Yes, he did. He just had to eat it slowly. LOL
I like it, Mr Bean doesnāt. Now that The Sprout is back at college, it makes it harder to order when its just the 2 of us. Which meansā¦
Another HO down sounds like a great idea!!!
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Just so we can cross-reference, the post from @shayna about the authentic dishes she orders at Sichuan Cottage is in this thread:
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Well after reading such rave reviews of this place for so many years I decided to give them a try. Tried to order some of the favorites so we started with the West Lake Beef Chowder, this was interesting and we established my wife is part of the 10% who cilantro tastes like soap! I found the soup to be good but I added copious amounts of hot mustard to give it some more zing. Kudos on the hot mustard, not that thick pasty mustards some places serve.
Entrees: 3 pepper chicken - salt and pepper shrimp - chicken and broccoli (my daughterās request)
Iām assuming the 3rd pepper in the 3 pepper chicken is white pepper in the batter, am I right? Lol I liked the dish just fine, started getting the tingle tongue as @joonjoon so accurately described, but I wish the chicken pieces were larger. Having such tiny pieces fried like that drys the chicken out too much. I just think slightly larger cubes would do the chicken a bit of a favor.
Some communication error got us our salt and pepper shrimp without shells. Fine with me but I did find them rather salty (no duh I know) but Iām not a huge salt guy, so they were good just left me a bit puckered.
The chicken and broccoli was great.
Kudos for offering brown rice as an option.
Few observations out of the 6 tables seated while we were there only one other was not Asians. (Oh speaking of which anyone know how to say: āthe fat guy in the suit at the next tableā in Chinese?? Im pretty sure they were talking about me 
)
All that with plenty to bring home $53 without tip, so thereās good value there. I would gladly go back to try some more dishes, nicer than your average dine in Chinese restaurant, service was fine as well.
(No soup pics)
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Bob if you get back, try the pickled vegetables. They serve them to the Asian customers instead of the noodles and duck sauce. You just have to ask for them. I like them and they are free just like the noodles.
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Glad you got to try the place out, IMO the 3 pepper chicken isnāt the greatest dish there but I know some peeps love it. I think itās kind of boring compared to most of their other dishes.
Oh and for all the non Chinese folks visitingā¦ as CJ mentioned, always ask for the pickles!
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To me, 3 pepper chicken is a good sharing dish. There is no sauce that can drip and you donāt even have to add it to your plate. It can be enjoyed communally without really spreading many germs.
Pretty sure itās hot green peppers, hot dried red peppers, and Sichuan brown pepper.
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I agree itās a good sharing dish in that they are tasty little morsels of chicken, but I donāt think Iād ever want a meal of 3 pepper chicken. And I personally donāt think the version at Sichuan Cottage is particularly good. I mean itās not bad, but there are so many glorious options.
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āTasty little morselsā is a perfect definition for the dish. My biggest problem is the tiny little morsels way over cook making many pieces dried out and tough or chewy.
Sichuan Cottage is now closed on Tuesdays. Given that Shanghai Bun is also closed on Tuesdays, itās a good thing that Jinli is open seven days a week.
Had another excellent meal at Sichuan Cottage. It was about time we introduced my mom to this glory and she enjoyed what she had. 1) The wontons in hot oil. An absolute winner. I like that they really arenāt that spicy. Just a nice, mouth-warming to break you in for what is to come. 2) Wonton-Egg Drop soup. Pretty average. Probably wouldnāt order again. Only two wontons. 3) Its hard to order anything but the beef in hot oil for me. The spice, the quantity of beef, the minced garlic in the middle. I know, Iām preaching to the choir. 4) Justinās three pepper chicken. It took a while, but that mouth-numbing, tingling sensation finally hit. 5) My momās clams in black bean sauce. Really delicious. Not too salty and interesting use of onions. Never was a fan of this dish until now.
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@gcaggiano unless you dislike cilantro, the next time you go, you MUST try the West Lake Beef Chowder (not a chowder as we think of it)! It looks like nothing but OMG, the flavor is fantastic. HT to @eleeper for the intro to that oneā¦
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Looking good! Have you guys tried the soup dumplings yet?
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@corvette_johnny and @CurlzNJ, looks like West Lake Beef Chowder and soup dumplings will be on our next visit.
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@seal and @eleeper As I recall, I wasnāt ecstatic about the soup dumplings thereā¦ Have either of you had them?
The soup dumplings are much better at Shanghai Bun, but I usually get the beef chowder.
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Greg Iāve never had this dish but she is right. In fact, if I ever got it, I would 100% think they brought me the wrong soup based on the āchowderā title. I will try it next time I am there.
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Yeah Shanghai Bunās #1 seller is the soup dumps, itās almost unfair comparing it to Sichuan Cottage. I mean itās not even Sichuanese food. To each his own but IMO you really should be getting something other than soup dumps at Sichuan Cottage especially when Bun is so close by.
Also, I know itās a controversial opinion here but I donāt think the West Lake chowder is that great. (hides)
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For the 8 dollars or so, Iād still recommend that Greg try them. I really like them and I think he will too. Iāve never heard anyone say anything negative about them. I could go for some right now 
