Hey everyone! It's been way too long! Stupid law school is taking up all my valuable eating time, damn it to hell!
Anyway, this entry is about Szechuan Gourmet chinese restaurant. My buddy Jason Singer had been wanting to experience some authentic chinese food so we decided to meet up one night after work and get some grub with Chris and my other friend Eric. After searching online, the top pick was this place. Don't worry about trying to find one because they have about 10 restaurants all over Manhattan.
So, of course, with me ordering the food - we went the weird/spicy route and got some new dishes and some old favorites. The absolute best thing of the evening was the ox tripe and tongue. I know you're thinking to yourself, "EWWWWW!"...but no. It was amazing. Served cold like a salad and shaved razor thin, this dish was poppin' with flavor and super tender. It was dressed in a sesame soy dressing which gave the meat a little tang. Singer and Eric thought it was ox tail as they were enjoying the hell out of it. I reminded them that it wasn't ox tail it was actually tongue and stomach lining...their enjoyment level quickly bottomed out to say the least. But really...is tail much less of a gross thing than tongue or stomach? I don't think so!
We also ordered some of my old favorites such as szechuan wontons, three pepper chicken, and bok choy sauteed with garlic and oil. Oldies but goodies. Singer, Eric, and the waiter had some fun fooling around with the szechuan peppercorns that I've written about before. DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE. When you bite into one, as my cousin Jen described so accurately, it tastes and smells as if you just sprayed pine sol in your mouth then the numbing begins...oh what fun.
Soup dumplings. I had never tried these babies. I would see them on the menu and kind of brush them off like, "eh soup dumplings? What's so great about that? you put a dumpling in soup? Who cares." I was wrong! These things rule. A pillow like doughy outside filled with pork (had other varieties like crab and veggies but we're not kosher so we love pork) with a soupy surprise! I don't understand how someone could make a dumpling containing meat AND soup! I'm guessing it was a chicken based broth, but I could be wrong. How does the liquid stay in there!? I don't know, maybe it's magic. They were awesome, sprinkle a little soy sauce on top and you're good to go! Absolutely DELISH.
Ox tongue and tripe
Szechuan dumplings
soup dumplings!
glamour shot
three pepper chicken
baby bok choy
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