu in Billerica. I asked the Burlington manager if they could bring it back since I thought it was delicious. It turns out it’s still on the menu, but as Hot & Sour Wonton Soup for two ($6.95). I had it today, and it’s still delicious and loaded with good sized wontons.
One thing not available in mid-coast Maine: Sichuan food. So headed for a fix first thing upon my return. My beloved Fish Filet with Napa Cabbage and Spicy Chili Sauce and the Minced Pork w. Sichuan Long Green Beans, which is really a winning combination. The pork/green bean dish is one of those that I keep eating a little bit more of, long after I am sated. Lots of leftovers for sure but not as much as there should be…
Two service notes: the owner?/manager? - very nice lady - saw me and came over and said it had been a long time and I explained I was in Maine all summer and she made nice noises and then when I left she said “welcome home!” - so nice! Also when I ordered the Minced Pork w. Sichuan Long Green Beans, the waitress (who was unfamiliar to me) was very worried and explained it was not like other green bean dishes and I had to reassure her that I knew that, I knew it was sour and like pickles and that I had had it before and loved it. She was still worried until she saw me eating it. I cannot imagine what they have gone through with non-Chinese folks with that and the Cheng Du fish that they try so hard to make sure you know what you are doing before accepting your order for these items. Reminds me of a very long ago visit to Shangri La in Belmont when a waiter did not want to take our order for pork belly: “it has fat and Americans don’t like it”. We talked him into taking our order and showed him a clean plate at the end. But I do feel for these folks, obviously they have had bad experiences.
Had a bunch of out-of-town colleagues in the office this week, from all over North America. Played safe last night with Red Heat Tavern (near the office and it was late) but tonight took them to Sichuan Gourmet. They are a game group but we split between my “weird” things and their tried and true: my beloved Fish Filets with Napa Cabbage and Spicy Sauce (almost nothing left in giant bowl), the Minced Pork w Sichuan Long Beans (also very popular), the Braised Pork Belly off the specials menu that @Ferrari328 and I have posted about (very little left), Eggplant with Yu Xiang Sauce, General Tso’s Chicken, roasted pork fried rice and steamed white rice. Pretty much only eggplant for leftovers - very good with cloud ears and other stuff - not a huge eggplant fan but liked it anyway. Had one piece of the chicken - not my thing, sweet, but the aficionados said it was an excellent version. A great meal and reinforced my food cred with my colleagues. All that, 4 beers and a bottle of Kendall Jackson chardonnay totaled $150, not bad at all for dinner for 6 (gives them leeway for a blowout dinner in town tomorrow night if they want - bonus!)
I wanted something light for lunch, and there are several dishes in the appetizer section that I have had my eyes on. This is the Chicken with Green Peppercorn (10.50). I figured this should be a small dish. Nope, must have been a leg and thigh cut into slices on the bone. This was a fabulous dish served on thinly sliced cucumbers and swimming in chili oil. The chicken was really tender. Be aware of bone splinters, and you are very likely to get chili-oil all over yourself. They have added a number of tables outside.
On my first time dining in, I had the Fish Filets & Napa Cabbage w. Spicy Chili Sauce that I think is the best dish on the menu. Now, there is a lot of dishes clamoring for the first place. It was as good as I remember.
Since returning to the area I have gotten takeout of some of my old favorites a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed. Tonight I challenged myself to try two new-to-me things. I got MaLa Lamb (l) and Yu Xiang Pork (r), which are marked with two chilis and one chili, respectively, on the menu. The pork was excellent: quite spicy with none of the cloying sweetness it often has, with nice hits of fresh ginger and great varied textures from the various veggies. A winner! The lamb was fine and I will enjoy leftovers but probably not a repeat. As @Ferrari328 said upthread, the la was there (although less spicy than the one chili pork) but not the ma. And the meat didn’t really have much flavor at all.
In my experience, “Ma La” dishes are all la, no ma. And I got some gan guo fish at the Framigham store, and eve though I asked for it “Jia ma” there was’t much ma.
