Funny thing. I are there last Friday and stopped in on Thursday to photograph the menu. The two menus were slightly different, the Friday one seeming like the beta of the one I photographed above.
Good meal all around. $42/person, including the eight dishes pictured below, four beers, a beef roll and string beans. A few of us noted that nothing was particularly heat spicy, so we confirm @geo12the’s comments. I was curious whether to lack of heat that was based on the palette of dishes chosen (e.g., nothing with fermented fave bean paste, doubanjiang) or the kitchen’s default. Even though flavors were balanced and enjoyable, I regret not sampling of dish or two before putting in the full order, and then requesting the heat to be adjusted accordingly.
They have crab right now, but the crawfish dishes they advertise in their windows are unavailable.
Spicy Beef Jerky. I’ve read about this in Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Plenty, but never had this dish in a restaurant. She describes the preparation as involving boiling with spices (star anise, cassia), marinating, deep frying, and then cooking simmering in a spicy, sweet, and aromatic liquid. Z&Y’s version is delicious, and another beast altogether from the processed items you get in a supermarket. Lots of seasonings to ponder, rough exterior and softer insides, a bit sweet.
Spicy numbing beef tendon.
The chef didn’t light the fuse on the Chicken with explosive Chile pepper. Succulent, not-oily and very tasty boneless deep fried chicken, but a disappointment for one of their most popular dishes. Note the color of the chilies— bright red, none of the char necessary to impart the chicken with chili flavor. I didn’t get much numbing.
A choy (off menu seasonal green) with garlic sauce.
In Royal Feast’s version, pork belly slices are rolled up and the cool fatty pork contrasts with the aromatic “garlic mud” sauce. Cucumber is on the plate as a garnish. Z&Y’s version puts the cucumber garnish front and center, draping the pork on cucumber slices, and it weakens the dish. The pork was barely noticeable against the watery crunch, and the sauce was difficult to dip into given the lack of cucumber’s pliability.
Sour bean fried rice was fine but needed more sour beans.
Spicy (yellow feather) chicken w/ peppercorns in clear broth. Wow! Minimal heat or numbing in the chicken, but oh man if that’s not the juiciest chicken ever. The server said not to drink the ‘clear broth’ ( I asked) and its viscosity suggested some kind of oil poaching liquid. I took a sip and it tasted faintly of Sichuan peppercorns.
Hot braised whole fish with Chile (duo Jiao). Catfish, firm yet creamy texture in my first bites, lovely cheeks and head to finish, covered in red and green pickled chilies. In general, do Sichuan and Hunan versions of this dish’s toppings differ? Z&Y’s was more fermenty, Wonderful’s version is sweeter and zestier.
