Turning up the heat part 2 - A revisit to Si Chuan Garden Spicy City (Guo Qiao Yuan)

We had given "Spicy City" a break after watching customers exhibit some really terrible behavior on our last visit to the "New" Spicy City. But recently, the Missus was craving the chicken feet, and I, the Chongqing La Chao La. This time we decided to visit right at 5pm when they started dinner service. And as you can see, not a creature was stirring.......and thankfully so.

The menu looked like it had been changed a bit since our last visit, which made us even more interested. Of course the Missus started with some cold appetizers.

 

And of course this included the Missus Pao Jiao (pickled pepper) flavored chicken feet. Tonight these were a bit on the chewy side, but this did not stop the Missus from gnawing away.

On this visit the Fuqi Feipian was still on the tough side, but had more Sichuan Peppercorn, which added to the overall flavor. The Bean Curd Skin Noodles were exactly the same as before.......dry and bland.

I wanted to see if the Fried Lamb with Cumin($9.99) had changed since the last time I had it, and indeed it did look different:

 

This time the meat was on the tough side and was lacking in Cumin. Also, the flavor of the lamb was so mild that it was almost beef like. On the good side, it wasn't the least bit greasy, and except for the lack of cumin, was perfectly seasoned. It was also a pretty large portion of lamb.

We also ordered one of my favorite dishes, the "Chongqing Saliva Chicken" (Cold Chopped Chicken w/Spicy Sauce - $9.99). We were surprised at the rather large portion size:

 

The first time we encountered this dish was at ChungKing Restaurant in Monterey Park, in what seems ages ago. I remember that the server told the Missus that, "the chicken looks and smells so good, that you can't stop drooling...." This version was pretty good, the minced topping included pickled vegetable, which came through clearly. The texture of the chicken was just the right combination of firm but moist. The dish was not as spicy as it looked, and lacked a real deep and complex flavor. Still, we enjoyed this.

Looking for something to order on the menu, we came up with the Fish Filet w/Szechwan Sauce (Actually, this is supposed to be fish fragrant fish filet - $10.99). Again the portion size was very "family style":

 

This was more like a sweet-sour fish dish, with the emphasis on the "sweet". The fish was fried well, moist, with a crisp, almost tempura type batter. The Missus enjoyed this much more than I did.

On our last visit, the dish I enjoyed the most was the Chongqing La Chao La, also called "Spicy & Spicy" on the menu($8.99). I had been craving this dish.

 

Even though the dish looked exactly the same as what we had last time, I knew when it hit the table that something was wrong. It was simply not fragrant. The dish was salty, but lacked the sour and spicy flavors. It was funky, and a bit "off tasting". I just ran to the fridge and a had a few spoonfuls of our leftovers, and it does taste a bit flat, lacking the sharp and direct pickled heat. It is pretty salty though!

And this being Spicy City, our meal just couldn't end without observing an "interesting" customer. While eating, a Middle Eastern Gentleman walks into the restaurant, and plants himself at a table. He opens the menu, and asks the ever patient server where the Black Bean Fish was. The server didn't quite understand him, but luckily another server just happened to arrive. This young lady had a better grasp of English, and figured out what the customer wanted. As she takes his order, he goes, "WAIT...WAIT, is spicy?" The young lady explains that this dish is not spicy. The guy looks flabbergasted, and goes, "I WANT SPICY, must be SPICEEEE!" Of course the young lady says they can make the dish spicy. At that point, the dude starts talking really loud on his cellphone. When the dish arrives, the guy, still talking real loud on the cellphone shouts at the server, "WAIT, WAIT, where's my FORK, where is it, I must have it!!!" So.....for those folks who get irritated when they visit a Asian Restaurant and get the "fork treatment", you know why...some folks "must have it!" What is it with the customers this restaurant attracts. The servers here are pretty nice, and yet they have to put up with stuff like this. Oh well.......

Anyway, my chicken feet and I wish you all a peaceful week!

 

Si Chuan Garden Spicy City
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Our previous posts on Spicy City can be found here and here.

Comments

[Hannah Johansen]

Hiya!!
This blog has really gotten me interested... in chicken feet!! However, whenever I go out for dim sum with friends, I only see jalapeno or pepper chicken feet. I really hate spicy stuff. Is there any sweet chicken feet recipes? Haha! : )

[Kirk]

Hi Hannah - Welcome, and thanks for taking the time out to comment! Sweet chicken feet....I just can't help but laugh when I read that. Try out the chicken feet at Yum Cha Cafe...it's not very spicy...and really cheap $1.39! Que Huong has boneless chicken feet salad. I wasn't too thrilled, but you might like it:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2008/07/que-huong-revis.html

I'll try to think of some other options! Thanks again for visiting!

[clayfu]

Haha I also noticed some quirky when i dined there not so long ago. Some lady came in alone and wanted to sit in the corner of the restaurant (rather empty at the time). The waiters in an effort to keep the limited amount of patrons close asked her to sit near everyone else. She refused to despite their constant pleas.

It was funny watching it all go down.. struggle for power

[Hao]

I discussed it a bit when I blogged about Ba Ren, but the translation of 口水雞 poses an interesting problem. The common translation of *雞 is to translate the * as a single phrase and 雞 as chicken to get "something-chicken". However, for 口水雞, a character-by-character translation yields "mouth-water-chicken" => "mouthwatering chicken", which I imagine would be more appealing on an English menu. Then again, half the fun of the English menu is gawking at the translation. :)

[kat]

interesting customer there, but for the most part, I'm glad the food was good!

[Chris]

U-R Funny- (last photo)I have yet to try "saliva chicken"

Which is better: Ba Ren, or Garden Spicy City? please elaborate if apropos

[ed (from Yuma)]

I'm sure missing SD food options. Thanks for keeping my mouth watering out here in the desert.

And yeah, that last photo is pretty cute.

[janfrederick]

Yup, the fork treatment and "I wouldn't like it" stink...and all thanks to clueless puddingheads who should have gone to PF Chang's.

[Kirk]

Hi Clayfu - Sheesh, such a waste of energy.....

Hi Hao - I love those types of names for dishes...they add so much "color"....and more than a few chuckles along the way. BTW, have you seen Sam recently?

Hi Kat - Pretty decent food, good sized portions.

Hi Chris - I like the depth of flavor and heat at Ba Ren for that dish.

Hi Ed - You'll be able to get your fix soon, right?

Hi Jan - And thus starts the racial profiling.....too bad.

[Carol]

heehee, love that last picture! How about a shakka next time, bruddah? I've made a note to get the saliva chicken at Ba Ren next visit.

[Kirk]

LOL Carol! Hmmm...do chicken have thumbs? ;o)

[RT]

Great post! Along with the last Spicy City post I kind of want to go there just for the, ahem, live entertainment... almost ;) I'm waiting for the "Turning Up The Heat: Ba Ren" edition!

Carol, Ba Ren's saliva chicken is deeeelicious! I've gone twice in the last two weeks and both times it was great, although one friend I went with said he thought it'd be better if it was served hot. But then it wouldn't quite be saliva chicken.

[Carol]

Thanks for the rec, RT! I'm thinking it would go nicely with the Sichuan Cold Noodles.

[foodhoe]

I love those names: spicy spicy and saliva chicken. what a funny menu!

[Kirk]

Hi RT - That one is coming up. I hope you haven't gotten bored with all this Sichuan food.

Hi Carol - Along with a plate of cold dishes.....delici-yoso!

Hi FH - Adds color, doesn't it?

[Hannah Johansen]

Ive seen your posts on Yum Cha, I definitely wanna try it!

I love this blog! Its actually in my top links (I check it with my myspace, email etc) haha : )

Its just the best for seeing stuff in San Diego. I have gone to many places just because you reviewed it! Haha : D

[Kirk]

Hi Hannah - I'm glad our blog has been of some use to you! Thanks again for the gracious and kind words.

[Hao]

I haven't been in the mood for sushi recently, so the last time I saw Sammy was a few weeks ago.

[Bruce Tindall]

Spicy City has a new menu that's mostly photos. There seem to be quite a few dishes that are not listed on the menu -- La Chao La ("Spicy & Spicy"), for example; we asked for it and they do still serve it. I think this dish must have bounced back because it was much better last night that the description from 2 years ago.

[Kirk]

Hi Bruce - Sorry I missed your comment! Most restaurants of this type have dishes not on the menu.... I really need to start doing the rounds again once it gets a bit cooler! It's nice to hear from you and I hope all is well!