Organic cauliflower with pork cracker: 10/10 Sizzling yellow croaker with fried garlic: 9/10 Sizzling fish fillet in Szechuan chili broth: 8/10 Sauteed pork kidney and pork tripe: 7/10 Wok seared green beans with crispy pork: 7/10 Glutinous rice cakes with brown sugar: 7/10 House special fried rice with pickle and beef: 6/10 read more

the wait around 6pm on a saturday was only 14 min! this time continues to be a good window :p and this spot still hits. - sliced beef combo in spicy sauce: surprisingly large portion for an appetizer. despite how it looks, it wasn't overwhelmingly spicy. there was a bit of numbing flavor, but the balance was nice. - sautéed eggplant w/string beans: there were more eggplants than string beans but still garlicky and flavorful. - sautéed spicy beef brisket: soo spicy omg the heat level was no joke. the beef was rly tender yum - spicy grilled fish: the star of the night! the spice blend was excellent, and the heat level was perfect (pretty spicy but we have high tolerances hehe) read more

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We were looking for yummy restaurants in the South Bay and came across a Reddit post mentioning Hunan Impression as one of the top eats in SJ. We came by 30 minutes before closing and got seated right away. We ordered the fish fillet in chili oil and shredded potatoes- the fish had so much favor but I wish the potatoes had more spice! I am looking to try mapo tofu and spicy fish pot next. Note: there's already an 18% gratitude added to the bill. read more

Hunan Impression - Shredded potato - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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approved by my family friends from hunan so you know this is super authentic and yummy. no misses here on food so get what seems interesting to you. can feel a bit heavy and oily though so be prepared. this place always has a line every time i've been, so ambiance is very bustling and slightly loud. good spot for small group gatherings read more

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Really great Chinese restaurant in San Jose that my friend absolutely loves. They have a wide variety of great chinese dishes, and each of them are good! Their Suanchai Fish (Pickled Cabbage Fish Filet) was excellent, and not very spicy (which I enjoyed). Their fried rice was made quite well, and the Organic Cauliflower with Pork Crackling is a must get! The contrast between the cauliflower and the pork was wonderful. Their Pork Ribs with Salted Egg Yolk is also a must get! A very crispy exterior full of flavour. Service is usual, nothing too out of the ordinary. It always feels quite busy, but even without reservations you probably will still be able to get seated quite quickly. Prices are pretty reasonable! read more

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4 starts for the food and 5 stars for service, especially Michael the assistant manager. My friend and I love Szechuan food and is always looking for the most spicy and numbing level of spice. Lotus root: my favorite dish of all of the things we got, great flavor and s nice crunch Century egg: delish and can't go wrong Salted egg pork ribs: tasty. I prefer leaner pork dishes so this is good and oily goodness if you're into it Kung pao chicken: skip this. The flavor wasn't as good as other places and it's mostly peanuts and green scallion with little pieces of chicken read more

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One of my favorite Chinese restaurants in San Jose - Hunan Impression They specialize in Hunan cuisine, which is known for its spicy flavors. My spice tolerance is quite low, but I'm still addicted and keep going back for more. The meat was tender, the flavors were rich, the textures were diverse, and the service was very friendly. They don't take reservations, but for larger parties, you can call in advance--they'll prioritize your table when you check in. read more

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The dishes here were really spicy, yet they tasted amazing. I usually can only handle mildly spicy food; however, I couldn't stop eating because everything was so delicious, especially the grilled fish. The fish was extremely tender and flavorful, as were the vegetables soaked in the spicy soup. The portions were so large that we couldn't finish the dish and had to take the leftovers home. We'll definitely come back to try other signature dishes. read more

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Great spicy food, they can modify the spicy level to suit your needs. Always busy during weekends. Steamed fish filets with red and green peppers are great. Sautéed lotus root and Chong Qing spicy chicken are to die for. Food portion is huge. Service is great read more

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This restaurant is located in a small strip mall just off Bollinger Road in Cupertino. It is popular even for a Monday evening as customers seem to stream in and out while I was dining there. Unfortunately did all the ordering and I was unfamiliar with the actual names of the dishes however I will stay y best to describe them. One of the most popular dishes we ordered was the Chongqing style boneless spicy chicken. A lot of tables had this dish on them and it is simple fried chicken pieces with a whole bunch of chopped up dried chili peppers. Definitely not for the faint of heart and can be quite spicy. Personally I am not a fan of m as mala chili peppers because of the numbing effect and there was very little chicken in the dish. The next dish was the Organic Cauliflower with pork crackling. It is a very good and tasty dish. The last dish was the shredded cabbage with sliced pork which was also very tasty and good. Service itself is quite prompt and professional. We did not have to wait long for the food to show up. Also ordering using a QR code made things quite convenient. I would like to come by again to try some of the other dishes on the menu. read more

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This place will really satisfy your Hunan spice urges. The 'mala' spicy food compared quite well to the local Szechwan cuisine in China. The service was great - lazy Suzy worked very well. Lots of families enjoying the various delicacies. The noise level on the higher side. read more

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My favorite place. It's food if you can handle spicy. I think they have one of the best fried pig intestines in the area. The fry and the flavoring is sooo good. Also their chongqing style chicken. Lots of red peppers but the chicken is delicious. Mapo tofu is spicy but so good if you can handle the heat. The servers are nice and were able to tell when we needed more napkins or water. Wait can also be long too if you come during busy hours. We came close to closing time for lunch where they were able to seat us quickly but we've had to wait almost an hour before for lunch hours. read more

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Great restaurant with good food, service, and vibes. It's a casual restaurant so nothing too fancy but they were so accommodating to my friends and I sticking around for over 2 hours to chat. We ordered the spicy chicken, flame pork, and fish soup. All 3 were great but I would particularly recommend the chongquian style chicken!! I also highly recommend the sweet tea as a pair with the food because it's a great palate sweetener whenever a chili inevitably hits the back of your throat. I love spicy food and I wouldn't say anything was overwhelming, but the sweet tea was a great sip between each type of food too! read more

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I honestly love going to Hunan Impression. Their food is so good they don't even wait for your opinion -- they just auto-add that 15% tip like, "Yeah, sweetie, we already know we snapped." And honestly? Respect. The glow-up of the food is insane. It used to taste like "okay..." and now it tastes like the chef took a vacation to heaven, unlocked the DLC, and came back a changed person. The dishes aren't what they used to be -- they're what they wish they were. 100% recommended. Go eat and let them charge you before you even decide. They deserve it. Oh yeah ! read more

This places food is one of the most authentic Hunan food in the area. It is reviewed bombed in my opinion by people who haven't had authentic food. The service is fast and pretty nice and they speak English. The ambiance is nice they remodeled and it's ok. read more

I went here on a week's lunch and had to wait a while. At least there's a boba shop nearby while I was waiting. The food is rather on the expensive side. Many of the dishes were quite spicy for my taste. read more

Mapo tofu extra spicy and the lotus root dish- only the real ones know. My husband and I crave for this place every so often and it usually never disappoints.... Except this last time... the mapo tofu didn't hit like it usually did.. and it wasn't as spicy. While we would probably still order from here, it just sucked that it wasn't consistent. I'd still recommend though, for sure. read more

Hunan Impression - Mapo tofu and smoked pork with bamboo - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

I went with some friends on one of their recommendations, and initially did not have high hopes seeing the outside - though the line of people and the pretty hefty waitlist gave me some good vibes. In the end - I was absolutely blown away by both the food and the ambiance, both of which were incredibly expectation defying given the unassuming nature of the outside of the restaurant. We ordered several dishes from our table and I was extremely impressed with all of them. The green beans were super spicy and garlicky, the fish and mustard greens were super flavorful and there was plenty of both! The mapo tofu was probably some of the best I had, though definitely eat with rice since it was a bit salty. Finally, the crispy chicken bits with peppers were super good, though there wasn't much of it. The last veggies we got which I forget the name of were simply done, and were great for palate cleansing through the spice. Overall I would definitely return to this place again and again for Hunan/Szechuan style cuisine, and would definitely recommend it to friends. In fact, I almost ended up ordering some Mapo Tofu to go, but refrained since I had leftovers at home I had to eat. read more

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My first experience with Hunan Impression was almost 8 years ago. An older Taiwanese colleague of mine recommended me a humble place to eat for lunch, noting that it was 'very authentic' and 'spicy'. I didn't have much else to go off of, so I stumbled in by myself on a random weekday afternoon and had a delicious (and spicy) steamed fish dish with mala oil. Hunan Impression has much more traffic than it did all that time ago, but as far as spiciness and authenticity goes, it hasn't changed a bit. I love recommending Hunan Impression as a place for others to eat if they want authentic Hunan/CN flavors. Their spice is spicy, both in terms of mala and traditional spice, so chiliheads rejoice. Just make sure to pack in the fiber as well. The dinnertime ambiance is notably packed and bustling - be prepared for a decent wait for peak hours. If you get lucky, you might be in as soon as 15 minutes. You can't really go wrong with anything on the menu. I love the Hunan beef and the spicy chicken dish with roasted peppers, personally. Service is efficient and mostly impersonal, which adds to the authenticity :) read more

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Their rice is kinda old or too stuck together. I asked if they can give extra meat for couple extra dollars and they said no. I rather go to must be Thai on Stevens creek. They are more lenient. Their meat portion is small for how much they charge. They add more pepper and red bell pepper to make the volume look big. When I asked for extra meat they were mean. But at must be Thai they are super nice and kind. I'll try this place one more time in future and hopefully they can be more lenient and nicer when responding to customers. read more

Best Chinese food in the South Bay! Big portions and authentic taste! The service is usually quick and ordering is a breeze through scanning the QR code and using the website. read more

Don't let the overwhelming amount of red scare you, this place is super yummy with enough kick for enjoyment (instead of pain)! However, we did ask for less spice. We got too many dishes for me to go over all of them, but our tables favorite is the pork foot and one I would skip next time is the braised pork. My personal favorite was the dry pot with different types of bamboo and mushrooms. We arrived at 5p on a Thursday, and my 6p, the place was full. Come early, even on the weekdays! The servers were friendly and attentive. The only complaint is the price being a little too high, but the quality and enjoyment of the food keeps us coming back. read more

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Our favorite restaurant when we are craving for la zi ji (fiery chicken). The place was super crowded during weekends, but the service was fast. We tried this osmanthus rice cake and were pleasantly surprised with the cake. It was t sweet and has a fermented taste to it. Our veggies came super late tho :( we almost finish our rice when it came. Turns out this place shares the same parent company as ping's bistro and hunan mifen! I Wouk give the overall experience a 3.5/5. But oh boy we love the la ji zi here, so it's 5/5 for me read more

Hunan Impression - Fiery chicken - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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place is quite spacious and staffs are nice with good service. when i come here, i expect to have kind of spicy taste but i will say not spicy at all for my taste buds; in fact, a bit sweet for me. i expect excellent taste but will say they are just ok except for century eggs ~ it is recommended!!! for that, i will give just three stars at this time. the pork crackling if you can fried a bit more, it should taste better with the cauliflowers. will come and try again next time... read more

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I have been hearing about this place for a while now, scolling through Yelp! And I got the chance to go to this place with a few friends and we loved it! We got the special fish and the crispy chicken and they were amazing, we even left with a lot of leftovers haha! The service was okay!! maybe it was a bit packed the day we went so it was decent! The design of the restaurant and the ambiance was pretty good, it was a packed and it felt pretty spacey with how much tables they provided read more

This was our third time dining here. In the past, when there was no mandatory gratuity, the service was quite good, which is why we decided to return. Unfortunately, this visit completely changed our impression. The restaurant opens at 5:00 PM, and we arrived right on time. When we first got there, the restaurant was not full and there were clearly empty tables available. However, we were told we could not be seated because one member of our party was running late. We understood the policy and waited. What was frustrating is that we were later told the reason we could not sit at an empty table was that the staff were concerned we might sit and wait without ordering. This explanation was frankly unreasonable. Expecting guests to order after being seated is standard practice, and assuming otherwise felt unprofessional and dismissive. After waiting over 30 minutes, our friend finally arrived, yet instead of seating us, we were told to wait another 30 minutes, with no clear explanation. When we questioned this, the staff's attitude was indifferent and dismissive, as if our time and concerns did not matter. On top of that, the restaurant now enforces a 15% mandatory gratuity, but the service did not come close to justifying it. Aside from food being brought to the table, there was essentially no service at all. The food itself tasted pre-prepared rather than freshly made, and the overall cleanliness of the dining environment raised concerns about hygiene. The lack of flexibility, poor customer service, questionable food quality, and forced gratuity completely ruined the experience. We won't be coming back. read more

Superb authentic Hunan food. I don't need to explain much, as all the dishes speak for themselves. All the spicy human flavors were on par, as well as the non spicy dishes we ordered like the salted yolk rib thing, and the pork belly. My favorite was the lamb, 10/10 to me. Very juicy!!! The service was pretty standard nothing out of this world but still good. It's a bustling busy ambiance as it's pretty tightly packed inside. read more

Hunan Impression - Fried rice - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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I've heard a lot about this place. Everyone rave about this restaurant. Hence I've high expectations. Everything is too spicy for me and I can eat pretty spicy stuff. If you like. 麻辣, you probably love it. The fact that everything is so spicy you couldn't really taste the flavor of it. So I can't give it more than 3 stars but I'm sure those who love spicy food even my wife who can't handle spicy actually live read more

This place offers super authentic Hunan cuisine. I visited on a Friday night for an early dinner around 5:30 with a friend, and we were seated instantly. Ordering was done using a QR code on the table. We ordered Fried Pork Intestine and Sautéed Pork with Preserved Pepper, and the food came out pretty quickly. The Intestine was very good, crispy, and spicy. However, the Sautéed Pork was just alright; portion-wise, there wasn't that much pork. If I ever find myself craving Hunan cuisine again, I'll definitely come back here. read more

Hunan Impression - Fried Pork Intestines - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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My mother is from Hunan. Reminds me of casual chain restaurants from Changsha. I love this place. Feels like home. Everything is delicious and oily and salty and spicy. I don't care that it's imperfect. That's what makes it perfect to me. read more

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Ordering is done by QR code. once you order, someone will come by to confirm it and also let you make adjustments to the spice level for certain items. I thought we chose "non spicy" for the preserved egg but it might have been just "less." It looked very spicy and red with the chili oil but was just mildly spicy, no numbness or anything like that. The rest of the food was fairly spicy, especially the crisp lamb chops covered in dried chilis. Definitely mouth-numbing. The crisp almost-fried texture of the meat was really interesting. The inside layer of the meat was still soft and easy to chew. Stir-fried sweet potato leaves had these fermented black beans throughout which gave the entire dish a subtly sweet taste. Veggie fried rice with egg was pretty greasy and not particularly "fried"/fluffy texture. It was nicely salted though. read more

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I'll start by saying the food is very good. I enjoyed what I had. cold beef tendon appetizer, chicken chilli, pork belly and spicy cauliflower. But... a 15% service fee - bull____, just raise the prices. Also they will not let you add the tip to the CC. You must pay the tip in cash, bet the IRS loves that. Since there was a waiting line until 2PM, they do not care. I am a security nerd, they seem to require you use QR code menus. The QR code is tied to the table. There have been writeup and actual events where the QR tag is replaced. You go through a proxy that installs malware onto your phone while you view the menu on your phone.. read more

Food was amazing! Finally some real authentic Szechuan food. Prices are a little high, but all the food was delicious! My favorite was the the Sautéed Spicy Beef Brisket. Spicy grilled fish was also very good. Definitely a must check out if you like spicy Szechuan food read more

Came here for weekday lunch. Arrived at 12pm and were fortunate enough to sit right away. There line started after us. Had pork feet, sour radish with beef tripe. We asked for less salt and oil and the dishes were still flavorful. Only complaint was had to wait for ~30min to get the 1st dish. read more

I go here every two weeks. It's an addiction. Laziji (spicy fried chicken) is the best dish on the menu - so well fried and well spiced (especially if you ask for normal chinese spicy). Shuizhuyu (spicy boiled fish) is also very good (better than Wei's) make sure you sub for snakehead fish it makes a world of difference. Service is brisk and friendly. They recently remodeled, it's a little dark for my taste but this literally has no bearing on the food. I love this place. read more

Hunan Impression - laziji - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Food here is a bit pricey, but the quality and taste is worth it! My two favorite dishes here are the spicy Calamari and the spicy Fish. The food is very spicy and salty, so I recommend ordering a side of rice with it. Though it is spicy, the flavor of the spicy fish is complex, and I like how it comes with a bunch of veggies and sides as well, similar to hot pot. I highly recommend coming with a group of people, as the dishes are meant to be shared! read more

I love sichuan peppers and the mouth numbing effect it gives to a certain number of dishes. Hunan Impression does hands down the best sichuan/Hunan food we've had. What blowed my mind away is the balance of flavors in the presence of the numbing spice. The peppers do numb your tongue but the flavors make up for it and the whole experience is very enjoyable. Their fish in chilli oil is massively flavorful! It's one of my favorite dishes of all times and I'm glad they make it just right. Surprisingly, they have spice levels for every dish. This is a first. I haven't heard anyone asking for spice levels in sichuan cuisine. It's a misconception that hunan food is spicy but it really isn't. We asked everything to be medium and it was despite seeing so many red chillies in front of us. Those chillies were amazingly flavorful rather than being just spicy and inedible. Their cheongping style chicken is just amazing. I wish I could find a little larger chunks of chicken in it though. Felt like a scavenger hunt hunting chicken but we'll still order it everytime because it's just delicious and unique. On our second visit we tried their fish with pickled cabbage and finished leftovers last night. It was so delicious and comforting on a cold night! It had very few sichuan peppers so if you're looking for a soupy dosh with lots of fish and fewer peppers then this is the one for you. I'm a huge fan of their chicken noodles. I love the wok hei and the flavors and it just makes for a wonderful dish. It does have a numbing effect from the peppers but that is what makes it really special. Their chicken noodles are my absolute favorite. Do try them out and give them your love because the servers here are very very sweet and really want to make your experience a really good one. I will keep coming back for the flavors and the service. Hunan Impression has a fan in me! read more

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I don't recommend coming here if you don't have a strong spice tolerance. We asked for less salt and less spice and it still came out pretty salty and spicy. Flavors are good though. The suan cai yu (pickled fish) is definitely one of the dishes you'll have to try here. In the end, they packaged all our leftovers to go for us, so that was a plus. read more

Hunan Impression - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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This place is probably the Chinese restaurant with the best service in the Bay Area. Food is excellent although I would recommend steering clear of some of the more experimental dishes.... The standards are all good , their man tou, fu qi fei pian, braised beef with daikon. read more

One of my new favorite spots in the area, I'm always ready to go to Flavortown when I pull up. It's a really great choice for sharing if you come with a group. I also agree that the portions will come smaller if you order takeout or via food delivery. Sautéed eggplant & string beans (5/5): delicious umami flavor, the veggies provide a nice balance to the meal and are a good break from the numbing spicy dishes. The eggplant is super addicting and so good to eat with rice. Fish fillet w/ flaming chili oil (4/5): While the portion was huge, I wish there was less of the other stuff (cabbage, bean sprouts) and more of the fish. The lotus roots are soo yummy and have a nice crunch, and the fish is so savory and packed with flavor. Mapo tofu (5/5): probably my favorite dish. The tofu holds the sauce quite nicely and it's the perfect balance of flavor and spiciness. My only concern is that it comes out sizzling and the oil splatters all over the table. I wouldn't recommend wearing light colored clothes when dining here for this very reason LOL. read more

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