I used to live in China, and I can tell you, this is the real deal like they serve there; The folks in this restaurant probably wouldn't know how to make it American style if they tried.
This restaurant opened only 2 months ago (liquor license is pending), but it's certain that it will establish itself as a serious choice for authentic Sichuan food in the area. It is comparable and will be competing directly with the other top local Sichuan restaurants such as Joe's Noodle House.
Walked in there on a Saturday night and found a bustling joint filled with excitement. In fact everyone in the joint seemed to be Chinese, and the wait line would have been out the door if not for the rain outside.
The atmosphere is very no frills. A sign on the kitchen door says "Every dish leaving this room must be PERFECT". Tough goal, but the fact that the owner put the sign up shows he is serious about providing great food.
They do seem to be trying very hard. Portion sizes are generous, ingredients were fresh, service was enthusastic, and , prices reasonable.
They have fresh whole fish, which only authentic Chinese restaurants bother to do. And they do not gouge the "seasonal price", as some places do. For example a medium sized whole tilapia in steamed ginger was $14.95.
What struck me most of all about this restaurant were two things though:
First was the sheer number of dishes in each category on the menu
Second was the breadth of selection on the menu. Many dishes are are very rare to find outside of China, and this restaurant has a number of dishes you will not see in ANY restaurant in Metropolitan Washington that has them. This is especially for the appetizers (many hot and cold ones) and the unusal variety of authentic Chinese desserts.
Sharing the desserts is recommended. They are large and filling. This restaurant does not serve shaved ice, probably a regional thing, but it seems to specialize in warm starchy desserts. In particular the red bean paste in a fresh pancake ( - dou sha bing ) is very nice, as was the rice-based dessert containing flower essence. I'll be ordering it again and update with the name.
I went with a crowd that includes a number of connoisseurs of food as it would be prepared in China. Everyone seemed quite happy.
They do not have any lamb dishes, which are popular in Sichuan, but they do have a lot of the other regional specialties that could only be found in an authentic-style Sichuan restaurant. Water boiled fish was on par, and the noodle dishes were excellent, and seem to be homemade noodles. The "Home style tofu" is recommended if you don't want to get Mapo tofu or Ma-la tofu along with all your other spicy entrees. The tofu is light and very fresh here.
Others below who rated this a 3-star earlier did not comment on any of the Sichuan dishes, which is this restaurant's raison d'etre. I'm not sure why one would go to an authentic Sichuan restaurant if not a fan of spicy food... I think that accounts for the discrepancy in our ratings.
So I give it 5-stars to help offset those comments. Besides, it is certainly in the top 20% of local authentic style Sichuan restaurants.
If your first time, keep in mind some GPS routes will lead you to a block or so away. This joint is not on 355 as shown in the map shown. It's actually in that big triangular area of parking lot. So look for the Bank of America. It's a stone's throw from there, in the same lot. Entrance on Beall Street. Look for a one-story standalone building inside the lot.
PS There's also a restaurant with the same name in DC. No relation. read more