eGullet Dinner at Grand Sichuan

[Suzanne F]

Admin: Preceding posts, which were purely organizational, have been deleted. The thread now begins with descriptions of a group dinner at Grand Sichuan International Midtown involving many eGullet Society members.

Big dinner at Grand Sichuan last night.

The meu was:

• Shrimp Shumai and Pork Shumai (just about the only real disappointment of the meal)
  
• Ox Tongue & Tripe w. Hot & Pepper Sauce
  
• Beef Tendon w. Hot & Pepper Sauce
  
• Diced Rabbit Meat w. Spicy & Peppery Sauce
  
• Roast Pork Buns
  
• Jellyfish with Scallion Oil
  
• Sauteed Bitter Melon
  
• Sliced Pumpkin Family Style
  
• Tea Smoked Duck (substituted for the Mixed Pickled Vegetable with Duck that was unavailable)
  
• Auzhou Chicken
  
• Kung Bao Chicken
  
• Sichuan Softshell Crabs (also a little disappointing, at least to HWOE and me)
  
• Sauteed Pea Shoots
  
• Cured Pork with Garlic Shoots, from the "Mao's Home Cooking" section
  

And that's just from one of the 2 tables. The other guys ordered different stuff, and kept running their excess over to us.

I think it is safe to say that the Cured Pork was a major highlight (but of course!). When we ordered it, the waiter said, "It's very fatty" to which we replied, "That's okay, we like bacon." Was that appropriately understated?

All in all, it was a terrific meal, at a great price (for our table, the food worked out to $20 per person!!!!!!!! ), with great company.

[alacarte]

How was it? In a word: SPICY!!! Those dan dan noodles really have a kick.

good company too.

Joe, you & Donna were missed. Sorry you couldn't make it.

[Stone]

Greetings. I'll get the photos on soon. Here's what table 2 ordered (or general descriptions):

Dan dan noodles

Sichuan wanton

Something like chinese broccoli in hot oil

Braised beef filets in hot sauce

Kung bao chicken

Auzhou chicken

Dried spcied chicken (or something like that)

Braised whole fish in hot bean sauce

Sichuan shrimp

Braised pork with waterchestnuts

Beef tendon in hot oil

Dry fried string beans.

My favorite was the sichuan shrimp. I admit, this was similar to a general tsao's shrimp -- breaded and fried and in a piquant tomato sauce. But it was perfect. Crisp, plump shrimp in a terrific sauce.

The fish was excellent, although I prefer a crispy skin. Same with the braised beef filets. They were tender and tasty, but the braising left them a bit mushy. I'd rather it had been stir-fried.

The fresh-killed chicken were each good. The dried chicken tasted great (it's served under a blaket of red chilli peppers), but it was on the bone. Too annoying to eat. By the time I got to the kung boa, etc., my tongue was burning so much that I can't say that this was the be all and end all of chicken. Not sure that I noticed a huge difference between fresh-killed and long-dead chicken. And, there were too many hidden pieces of gristle in the chicken. That's a personal skeeve of mine. Gives me the willies when I bite into chicken and get that crunch.

The braised pork with chestnuts is usually served with fatty pork, but the guy used lean pork for us. It was terrific. The chestnuts add excellent flavor.

Great string beans.

Now for the beef tendon. Sorry not jump on the everything-icky-is-great bandwagon. But what's the big deal? It looks like think long shavings of clear lucite. Or perhaps the cartilage from inside a squid. I was pleased to find that it wasn't chewy at all. But, nor did it have a crunch. It wasn't much of anything. And any flavor in the dish seemed to come only from the hot oil. I found it completely unoffensive, but for the life of me, I can't see any reason to rave about it. There's no there there.

The jellyfish we tasted from table 1 was quite good. Smalls shreds. Cold, crisp and fresh. They reminded me of geoduck, but less fishy.

Edited April 30, 2004 by Stone (log)

[picaman]

I think it is safe to say that the Cured Pork was a major highlight

More than safe to say, and fatty is always a virtue And as HWOE discovered, it tasted fantastic in combination with the bitter melon.

There were no dishes that I didn't like, though for me the softshell crabs came in last. The dry spiced chicken dish (?) was tasty but fell into that category of "too much work for too little reward" into which I put chicken wings, etc. There were lots of tiny pieces of chicken riddled with bone and cartilage. Does anyone know where on the chicken these pieces came from? They seemed like they were the ends of ribs or something...not sure.

My favorite dish of the evening was probably the jellyfish, because the texture and taste were the polar opposite of what I expected. A subtle but enjoyable flavor and a thrillingly cool texture.

Also liked the ox tongue and tripe. The tripe had not a bit of "barnyard" taste (not that "barnyard" is bad ) but was a good taste and texture contrast to the really good tongue. And I agree that the beef tendon perhaps had more texture than flavor, but I really like interesting textures, so I liked this one a lot.

And those were some damn fine pea shoots

In general, the heat was ever-present but at different levels and with different flavors, and was never overpowering to me. And, most importantly, the heat never obscured the other flavors of the various dishes.

All in all, it was a terrific meal, at a great price (for our table, the food worked out to $20 per person!!!!!!!!  )

I'd have to think hard to come up with a meal I've had with better value--don't think I can.

Jamie

[Stone]

The Ordering

The Huddled Masses

Dan dan noodles, sichuan wantons, pork buns.

Ox tail and tendon.

Looks like tendon in the middle, noodles on the left.

Buns.

String bean

Looks like the braised beef front left, string bean, sichuan shrimp around at 2:00, chinese brocoli at 1:00, jellyfish in the center?

Auzhou chicken.

]

Shumai

Clockwise from 6:00: kung boa chicken, family pumpkin, beef tendon, braised fish, string bean, dan dan noodle, braised pork with chestnuts, dried spiced chicken, a-choo chicken in the center.

Soft shell crab?

That green stuff in the center is bitter melon. It's really bitter. Like eating a bile sac. Yum.

Dried spice chicken. Lots of chillis.

done.

Edited April 30, 2004 by Stone (log)

[mjr_inthegardens]

I'm not getting those images coming down the pipe.

Great dinner.... thanks to Stone for arranging it. Table 1 can thank Stone and table 2 for our massive overordering prowess...

my highlights:

-pork buns

-taste of jellyfish -- not jellylike at all

-braised pork & chestnuts -- awesome

-freshly killed chicken -- didn't blow my mind but enjoyed both preparations

-Whole fish -- this was a nice contrast against the chili-oil drowned dishes

-Dan Dan Noodles...

cheers

-MJR_inthegardens

[Bond Girl]

Great dinner and great company. Thanks Stone for organizing this.

[alacarte]

I can't see the photos either.

I think one of the evening's highlights was when Stone asked the waiter how freshly-killed the "freshly-killed chicken" was, and whether he could come into the kitchen and see the formerly live poultry. The waiter declined to give the kitchen tour.

[Pan]

Now for the beef tendon. Sorry not jump on the everything-icky-is-great bandwagon. But what's the big deal? It looks like think long shavings of clear lucite. Or perhaps the cartilage from inside a squid. I was pleased to find that it wasn't chewy at all. But, nor did it have a crunch. It wasn't much of anything. And any flavor in the dish seemed to come only from the hot oil. I found it completely unoffensive, but for the life of me, I can't see any reason to rave about it. There's no there there.

Sometimes, it's best to just figure that you don't get it - whatever "it" is. Incontestably, there's nothing there for you, and nothing to "get." But to explain why I like it is pretty difficult, because you taste the same thing with a different palate. Sorry if perhaps I'm pointing out the obvious. But yes, it does have both a texture and a taste to me, a wonderful taste.

[picaman]

Ox tongue and tripe.

Other descriptions: jellyfish in the center is correct, as is soft shell crab.

Jamie

EDIT: updated link to picture

Edited April 30, 2004 by picaman (log)

[picaman]

The pictures are gone again...I'm glad I was able to see them in their brief appearance. I know the photographer quite intimately and frankly you aren't missing much. I have it on good authority that there was a Tsing-Tao factor involved

Seriously, the food never sat still long enough for me to photograph it all that well, which is in itself telling. It was in a constant state of motion--being spun around (the middle of the table is a huge lazy susan) with utensils lifting various things off of dishes. That's why you see so many half-empty plates and such.

Although, if I do say so myself, "Done" is a true work of art

Jamie

[hathor]

Pictures are wonderful! That dried chili and chicken dish looks mighty hot. I'm not sure I would have been brave enough to go there. Seems as if a good time was had by all!

[Suzanne F]

Further comment on the beef tendon: the tendon itself had less flavor than the version at Yeah Shanghai, and was not as chewy (I think it was cut thinner), but I still loved it. It, the tripe/ox tongue, and the jellyfish were all similar in texture, but different enough to keep it interesting.

The rabbit was on the bone, too, but the pieces were meatier than the dry-spiced chicken, so not as bothersome. (When I ordered the rabbit, the waiter warned me it was on the bone. No problem, said I. Well, Stone was at the other table. Anyway, no one at our table complained.) I was kind of surprised that the other 2 chicken dishes were NOT on the bone. But it sure made then easier to scarf them down.

One more thing about the rabbit: unlike the other dishes that had whole peppercorns, the rabbit had ground; it made a big difference. At first no one could figure out what that subtle floral note was. But later we got it.

Edited to add: Hathor, nothing was mouth-searingly hot, honest. Numbing, yes (love those peppercorns). But not killer hot. Even though we ordered a lot of dishes with the same peppery sauce, everything was subtle and tasted different. At any rate, I never saw steam coming out of anyone's ears, and the water and beer disappeared at normal rates.

Edited April 30, 2004 by Suzanne F (log)

[bloviatrix]

I got all pictures but two - the bitter melon and the one in Jamie's post.

BTW, who's the guy sitting next to SuzanneF? (not HWOE, the other guy)

[Suzanne F]

That's David, lxt's husband.

[jo-mel]

The pictures all came out for me --thanks. And thanks for showing me what I missed ---- I sure missed a lot! I think I would have sat at both tables!

What was the pumpkin dish like?

I think the waiters must be pleased with Da Bi Zis ordering something beyond General Tso' whatever.

Did they give you a hint where they get their Sichuan Peppercorns?

[MHesse]

Sometimes, if the picture doesn't display, right-click on the little red x, then choose the "show picture" option. Try it a few times before you give up. Sometimes it works.

I had never eaten tripe, ox tongue, tendon, or jelly fish before. Thanks to our large group, I could taste those things without having to get an order all my own.

They were interesting. The sauteed tongue was very good. Not like the huge boiled beef tongue I remember sitting on my childhood kitchen table. Mao's pork makes me wonder how I thought turkey bacon was okay. Pea shoots - good! Bitter melon was bitter, but good for flavor contrast. Good bunny. Heck, it was all good. And what a bargain.

[johnjohn]

It was a fun night - Thanks Stone for setting it up.

My top three were -

Braised pork with water chestnuts - Yeah, it would have been a lot better if the meat wasn't as lean, but I really liked the flavor. I tasted a lot of star anise or 5 spice powder - whatever it was I enjoyed it - a nice break from the heat of the other dishes. I also thought the chestnuts gave it a nice textural balance.

Dry fried string beans - I thought they were cooked perfectly.

Kung bao chicken - I could eat that every time I go there and never get tired of it.

Two dishes that I probably wouldn't order again -

Sliced pumpkin family style - did nothing for me. Didn't think it was good - didn't think it was bad - it was just there.

Dried spiced chicken - When it came to the table it looked awesome with all the peppers on top, but I didn't think it lived up to its appearance. Plus the pieces were so small, and with the bones - it really was a pain to eat.

I didn't think the heat level was all that bad - I was expecting it to be a lot spicier. The dan dan noodles were the only dish that made me sweat and really cleared my sinuses.

It was fun to meet some new people and see others that I have met before.

Let me know if anyone wants to make another trip in the future.

johnjohn

[Suzanne F]

The dan dan noodles were hot? Really? Jeez, I must be totally desensitized. I just thought they were really tasty -- and remember, I was the one who mixed them to make sure they were coated with the sauce.

The vegetables all served as respite from the heat and fat: the bitter melon was much better when eaten with the cured pork (bacon-y stuff); the pumpkin -- which was much firmer than I expected -- was just slightly sweet and nutty; the string beans shouted CRUNCHY STRING BEAN; and the pea shoots were sweet and pea-y, the slices of garlic with them incredibly sweet. Oh all right: my public apology to HWOE who kept shouting, "Pea shoots! Pea shoots!" even though I kept shushing him: he was right to want them.

Yeah, the waiter seemed surprised and pleased with our ordering; a few warnings about fattiness and bones, but none of that "You no like" which is sometimes given. And when the duck dish we wanted was unavailable, the one he suggested made a lovely contrast in flavor, fat, and spiciness.

BTW: thanks to the super math skills of MHesse, our tables drinkers and nondrinkers alike paid their fair share. I suggest he use this as a problem once he starts teaching:

There are 9 people at the table; 4 of them had 2 beers each and one had 3 beers. The food and drink total before tax is $164, and beers are $3.25 each. Assuming that tax is 8.625% and the service was excellent, how much should each person pay?

The answer turned out to be: a ridiculously low number.

[Blondie]

It was a very fun evening. Thanks again to Stone for organizing.

My favorite dishes were the Kung Bao chicken, string beans, the whole fish and the bit of jellyfish we scrounged from the other table. I liked the beef tendon, but didn't think it was earth-shatteringly good. Overall a very good meal, but as usual the company was stellar.

[dr_memory]

What an utterly lovely evening. My thanks to all of you.

Easily the highlight for me: The tea duck. Words fail. Going back for this, and soon.

Biggest surprise: the ox tongue. Ever-so-slightly gristly, but my god the flavor... meaty, meaty, meaty goodness, plus that wonderful sichuan burn. Not something I'd ever have ordered under my own power, but I'll be getting it again.

When I got home and described the evening to my SO, her first question was: do they do hotpot? She worked in sichuan province for a year and has been craving proper hotpot ever since she got back.

[Pan]

I don't remember seeing hotpot at any of the Sichuan-style restaurants I've been to. Do they in fact have it at Grand Sichuan? I'm trying to remember if they have any dishes in casseroles. What is Sichuan-style hotpot like, anyway?