Address: 853 Caledonia Avenue
Phone: (250) 384-0224
Website: http://szechuanonline.com/
Price: $10-15 for a 'main' dish
Notes: Spicy, but not too much. Good quality but not the best value in town.
This tiny Chinese restaurant is right in our neighbourhood, and for literally the past almost eight years my partner-in-food-and-life and I have been together one or the other of us always comments about how we should go there someday every single time we go by. Finally got the opportunity to make it a reality.
The restaurant is pretty small - not many tables, and most of them are the large round ones for big groups. The decor is pretty traditional, but seems up to date and classy. For those of you who can't picture it, it's right across from the police station on Caledonia, a stones throw from the SOFA. I'm sure they must do a roaring trade in police customers, which makes the wicked part of me suspect them of also being a front for something really illegal. Police-force staff must also be great participators in the surveys they send around asking for recommendations of all the best restaurants because this one has won every single year.
Service:
September 16, 2011
The service was very quick and efficient - it was right before the Victoria Royals exhibition game so they were extra, extra busy and the one sever was pretty much running the whole show. Still, she was happy to answer any questions including our curiosity about the authenticity of the Szechuan (for the record, not authentic as it's impossible to import and, we were told, far too spicy for anyone who didn't grow up on it. Clearly I need to test this with a travel post!).
Food:
September 16, 2011
The food here was of a very good standard - but nothing really knocked our socks off. We left feeling satisfied, the flavours were actually pretty incredible but the value wouldn't be in the top for me. The price to portion size ratio was pretty high. Still, this is probably one of the better Chinese restaurants in town.
I am hoping they ran out of broth and were forced to give us a watery/new batch. After the intensity of the broth at my last Chinese food experience at JJ Wonton Noodle House this was a bit of a letdown, although the wontons themselves were full of flavour and a nice texture.
This dish wasn't overly spicy, although I think we could have asked for extra spicy if we were regulars and/or not quite so white... The flavours were good, though and the sauce was a well developed texture. Nice large pieces of chicken and fresh peppers worked well together. Not actual peppercorn (as discussed above) but done in the style of anyhow. Worth a try!
We both have a soft spot for egg foo yung - there's something incredibly delicious about the combination of egg, batter and onion fried up with some gravy on top! My P.I.F.A.L. always says it feels like a breakfast food, which I think is a bit weird but I guess I can see that since it's pretty much a bastardized omelette. This was a pretty standard version with the exception of huge chunks of mushroom versus the slivers of over-cooked/canned mushrooms I have experience elsewhere!
Opted for these because a foursquare user recommended the sauce. It was certainly epically savoury! The shredded pork wasn't particularly the "star" of the dish but the flavours were really, really nice. The couple at the next table was asking the server what it was that made it so delicious, but she was being coy. Sounds like the soya sauce is part of the key, which makes me want to hunt down a nicer soy sauce than what we currently have in the fridge...
