584034 Wed Dec 31 06:05:46 -0800 2008 35 13 New England 0 4285116 This place has been on my "to go" list since joining Chowhound and having others rave. Thank you Chowhounders!!! It's in a little strip mall next to the K-Mart Plaza on Boston Rd. (rt. 3a). We decided to go on xmas eve - place was packed and a good 20 min wait (so well worth it). I'll start with the service - excellent. The hostess was very nice, kept coming to our table to check if we were ok (since we ordered some hot dishes). She was surprised "you can handle that?" Several waiters, waitresses made sure we always had what we needed. The food - omg, out of this world phenominal. I loved the little bowl of pickled things at the table as we looked at the menu - great beginning. We started with Dan Dan Noodles that were sooooo tasty and hot, I couldn't stop eating them. I believe they had a ground pork mixed in a few vegies - flavors I can't describe except Fantastic. We also got the spring rolls , also fantastic - piping hot just out of the oil. We proceeded with Xiang La Dry Fish because teh table next to us had it and looked fantastic. It lived up to it's looks. It was very hot, had flecks of pepper throughout with a nice mix of huge chunks of celery, peppers too. We ended with Old Sichuan Chicken (again two pepper hot) but sooo good. The coating on the chicken was almost a bit sweet like they used crushed vanilla wafers as the coating. A wonderful side to the chicken was a sweet marinated cabbage - excellent at cooling my mouth off. It's wonderful food like this that I wish I could just keep going but we had to take some home. I can't wait to go back. http://www.laosichuan.com/en/menu.php?site=Billerica Wed Dec 31 06:05:46 -0800 2008 49588 lexpatti 1 4285462 Glad you enjoyed it--it's my fave place for Chinese! My office is 5 minutes away, so I go there often. Wed Dec 31 08:19:35 -0800 2008 4285116 13003 whs 2 4286021 what is lunch like? Hubby used to work close by too, many went there but he hadn't. Same with step daughter, went for lunch wth co-workers many times and loved it - she hadn't realized that we never been. Can't wait to go again with a bigger crowd to try more. HNY Wed Dec 31 11:39:18 -0800 2008 4285462 49588 lexpatti 3 4286338 Avoid the lunch combo specials--they have to compete with Rick's down the street, so the offerings are pretty ordinary. Order off the regular menu--the hot and sour soup is special--very different and aromatic. Love the dried chicken with chili sauce and the chicken with spicy chili sauce. The sichuan double cooked bacon is great too. Wed Dec 31 13:45:14 -0800 2008 4286021 13003 whs 1 5001508 We have been back a couple times but Tuesday night, WOW!! My future daughter in law had a sore throat so ordered the Wonton Soup for 2. I cannot wait to go back to have my own - it was soooo fantastic. We got our normal Dan Dan noodles (starting to crave this stuff), my son ordered this excellent dry beef and scallion pancakes. I love this place, great customer service skills too. Thu Sep 03 06:28:03 -0700 2009 4285116 49588 lexpatti 2 5003406 FYI, the two ladies running around are sisters. It's my Friday lunch go-to place, always packed. Smokey cayenne chicken is great. Thu Sep 03 16:27:32 -0700 2009 5001508 13003 whs 3 5003666 yum, thanks, we keep trying new stuff but still love our very first visit with dan dan noodles and that dry fish Xiang but now I'm adding that soup. we need to go with a crowd so we can try more. :-) Thu Sep 03 18:18:15 -0700 2009 5003406 49588 lexpatti 4 5004353 Yea we always get the spicy hot&sour wonton soup for 2. Good stuff. Most likely going tonight! Fri Sep 04 06:08:31 -0700 2009 5003666 10597 hargau 5 5008054 Had the Ma Po Tofu yesterday--a good version but think I will stick with the smokey cayenne chicken. Sat Sep 05 17:30:06 -0700 2009 5004353 13003 whs 6 5008076 Yea im not a big fan of ma po tofu.. My favs are the dried chicken with chili peppers, Spicy wontons in chili oil, Dan dan noodles, hot/sour wonton soup, beef/chicken or pork with spicy chili sauce,meatball sichuan style or the double cooked bacon.. Sat Sep 05 17:43:14 -0700 2009 5008054 10597 hargau 3 5061884 Went today, omg fantastic: dan dan noodles of course, that smokey cayenne chicken was great, we also love that fish xiang, had a new dish (Sichuan Beef Kung Bao) that was fantastic too and general gau's chix. I love this place - it's going to be our once a week fix!!! Sun Sep 27 11:00:00 -0700 2009 5003406 49588 lexpatti 4 5062132 Is it busy on the weekend? Went there Friday at lunch--there was a line out the door. Sun Sep 27 13:15:04 -0700 2009 5061884 13003 whs 5 5062500 We met at noon today, only one or two other tables - but within an hour a good 6-8 more parties came in. I'm really going to eat my way through that menu - Wow, Fantastic Food. I'm eating leftovers right now. :-) Dan Dan Noodles are to die for. Next time I need my fix, I'm literally going to post it on Facebook and get a group to go - I need to try more stuff. Sun Sep 27 16:05:30 -0700 2009 5062132 49588 lexpatti 6 5065481 Double cooked bacon is my new addiction Mon Sep 28 18:41:24 -0700 2009 5062500 13003 whs 7 5075527 had the dandan noodles and hot & sour soup today--it was a little less crowded at 1:30--want to try the beef tendon next time Fri Oct 02 17:11:23 -0700 2009 5065481 13003 whs 7 5077129 mmmm, I keep eyeing that one!! Sat Oct 03 17:24:38 -0700 2009 5065481 49588 lexpatti 8 5078058 I can attest -- beef tendon is just like the others you mention -- excellent, excellent, excellent. If you like their Dan Dan noodles, you'll no doubt love their Jia-Jiang noodle soup (I'm probably butchering the romanized spelling). The eggplant is also excellent. Sun Oct 04 09:13:38 -0700 2009 5077129 25708 Keithel 9 5081200 it's om my list for next time Mon Oct 05 17:21:41 -0700 2009 5078058 49588 lexpatti 9 5096503 Is that a cold dish, because I tried to order it and she actually made a face and said "that's cold, you might want this" and pointed to another beef dish. I didn't order it for that reason but next time I'll push through her face. No bacon dishes Fri night but we did try 4 new dishes - working our way through this fabulous menu. We can't seem to find a great shrimp dish. Any suggestions? We've tried tang and Yu Xiang Sauce (w/broccoli, mush). The spicy wings were fantastic this time and of the 4 dishes, fav was the Sichuan Kung Bao Chicken. We had a really nice pork dish, shredded beef with peppers and shrimp dish. Mon Oct 12 05:50:11 -0700 2009 5078058 49588 lexpatti 10 5096530 I have not had much luck finding a standout shrimp dish there. The Tangerine ones are decent as are the garlic steamed ones on the original creation menu on their website. http://www.laosichuan.com/images/menu/d8.jpg No real spicy shrimp dishes though. Those wings are nice. Have you tried the (chicken,beef or pork) in spicy chili sauce? Its like a boiled meat with cabbage in a large bowl, nice and spicy. Here is the beef one http://www.laosichuan.com/images/menu/m8.jpg Mon Oct 12 06:13:09 -0700 2009 5096503 10597 hargau 11 5096633 I kept eyeing that - next time (or over the next few times since I cannot completely hog the ordering) will be the 1) eggplant 2) a bacon dish 3) that beef tendon 4) dish w/ spicy chili sauce and the only 3 pepper dish (GinGu Fish Filet) I wish they had a buffet to try everything. I'm the one eyeing everyones table to get ideas. Mon Oct 12 07:12:53 -0700 2009 5096530 49588 lexpatti 12 5096862 Then when you finish that menu you can start on Sichuan Palace in Chelmsford. We go there quite a bit too. http://www.sichuanpalace.net/ We find it more relaxing and less hectic and still really good food. They have many of the same dishes too and you can relax in a nice booth.. My only complaint with Sichuan gourmet in Billerica is that sometimes you feel rushed because of the crowds and the tables/chairs are so on top of each other that i feel like im sitting with strangers. A couple of the front tables by the cashier are especially bad as the people waiting, paying or getting takeout have their butts in your face and tend to bang your chair alot. Mon Oct 12 08:47:17 -0700 2009 5096633 10597 hargau 13 5096935 thanks, I'll have to give that a try - we do Sukura's in that same strip mall (I believe)??? Is there another Sichuan place in Chelmsford? Hubby turned his nose up when I mention one in Chelmsford - but I think he may have thought about another one. Mon Oct 12 09:12:05 -0700 2009 5096862 49588 lexpatti 14 5096959 Yes it is the same strip mall as Sakura. Not sure if there is another in Chelmsford or not. This one has only been around for about a year i think. We find most the dishes are on par with the other Sichuan places around. You can also get hot pot there as well, looks good but we have not tried it. Some of the dishes i prefer at Sichuan Gourmet though, like the dumplings in chili oil. They have alot of different stuff on the menu. Mon Oct 12 09:19:05 -0700 2009 5096935 10597 hargau 15 5163084 We did try the one in Chelmsford and agree that ambiance can be better but still love Sichian Gourmet better. We went again last night and got a new dish - eggplant =great. I still haven't gotten the twice cooked bacon dish (only weekends) or the beef tendon - next time. We really do love the ambiance, we end up making friends with the folks next to us so we do enjoy that closeness. The servers are starting to know us, always a welcoming feeling. Sat Nov 07 07:31:12 -0800 2009 5096959 49588 lexpatti 16 5164035 I tried a new dish yesterday-beef noodle soup. Sounds boring, but huge flavors. Like pho, but much richer stock. This will be a go-to dish on cold winter days. Sat Nov 07 16:53:20 -0800 2009 5163084 13003 whs 17 5164735 was that at SG?? Sun Nov 08 06:19:15 -0800 2009 5164035 49588 lexpatti 18 5165552 yes--soups are a part of the menu I haven't really explored. Sun Nov 08 14:55:52 -0800 2009 5164735 13003 whs 19 5165629 I have had that beef noodle soup at the Chelmsford Sichuan Palace. At SG i cant resist getting the Hot and Sour Wonton so have never made it to any of the other soups. Sun Nov 08 15:32:10 -0800 2009 5165552 10597 hargau 20 5168425 will have to try! Mon Nov 09 16:00:40 -0800 2009 5165629 13003 whs 14 5167620 There's another one in town (N. Chelmsford) called Szechuan Chef, and I submitted a review in this forum. This is my #1B Chinese place in town, with SP being #1A. Not the "typical" Sichuan cuisine you see at SG, SP, et al, but very flavorful standard dishes and some interesting specialties from the Chinese menu. Mon Nov 09 11:54:11 -0800 2009 5096935 23030 Dinsdale45 15 5180836 So we tried the Szechuan Chef. We got 3 dishes all off the "chinese menu" plus some dumplings. They ranged from horrible to meh... People were very friendly though and room was very nice and clean looking. I certainly would not recommend it to anyone seeking Sichuan food for sure. We left saying that if we lived 5 minutes away we would try some more of the menu and give it another shot, but for driving 20-25min to get there we wouldnt go again and would pick another place. There were several Asian families dining which is always a good sign to me, perhaps they knew something we didnt. Sat Nov 14 05:53:27 -0800 2009 5167620 10597 hargau 16 5184974 Sorry you didn't like it. As I said in my earlier posts, the name of the restaurant is misleading and I wouldn't call this "Sichuan" style cooking, but I would call it a cut above the bland Americanized suburban Chinese restaurants around here. The chicken with sour cabbage and the roast pork lo mein (I usually steer clear of this at other places, but I bought it once for the kids) are two favorites. I've tried other dishes that are very good, too. Maybe your expectations were too high, when I first ate here, I was pleasantly surprised. Mon Nov 16 06:18:08 -0800 2009 5180836 23030 Dinsdale45 17 5185173 My expectations were actually not very high cause i read your disclaimer on it not being Sichuan style cooking.. I like just about any chinese food from the mall food court to the most authentic stuff. This just didnt sit well with either of us. I ended up throwing out all the leftovers which is very rare for me, im tyically eating them cold for breakfast the next day.. The worst dish for sure was what they called "szechuan noodles (hot)".. Listed on the chinese menu and on the app menu. We expected something like dan dan noodles or something similar. What we got was an overcooked bowl of what looked like angelhair pasta. It had some sort of sauce which was creamy sort of like peanut suace you sometimes get but no peanut flavor.. main flavor was vinager. Not very good at all. Then we got one of the spicy chicken dishes off the Chinese menu. It was all very poor cuts of grisly dark chicken with basically a sweet sticky general gaus type prep.. Not very spicy at all either, despite several verbal warnings and "are you sure you want this" type questions. Pan fried dumplings, nothing special. Best dish was a crispy tofu with soy sprinkles dish off the chinese menu. Very simple/plain but interesting. I really wanted to love it cause the people were so friendly and nice. Mon Nov 16 07:34:56 -0800 2009 5184974 10597 hargau 18 5185226 I had those noodles, too, and I agree that they were not what I was expecting. I never ordered them again. I once had the chicken with chile dish that was pretty good, "extra heat" apparently was just a liberal dose of sambal oelek or other vinegary chile paste. I once tried to get into a discussion of "ma la" with them but the gist was lost in translation. Most of the other dishes I've had are well above average (I didn't say great), it's close by, and the kids like this stuff more than Sichuan Palace. Again, try the pork lo mein next time. Never had better. Mon Nov 16 07:52:18 -0800 2009 5185173 23030 Dinsdale45 1 5183810 mmmmmm mmmmm mmmm, got our fix of Dan Dan Noodles tonight and finally got the twiced cooked bacon dish - wowsa - fantastic. We also tried a new shrimp dish that was great - Shrimp with Sichuan Chili Sauce. This has definately become our "once a week" dining fix!!!! I'm anxious to try the only 3 pepper dish - Jin Gu fish fillets and that whole fish dish looks excellent too. Sun Nov 15 15:12:31 -0800 2009 4285116 49588 lexpatti