This is my first time eating at the relatively new (at least to me) Spicy Hunan Kitchen Restaurant that used to house the old Rocking Wok Taiwanese Restaurant in the Wallingford neighborhood for a number of years. What drew me into try Spicy Hunan Kitchen is their shiny and new, well-lit sign.
They always say not to judge a book by its cover. Well, in this case, that also applies to the shabby interior. It can definitely use some updating, but it seems clean enough and I'm mostly interested in the taste and presentation of the food. Maybe they will be able to make some upgrades to the interior once they've established themselves and draw in more business.
Not to say they aren't doing well. I ate there on a Monday evening and I couldn't help noticing how busy they actually looked. There were several to go orders and a revolving door of customers and delivery people picking up food, plus several other people like me staying to dine in. They have a decent sized dining area.
The service was good and friendly. They have laminated menus to look at and you place your order using a QR code pasted on your table. Since I'm not that familiar with Hunan-style Chinese food, photos of each dish would be nice to get an idea of what it looks like.
Some of you might be wondering what Hunan cuisine is. Hunan cuisine is also known as Xiang cuisine. It is one of the Eight Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine renowned for its hot and spicy flavors, fresh aroma, and deep colors. It is distinguished from other spicy cuisines like Sichuan by its use of fresh chili peppers, which provide a direct, "dry and spicy" heat, as opposed to the numbing "mala" of Sichuan peppercorns.
The standout dishes for me at this restaurant are the Scallion Pancake appetizer which was so tasty and perfectly crisp on the outside, the Signature Stir-Fried Pork (Xiao Chao Rou) which taste so addictive and exceptional at medium spice, and the Mashed Eggplant w/ Century Egg & Chili which paired wonderfully with the Signature Stir-Fried Pork. The other dishes I ordered were good, too, but in my opinion these were the dishes that will keep me coming back and that I highly recommend.
Spicy Hunan Kitchen is a nice addition to the Wallingford neighborhood and adds more interesting choices and diversity to the list of restaurants there. It is a diamond in the rough that deserves our patronage and support. Please stop in soon, keep an open mind, and enjoy the adventure. As I like to say, "Dare to try something new!" Dare to try Spicy Hunan Kitchen!!! read more