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A Bite of Szechuan: MaLa Marvel

A Bite of Szechuan: MaLa Marvel
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  • Post #31 - February 27th, 2017, 10:08 am
    Post #31 - February 27th, 2017, 10:08 am Post #31 - February 27th, 2017, 10:08 am
    How would a vegetarian do here?
  • Post #32 - February 27th, 2017, 10:11 am
    Post #32 - February 27th, 2017, 10:11 am Post #32 - February 27th, 2017, 10:11 am
    dagrassroots wrote:How would a vegetarian do here?

    Seems they'd do ok but perhaps some dishes that seem vegetarian would need to be asked about. Mapo Tofu, Sprouts & Leeks, Spinach & Peanuts were all terrific and seemed to be vegetarian. And it's a big menu, so I'm guessing there are even more.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #33 - February 27th, 2017, 1:01 pm
    Post #33 - February 27th, 2017, 1:01 pm Post #33 - February 27th, 2017, 1:01 pm
    Additions to Ronnie's list of strong dishes above:
    1) the homemade pickled cabbage and radish (gratis) is spectacular
    2) Tofu with preserved egg (assuming you're good with eggs) is a delicious cold salad that I like to eat in tandem with the vinegar spinach with peanuts, also a cold dish.
    3) Enjoyed the stir fried eggplant for the first time on Saturday--delicious!

    I think vegetarians have PLENTY of options on this menu.
    "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington
  • Post #34 - February 27th, 2017, 3:07 pm
    Post #34 - February 27th, 2017, 3:07 pm Post #34 - February 27th, 2017, 3:07 pm
    Lunch today was Kung Pao chicken lunch special and pork with garlic appetizer.
    Best KPChx I have ever had. Simply stunning.

    Pork was mind blowing as usual, best legal food you can have.

    Generals' chicken was VG rendition of General Tso's but save your money and valuable stomach room for the far better options mentioned upthread.
  • Post #35 - February 28th, 2017, 4:48 am
    Post #35 - February 28th, 2017, 4:48 am Post #35 - February 28th, 2017, 4:48 am
    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.

    Agree on General Tso's chicken, though after reading about and seeing The Search for General Tso, available on Netflix, if its on the menu of a place I frequent I order at least once.
    ABoS1.jpg General Tso's Chicken (Lunch Menu portion)


    A Bite of Szechuan offers lunch menu for $7.95 which include choice of soup, get the terrific hot and sour, and egg roll. Full menu available if one is so inclined.
    ABoSLunchMenu1.jpg Lunch Menu, A Bite of Szechuan


    No compromise Szechuan with a lunch menu ten minutes from my house, I'm hoping A Bite of Szechuan isn't a cruel fevered dream and actually a cell phone store or Walgreen's Express. :shock:
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #36 - February 28th, 2017, 12:33 pm
    Post #36 - February 28th, 2017, 12:33 pm Post #36 - February 28th, 2017, 12:33 pm
    The pickled pepper with fish filet lunch special is excellent.

    Image
  • Post #37 - March 1st, 2017, 8:19 am
    Post #37 - March 1st, 2017, 8:19 am Post #37 - March 1st, 2017, 8:19 am
    So, four visits now within two weeks. I guess I done caught it.

    We met a friend for a late lunch yesterday and had such a blast. And the food just keeps getting better and better.

    There was an unmistakable aroma of spice when we entered, which immediately arroused my curiosity and got the saliva going. On the way to use the facilities, I ran into the Chef, who had a tray of toasted Jasmine rice, star anise and other spices which he was in the process of grinding into a powder. Chloe mentioned to me that this " breading" (my term) is used for the hot garlic steamed pork intestines I enjoyed last Friday evening.

    Really wanted to branch out yesterday, and when I noticed the "Skewers" column on the menu's very last page, I knew we would be trying several of these.

    Eggplant skewer was soft and luscious, with big chunks of crunchy raw garlic Ana this incredible "wet rub" all over the top. Squid skewer just as spectacular. Chicken wing skewere very ordinary. potato skewers earthy with that same marvelous "sludge" painted over the top.

    I ordered for the threee of us. Hot garlic eggplant, cucumber salad, hot sour soup, Zhong dumplings and Kung Pao were divine as usual. The Chef sent out a complimentary plate of pig ear which I scarfed down as soon as we got home.

    Do not miss the salt and pepper squid.

    We left very, very satisfied after three hours of great food and three hours of even better conversation. I later realized that we never received the marinated cabbage and Beef tendon skewers I'd requested. Didn't matter at that point. I suppose I was firing so rapidly, that Jackie missed a few items...

    They were out of Hot Pig's Feet with remains at the top of my list...
    If you aren't tasting, you aren't cooking.
  • Post #38 - March 1st, 2017, 5:16 pm
    Post #38 - March 1st, 2017, 5:16 pm Post #38 - March 1st, 2017, 5:16 pm
    It appears that the lunch specials are not available after 2 PM.

    I was there at 3, naturally . . . .


    Giovanna
    =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=

    "Enjoy every sandwich."

    -Warren Zevon
  • Post #39 - March 1st, 2017, 6:44 pm
    Post #39 - March 1st, 2017, 6:44 pm Post #39 - March 1st, 2017, 6:44 pm
    I had a very good meal here last week. My favorite item was the Dan Dan noodles. Indeed, this is one of my very favorite Chinese dishes. When I was in Chengdu, I kept sampling versions I found around town (which I now notice I never posted). But the version at BoS rivaled what I remembered from Chengdu in terms of flavor, albeit perhaps a little soupier. In my opinion, just the perfect ratio of topping to noodles and just enough Szechuan peppercorns. I'd prefer it a little drier, but outstanding nonetheless.

    Image



    And yes, I agree that the bbq lotus root was fantastic too. It's not very spicy and the flavors are so different from most of what we tasted, so it makes for a very nice addition to your dinner.

    Image



    The spicy fish fillet was very good too. The fish had a really nice, crisp crust, not at all greasy, and the fish so flavorful. My lone complaint is that the balance of smoky peppers and Szechuan peppercorns was off (not enough of the former, way too many of the latter). Szechuan peppercorns, like any other seasoning, should be moderated. Here, too many at the bottom of the dish, which ultimately stuck to the fish and threw off the balance a bit. Still, I thought it was very good.

    Image



    The spicy eggplant was was fine, inoffensive, and we finished it. But it wasn't spicy or particularly unique and I wouldn't eagerly recommend it. I just suspect there are better items here.

    Image



    Finally, some spicy cabbage dish that was our least favorite item by a long stretch. Szechuan peppercorns provided most of the flavor (a few smoky peppers too) and I found it to be very one note. This is the only dish that wasn't finished.

    Image



    There were a number of Chinese people dining in the restaurant during my visit -- and speaking Mandarin, or so I assume from observing them conversing with the owner -- and all of them had ordered hotpot so that's something I'll definitely be trying on my next visit. But the majority of what I ate was very impressive, absolutely meriting a return and a further exploration of the menu.
  • Post #40 - March 3rd, 2017, 2:07 am
    Post #40 - March 3rd, 2017, 2:07 am Post #40 - March 3rd, 2017, 2:07 am
    I have been going to this marvel 2 or 3 times a week. Here's my report:
    It is still pretty empty most of the time. I think our community should do everything we can to get the word out and keep this gem alive!

    I went there Monday and it seemed like there was a different chef. The dan dan noodles were completely different, much less soupy and more peanuty. I have to admit that neither of these rank up there with the best I've had.

    My new favorite dishes are the Boiled Beef and the Kung Pao Chicken (which i feel a little guilty for liking because its a bit sweet). These two dishes are absolutely up there with the finest szechuan food I have had. (although there is a little place in los angeles i could recommend...) The popcorn chicken is actually less impressive than most of the places I've ordered it. This is the "fried dry spicy chicken" that is a szechuan staple. Too bready in my estimation. They gave us a little orange beef for free -- this is yummy and i recommend it for the less adventurous. The dumplings in hot oil are absolutely a must.

    My only grudge against the place is that i asked them to recommend a vegetable appetizer. He pointed at something and i just said yes yes yes. It turned out to be iceberg lettuce with some peanuts on top. Maybe not iceberg. But it was just a dumb salad. At a szechuan place! I still resent that i wasted a dish.

    A++++
  • Post #41 - March 14th, 2017, 3:34 pm
    Post #41 - March 14th, 2017, 3:34 pm Post #41 - March 14th, 2017, 3:34 pm
    A bit of blasphemy here:
    Could it be that, say, the chef takes a night off every now and then and magic declines?
    Last night, I was with my family so the more adventurous dishes were not going to happen.
    The Hot Sour Soup was wonderful. The Orange Beef my brother ordered was respectable. The veggie dishes were lovely as usual.
    BUT
    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"

    Another thing. The first time I ate there, the beef jerky appetizer was actually jerky-like. Tough and rewarding to chew on. Now, it's soft, not really jerky, and not a must-try.
    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! I have never really tried this dish (what happened to szechuan crispy fish) so I can't say much about it.

    Anyway, thoughts?
    We still love the place, but im just a wee bit concerned. LA Chinese places were notorious for starting strong, getting a reputation, and then the Chef would rotate out :(..
  • Post #42 - March 14th, 2017, 3:43 pm
    Post #42 - March 14th, 2017, 3:43 pm Post #42 - March 14th, 2017, 3:43 pm
    Pretty certain the chef is the owner.
    "In pursuit of joys untasted"
    from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata
  • Post #43 - March 14th, 2017, 3:55 pm
    Post #43 - March 14th, 2017, 3:55 pm Post #43 - March 14th, 2017, 3:55 pm
    but -- 7 days a week? he must take time off. the kung pao chicken calamity seems like proof that the chef hit the road....
  • Post #44 - March 14th, 2017, 4:20 pm
    Post #44 - March 14th, 2017, 4:20 pm Post #44 - March 14th, 2017, 4:20 pm
    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"

    A sextet of us ordered this last week for lunch. Chef/owner was in-house but the dish was nothing like as described/pictured upthread and nothing I'd likely order again. Whatever, it seemed like an outlying novelty to begin with, so I'm not concerned that it wasn't stellar.

    Many other dishes -- beef tendon, pig ear, tofu & preserved egg, pork & garlic, etc. -- were as good as ever. We took a chance on the Duck Head Dry Hot Pot and were not too impressed. This was not a squeamish group but these duck heads, split lengthwise down the middle, didn't offer much meat if any. And most of them sat.

    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!

    We also had this -- black bass -- and our group didn't exactly tear into it. It had a nice presence attack but logistically, it was hard to get at. Personally, I felt like the fish was a bit muddy and the overall dish a bit murky. I too wish we'd ordered the Crispy Fish instead.

    I'd chalk our disappointments up to some overly adventurous ordering. At some point, when you're really into a place, you want to turn over every stone but at this particular lunch, I feel we reached too far and found some limits. No big deal. We'll just have to stick to the 20+ proven winners on the menu, going forward.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #45 - March 14th, 2017, 7:28 pm
    Post #45 - March 14th, 2017, 7:28 pm Post #45 - March 14th, 2017, 7:28 pm
    Szechwan crispy shrimp last night was neither Szechwan or crispy. It's ok shrimp but not what I go there for.

    Hot sour soup and pork with garlic more than made up for it.
  • Post #46 - March 15th, 2017, 7:16 am
    Post #46 - March 15th, 2017, 7:16 am Post #46 - March 15th, 2017, 7:16 am
    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.
    Pithy quote here.
  • Post #47 - March 15th, 2017, 7:40 am
    Post #47 - March 15th, 2017, 7:40 am Post #47 - March 15th, 2017, 7:40 am
    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.

    See the Wikipedia entry, under etymology. The entry notes that the term means numbing and spicy hot.
  • Post #48 - March 15th, 2017, 8:14 am
    Post #48 - March 15th, 2017, 8:14 am Post #48 - March 15th, 2017, 8:14 am
    riddlemay wrote:Is MaLa a word that applies to the cuisine, or one of the dishes?

    As BR mentions numbing and spicy hot, though the linked Wikipedia referencing Mala sauce is narrow in definition as mala encompasses more than simply sauce. For a fun interesting internet read try The Mala Project. If you wish to delve further into Szechuan and the wonders of mala a good starting point is Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop.

    Regards,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #49 - March 15th, 2017, 9:44 am
    Post #49 - March 15th, 2017, 9:44 am Post #49 - March 15th, 2017, 9:44 am
    Not sure how I've missed the MaLa Project, cool site.
  • Post #50 - March 15th, 2017, 2:53 pm
    Post #50 - March 15th, 2017, 2:53 pm Post #50 - March 15th, 2017, 2:53 pm
    Thank you! :)

    I had a dish at Sze Chuan Cuisine (in the southernmost tip of Chinatown) that was made with numbing peppers, which I loved, but didn't realize I was eating mala sauce. I probably was! Now I understand retroactively.
    Pithy quote here.
  • Post #51 - March 21st, 2017, 2:49 pm
    Post #51 - March 21st, 2017, 2:49 pm Post #51 - March 21st, 2017, 2:49 pm
    Word has it that ABC chicago Hungry Hound will be covering this MaLa Marvel next month. They already shot the piece last week :D
  • Post #52 - March 21st, 2017, 3:06 pm
    Post #52 - March 21st, 2017, 3:06 pm Post #52 - March 21st, 2017, 3:06 pm
    Sula gave it a nice write-up, too.

    I've enjoyed both of my meals here so far. I think for some dishes, my go-to is still Asian Bistro -- their twice-cooked fish, for example, destroys the gloppy version here; I think the pickles are better, too. (On the other hand, those cost $6 and Bite's are gratis.) But some dishes (spicy liang fen, Zhong's dumplings) are clearly better here. And you don't have to take a stagecoach to Arlington Heights. Looking forward to trying everything on the menu.
  • Post #53 - March 21st, 2017, 4:37 pm
    Post #53 - March 21st, 2017, 4:37 pm Post #53 - March 21st, 2017, 4:37 pm
    Mod Note: This post and several others were split off from an Event thread and merged into this one to keep discussion of the restaurant as consolidated as possible.

    Wow. Great group and great meal. A couple of dishes ( probably had 10-12 ) were Meh in comparison to the others - but these would be good dishes at most other restaurants. Hope some picts get posted.
  • Post #54 - March 21st, 2017, 4:48 pm
    Post #54 - March 21st, 2017, 4:48 pm Post #54 - March 21st, 2017, 4:48 pm
    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.

    An indication was how the table went quiet after the food arrived -- everyone was chowing down! It was only after we were satiated that we came up for air and the conversation took off.

    It's not every day a place lives up to the hype but Bite of Szechuan sure did.
    Where there’s smoke, there may be salmon.
  • Post #55 - March 21st, 2017, 4:59 pm
    Post #55 - March 21st, 2017, 4:59 pm Post #55 - March 21st, 2017, 4:59 pm
    lougord99 wrote:Hope some picts get posted.

    They will. ;)
  • Post #56 - March 21st, 2017, 5:54 pm
    Post #56 - March 21st, 2017, 5:54 pm Post #56 - March 21st, 2017, 5:54 pm
    Here are the photos from today's lunch.

    Kung pao chicken
    Image
    Crispy fish
    Image
    Szechuan salt shrimp
    Image
    Popcorn chicken
    Image
    Ma po tofu
    Image
    Szechuan style stir fried string beans
    Image
    Zhong dumplings
    Image
    Soybean sprout (regular/fried leek)
    Image
    Chili oil pig ear
    Image
    Hot and sour soup
    Image
    I didn't take a photo of the egg rolls or the Pork with garlic sauce, sorry.
    Last edited by nsxtasy on March 23rd, 2017, 1:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #57 - March 23rd, 2017, 6:10 am
    Post #57 - March 23rd, 2017, 6:10 am Post #57 - March 23rd, 2017, 6:10 am
    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.

    I'll going here in a couple of weeks and would appreciate knowing which dishes were the "meh" ones. It almost would be more worth knowing the very few dishes to avoid than the many that are outstanding, because the strong impression I get (from this thread and from the dedicated BoS one) is that one practically can't go wrong ordering anything. Knowing the qualification on that "practically" would be useful.
    Pithy quote here.
  • Post #58 - March 23rd, 2017, 7:00 am
    Post #58 - March 23rd, 2017, 7:00 am Post #58 - March 23rd, 2017, 7:00 am
    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.
  • Post #59 - March 23rd, 2017, 7:51 am
    Post #59 - March 23rd, 2017, 7:51 am Post #59 - March 23rd, 2017, 7:51 am
    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.


    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.
  • Post #60 - March 23rd, 2017, 8:24 am
    Post #60 - March 23rd, 2017, 8:24 am Post #60 - March 23rd, 2017, 8:24 am
    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.


    I wasn't trying to make an objective empirically supportable argument. It was subjective, and as you completely correctly point out, influenced by the sampling bias of Chicago area restaurant menus.

    Your point is well taken with regard to the fish dish (props for going over my menu recitation w/ Shui Zhu Yu) in hindsight, since after my first visit w/out the dish, I was very eager to go back. After the 2nd order w/ the fish, when the food was ironically much better, the motivation has been much slower to return.

    I'll be back by Sunday. The ghetto carry-out menu they gave me, in their maybe 2nd week open, does just fine!

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