Taste of Sichuan (Palace Sichuan) — Restaurant in Longview

We decided to try another Chinese restaurant in Longview as we're relatively new to the area. Today's lunch choice was Taste of Sichuan.

We ordered Peanut Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Vegetable Rolls and Red Bean Sesame Balls.

Let's start with the good - The woman who waited on us was pleasant and kept our drinks full. The portions of the entrees were extremely generous. If you're doing physical work and have a healthy appetite, this is a good deal.

However, we're in our fifties and have desk jobs. The portions were so generous as to be a little intimidating but they have to go boxes.

The table we chose had an sticky feel to it.

The Peanut Chicken sauce was a little overwhelming. I think it would have been a nice compliment to a chicken pad Thai, but by itself was unbalanced and a bit much. We did take most of it home in a to go box. I'll decide tomorrow if I want to put some veggies and rice noodles with it for lunch or just pitch it.

The vegetable rolls were industrial frozen mushy. They were served with what was described as sweet and sour sauce which to me tasted like ketchup with sugar and vinegar. In my opinion truly awful. I like a plum sauce with mine, but I drowned them in soy sauce and ate them... not something I would order again.

The Sesame Chicken I found to be inedible. It was well coated in a brown sauce that tasted like ketchup with sugar, vinegar, with soy sauce. Again the portions were very generous, and if that flavor appeals to you, a good value.

We didn't eat the sesame balls either. They were oily and had a funky aftertaste like they were cooked in oil that needed changing that was not up to temperature.

Looking at some of the positive reviews I come to the conclusion they are altering the recipes to appeal to the palates of " 'Mericans". I don't know if I have the courage to go back and try the Singapore Noodles or Cashew Chicken that TC Ferguson found so delightful. I couldn't get out of there fast enough to get a soda to get the taste out of my mouth.

Back to the plus side, the pleasant woman waiting on us did take the cost of the Sesame Chicken and Sesame Balls...

Incredibly disappointed with their service. We made a huge order, of all the items shown, for our family movie night. Everything sounded delicious and we were very excited. When my husband returned home, we realized that we were missing the veggie fried rice. Mistakes happen and I understand. My daughter is gluten intolerant and vegetarian and cannot eat spicy food so this was basiclaly the only thing she could eat so we couldn’t do without it. My husband returned to have this corrected( and the owner didn’t believe him, argued with him and told him the fried rice was there . He called me at home to confirm it was not, and that’s when we realized the mistake - they sent veggie yakisoba instead of veggie rice (and we did in fact confirm we ordered the fried rice). The owner made him purchase the item they failed to give us in the first place (thus purchasing it twice) and said he couldn’t get a refund unless we brought the yakisoba back, I’m not sure what the purpose of this is since they can’t resell it anyway . It doesn’t matter as we didn’t want it anyway, except that my husband had to make a THIRD drive to resolve the problem, but now our food is very cold, we haven’t been able to start movie night and our children will need to go to bed soon. Our night had been ruined because this owner is very unkind. What a horrible experience: I was excited to find a Sichuan place and would have likely returned two or three times a month but now we absolutely will not be returning. Owner, I hope you enjoy your...

It was the first time we have visited this restaurant, and we were completely overwhelmed with the excellent food and the hospitality of our hosts. We had a large group, so we occupied a large round table near the back of the restaurant, and it was perfect for our needs. My experience is, that when you have a large group, someone will probably order a shared dish that I will not like. That did not happen, everything was excellent! The proportions are very generous, and I did not have that feeling like I ate too much breading or oil. I left very full, and pleasantly so. I asked, and found out that the large family table can be reserved, so we will be making this restaurant a regular meeting place for our family. My wife and I live 45 minutes to the south, and my daughter’s family lives about 45 minutes north of this restaurant, so it will be perfect. They even brought out a complimentary dish for my grandson because it was his birthday! And the people were so nice. Obviously, I highly recommend this restaurant, it is a bit of a drive from the interstate highway, but totally worth the time. I have to label this restaurant a hidden gem! Enjoy!

Addendum: Had another family event at this restaurant, and it was just as great as our first visit. I just wish I lived closer so I could eat there more often. Excellent food, relaxed atmosphere, and all for an excellent price. I highly recommend...