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Orange chicken from the Mandarin side is not bad. It's hard to screw up orange chicken. The fried rice is good too.
From the Sichuan side, the fried beef short ribs are awesome. Also the beef with celery and baby ginger and the chicken with sour mustard green (it's just sour enough to have a little bit of a kick).
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if not ordering Sichuan, don't go there as there non Sichuan dishes tend to be your typical overly sweetened and poorly cooked fair (I'm looking at you General Gao!). Having said that, there are non spicy Sichuan dishes - the green beans are excellent for example. The dan dan noodles, chicken with cabbage, chicken with mustard greens and been with chilies are all quite good
I can't stress enough how mediocre their non sichuan dishes are. If you want a good mix, its better to go to Billerica for Sichuan Gourmet or Cambridge for Qin Dao.
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re: aranthe
justbeingpolite
Jun 29, 2008 03:33 PM
Really? You might be right. The only comparison I've made is the Kung Pao, which was strangely sweet at SG, but spicy and full of sichuan peppers at CG.
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re: aranthe
saridt
Jun 29, 2008 05:28 PM
You are so right...I was outvoted by non-adventurous eaters and I have to say I was really unimpressed --Sesame crispy beef was gloppy, overly sweet...yuk...veggie lo mein pretty typical. I did enjoy the wonton soup...I stayed away from the fried apps which looked pretty standard --the chicken fingers almost all puffy breading and no chicken, etc. Even my DCs did not like it at all. I look forward to trying all the Sichuan recs at another date, but I certainly won't rush there --it seems if their Sichuan is so great why not take the same care with the other half of the menu?
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Aromatherapy
Jun 28, 2008 01:59 PM
I can't help you much with the Mandarin but what I've tasted (as part of a group) has been competent. The spicy wontons are good so I assume the non-spicy ones are. Potstickers, scallion pancake etc. are ok. The lo mein is pretty good. Of the non-spicy Sichuan stuff, the aromatic duck is really good, second the bamboo shoots in sesame oil, also the wild vegetables w/garlic. The house-made sausage is very good and only a little spicy, has a hint of orange. Sichuan style green beans aren't spicy but do have black pickle that may disconcert. All the greens with garlic are good and I quite liked the Chinese okra (a summer squash) with gluten. The lamb with leeks is really tasty. I found the minced chicken with pickles a little dull, the chicken with vinegar was decent. Spicy stuff: Ditto the bean curd with celery, there's a parallel prep with beef tongue. I've liked all the spicy noodle appetizers (dandan especially), and I love the cilantro & green chili salad. I like the cold rabbit (tastes of bean sauce) but it's very bony. The beef short ribs are fried not stewed and awfully good (and rich). I like their version of twice-cooked (belly) pork (austere, with just sliced green chili) and also the beef with hot peppers (very similar). The boletus mushroom dish is dried porcini-type mushrooms stir-fried with sliced green chili, really good and a contrast to richer dishes. Chicken with 3 peppers is fiery. The 2 spicy lamb dishes are also tasty, IIRC the home-style is tart with vinegar. They have a newish specials menu that has 3 different braised duck dishes, none marked spicy, none of which I've tried.
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GretchenS
Jun 28, 2008 08:49 AM
We too like the spicy Sichuan wontons but we usually get the bamboo shoots with sesame oil as sort of a contrast. There is a celery and dried bean curd salad that has tons of ma, we love it. The lamb dishes on the Sichuan side are all good as is the aromatic braised pork ribs (? going from memory). Also the salt and pepper pork. I can't think what else we've ordered on that side of the menu but I can't think of a single miss either. The kids order from the other side of the menu and love their scallion pancakes, veggie moo shi and veggie lo mein. I have to stop I'm about to drool into my keyboard....
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justbeingpolite
Jun 28, 2008 08:21 AM
I've only had off the Sichuan menu:
Apps: Bamboo shoots with chili sauce, Sichuan wantons, dan dan noodles (esp good, I think)
Mains: The Kung Pao chicken off the Sichuan menu is very good, lots of chili peppers, not sweet like at Sichuan Gourmet. The dry spiced chicken is as good as any of the other Sichuan resto's as well. The Ma Po Tofu is good, IMP better than Sichuan Garden, but not as good as Sichuan Gourmet in Billerica.
The Mandarin stuff is ok, my kids like the chicken and brocolli. This place does a nicer job than most of combining the two.
