Hot n' spicy Chinese food in San Gabriel Valley?
I'm a glutton for punishment, so I'm seeking the best **HOT** and **SPICY** Chinese food in the SGV. I'm already familiar with Chung King, but I'm curious to hear of others. I'm not talking about mildly hot, slightly burns spicy, drink some water and it's better... I mean the kind that makes your eyes water, numbs your tongue for the rest of the night, and where the wait-staff asks you three times if you really want that.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
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Well, to inject some new names into the fray, if you have not tried Hunan Seafood in Rosemead at 8772 Valley Blvd., east of Walnut Grove, I went Friday night for the 3rd time, and a Tex-Mex fan who loves everything spicier and hotter than..., declared a truce. I had him, as well as his girlfriend. Eyes watering out of joy, rapture, and some superb smoked ham/green beans and a lamb dish that both were sensational.
Also, hesitate zero to try the Newport Seafood on Las Tunas in San Gabriel in a former Marie Callendar. Waiting list starts at 5:45, and lasts seemingly forever.
Will be going back to one of the two on Sunday night, with nephew and Taiwanese wife in Irvine choosing the venue. I am up for both.
Can't wait to return to both.-----
Newport Seafood Restaurant
4411 W 1st St, Santa Ana, CA 92703Hunan Seafood Restaurant
8772 E Valley Blvd, Rosemead, CA 91770Las Tunas Restaurant
3603 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90020›1 Reply -
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Das Ubergeek
Feb 14, 2010 08:59 PM
Yunnan Garden in Hacienda Heights. Order shui zhu rou (water-boiled meat, which sounds innocuous but isn't). Make sure you tell them you aren't afraid of spice ("wo bu pa la!")
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re: raytamsgv
Das Ubergeek
Feb 17, 2010 02:40 PM
I guess I would say 原汁原味 (yuan zhi yuan wei), which means "original juice original flavour". You could say 地道菜 (di dao cai), which means "typical dishes". You'd need to insert the region, though: 地道川菜 (di dao chuan cai), "typical Sichuan dishes".
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I think Hunan Chili King is the hottest I've been to out there. Mention that you'd like it very spicy. If you don't say anything, it will certainly be spicy but might be short on fresh green chilis, which are what seem to make Hunan spicier than Szechuan.
For Szechuan, I've found that Yunchuan Garden (very close to Chung King on Garfield) is the hottest and most numbing.
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Other Sichuan places are worth checking out: New Chong Qing and Shu Feng Yuan both opened since last September. And Yunchuan Garden/Yunnan Garden has some very hot/spicy dishes. The water boiled dishes are generally the hottest/spiciest.
Even though I still haven't tried Hunan, many have told me Hunan is much hotter than Sichuan - with the already recommended Hunan Chili King mentioned as the hottest.
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re: JThur01
Oh yeah - Yunnan Garden & Yunchuan Garden... worth checking out. The home style tofu is served as a mini-hot-pot (rather than stir-fried) with tons of red oil, hot chilis and whole garlic cloves.
Yunnan 168 (newish) also has some fairly spicy stuff. I have talked to some people who didn't like it or found the seasoning off; we have gone a couple of times and it has been pretty consistently good (IMHO).
Both have stuff rated on a 3-chili scale, but I think if you want it as hot as you're asking for, you will need to ask them to make it extra-extra spicy. To me, their 2 chili stuff is spicy, but not the kind of spicy you're talking about.
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re: will47
TonyC
Feb 16, 2010 04:06 PM
In addition to above, for straight Hunanese, cooked and operated by Hunanese staff, try Xiang Wei Lou. Hunan/Hengyang Chili King are great, but seems to carry much more grease in general. XWL features all forms of water-boiled dishes, but also can whip up simpler items (mapo tofu) as well as traditional Hunan dishes featuring cured pork/cured meats.
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There's a great new sichuan restaurant in San Gabriel on the NE corner of the intersection of San Gabriel Blvd and Las Tunas. It's called New Chong Qing and it's very good and very hot! Check it.
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