Szechuan Chef Revisited

"SJP" recently took a position in another department, while I'll miss her, it amounts to a raise and promotion of sorts. "YZ" and I wanted to take her to lunch. "YZ" chose Szechuan Chef for lunch.

Here's what we had.

First up was the Spiced Bean Curd with Chive. Basically, 5 spice pressed tofu like you get at the market.

The dish looked quite colorful, but this was quite bland, really lacking in flavor, and there was no trace of "wok hay".

I ordered the Beef Tendon with Pickled Pepper, something that was pretty good on a previous visit.

This was much more gloppy than what I'd had here before and still lacked a decent amount of Pa Jiao (pickled pepper). The texture of the tendon as excellent though; soft and buttery. And while not particularly spicy, this was far from bland.

I also ordered another dish that had been pretty good on previous visits; the Beef Sour Soup. And while there was a lot less beef than what I'd had here before; I think it was of better quality.

The assertive sour tones really cleared your palate after the tendon dish. Still a good dish from Szechuan Chef.

The other clunker of the meal was the Tofu Skin. YZ and I were a bit confused when this dish didn't come out first as it's usually a nice cold appetizer. Well, this version was stir fried.

The bean curd skin was brittle and the cut of the bell peppers was too large. It lacked flavor and was really bland.

For the last dish we had the Salted Egg Yolk Soft Tofu. This was done pretty well.

I recall this being the dish "RonR" enjoyed when we had lunch here a while back. It's very "eggy" and savory. There are pieces of a "canned meat product"....a Spam-like substitute that added saltiness and texture. The tofu was soft and supple; this was a nice dish as well.

So, three-out-of-five isn't too bad. "YZ" told me the chef is from Chengdu. In terms of Sichuan style food; there's a real lack of "ma-la" (numbing hot) going on here; even when I've tried some of the supposedly spicer dishes.

That's okay, it was good to get out of the office and the three of us had a blast "talking story". Good luck SJP! Don't be a stranger!

Szechuan Chef
4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Cathy's also been here a number of times.

Comments

[kat]

at least the company & conversation were good!

[Kirk]

It sure was Kat!

[Junichi]

Steer clear of the stir fry dishes!

[Kirk]

That's about right Junichi!

[koko]

Three out of five isn't bad. At least it was eaten with good company.

[nhbilly]

Ugh, not the blog to read when dinner is right around the corner.
Of all the supposedly Szechuan places I've been to in Tx only one has really bought on the ma-la the rest has almost been in spirit but not in ma-la.

[Kirk]

We did have a great time "talking story" Koko.

Lol Billy! Things are kind of mild on the "ma-la" front here too!

[Faye]

I'm always looking for tofu noodle dishes so it's unfortunate the version here wasn't good. Have you tried Sichuan City (it took over Spicy Hut). Took family there last night for another visit and we really enjoyed the meal. The fatty beef with preserved vegetable was incredible.

[Kirk]

Hi Faye - Yes, I've been to Sichuan City since the change of ownership. I just need to get another visit under my belt (pun intended) before I do a post.