This Sunday is out for us… Maybe another time though - we’d like to join in. Do they serve Komodo Dragon there?
They serve anybody!
I’m an idiot, the baby shower apparently starts at 1pm…but screw it I’m going to Sichuan cottage anyway! See you all there tomorrow.
We tried this new dish, and will not be ordering it again. I found it very salty, and I’m not keen on meat with bones, and especially with gristle. Mark, on the other hand, rather likes the bones and gristle–he says he wants his food to be a bit of a challenge. 
We both thought the bitter melon was, well, bitter–more so than previous times we have eaten bitter melon.
YMMV, of course.
The other dish we got was the West Lake Beef Chowder, probably my favorite dish here, and great for a cold, wet day.
Man the lunch deal here is incredible. You can get pretty much everything on the regular menu for lunch and it’s 6$. They do not seem to be skimping on the portions either. My current favorite dish on the menu is 933a, fish with chopped chile in black bean sauce. 6$ for lunch! Insane.
So I’m bumping this up. I’m taking my friend tomorrow and she speaks mandarin. This could be an interesting night. @eleeper @joonjoon
Have you guys been lately? Any recs? I think some frog legs are in my future. She doesnt eat chicken or pork so beef/fish/other
@corvette_johnny Get the Cumin Lamb, cold Ox tongue and tripe, Spicy braised beef hot oil noodles, and the salt n pepper shrimp esp if you are shell eaters.
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So I let her decide and she chose the fish in hot oil, cumin beef and some vegetable dish. It was a truck load of food. Joon, as usual, is spot on and the fish dish was great. In fact, I was dumping the hot oil over the beef and rice. The vegetable dish was just nothing special at all. Overall, another good dinner at the cottage. I totally forgot about the frog legs since I rarely eat them unless in Chinatown…Damn! Lol. Next time the lamb hot pot might be the call and the beef chowder 
EXACTLY what I was going to add, @eleeper ! But be forewarned–it’s full of cilantro, so if that’s not your thing, don’t go there. If you do, though, it’s a fantastic bowl of soup. Looks like nothing, but then you taste it, and POW! 
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I just got a new (take-home) menu from Sichuan Cottage. The frogs legs seem to be gone, as well as the kidney and the clams. I also got and translated the Chinese lunch menu, which I will scan and post tomorrow. (The menu numbering in the authentic section has changed so I’ve written the actual dish names in this time around.)
I’m looking forward to finding new dishes there. 
You are far too kind to do all that - TYVM!
Very nice.
I am kind of glad this place is a 25 minute ride for me. If it was nearby, I think I’d be there several times a week lol
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Here’s the translated menu, in PDF. I couldn’t make a JPG (my scanner kept splitting it into half a dozen random pieces). I may try to darken the notes and re-scan it.
Credit to James McCawley’s “Eater’s Guide to Chinese Characters”.
(Oh, I misspoke myself–they still have the clams on the regular menu.)
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It’s only a 15-minute drive for us and the main thing that keeps us from going there more often is that Shanghai Bun is only a 5-minute drive!
(Well, that, and the fact that Mark doesn’t like the brown-pepper-numb-mouth effect of many of the really good dishes.)
Hey! Sorry just saw this for the first time. Glad you enjoyed your visit! Definitely a place worth returning to.
Went again today and got the Fish Filet & Sour Cabbage Soup, and the lunch special of Roast Pork with Garlic Sauce (off the English-language menu, not the Chinese one).
The soup was good and had more protein than the West Lake Soup, but we’ll still probably stick with the West Lake Soup in the future., because it is so yummy! (I’m curious how similar the Fish Filet & Sour Cabbage Soup is to the “Sour Hot Pot with Fish Filet” on their Chinese lunch menu.)
Oh, the differences between the Chinese lunch menu and the “American” lunch menu (other than the dishes offered) are that the Chinese ones are cheaper (and I think may be larger portions), but do not include soup (or egg roll). Given that Mark and I order a large soup and one lunch special, we’ll probably stick with the Chinese menu in the future.
Funny–I was just back there on Sunday; I convinced 5 others who enjoy good food that they needed to go WITH ME. Needless to say, they were NOT disappointed. 
I turned them on to the West Lake Beef Chowder, the sesame noodles (which were VERY good, although I’d never seen them with cucumbers on top), the lamb with cumin, and, and, AND. One of my friends ordered the beef in chili oil, which I definitely recommend.
The one objection they had was to being ignored. We sat down and watched as tables were served and orders taken before us. I explained it wasn’t unusual in a REAL Chinese restaurant, but I still agree it ain’t right. Once I ordered Xiao Long Bao (which, sorry, I DON’T recommend there) by name, I think the waiter started paying attention.
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