hheman

Several years ago, I met someone whom I thought was the owner of the Grand Sichuan chain. He told me that that the restuarant in the Manhattan Chinatown is actually not owned or run by him. This is also fits in with why that location is not listed on the GS website. I have never eaten there myself for this reason. As for Sichuan hotpot, there are quite a few options in NYC. We usually go to Flushing for hot pot. We typically go to Shanghai Tide or East Manor for the all you can eat. However, their Sichuan "guodi" (or soup base) is not that spicy. Little Lamb in Flushing is also a popular hotpot joint, but their soup base is mostly known for the herbal ingredients. The best bet in Flushing for an aunthetic spicy Sichuan base is probably Spicy and Tasty or "Xiaolajiao." The latter's Chinese name means "little pepper," and I apologize for not remembering its English name. It is one street removed from the Flushing Mall, and there is a cartoon of a red pepper on the sign. In Manhattan, a few of the GS locations have hotpot, as does the Duoyi branch in Midtown. We used to go to Duoyi quite often, but after finding some extra ingredients in our food (sharp wooden stick in the Country Style Double Cooked Pork and two long strands of plastic in Pork with Yellow Leeks) we have stopped.

Damn, I have to make this crap every time Restaurant Week comes around.