sxy-shuxiangyuan — Restaurant in Honolulu

It's no secret that Szechuan cuisine has been gaining popularity across the United States as well as in East Asia. You've probably noticed places like Panda Express offering Kung Pao Chicken or MaPo Tofu but believe me, they're mere glimmers of the authentic flavors aka Americanized.

We walked into this smartly decorated restaurant around 2 pm, was greeted immediately, and had our temperatures read. The hostess seated us immediately with menus and contact tracing information forms. Our server, Ping Ping, was friendly and cheerfully described some of the specialties of the house. He also assured us that the chefs could tone down the spice level to mild-medium instead of getting the full-on fiery spice effects.

FOOD: -Fish fillets in Szechuan Sauce AKA Szechuan Boiled Fish (水煮鱼): Szechuan boiled fish is pungently famous for its hot spiciness and intense mouth-numbing sensation. Ping Ping took our request for mild-medium spice level because we figured that medium-hot would at the top of my tolerance. The kitchen was right on as we ate this dish, beads of sweat formed on our foreheads and under our eyes. But, the flavors and textures were addictively good. I even managed to slurp up some of the broth with rice. This dish was a huge portion and worth its price. $19.99

-Kung Pao Chicken: Kung Pao Chicken is quintessential in Szechuan cuisine. We liked this version for its sweet spiciness. The bite-size chicken pieces tasted like they were caramelized with sugar, salt, and chili pepper. The stir-fried chicken pieces had a nice "crust" which yielded tender and flavorful bites. Again, the generous portion made up for the price. $16.99

-Rice: Perfect consistency and fragrant. $1.50

Although we only ordered 2 dishes, the portions were enough to send us to food coma. The food was delicious and we couldn't stop ourselves from finishing the generous portions. The spice level was perfect at mild to medium, though I believe it was leaning medium. No complaints.

Service for this new Szechuan restaurant was attentive, friendly, and casual. We felt welcome and even got to talk with the chef/owners about their business endeavor. I asked for the Hànzì (Chinese characters) of SXY as I knew that it didn't mean "sexy" though pronounced that way. However, the female co-owner said the "Shu Xiang Yuan" originates from a Chinese saying which means "a great gathering place for family and friends to enjoy delicious Szechuan food". It sure is!

We're looking forward to...

Where do I even start? It seemed like they were more interested in closing the restaurant than serving their customers. Even though we entered the restaurant a full one hour before closing time. The waiter was extremely impatient and not answering our questions about the dishes. Even basic questions like “does this come with rice?”

I ordered the Mouthwatering Fish. It was not mouthwatering at all. To describe it accurately - it was just fish submerged in chili oil. There was absolutely no flavor. And the chili completely numbed my tongue. I have had sichuan chili before and this never happened.

My friends ordered the Three-Cup Chicken. Yes the taste was much better than the fish dish I ordered. (I gave up on the fish and ate a bit of this chicken). But the chicken pieces were pieces that you usually make chicken broth with. We got numerous neck pieces, rib pieces, etc. Most of the pieces had no meat on them. It felt like a waste of money.

Wouldn’t recommend this place.

UPDATE: The unnecessarily excessive chili oil brought about a pimple on my face...

-2023/2024 visits- The cold spicy chicken dish is too rough, which the chicken is supposed to be very tender. The mala intestines and frogs are amazing! Chilli diced chicken tastes really tender with proper seasoning. Some dishes just make this place my favorite Chinese restaurant on island now.

-2024/12- Just tried some non popular dishes here, all.i wanna say is, better not to ask for the seasoning adjustment so you won't miss the authentic flavor. Coz every time I asked to lower the heat, the flavor changed in a negative way.

Again here. But this time trying their grilled fishes, which were so nice with lot of ingredients. You can also add extra sides, like hot pot. Extra intestines at 10 dollars, extra duck blood at 10 dollars. Strongly recommend to come by for lunch which is less crowded and better service.

Fried rice was amazing beyond my expectation! It'd be even better if they can decrease the use of salt as some dishes are good but a...