Sichuan Küche--a disaster for the ingredients and Sichuanese food culture
Rating: lowest possible
Reason: lack of respect for the ingredients, original recipes or the customers. The chef denies the mistakes he made in the cooking process. Also extremely overpriced for the quality provided.
It is especially frustrating to me to write my first ever Yelp review for this restaurant, "Authentische Chinesische Sichuan Küche." But ironically I am also thankful for the terrible dishes the chef made and the most ridiculous comments from the chef that reinforced my determination to post this review.
Enough digression said, I was already extremely disappointed after a first look at the two dishes that I ordered for lunch, which are "Nudelsuppe mit Chinesischen Nudeln und Rindergulasch" (Noodle soup with Chinese noodle and beek chunks/goulash; 牛腩汤面) and "Rindfleisch und Rinderinnereien mit Sesam und schafer Soße"(Beef and Beef Intestine in Sesame and Spicy Sauce; 夫妻肺片.) They didn't even look right from first glance. As a native Chinese born and raised up in Sichuan, I have great respect for the food culture of my home town, which includes features such as spiciness, numbness (Szechuan Pepper) and saltiness. What Sichuan Küche made does not stand a chance to be considered Sichuanese food.
To begin with, the soup is pale and does not have enough taste or spiciness from the beef or the broth. The noodle is over-cooked, which made it soft and sticky. The beef is dry and does not have any broad bean sauce flavor which is the key to this traditional Sichuanese Noodle soup. Overall it was still okay and I wouldn't vomit after eating it. It was just poorly made in terms of flavor, but the ingredients were still okay.
But the worst part came with the "Beef and Beef Intestine in Sesame and Spicy Sauce" which is supposed to be a signature cold dish made completely out of beef and intestine. Yet, I saw something that threw me off the track in my dish--pork ear. To be fair, pork ear has been one of my favorite dishes among all, but what I ordered was not pork! There were some beef intestines but there was not a single piece of beef in the dish, which seems odd and shocking, given its name on the menu contains and only contains beef! With the wrong ingredients, the taste is completely off, and the general flavor is too sour and not enough chili oil was added to the dish so it was inevitably dry. By this point I wasn't just shocked but upset, because I have been to so many different Sichuanese restaurant in the world (I lived in US for 2 years before moving to Munich, and I grew up in Sichuan,) never have I ever seen such an unethical restaurant that treats the customers blind. After I paid for the bill (which is my general etiquette that I regret for) I asked to speak with the chef. Yet the chef who is also the owner of the restaurant said quote, "this is how we do it here in Munich, we can't buy beef" and I tried to explain what I just saw by asking how on earth the pork ear can be mixed up with beef but he refused to comment more. At the same time, I started to question about what I just ate from the noodle soup, which apparently should also contain beef.
If you understand my point of view as a Sichuanese, who grew up with beef being actual beef, and pork ear being delicious, you would understand the shock I just took from the Chef's comment. In Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, the best "Beef and Beef Intestine in Sesame and Spicy Sauce" is produced with Halal beef and intestine (清真肺片), which is not only considered respect to the ingredients, but also the respect to all the people of different religions who would love to enjoy the food spirit and flavorful joy brought by Sichuanese food. The chef of Sichuan Küche, however, apparently does not know what he was doing. In my poor but almost always correct opinion on food, they should either take this freaking dish out of the menu, or shut down the restaurant, because they do not deserve the name to be considered "Authentische Sichuan Küche." read more