Grand Sichuan International

[Fat Guy]

Pan, I hadn't put my finger on it until you mentioned it, but I think I've noticed a sweetening trend in the dishes at GSI-Midtown too. I wonder if this is the classic issue of catering to perceived Western tastes.

[Pan]

I think the sweetening is subtle (I wouldn't have remarked on it), and I prefer it to the excessive salt that both 9th-Av. branches of Grand Sichuan sometimes use.

I'd agree, though, that it's not hard to imagine that it represents an effort to cater to patrons' tastes.

[anil]

I think the sweetening is subtle (I wouldn't have remarked on it), and I prefer it to the excessive salt that both 9th-Av. branches of Grand Sichuan sometimes use.

I'd agree, though, that it's not hard to imagine that it represents an effort to cater to patrons' tastes.

I'd err on the side of excessive salt - specially green parrot - which you had; and, quail (whose meat is naturally salty) fried (I'd suggested to the waiter to ask the chef to steam it instead). This restaurant being in our neighborhood, we'd hope that it retains its quality for years to come.

Cinnabar, an promising 'neighbourhood restaurant went down fast Hoping it re-open more modestly with emphasis on moderation

Edited April 24, 2003 by anil (log)

[tommy]

the NYT today has a bit on Grand Sichuan East. click.

i go here quite often. however, i'm not convinced that i like it very much. or perhaps i don't like sichuan very much. the dishes i've ordered are typically loaded with sichuan peppercorns, and oftentimes the dishes are swimming in oil.

i found it curious that asimov didn't think that the green tea squid worked. i've had this dish, and thought it was very interesting (the jelly in the middle is quite curious, but i think it works). the tea smoked duck, a big winner. the small but diverse wine list has an oregon pinot gris for about 24 bucks.

sadly, i've never been to the "good" one, over on 9th.

[kurl]

This is not a terribly helpful post, but whatever...

I don't like Chinese food very much -- something about deep-fried viscous-sauced poor-quality chicken always got to me in the bad way. However, recently, in an illicit move, I took a (rebellious Jewish) friend of mine to Tang Pavillion on Passover. Maybe it was our respective lacks of bread, but I thought it was great (for Chinese standards), and figured I'd explore what NY has to offer a bit more.

I'd obviously heard of Grand Sichuan from f-g's review of it (when's that site coming back, anyway) and from discussions here, and on Monday I'd been bumming around the East 50s and decided to give that location a try, not knowing that it wasn't one of the more famed Chelsea or Clinton locations. Anyway, I had the Chengdu (I think that's the title) spicy dumplings and the Kung Pao Chicken. The dumplings were a bit greasy (bear in mind I'm somewhat of a greasephobe in some contexts (though I'll willingly eat Burger King and diner mozzarella sticks), but really amazing. They were filled with just a small bit of meat, and it didn't have much taste, but this was one of those cases where the whole was greater than the sum of its proverbial parts. The texture of the dumplings and the flavor of the sauce were truly great.

The Kung Pao chicken was a bit disappointing.

Anyway, several hours ago, I went with a (different) friend to the Chelsea location. I only had about 45 minutes to eat (my friend's Acela trail was late the exact amount of time it was supposed to save), so we only ordered main dishes and I asked the waiter to rush, which she did excellently (we got our food in about 8 or 10 minutes). Anyway, I ordered the Kung Pao (probably "Bao," actually) chicken from the freshly-killed menu, and was highly impressed. The dark-meat chicken seemed for once to add something (namely a fatty tastiness almost good enough to redeem chicken's general poorness as a meat) instead of merely being a sign of poor quality.

I'll definitely check out Grand Sichuan again. Any other Chinese recommendations? Joe's Shanghai? Shun Lee Palace? Canton?

[Pan]

Kurl, that's a good post and a nice way to say "Hello" to eGullet. Welcome, and I hope you stick around and report to us on your future experiences. FWIW, I'm a regular at Grand Sichuan, more often the Chelsea branch but also the Hell's Kitchen branch.

More recommendations? Well, first of all, use the "Search" button to get previous threads, but I'm happy to point you in a direction you might like. First of all, Flushing is chock-full of good Chinese restaurants of various kinds. I've spent a few years working at Queensborough Community College now (I probably should be grading papers as I write this, or already in bed), and I've hardly come close to scratching the surface - partly because there are some restaurants that serve various kinds of comfort food to my stomach or/and soul, so I go to them repeatedly. But if you're interested, I'll post some recommendations in Flushing. One I haven't posted about yet (I'd like to go there again to have more to post) is:

Sichuan Dynasty Restaurant

135-32 40 Road, Flushing, NY 11354

(718) 539-0002

I've been there twice by myself, and preliminary indications are that it's great and comparable in quality to Grand Sichuan but with some different dishes. Last time, I had Chonqing Spicy Chicken, which was crispy-fried with lots of Sichuan pepper, pieces of little green hot pepper, scallions, very good celery tops used as an herb, and a fair amount of salt. It was really good. On a previous trip, I had had the cold cucumber dish and I think I liked it better than a standby of mine at Grand Sichuan - the cucumber slices were smaller, so the sauce, so to speak (which may have also been better) could get distributed on more of the surface. I followed that up with Dan Dan Noodles, which again was an excellent rendition and perhaps better than my standby at the Chelsea Grand Sichuan. Sichuan Dynasty's clientele is very largely Chinese, and their regular menu is all in Chinese - they give me their takeout menu, which is in both Chinese and English. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with a friend or two there some time and ordering more stuff. Warning to single diners: You won't get in at peak hours on weekends. People in Flushing know a good thing, so it's packed.

Anyway, back to Manhattan.

Joe's Shanghai? (This is the Manhattan Chinatown one; I haven't been to the one in Flushing.) Yes, I like it, but I go there only at odd hours because I don't think it merits standing on line to get into. But since you like Shanghainese, consider my rotation of Yeah Shanghai Deluxe, Moon House, and New Green Bo, all on Bayard St. between Mott and the southern terminus of Elizabeth.

Shun Lee Palace? I vote no. My last meal there sucked and upset my stomach - old lobster! Bad enough to nauseate from a bite! Overpriced b.s. It's a shame; Shun Lee Palace used to be a great restaurant. (If you search under the name, you'll find a thread which I started with a review of the place.)

Canton? It steadily deteriorated and closed a few months ago.

But if you like Cantonese, sample some Hong Kong-style banquet food at Congee Village or - and here's another place I haven't posted about yet:

Super Taste House (from their card - open 7 days a week 10:00 A.M.-2:00 A.M.)

49 Division St.

(212) 965-1926

They do not speak much English. I think it's a very good alternative to Congee Village, which at peak times seems too small despite its size! I've had two meals at Super Taste House. The first was wonderful, but if you go by yourself, do not let a waitress or waiter convince you to get anything other than one main dish! No appetizers or cold dishes, at least not if you're getting something in a casserole! I was unable to eat more than a little of my white chicken feet, which came with a wonderful hot sauce (so much better than the ones I got once in Wonderful Chef on Kissena in Flushing, which I ultimately concluded is really not very wonderful), but the lamb in casserole with bean curd skin and black mushrooms was exquisite and redolent of the whole roasted garlic cloves they put in it, fermented bean curd, and black pepper! The second time I went, I got only one dish, also in a casserole: Sliced fish with bean curd and various other stuff. The bean curd had an excellent texture: It seemed to have been flash-fried and the inside was spongy. The dish was satisfying and well-executed, but to my taste, the dish was not as spectacular as the lamb in casserole. I definitely like this place and would like to go back, preferably with at least one other person, so as to sample more food. Regardless, I plan on exploring that long menu in many future visits.

[kurl]

Cool, thanks a lot.

Yeah, I'd never been to Shun Lee Palace or Canton, nor did I do any research before I made the post (it was like 3 am or something :)), but they have (or, in Canton's case had) the sort of reputation-among-non-foodies that preceeded them, so I thought I'd get an opinion from people who actually know :)

I have been to Joe's Shanghai, and it definitely was "off-hours" (like 4:30 pm), and my meal there was great -- soup dumplings, some kind of fish which escapes me but was in-the-good-way memorable, and some other stuff (I didn't do the ordering). Alright, I've probably highjacked this thread enough for two posts.

[Pan]

Kurl:

Canton was a fine restaurant once, but that's a moot point now.

Feel free to choose to start a new thread if you like, but I hope you don't stop posting about Chinese restaurants in New York. I eat Chinese food more than any other type of food, even if it's more local delivery places than anything else.

[anil]

Super Taste House (from their card - open 7 days a week 10:00 A.M.-2:00 A.M.)

49 Division St.

Finally someone else also thinks Division St. has great places. However, Congee (on Bowery south of Grand) has good congee, Super Taste House and also Wei Mei (51? or 53 ? Division) also have very good variety of rice plates

Yest another favourite of mine - Fuleen - 11 Division ? , anyway, it has excellent shrimps and crabs.

[Pan]

Thanks for the recommendations, Anil. I haven't been to Fuleen's yet, nor Congee. Is Wei Mei the place with the "rice and 3 sides" sign (for what, $2.50 or something)?

[anil]

Thanks for the recommendations, Anil. I haven't been to Fuleen's yet, nor Congee. Is Wei Mei the place with the "rice and 3 sides" sign (for what, $2.50 or something)?

Wei Mei - yes; There is another with 4 sides, rice and siup for 4.00 further down the middle in Division - It's the steam table.

[Felonius]

I have been away from NYC and off this board for some time. I was amused upon my recent return to see that this thread I started 18 months ago is still active!

I have been back in the city a week and have eaten at GSI (on 50th and 9th) twice - so obviously my recommendation still stands. The Kung Pao fresh chicken special and sichuan dumplings in chili oil are as good as ever. I've never had a bad meal at this Grand Sichuan location, but there are indeed nights when these dishes are better than others. That's to be expected at nearly any restaurant, and at the prices GSI is charging, I'm not too worried about it.

Thanks again to Steven Shaw for recommending this place to me a few years ago.

[Fat Guy]

Felonius, how are we going to secure an electronic copy of (and permission to publish) the GSI annotated menu and guide to regional Chinese cuisines? Surely this is a job you can handle. And welcome back.

[Felonius]

The annotated menu and the section on the dishes adapted from a Chinese TV series are beyond description. Steven, you are correct that only a transcript would suffice. I'll get to work on it - especially since it gives me a much-needed excuse to go back for Kung Pao chicken for the third time this week .....

[Jason Perlow]

BTW, the Kung Pao "freshly killed" chicken still kicks ass. Ate it last week along with another inhumanely spicy dish, the sauteed cellophane noodles with minced pork. Outstanding.

That kung pao has a MASSIVE amount of sichuan peppercorn in it. I have no idea how the hell they manage to get ample supplies of it, considering its been banned for over 2 years?

[Felonius]

That kung pao has a MASSIVE amount of sichuan peppercorn in it. I have no idea how the hell they manage to get ample supplies of it, considering its been banned for over 2 years?

What's been banned for 2 years? Sichuan peppercorns? Freshly killed chicken "not long time frozen"? Heartburn-inducing food? (see the "Smoking Ban In NYC" thread for more on this topic)

Mr. Perlow, I have to admit you have me worried that my favorite NYC cheap food fix is about to be outlawed. I am also wondering if they're giving you more peppercorns than I get. I've had plenty of hot dishes at GSI but "MASSIVE" amounts of peppercorns have never reached my table. Maybe I need to tip more next time...

[tommy]

Mr. Perlow, I have to admit you have me worried that my favorite NYC cheap food fix is about to be outlawed.  I am also wondering if they're giving you more peppercorns than I get.  I've had plenty of hot dishes at GSI but "MASSIVE" amounts of peppercorns have never reached my table.  Maybe I need to tip more next time... 

the Grand Sichuan on 2nd has several dishes that have massive amounts of peppercorns. so much so that i stopped going there. i don't think they've heard about the law!

[Jason Perlow]

Sichuan Peppercorns are illegal. We've had a few threads about it and mamster wrote a peice about it:

http://www.egullet.com/?pg=ARTICLE-mamster040103

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=6160

[tommy]

does this place have a wine list? and if so, is it palatable to some extent? i'm going tonite and need to know if i should bring anything.

thanks in advance.

[tommy]

jeesh. thanks for nuttin people.

[Fat Guy]

Oops.

Well, now at least you can tell us the answer.

[scamhi]

I recently went to the 2nd Ave and 56th Street branch. All Grand Sichuans have wine. For our party of 5 we BYO'd 3 bottles of wine 1 sparkling and a 1.5 liter of sake. No corkage. We didn't quite get through all of it.

[BDR]

BTW, the Kung Pao "freshly killed" chicken still kicks ass. Ate it last week along with another inhumanely spicy dish, the sauteed cellophane noodles with minced pork. Outstanding.

That kung pao has a MASSIVE amount of sichuan peppercorn in it. I have no idea how the hell they manage to get ample supplies of it, considering its been banned for over 2 years?

Man, first time visitor to Grand Sichuan, on 9th, midtown. had the fresh killed kung bao chicken, very tasty, but WAY TOO HOT TO ENJOY. And I usually like spicy foods. I even asked the waiter "not too spicy," which I think he took as a joke. Oh well, will try one more time.

[Pan]

BDR, get dishes not marked spicy.

[tommy]

i didn't think the kung pao chicken was all that spicy. although it came after the dan-dan and a few spicy dishes. my meal there the other night was outstanding. the people i brought thought it was awesome as well. this place is way better than the one on 2nd and 50-whatever.