Sichuan Kitchen — Restaurant in Portland

Normally I like to email restaurant management when I have a problem with food or service rather than slamming them in an online review. Unfortunately, these folks offer no such avenue on their website so their loss is your gain. I ordered the pork bao, spicy sour soup noodles, and a pot of oolong tea. The soup was the disaster here. First off, the bok choi wasn't properly trimmed and so the stalks could not be separated from the whole by any graceful means. I had to pick them up with my fingers - fortunately, my hands are pretty heat-tolerant - to separate them. Suppose I could have grabbed the whole clumps with my chopsticks and taken bites off them but I doubt that would have been much fun either. The soup itself was a disappointment as well being absolutely laden with grease. No exaggeration, a quarter-inch deep layer of it on top. Now, I'm a big proponent of fat as a flavoring agent but too much of it doesn't really work that way. In this case, it was a major detractor from the overall flavor, killing both the spice and the sour aspects of the dish. Weak sauce from the kitchen. Service was equally poor. I was front and center at the bar with the two servers on the other side. My server gave me my menus and took my order quickly enough and then served my bottle of house water. A good server will know that a glass is a good accompaniment for a bottle of water but I needed to ask mine for one. And the party of two who sat next to me at the same time that I sat, and ordered at the same time, received their food - including the same bao I ordered (they do take a while to prepare.) - a full ten minutes before I. More weak sauce. The bao dough was thicker (about a half-inch thick) than I'm accustomed to - a matter of taste, for certain - but was also dry, overdone. Perhaps there is something they do well here but I won't be able find out given that I won't return. Oh right: the tea was...

My wife and I checked this place out this summer. It's tucked into a cozy storefront in the middle of downtown Portland, across from the State Theater. The owner comes from the Sichuan Province of China and the menu reflects her origins so the food is definitely NOT your average Americanized fast food Chinese restaurant fare. The atmosphere in the restaurant is nice but it would be nice to see more color and perhaps artifacts or photos from the Sichuan region to make it more interesting.

I started with the Zhong Dumplings which were by far the best dumplings I've ever had! They were fresh made pork dumplings served in really tasty sauce that has just the right amount of spice and perfectly balanced the flavor and heat. I mistakenly told my wife how good they were and after fighting over the last one, we ended up ordering another bowl of them! For the entree, I had the Braised Beef Noodles. The meat was tender and flavorful and served over a generous bowl of noodles, broth and fresh herbs. I will definitely have this comforting dish again. The refreshing Bissel Brothers Substance (on tap!) was the icing on the cake! My wife had the Ants Climbing A Tree and the Cloud Ear Mushroom Salad and enjoyed both thoroughly.

The staff was very friendly and the owner even stopped by our table to see how we enjoyed our food, even though it was a busy night for the restaurant.

Portions were generous enough that we had some to take home to share with the kids. We'll definitely be heading back to Sichuan...

Ok Sichuan food but heavily modified for the American palette. Any chef from Sichuan would say this is pretty far from the real thing.

For example the “sliced beef in chili sauce” appetizer disrespects the long history behind it and should be done with various beef organ parts (lung, heart, etc.) and honeycomb tripe. This dish became famous because the couple that came up with it raised their kids on kitchen scraps through periods of famine. We call it Couple’s Delight in Chinese, but why it is called sliced beef in English? Also I would not charge a whopping $14 for this inauthentic appetizer.

They also serve their buns on the infamous Hakata bun invented by David Chang that is widely known in China as an abomination. A British simpleton of a critic gave it a Japanese name thinking it would be the next Japanese food marvel. Chinese food with a Japanese name? I think not.

Their hotpot night is a money grab. The broth is watered down and uninspired. You can make a much better broth with a $5 concentrate from Hong Kong Market down the street. The little basket of veggies they served left me hungrier than when I came in.

Notice how there are no Chinese guests in the restaurant? This is probably why. Still waiting for Chinese food to come to Portland.

The server Hunter is the best part of their restaurant. Kudos to him for his...