The soybean sprouts were quite mild. I thought they provided a nice counterpoint to the heat of other dishes. I took some leftover sprouts home with me.

Also, the crispy fish was just OK -- didn't have as much flavor as other dishes. I think others may disagree with me. They were fried properly without grease.

You won't go wrong whatever you choose. If you want to be experimental try the gluttonous frog hot pot. Certainly a contender in a garage band naming contest!

When I was in Chengdu, I paid pretty close attention to what locals around me were eating and noticed that while there was plenty of very spicy food being consumed, there were also a number of seemingly simple and non-spicy vegetable dishes (usually greens) being consumed too. I certainly haven't researched this issue much, but there certainly seemed to be great variety of items being ordered to avoid that one-note fatigue.

I'll agree with George that the crispy fish was just okay – nice, crispy chunks of undistinguished fish, and somewhat more salty than I liked. Also, on an earlier visit, I tried the barbecued ennui mushrooms, which were tasteless strings of nothingness. Everything else I've had on two visits ranged from extremely good to outstanding.

Also, on an earlier visit, I tried the barbecued ennui mushrooms, which were tasteless strings of nothingness.

I guess that's why they call them ennui mushrooms.

GAF wrote:

Also, on an earlier visit, I tried the barbecued ennui mushrooms, which were tasteless strings of nothingness.

I guess that's why they call them ennui mushrooms.

HA HA HA!

Enoki! (Damn you, spellcheck)

riddlemay wrote:I'll going here in a couple of weeks and would appreciate knowing which dishes were the "meh" ones.

I would start with the pig ears. What I mean is, I would skip the pig ears, the least appealing dish we had. It's worth noting that most of the two orders the 11 of us had were still left over by the end of the lunch.

Some of the items might be considered "meh" by someone, and loved by another. For example, the pork with garlic sauce was mostly fat, not meat, and I would consider it "meh" (I actually thought it was awful). But someone who enjoys pork belly and other pork dishes with a high proportion of fat over meat might like it. Similarly, George liked the bean sprouts because they were mild (bland), and I didn't care for them for the exact same reason. Different strokes.

I thought the Szechuan salt shrimp tasted good, but they were a bit of a PITA to deal with, since they were head-on, unpeeled, and not that easy to get to the shrimp meat. So there's that to consider.

If I returned, the dishes I would be most likely to repeat are the Zhong dumplings, the popcorn chicken, the hot and sour soup, and the kung pao chicken, and maybe the string beans.

HTH

To me, the egg rolls and crispy fish were meh.

nr706 wrote:Enoki! (Damn you, spellcheck)

On their best days, they are tasteless strings of nothingness.

For mushroom club's annual luncheon: I make pickled mushrooms with lots of different kinds. I always have the enoki, because they look interesting.

Pretty much everything tastes like the pickling liquid, too, though everyone loves them.

Regards,
Cathy2

As nsxtasy said "different strokes." Actually we agree on the excellent hot & sour soup, popcorn chicken and kung pao chicken. I also thought the string beans were good and would get them again.

As for the Szechuan salt shrimp, I quite liked them. They are a PITA to peel. I chose to chomp down on the crunchy heads and shells, which made getting to the tasty flesh easier. Again, a matter of personal choice.

Different strokes, indeed. I thought the pork with garlic sauce was excellent, and I also enjoyed the pig ear. If you eat the shrimp heads, then eating the salt shrimps isn't that hard. I wasn't too interested in the kung pao chicken but loved the mapo tofu--to each his or her own.

My advice is to order what appeals to you and to try for a variety of spicy and non-spicy. You can get guidance from the wait staff who speak good English.

I, too, enjoyed the pork in garlic sauce, the kung pao chicken (a very good version of a dish I rarely order), the salt shrimp, the green beans, and the dumplings (delicious, but oily), but I wasn't overly impressed with the popcorn chicken, which didn't compare to the version at Lao Sze Chuan. Or with the leeks and spouts.

Different strokes.

Thanks, guys!

I liked trying the pig ear, but one piece was plenty. The crispy fish tasted mostly of salt. I am with George on the soybean sprouts as a nice counterpoint to all the spicy dishes but not too distinguished otherwise. The silkiness of the mapo tofu appealed to me, and I am not normally a tofu fan. Agree with the others on the hot and sour soup.

Pig Ear and Tendon are 2 items I'd most definitely order at every single visit. In fact, I'd feel the meal was unrequited if I didn't. Different strokes, indeed.

=R=

BR wrote:When I was in Chengdu, I paid pretty close attention to what locals around me were eating and noticed that while there was plenty of very spicy food being consumed, there were also a number of seemingly simple and non-spicy vegetable dishes (usually greens) being consumed too. I certainly haven't researched this issue much, but there certainly seemed to be great variety of items being ordered to avoid that one-note fatigue.

This thread it drifting a tad, but I thought I'd continue on this theme a little bit more, although it's all anecdotal.

I'm in Chengdu around 8 times a year. When I and my local co-workers share a meal, we will typically have 10-12 dishes on the table, and I'll will be lucky if ONE of them is the MaLa laden style that I associated with Sichuan Food before first hand exposure. When I ask about it I get an answer that goes something like "You're crazy, you like spicy food, none of us do". The only folks that like spicy food are actually myself and the other American in this office. The rest of the dishes are pretty bland, almost Cantonese style dishes. This is right in Chengdu city.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Pig Ear and Tendon are 2 items I'd most definitely order at every single visit. In fact, I'd feel the meal was unrequited if I didn't. Different strokes, indeed.

=R=

+1. But there is something for everyone here, which is one of the best things about this place.

Returned here and had a lovely meal. Found new favorite -- steamed beef with rice flour. Fantastic!

I think I hit an off-night. I went with a friend who grew up in China. We had the pork with garlic sauce, spicy mapo tofu, hot and sour soup, fried rice and string beans. We really enjoyed the string beans but nothing else registered. Seriously, nothing else was all that good. We were especially let-down by the soup, which based on the reviews seemed like a sure thing. I kind of feel like I'm in one of those psychology experiments where everyone is saying the opposite of what you know is true.

But, the beans were terrific, so there's that.

cleanplateclub wrote:I kind of feel like I'm in one of those psychology experiments where everyone is saying the opposite of what you know is true.

Not everyone. The two of us weren't overly impressed with the LTH lunch there. We found some of the dishes okay, others not, and none memorably great; overall we thought it was just okay, not terrible and not outstanding. We were glad to have the chance to try a variety of their foods, as well as enjoy the company of the folks who were there with us, but we probably won't be going back any time soon. In our case, we know it wasn't a matter of an off night, since others had been there before and it seemed consistent with their previous visits. I can only conclude that, again, it's a matter of different strokes, i.e. some people liking different places and foods more than other people. <shrug>

After seeing it mentioned both in this thread and on Eater Chicago, I'm confused, and I can't find a menu online to check: does this restaurant serve glutinous frog hot pot or gluttonous frog hot pot? Because I'd kinda expect all frogs to be gluttonous.

Katie wrote:I can't find a menu online to check: does this restaurant serve glutinous frog hot pot or gluttonous frog hot pot? Because I'd kinda expect all frogs to be gluttonous.

There are photos of the menu on y**p (click here). Photo 20 says "gluttonous frog pot".

Menu update:
- New, clear, complete carry-out menus have been printed and are available at ABOS (I was provided one w/ my order 3/23/17)
- Complete, accurate menu available online via GrubHub & Seamless (Spicy Fish Filet w/ Tofu, "Recommended" section is where you start!)

While I tried their Kung Pao Chicken b/c of this thread, even it has ma la peppercorns. While a solid rendition, I might as well be more adventurous w/ protein choice (eg. Rabbit, Duck, etc.).

HPglutster wrote:Returned here and had a lovely meal. Found new favorite -- steamed beef with rice flour. Fantastic!

HP, agree 100% fantastic! Thanks for the heads up. One small note, its called Steamed Beef w. Spicy Garlic Sauce on the Traditional Szechuan Menu.

Bite of Szechuan is now closed on Mondays. This has been a public service announcement.

I'm devastated. Monday is my day off and BoS was one of my few favorite restaurants open that day.

On the positive side, it forced me to finish finding the ingredients to make my own Sichuan Kung bao chicken at home.

they deserve it.
another gem i found is closed mondays. the best places deserve rest!

HPglutster wrote:another gem i found is closed mondays. the best places deserve rest!

I wish some of them could close on a different night, so there's more selection on Mondays. Of the 22 restaurants in Chicagoland known for offering tasting menus, 21 are closed on Mondays, with Spiaggia the sole exception.

I made kung pao chicken last night. I grossly overestimated the amount of Szechuan peppercorn and hot peppers.
I blame the high potency of the fresh ones I recently purchased. Next time I'll use about 10% and it should be perfect.

Ouch.

Octarine wrote:I made kung pao chicken last night. I grossly overestimated the amount of Szechuan peppercorn and hot peppers.
I blame the high potency of the fresh ones I recently purchased. Next time I'll use about 10% and it should be perfect.

Ouch.

Did you eat it anyway?