Shaanxi Gourmet — Restaurant in Natick

The worst eating experience I have ever had was in this restaurant. I have been there many times, the food is fine, I never complain anything before, but one waitress was surprisingly rude today. we had lunch and the final bill was $32, based on percentage, the tip was supposed to be less. I gave between 12%~15% tip which was proper for lunch, but the waitress checked the tip when we were about to leave, came back to us and insisted to say the tip was too less. The way she asked was rude and we had never met this situation before. I explained we gave tips based on the percentage but she still insisted on what she thought of without considering how much we ordered. We increased the tip and planned to leave even we didn't have to, however, she seemed even more reasonable and said she didn't mean to want more but to show us the tip should be more. I was quite speechless and asked if she can call her manager because I was quite confused and felt annoyed. I heard she said something bad in Chinese about me when I was waiting for the manager something like "I am blind" LOUDLY. and I believed the guy who came to us wasn't the true manger but just another waiter. the explanation he gave us was, the girl's personality is straight-forward....... I seriously disagree that "outspoken" = "rude", and that could be the reason for such a bad attitude. This was an AMAZING experience. I, as a customer, was blamed because I gave the right percentage tip which didn't reach the waitress's expectation. I will never go to this restaurant again. I didn't ask this waitress's name, the guy told me this lady has worked here since the beginning of this year. I hope the true manager can give more training to their waitresses, at least their abuses word should not be heard...

Shaanxi Gourmet has delicious authentic Chinese food without having to drive into the city. The restaurant itself is very clean and casual and the staff are very friendly. They make everything in-house. I started with a lychee iced tea, delicious! My first plate was soybean paste homemade noodles. This was this noodles in a mouthwatering soybean meat sauce. The flavors were amazing! This dish also had fresh sliced cucumbers that tasted really good mixed into the dish. My next dish was pork intestine in a brown sauce. Pork Intestine, in general, is like eating extremely tender pork. It is delicious! This also had my favorite wood ear mushrooms, fermented black beans. This dish was a showstopper! I also tried their crispy orange sesame chicken. This was crispy, with nice flavoring without a heavy sauce. Definitely recommend! The egg rolls were a mix of cabbage, celery, and meat. They had a nice flavor. The duck sauce was traditional with a little spice added, possibly cinnamon. For dessert I had warm tapioca. It was also delicious! The restaurant quickly filled up. It seemed the majority of the guests were speaking Chinese! I take that as a good sign. Shanxi is part of Northern China. I think they do an amazing job honoring their food. This...

Not your Chinese Americanized cuisine. Wonderful. Service has gotten so much better. Food is very good. The issue with different chefs has evened out. If you don't speak Mandarin, or read it, you will not know most dishes: the English descriptions are too generic. Do your best.

Some reference dishes...

The gongbao chicken [kungpao] chicken is simply the only version actually using Sichuan peppercorns that I have found. Excellent on almost any day.

Order the mapo tofu with pork [menu does not suggest the option]. Spicy, rich, meaty and using Sichuan peppercorn oil for the real "ma" taste.

The qishan noodles are wonderful, as are the handmade dumplings.

Hidden under a nondescript "pork with garlic sauce" is the real Yu Hsiang style dish: an elegant tension between Chinese black vinegar (chinkiang) and dark Chinese soy sauce. With match-stick sliced pork and the lightest pungent sauce, it is light years from the corn starch sauce drowned slop that goes for Yu Hsiang style in area restaurants.

As with anywhere, you will get stand outs and the merely meh. This is a spot to invest in...