Seven Star Pepper (Seattle)

[janedoe67]

After wanting to go there forever...I finally went to Seven Star Pepper tonight. I was a bit lost about what to order. After looking at the menu for what seemed like forever, the server was determined to take our order. I panicked and ordered: Green Onion Pancakes, Mongolian Beef, a chicken and noodle dish that our server suggested and the green beans.

It was all quite tasty but I have a feeling that I missed something. The guys at the table next to us had ordered 4 orders of the House Special Chow Mien with Shaven Noodle, one for the table and 3 to go. Too bad I had already ordered. If it’s good enough to order 4 of them, I should have tried it.

I will be going there again soon, so I’d like to know...what are YOUR favorite dishes at Seven Star Pepper?

Thank you!

[fuzzyboy]

I finally ate at this place and was sorely disappointed. Dan dan noodles tasted like they were in some peanut butter sauce? The other dishes tasted about the same. They were okay, but certainly not exceptional.

[Wanda2day]

Jayne Doe, I must say, the food was kinda crap over there! Flavors good, but the deep fried whole fish was SMOTHERED in greasy sauce, the crab was overcooked and stickng to the shell and noodles textureless and overboiled. Green onion pancakes were kind of raw in center. I heard they lost their exec chef to somewhere in Bellevue? It shows. Does anyone know where that guy is? Never mind, just read the whole thread, seems should have gone to Bellevue.

Wanda2day

[christy319]

Wow! I wonder what happened. I've had the crab probably 50 times and it's always cooked just right (except sometimes for the scrawny little parts of the legs).

I recently did a comparison of 7 Stars and Szechuan Chef-I've long been a regular at 7SP, but everyone raves so much about SC. We got 5 dishes, all of which we've gotten dozens of times at 7SP. Three were identical to 7SP in every way. 2 were clearly worse-we got a greasy house special pancake (this is what we get at 7 Stars because it ISN'T greasy, like the green onion cake), and the hot pepper shredded potato was so incredibly salty we couldn't finish it.

It's definitely a nicer space at SC, the parking is easy, and if you live on the eastside, there's no reason to come to Seattle for Szechuan anymore. But I am baffled by the people that say SC is so much better than 7 Stars-that was not my experience at all.

There's another post here that says they were served a rock hard green onion pancake at SC, by the way, so you might not want to drive to Bellevue for that.

[barleywino]

They do not have a bar where one can sit and drink/eat (although they do have wine by the glass iirc, and might have hard liquor). They do make some good fruit slushes (mango, watermelon etc).

[christy319]

They don't have liquor-just a few kinds of beer, and wine.

[Wanda2day]

Does anyone know if they have a bar? I can't get through to their main number. Thanks!

[dandelion]

I love spicy foods, but despite the name, I've never really found Seven Stars Pepper to really be that spicy. Since they don't ask how many stars you want, are there some magic words I can use to get them to turn up heat?

[heidihelm]

I love the pork and pickled vegetable soup with cellophane noodle - I actually crave it when I have a cold because of it's soothing spiciness. The smoked pork with garlic chives is addictive. Once they had a braised pork belly which was as good as anything at one of those fancy restaurants. I think Sichuanese Cuisine has better steamed dumplings (which they also sell frozen), but my daughter loves the ones here as well (although she's never seen a dumpling she doesn't like). Twice cooked pork is delicious. The watermelon juice is good for those who don't drink beer.

[abslin]

I like the lamb and tofu in hot sauce. They have various versions with beef and chicken I think too - so good!

[christy319]

That's actually been mentioned a bunch of times here, esp. in discussions about Szechuan Chef (the place in Bellevue)-it happened almost a year and a half ago. I've gone to Seven Stars every week or two since they opened in the ID (that is many, many meals under both owners) and never noticed a quality change.

[Boomer1]

I don't see anyone above that's mentioned that the original people (chef and owner) that run this place are gone. The quality has gone quite downhill. They've opened a place in Bellevue, haven't been there, but it's call Szechuan ___ can't recall. Last time was really disappointed in the quality at Seven Star Pepper.

[dnamj]

Szechuan Chef
15015 Main St Ste 107 (Cross Street: 150th Place Northeast)
Bellevue, WA 98007-5229
[phone]

And it is DELICIOUS!! I went there after finding that the CHing Jin Hot chicken, which was in fact just about the hottest thing I've ever been served in a restaurant had lost its sparkle. Take the trek to Bellevue and you will be rewarded!

[mrnelso]

To upgrade your impressions of the hottest thing you ever ate, have the hottest wing at the Wingdome. Holy mackeral. I am a chili fiend. I eat jalapeno as a vegatable.
At Wingdome, the one that is so far off the scale it gets its own section on the menu is made with ground scotch-bonnet seeds. I cried. I muttered. I sweated. I cursed. I promised God something, but my sensory circuits were fried, so I'm not sure I correctly rememember what it was. It may have been that this was a mistake.
Nah.
That can't have been it.

???

[phaedra_lari]

I am in love with the pork dan dan noodles (with hand shaven noodles) to the extent that I haven't yet tried much else :)

[jlbs]

we get the dan dan noodles every time we are there (a little like peanut sauce but runnier, delicious flavor, a little different every time) with hand shaven noodles and no pork (i'm sure it's good with pork, we just don't happen to eat it).
we also get a vegetable dish every time we are there, usually the eggplant in garlic sauce.
the cumin lamb is a big favorite as well. the lamb is always perfectly cooked little pieces with veges and you put it over rice. it's less saucy than other cut up meat and vege dishes but it's really good.
we also like the geen onion pancakes.

[pablissima]

They have a dish with the handcut noodles with pork and pickled cabbage--that's by far my favorite. Also, the cumin lamb dish is interesting, in a good way.

[christy319]

You MUST try:
Szechuan crab (if you can handle spicy-otherwise the ginger/green onion crab is good)
House special pancake (better than the green onion one)
Sting beans in hot oil (in the appetizer section-it's not as spicy as it sounds)
Chong Gin hot chicken
Hot pepper shredded potato (hmm, maybe this one isn't a must try for everyone, but I absolutely love it)

Other things that are very very good:
Wontons in hot oil
Whole fish in black bean sauce
Pea vines (not on the menu-ask if the have them)
Tofu with double mushroom
Szechuan diced cucumber
I've had very good eggplant and bok choy dishes there, but the exact names escape me. The vegetable dishes are generally good-they are always cooked just right.

I've had many other good things there, too, but I think I would recommend these for you to try next.

Even though I am in general a noodle freak, I don't usually order the chow mein that you are talking about. I've had it, it's pretty good, but it's just not one of the dishes that blows me away.

[barleywino]

There is a dish on the menu called Boiled Fish in Spicy Sauce which is not bad (and not as spicy as it sounds). THe King's Special Tofu is also not bad. I find their food to be somewhat monochromatic compared to Cantonese food but that's just me.

[Leper]

Jane, The house special chowmein with hand cut noodles is a universal favorite as is the crab. I've bravely tried the spicy pork intestine and recommend it for Chowhounds that are weary of the norm. (It's a great option if someone asks you to bring a dish to a party. They'll know it's not a cassarole.) Their hotpots are also well worth savoring. I really haven't had a bad dish there so take your time and run the menu.