Szechuan Restaurant

Szechuan Restaurant414 16 Ave NW

After meeting up with an old acquaintance, we decided to grab a bite to eat, and while I'd been to this restaurant a couple times before, I'd forgotten to bring my camera each time.   This time was no different, but I felt it was time to blog about this place anyways.  

First things first - this is a long-running spot for a Chinese restaurant, a location that has changed hands and names at least 4-5 times over the course of the last 15 years.  I'd even sworn off from ever going again, in one of its iterations due to its horrible service.   I'd however heard good things about the true Szechuan food (not the regular Cantonese restaurant with slightly spicier food, but one with authentic style to it) at this place, so off we went.  

When you walk in, you're greeted by a wonderful aroma of the food already at others' tables, and when you look around, you'll generally see quite a few peppers on the plates, so if you're not into spice, this probably isn't the place for you.  Oddly enough, I've developed a liking over the last 10 years and my heat tolerance has grown due to it.  

The restaurant itself feels a bit small, but it's due to how busy the place can be at dinner time.  I've also gone on a quieter/earlier time, and it's not bad at all, if the tables still are a bit tight together.  Service is sometimes slow, depending on just how many people are in the restaurant, but for good food, I'm usually willing to wait.  

The other funny thing about here is, while there is a menu with over 100 things I'm sure, I've ended up ordering the exact same thing every time I've gone.   Crispy chicken with a chili sauce, sliced fried fish, and green beans with minced pork.   You get a choice of either having any of these with a garlic sauce/style or a hot sauce, at which point you're asked if you want mild, medium, or hot, and every time, I've gone with medium, which seems perfect to me.   It's hot enough that you feel it, but not so hot that you can't feel your tongue.  

First off, the chicken is amazing - the batter is extremely light, and the sauce comes on the side, so you can add as much as you may want.   I don't know how to explain it but it's 100x better than KFC.   It is a deep fried concoction, so for those of you on diets, I suppose this might not be the thing to order - nor is the fish.  The fish are slices of a white fish that I can't identify other than to say it's not tilapia, again extremely lightly battered, and tossed in red chilies, salt, and pepper.   The fish is delicate, crispy, not overcooked, and melts in your mouth.   The green beans and minced pork are more of a standard at other restaurants, but with it stir fried in those same red chilies, the flavour really pops here.  Highly recommend all 3 of these dishes.  One day I'll have to try something else, but these are so good I want them over and over! 

I will say the dishes suit for a table of 4, but if you're looking to do a larger dinner party, the dishes may be a bit small.   Also - don't get the sweet and sour if you're expecting the traditional red sauce - this one tastes a bit more like a worcestershire sauce-based version instead of ketchup.

Anyways, for a Chinese meal that's a little different, I'd highly recommend Szechuan Restaurant. 

Presentation:  8.5 - Seeing the extreme amount of chilies on other plates both on tables and pictures makes me wonder just how hot some people can take their food.

Ambiance:   7.0 - Standard Chinese restaurant, but a bit jam-packed, and parking there can be tricky.

Service:   7.0 - Really dependent on how busy they are, can be extremely slow if they're busy. 

Prices:   $12-15 per entree, standard for most Chinese eateries