dagrassroots wrote:How would a vegetarian do here?
Octarine wrote:Generals' chicken was VG rendition of General Tso's but save your money and valuable stomach room for the far better options mentioned upthread.
HPglutster wrote:The Kung Pao Chicken was completely different. Instead of a bold, crispy, spicy and sweet mesh of heat and texture, it was a tired, bland, sorry dish that a corner Chinese stand would be embarassed to put out. Nobody could eat more than a bite. A couple people said the chicken tasted "old"
HPglutster wrote:We ordered the whole fish, which we were told is a chef specialty. But the 53$ dish didn't win any fans. An enormous bubbling rectangle of seething excitement without any reward!
riddlemay wrote:I'm intrigued to try this place and probably will soon, but my question is a more tangential one, which is, what does the title of this thread mean? Is MaLa a word that applies to the cuisine, or one of the dishes? Or is it a portmanteau, like SoHo for "SOuth of HOuston," etc.? I've re-read the opening post and I don't think the answer is there, but feel pretty sure it's understood by the cognoscenti, of whom I am not one. So any help appreciated.
riddlemay wrote:Is MaLa a word that applies to the cuisine, or one of the dishes?
lougord99 wrote:Hope some picts get posted.
George R wrote:Really enjoyed the meal and the company. As lougord99 said, some dishes were meh in comparison to others, but I thought all were at least good and many went well beyond that.
bweiny wrote:Definitely think this place is authentic and much needed on the far northside. I went twice in mid & late February.
Dishes not on this thread I found to be very good:
- Spicy bamboo chicken sliced (appetizer); room temp, with more texture and flavor contrast from bamboo (and mushrooms?)
- Spicy fish fillet with tofu (chef recommended section); has a fabulous rich sichuan chile sauce, only issue being accumulation of peppercorns at the bottom, which if unnoticed, can go beyond desired ma la burn.
- Pot stickers; I prefer over Zhong's at most places b/c the latter too often has a sweeter profile. Good texture to the pan fry, thickness of wrapper, and filling.
I found the Dan Dan lacking compared to my Chinatown source (Lao Beijing), but I'll give it another try. I don't recommend chive cake or Szechuan green beans either.
Do others agree with me on the following?
- Authentic, quality Szechuan, like ABOS, is taxing on the palate in a manner similar to Northern Indian. It is difficult to have more than once every 3-4 weeks, at most. I love spicy food, and consume it almost exclusively, but I'm coming to the conclusion that Thai food is the most sustainable weekly basis cuisine (abundance of northside options certainly a relevant factor). Mexican as well, but Indian & Szechuan while providing the intensity I look for, lose their appeal with repetition faster than other options.
botd wrote:bweiny wrote:Do others agree with me on the following?
- Authentic, quality Szechuan, like ABOS, is taxing on the palate in a manner similar to Northern Indian. It is difficult to have more than once every 3-4 weeks, at most. I love spicy food, and consume it almost exclusively, but I'm coming to the conclusion that Thai food is the most sustainable weekly basis cuisine (abundance of northside options certainly a relevant factor). Mexican as well, but Indian & Szechuan while providing the intensity I look for, lose their appeal with repetition faster than other options.
Well there are two obvious counters to your last paragraph.
1) People in those regions eat their cuisine nearly every day without becoming fatigued.
2) If your conception of Sichuan food is predominantly heavy mala flavors like that of Shui Zhu Yu then of course you are going to become overwhelmed. However, most dishes are not as heavy on the ma or the la as that and there are broad range of other flavors encapsulated in Sichuan food. This feeds into #1, as well, as natives are likely consuming food from their entire cuisine. Furthermore, restaurant menus are not necessarily indicative of what natives typically consume on an average day.
Also the answer to what cuisine you can eat all the time is of course Chinese. You could eat a distinct regional cuisine every day of the week that ranges from the clean flavors of Yunnan to the spice-laden food of Shaanxi and everything in-between.