Feb 14

Feb 14 My Sichuan Food Guide is on LAist

626, food, san gabriel valley, sgv, Sichuan

The latest food trend everyone can't get enough of has been the once hard-to-find Sichuan cuisine. With an influx of money pouring in from mainland China, especially in the San Gabriel Valley, the once abundant Cantonese and Taiwanese eateries have been pushed out and replaced by trendier Sichuan ones. The Sichuan takeover isn't just limited to the San Gabriel Valley, the trend has been going mainstream as seen in Westfield malls with popular Chinese chains such as Meizhou Dongpo in Westfield Century City and Hai Di Lao in the Westfield Arcadia Mall. Most recently in Temple City, Chuan’s, a higher-end fine dining Sichuan chain clad with live opera face-changing performances has joined the growing movement in Los Angeles. Sichuan food is an experience for the senses. The cuisine has an incredible complexity of flavors that make you want to douse the burning in your stomach and grab another bite at the same time. But it’s not just about the burn. Each bite may have a bit of sour and sweet tanginess, a dose of saltiness, followed by a hit of tongue-numbing ‘ma la’ flavor if you pay close attention. Traditional Chinese cuisine is actually not spicy, with the exception of Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan cuisine’s most distinguishing characteristic is its tongue-numbing spice made possible by the use copious amounts of chili peppers and peppercorns, among a long list of other spices. (Sichuan peppercorn is actually not a pepper, but part of the citrus family.)

True Sichuan food is not just simply food drowned in red chili oil. Every dish has a complexity of flavors jammed packed in each bite as Sichuan cooking has 20+ different types of flavor profiles and is considered one of the most intricate gastronomies in China. Given the recent popularity of Sichuan food, here's our list of 5 great Sichuan restaurants with one must-order dish.