Spicy Chef — Restaurant in East Hanover

Been here twice already and each time food AND service were great! When you go to any restaurant, you need to know what to order. Keep in mind that this is a "Szechuan"- style restaurant, so do NOT order soup dumplings (which is originally from Shanghai), Chongqing style dishes (although they're near each other, it is not in Sichuan), or any other dish that's not from Szechuan- they obviously will be bad! Recommended: Pork in Garlic Sauce (though this is under "Americanized dishes" it is an actual dish from Sichuan)- my favorite Chef Tan Broiled Whole Fish (烤鱼)- I've had many "烤鱼," the best from China (of course). This one is not bad, considering most I've had in the States were below subpar. Minced Pork w. Sour Pickled Beans- it's a stir fried dish that's slightly sour and mildly spicy. Not a fan of minced meat, but I enjoyed this.

The only other "good" and "authentic" Chinese restaurant in the area is Chengdu 23 and I'm over that. Spicy Chef trumps them in both food and service! I'm glad something BETTER and closer finally opened. Will definitely return until I've tried all of the other dishes!

Parking- spaces in front and back of...

Can’t believe I didn’t notice this earlier. They have opened since Nov 2023. They are located across from the Home Depot on RT10 right next to the TMobile store. There is ample parking in the back and the entrance is only from the rear parking lot. The front entrance is decorative. I suspect many don’t know of this place. We had the Boiled whole fish. This was amazing! We finished it. Since it was just the two of us we order the sautéed cabbage. So good! They have free ice cream you can help yourself to. We need to go back there with more people so that we can try more things! Will be making this place our regular weekly outing. At least until we can try most of the items on the menu. They also have a...

I’m reviewing this restaurant while I’m still here because I’m blown away by the quality of the food, the cleanliness and ambiance. The soup dumplings were a perfect balance of acidity. The beef chow fun you could taste the quality of the beef and the noodles were silky smooth and tasted hand pulled. It included red and white onions, scallions and bean sprouts. (I’m taking out an additional order.) The noodle soup with beef brisket was delicious, ample meat, fresh mustard greens and aromatics. I’m so glad I found this local authentic Szechuan today. I can’t wait to go back. I’m six months behind in reviewing restaurants but had to do this immediately. Sorry, was too busy eating and forgot about...