Monday, July 9, 2012

Sichuan


I seem to be on a roll right now of working through several places that have been on my list forever.  Hubby and I intended to head to the west side to try one of the great ethnic options over there, but ran short of time and decided to head to Carmel and try Sichuan instead for lunch.  They have a really interesting looking buffet, but hubby isn’t supposed to eat from them (long story) so we just ordered off the menu. 
We made the mistake of ordering a couple of appetizers that were just too generic and not very good—the crab rangoon ($3.50) and the dumplings ($3.99).  They were certainly generous portions for sure, but pretty sure you can get that same crab rangoon anywhere (and honestly, I am not a big fan of them anyhow).  The dumplings were just pot stickers that weren’t pan fried.  Typical minced pork filling.  I thought the skin was a little overly doughy actually so we weren’t doing that well to start. And I kept eyeing the buffet wishing I had gotten it anyway. Lots of interesting looking things.
Then we got our entrée—chicken in garlic sauce ($7.99).  Wow, was it good. There was a lot of white meat chicken that was not cooked to death with various veggies—mainly celery and carrots but with a few bamboo shoots and water chestnuts mixed in.  The celery and carrots were a tad too al dente for my taste, but the chicken and the sauce alone were so good—a decent spicy kick with a lot of garlic flavor—I mean look at the close up shot and you can see all the minced garlic.  We both really liked this.  If it were close by my house, I would be getting this dish for carry out a lot.  I really liked that it was spicy enough that you could feel it too; so many times I think Chinese places around here don’t really adequately spice their dishes, even when they are designated as spicy on the menu.



Sichuan
11588 Westfield Blvd
Carmel, IN 46032
317/844-7559

5 comments:

  1. You should try some things off the traditional menu. If you like spicy, you will love the dry stir fried beef. It has whole dried chilis, jalipinos and sichuan peppercorns.

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  2. I'll +1 asking for the Chinese / authentic menu (there are some rough translations on there, btw)... for me, it turns this place into the most compelling Chinese in the city. U MUST GO BACK ;)

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  3. I went here with some coworkers once last year, after my Chinese acupuncturist recommended it, saying it was her favorite and the most authentic Chinese restaurant she knew of in town. We all ate off the buffet and found some interesting items you don't always find on Chinese buffets. It was all very good. I've heard, though, that if you go on a weekend, you get a far better selection of authentic Chinese dishes, many of which do not jibe with the average American palate (i.e. roasted pig's ear with chili oil). That kind of thing gets me excited, though. I'm hoping to go back on a Saturday some time.

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  4. Weekend buffet is awsome. Almost all of the people eating in there are Asian. Also try the Sichuan hot pot if you go with a group.

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  5. We love Sichuan. It's one of the best Chinese places in Indy. Try it again and go for the authentic menu. :) aaannnd, check out my blog http://snackingsuppingsipping.blogspot.com/

    Amanda

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