I have had the strangest dining experience here at this restaurant today. The food, most of it was…read moreamazing, the service, not so great. There was no wait to grab a table for lunch for me and my dining partner. The dining area was quite large, and they have two private dining rooms off to the side.
The first struggle was they have no hard copy menu, as they request that you scan a QR code to see the menu on your wireless device. Some of us don't embrace technology and that is okay.
To make up for the lack of hard copy menus, they offered to let us use their tablets to peruse the menu. The service itself was lackadaisical, although the food came out quickly, and steaming hot (yay!). It took forever to get water refills to the point that I got up and refilled our glasses myself. Also, no condiments on the table, so I also had to grab those. We started out with an order of the scallion pancake, which was tasty and abundant. Then we ordered two of the Chang's dumplings which were out of this world amazing! The dumplings were soft and the spicy sauce they were in was delectable! For our entrees, we ordered Deep Fried Chicken with Roasted Chilis, the Basil Eggplant, Salt and Pepper Shrimp, and an order of their Shrimp Fried Rice.
The Deep Fried Chicken with Roasted Chilis arrived, and while the chicken itself was amazing, the plate was mostly roasted chilis and not enough chicken. I chose this dish having seen serveral other tables order, and their dishes were brimming with chicken. Our, not so much.
The Basil Eggplant was incredible. The flavor and the crispy outside make this dish great!!
The Salt and Pepper Shrimp was a disaster. Most Asian eateries that I have been to, the shrimp are ginormous, with a light batter, and one of my favorites. At Sichuan Folk, the shrimp were heavily battered, extremely greasy, and the shrimp themselves were tiny, evidenced after removing the super thick batter. Do not order this dish.
The shrimp fried rice was an extremely enjoyable surprise. The texture of the rice was fantastic, and the amount of shrimp, peas, carrots and egg was generous. Definitely will order this again.
The service is what really surpised me the most. We didn't feel welcome, as we had to ask several of the waitstaff for silverware, napkins, and bowls to mix our soy sauce and chili paste. Those Chang's dumplings and the Basil Eggplant, along with the Shrimp Fried Rice are enough to make us want to come back and give it another try, after researching the menu some more.