tl;dr don't be deterred by the painfully absent service -- you can't afford to miss the heavenly Couple's Sliced Beef in Chili Sauce or the electric Boiled Fish with Green Pepper Sauce When it comes to Sichuan cuisine in Los Angeles, there are few bigger names in the game than Chengdu Taste. The mini-chain opened in 2013 and put mala on the map, and it was among the favorites of beloved Angelino food critic Jonathan Gold. Now, Chengdu Taste boasts locations across the US -- but the original Alhambra outpost remains approachable and unpretentious. Cross your fingers for street parking on this busy, mostly industrial block of Valley. The square space is modern and compact. Immediately upon entering, a select assortment of reviews are framed to the left. Cushioned dark-wood chairs are tightly pressed up to white-clothed tables. The scarlet half-booth, the wall of colorful theater masks, and the vibrantly hued dishes each pop against an otherwise gray-shaded backdrop. Low-volume Mandarin-language music is mostly drowned out by the respectful din of chatter. Among the dishes, plenty are unambiguous hits. My favorite is the Couple's Sliced Beef in Chili Sauce: thinly shaved meat mixed with a unique combination of chili oil, black vinegar, salt, and garlic. The meat is effortlessly tender and served cold, offering a refreshing complement to Chengdu's numbingly hot dishes. The Boiled Fish with Green Pepper Sauce is also a must-try, sporting large filets of white fish and lots of crunchy bean sprouts, swimming in a light, briny broth with an electrically piquant, pickled taste (of note, the Sliced Fish with Tofu Pudding in Hot Sauce is a similar albeit less exciting version of this). The Guess Guess Shrimp has an enormous portion of crispy, shell-on shrimp swimming in a sea of addictively garlicky fries. The crunchy Cucumber Salad is sesame-forward and leaves a mild, lingering spice; the Mung Bean Jelly Noodle in Chili Sauce is sweet, sour, spicy, and chewy in each bite; the Tan Tan Noodle will be among the most flavorful in LA; and the melt-in-your-mouth Ma Po Tofu is extra rich, between the bean paste and the ground pork, and feels warm to the palate without being overwhelmingly spicy. The veggies are no slouch either. The Garlic Arden Lettuce is soft, oily, and garlicy; the Sauteed String Beans, tossed with diced meat, are rich and salty, although they could be a tad crisper. Even the Chengdu Style Fried Rice is a winner -- oily, salty, and as enjoyable as fried rice can be. Only the signature Toothpick Lamb with Cumin has been a letdown for me: the meager portion of meat is, tough, chewy, and one-dimensional. Chengdu is consistently busy for dine-in, even on slower weekday evenings, and there is always a steady stream of takeout customers. Ordering through the buggy QR-code app is admittedly a pain, and service is mostly uninvolved -- the staff only will approach the table armed with food or the check. As with most Chinese sit-down restaurants, the portions are generous, and a larger party can indulge in a wider selection of dishes. Appetizers go for about $10, while the pricier appetizers may cost upwards of $30. Expect to spend around $30 per person (after tax and tip) for a heavy feast, with a strong possibility of leftovers. I've visited all of the popular Sichuan spots around SGV, and I can safely say that Chengdu is the tastiest of the bunch -- even if service leaves something to be desired. read more

Chengdu Taste - Ma Po Tofu - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

the only reason I drive from Hollywood to Alhambra! Anything on the menu is a drive into ancient schezuan wisdom. more please!

Love this place. Great prices, authentic food, generous portions and consistently flavorful

As you can see from their setting and white table cloth, this is not your regular cheap and cheerful chinese food place and that is okay. This is the place to frequent if you want tasty chinese food. Either they are under new management or no one has updated the yelp page yet, but the pricing on yelp does not reflect the actual price at all. So no, you can't find toothpick lamb under $20 here. I've tried two dishes and they are amazing. So far the dishes is not as spicy as most places in the neighborhood, but I definitely will work my way up through their entire menu. The place doesn't seem to be crowded around lunch hour during my visit, but people continuously coming to take pickup orders. And they cook really fast, so don't worry having to wait for a long time. read more

Chengdu Taste - Chengdu Style Fried Rice -- not an entree, to be served with another menu. Add protein or more salt/sauce if you want to eat it on it's own. - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

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The best restaurant in Alhambra. My partner and I live down the street and come often. We try to order something new each time and haven't found a single item that doesn't blow our minds in the best way. Every dish is incredible! The flavors and spices are so pleasant, surprising, and satisfying. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The ambience is great and the staff are very friendly and helpful.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I love that they pack your leftovers for you because I would certainly make a mess trying to do it myself! read more

We came with friends who were familiar with the cuisine and speak Chinese. This is real Szechuan food and nothing like anything we've had before. Because of the history of that part of China, preserved food was a necessity. With that in mind, it was a little saltier and oilier than we're used to. However, that didn't diminish the experience of trying new flavors. Beware of the spice level if you are sensitive to that (not a problem for us.) The presentation and flavors were satisfying and we'll be back for more! read more

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I came on a weekday for dinner and my friend is into spicy food. There is a parking lot in the back but seems like most people park on the street up front. We were given a QR code for the menu and order into their system. I'm not tech savvy so I didn't do it right the first time. I asked one of the waitresses and she cannot see the order from the screen initially. The food looked amazing. I can handle some spice and it tasted good. I was drinking a lot of cold water though. The service was good for a Congress restaurant. read more

Gave this place another chance, but this time we tried their more signature Sichuan style dishes, and I have to say I enjoyed the food much more this time around. Either my spice tolerance increased or they mellowed out their spice level but it changed for the better. I can see why their Toothpick Lamb with Cumin is so popular. It was very well seasoned and pairs well with white rice. I was very pleasantly surprised with their Boiled Fish with Green Pepper Sauce. This dish had a dominant Sichuan peppercorn flavor, which I very much enjoyed. It was very flavorful, perfectly spiced (not too spicy, but just spicy enough to make your nose run), and the fish was very tender and flaky. We also ordered their Shredded Potato (sautéed to perfection) and Mung Bean Jelly Noodle in Chili Sauce (refreshing and interesting mouth-feel). I'm glad I gave this place a second chance, would love to go back again. read more

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I didn't like the food, it's not for my taste , wonton soup wasn't good, no salt or soy sauce on the table , no spoons to eat the soup, unless you ask for it, then you get the cheapest plastic spoons, chicken noodle was weird, I never have fried tomatoes in any Chinese dishes, I will never eat here again read more

I'm so happy they finally reopened this restaurant because it was shut down for a while and I didn't know if it was gonna be temporary or permanent. I chose to dine in and now to order you gonna scan the code they have at the table and place your order. Then when the food is ready the server will bring it out to you. I ordered a variety of dishes some old and trying a new one. My fave is the fish with tofu in hot sauce. The flavors is spicy and with all that silky soft textures of fish and tofu goes so perfectly. The pork belly with peppers was tasty. It's more of a sweet dish than savory. Sauteed string beans are always the best vegetable dish. Toothpick lamb was a smaller portion than the past but it also was the worst tasting dish. Usually this is a favorite of mine but today it was eh. I think the lamb was too old because the meat was tough and chewy. Service was simple. They just deliver your food and just stand at the counter waiting for customers to call them or to get the bill. Parking is on the street. Most definitely coming back to this restaurant that Jonathan Gold absolutely adored. read more

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One of the best Sichuan restaurants in the area. Check out their green pepper frog, toothpick lamb, mapo dofu, mungbean noodles, and finish off your meal with a powdered ice! The food is packed with flavor. For a deep dive, check out our full experience on YouTube! https://youtu.be/MXIDwwNEPu8 read more

Chengdu Taste - Check us out on youtube! https://youtu.be/MXIDwwNEPu8 - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

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Good food. Great benchmark for Schezuan food, and great place to get your "mala" numb spice fix! For the mala sensation, I would say that the mabo tofu has plenty in it. I found the dumplings(wontons?) with chili oil to be fantastic. The lamb skewers were spicy and tasty as well. I would suggest bringing a medium sized group to get a good "taste" for the menu here. read more

This is a wonderful restaurant with wonderful service and equally wonderful food offerings. I was intrigued by the fact that it's is a Sichuan restaurant and I adore that style of Chinese food. I ordered, perfectly, to my surprise. Just enough to take a small to go home but not enough that we looked like gluttons! The Toothpick Lamb with Cumin was delightful as well as the Chengdu Fried Rice that is made w/an ingredient new to me "yacai", so yummy. The Chicken with Red and Green Chili was just spicy enough and so lovely. I especially loved their Smashed Cucumber Salad w/ garlic and a tad bit of citric acid of some sort. An unassuming location but from the looks of it the local Sichuan community fully supports this gem. I purchased a jar of their homemade Sichuan Pepper Oil on my way out. Win, Win! Can't wait to return to this Sichuan food haven in Vegas Chinatown! read more

I love Szechuan food and so decided to try out this place. My dad can't eat too spicy and the food here wasn't too spicy for him. It has great Szechuan flavor while not being too spicy. We got a fish soup dish, green beans, and the toothpick lamb. Price was reasonable and seems to be slightly cheaper than Sichuan Impression. Food was good. Service was fine. They were busy but the food came out fairly quick. This was just what we wanted for dinner. read more

Chengdu Taste - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

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Food: 5/5 Service: 4/5 Price: 4.5/5 Atmosphere: 3.5/5 TL;DR: I will definitely be returning the next time I am in the area. The food was so yummy, not too overpowering and fun to eat. Both the dishes I got paired really well with rice and really hit the spot. Toothpick Lamb with Cumin: 5/5; This dish was so good. The seasoning was perfect, not too spicy and the lamb was tender. This was a really well-made dish. Green Pepper Chicken and Mixed Vegetable Skewer: 4.5/5; The dish was unassuming, even with the amount of jalapenos in the dish. It was a bit overwhelming in the numbing spice, but was manageable. There was a perfect amount of chicken and assorted vegetables in the dish. The ambiance was nothing special. This is definitely a perfect place to grab a quick bite if you are craving food with numbing spice. The service was efficient and the employees typically mind their own business, unless you call them over. read more

Accept no imitations! The numbing sauce will make it so you feel absolutely nothing. I ate here three days ago and I still feel numb. I watched Steel Magnolias last night, which I usually need a box of tissues to get through, but this time? Nothing! No tears. "Must be the numbing sauce" said my wife. I'm afraid I've grown numb to her opinions as well. Quite frankly, I haven't felt anything since the numbing sauce. My desire to play catch with my kid has gone entirely. And I'm becoming less enthused about my twice weekly crocheting club. Once a week is enough!! Give it a rest, Beatrice! Not all of us can just sit around crocheting and hearing you talk about your grandkids nonstop. He got an A in Science? Big whoop I could do that. Gosh, Beatrice really boils my blood. I guess the numbing sauce must be wearing off. Finally! Also, plenty of parking and the service here was excellent. read more

This is a spot I've heard about and heard about on tv. Amazingly we walked in and sat right down. You can see all the rave reviews from Jonathan Gold on the walls. The food is much more authentic than most Americanized Chinese restaurants. They are not bashful with the Szechuan peppercorns or the Thai chiles. The Toothpick Lamb, Guess Guess Shrimp, and the dumplings were all excellent. Loads of flavor and perfect preparation. The ordering process was a little strange and not well explained. You get sat by a hostess and then you scan a QR code to order online. Then they bring the food out full service. ‍ We will definitely eat here again. read more

Chengdu Taste - Toothpick Lamb - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

Chengdu Taste is one of those long-standing Chinese restaurants that you will find regulars enjoying authentic Chinese food on a night out with family and friends. As with most Chinese restaurants, it is more fun coming with a group of people so that we can try multiple dishes. Each dish brought unique intense flavors to the table: Boiled fish with green pepper (5/5): Very spicy and numbing. I love drenching a bowl of rice with the sauce and topping the rice with fish and bean sprouts. Mapo Tofu (4/5): Delicious and tasted exactly like the comfort food I always crave. Chili Chicken (4/5): Spicy and numbing. Definitely goes well with rice. Toothpick lamb (4/5): Very small pieces of lamb with lots of cumin. I thought the lamb was a bit chewy and tough. Sauteed green beans (5/5): Very flavorful and always a great side dish! Potato slices (4/5): I wish there was more variety to this dish than just vinegar and potatoes. I would love some fresh vegetables to lighten up the dish! read more

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The WORST SERVICE ever!!! Staff is extremely rude and UNPROFESSIONAL! Upon entrance, they refuse to acknowledge you until you actively have to attempt to get their attention. (Okay not the worst thing in the world right but it gets more insane) while I was waiting to be helped one of the employees threw their trash from their pockets directly behind me (OVER MY SHOULDER) into a trashcan like a Basketball shot! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? This place is completely unprofessional and a joke. If you have any self respect do not eat here. NOT WORTH IT. As of writing this it was about 30mins ago. So STAFF FEEL FREE to review the cameras if you even care! I literally only made a yelp account for food recommendations but I'll GLADLY post MY FIRST REVIEW here. read more

Takes credit card, understands some English, and take out friendly containers are microwavable. Must walk into the enclosed restaurant for payment and pick up food. #38. Pork intestine and chicken In earthen pot, spicy. $19.99. - Oily. I liked the surprise of potatoes in it but maybe not half full of it? (maybe it should be called a potato dish instead). Comes with string beans too. #82. String Beans, spicy. $10.99. - Okay. Not soggy. But not as firm as I would like. #107. Double cook pork fried rice, spicy. $12.99. - Okay. We won't be getting this again. I did like the leeks in it. Total around $48ish. Mild really is very mild. Since it's numbing spicy, mild is even more mild. Anyone who can't even eat hot Cheetos can eat mild. Anyone who can't eat spicy, might be able to try their mild out with the dishes we got. I've tried their normal so just thought we'd try mild out this time. I may rest my case on that this place is meant for tourist still. The SO never tried this place. So I went along with his choice that day. Not bad, just maybe I'm a bit more picky. He thought it was okay too. I tried their popular lamb toothpick and sister's dish, etc before. Maybe we didn't try the right take out dishes this time? read more

Got the liang fen (mung bean jelly noodle) and the twice cooked pork. The pork might've been cooked twice, but it must've been salted twenty times over because why was it SO salty? I admit I'm pretty sensitive to salt, but my friend who isn't recoiled as well. It's honestly unfortunate as this dish had so much potential. The pork was sliced perfectly thin, and I could taste some underlying spice and flavour on occasion when I wasn't being asSALTed (haha) by all the sodium. The portion was also way smaller than what I was expecting, and it was mostly filled with green onion. The liang fen was alright, except that the peanuts on top were stale and not crunchy at all. read more

Chengdu Taste - Mung bean jelly noodle - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

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Standard sit down Sichuan place where families often go. They seem to have a perpetual line out the door, since people were waiting from the time we were sat to when we left. Came with friends and it was a good time. Sichuan food was pretty good, not the best/most authentic I've ever had. For the prices, pretty good. Kung Pao chicken - delicious with rice and fairly priced. Again with not the best I've ever had, but solid. Boiled Sliced Fish in Hot Sauce - my go-to at any Sichuan restaurant. Flavor was good, but that's where I have to stop. I really did not like the texture of the fish - it felt more cartilaginous than fish texture. I've been eating this dish since I was born and this was the first time I felt like I couldn't continue eating after the first bite. Dan dan noodles - Good flavor and nice texture to the noodles. Ground meat is at the bottom, so make sure you properly mix it. Worked great for our group order so everyone could have a little bit. Sauteed shredded potato - again, been eating this since I was a kid. Pretty good, a bit sour for my liking but the potato was crisp and every piece was evenly cooked. Great for breaking up the mala flavor between every bite. We ordered 3 bowls of white rice to eat with our meal, and they ended up giving it to us all at once in a larger pot. Generally, good flavors. I would come back with a group and avoid the boiled sliced fish in hot sauce / shui zhu yu. read more

This is the worst Sichuan restaurant I have ever experienced. I am from Sichuan and I would never recommend this restaurant, if you want try authentic Sichuan cuisine, please don't go there. The couple's sliced beef is way too salty, and too dry. I believe the chef has seasoned the beef for too long. The sliced kidney is also salty and the celery is way too much. This is what is called 'Huo Bao Yao Hua', which means the kidney should be the main portion of the dish, but the chef made it like celery mixed stir fried with kidney, a big failure. The mungbean noodle is too soft and the source is only chili oil, lack of num pepper and garlic, so it tastes real flat without complexity. It is such a big disappointment if my experience with this Sichuan restaurant! Zero star! read more

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Came here with the fam as my brother was in town visiting and he was craving some good Szechuan food. While I myself haven't had much Szechuan food besides some when I last visited Hong Kong a few years back, I was a bit worried that everything was gonna be ultra spicy and destroy my tastebuds. However, the numbing spice was actually quite tolerable. We ordered the following dishes: mung bean jelly noodle in chili sauce stir fried noodle with chicken toothpick lamb with cumin boiled fish with green pepper sauce sauteed eggplant with spicy garlic sauce shredded potato The highlight for me was the boiled fish and toothpick lamb. Both were flavored well and satisfying. However, the other dishes seemed a bit too overseasoned and somewhat salty even with spoonfuls of steamed rice to mellow it out. Service was okay, but the employees usually leave you alone unless you flag em down for what you need. The water served was also warm and not even iced. It also tasted like plain, unfiltered tap water. Still, not a bad place if you have low expectations and just want to satisfy your Szechuan cravings. read more

Glad to check out this place from a friend of a friends recommendation. The toothpick lamb was very flavorful and tender, not gamey at all, it had a kick. The Green pepper chicken and mixed vegetable skewer was really unique, a lot of variety of ingredients, including quail eggs, lotus root, woodear mushroom, seaweed, and chicken. It was a refreshing, cold dish with strong numbing spice from the peppers and a good balance with the lamb dish. The menu and ordering is down with a QR code at the table, but they do bring you the check to pay. Street parking was easy on a weekend afternoon. Definitely recommend trying this spot if you like spicy food! read more

Chengdu Taste - Toothpick Lamb with Cumin - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

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First time to finally eat here. Tried coming months ago and found they were closed due to front window broken so we waited to try again. This time we got here before 5. Parked right in front and no wait. No physical menus, just scanned a qr code for menu and to order. We chose thin sliced pork w sliced bell peppers and scallions (pictured originally w green beans) in a slightly spicy sauce. So tasty. The next dish we got was innocuous, fish boiled in spicy soup. The description didn't come close to the complex soup that had jalapeños and szechwan pepper corns as well as bean sprouts. And then besides white rice we got the spicy dan dan noodles. Perfect seasoning with some spicy heat. Overall all our dishes were outstanding and we will come back to try more items on the menu! read more

Chengdu Taste - Boiled Fish in Spicy Soup, Sliced Pork with House Special Sauce - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

Spice warning: it's spicy! This was my first time trying Chengdu and I will definitely be coming back for seconds! I ordered the: Cucumber salad Chengdu style fried rice Toothpick lamb King pao chicken Sautéed eggplant with spicy garlic sauce *Again, almost every dish is super spicy* The cucumber salad was an awesome dish to start. It was refreshing and the cukes were super crunchy. It was also a really good but to have once the spice from the other dishes start to kick in. I loved the texture of the fried rice. It was really soft and fluffy - not a typical friend rice. There wasn't a ton of soy sauce so it was great to pair with the other dishes. The toothpick lamb is definitely worth trying. It was a lot of fun to eat and definitely the most unique dish. Their king pao chicken comes with a LOT of spice and peanuts. I would avoid this dish if you can't take the heat. My favorite dish had to be the eggplant. It came piping hot and the garlic sauce was perfect. The spice was a nice experience. It wasn't too hot to kill your pallet - instead it really enhanced the dishes. The overall vibe of the restraint felt like you're in your grandma's house. The decor is simple and very brightly lit. One thing to note is they don't serve any alcohol, but provide hot tea for free for dine in guests. read more

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The best of mainland China in SoCal. My Chinese wife and I come as often as we can and have introduced others who all love the food here. Gold ain't wrong! read more

Chengdu Taste - Our Latino friends first time and loving it! They said they wanted spicy and favorable and they got it! - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

Never disappoints. Always reliably good. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I would highly recommend except I like it when it's not packed with people[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

We had dinner here and this hole in the wall did not disappoint. The service is quick and friendly. They don't serve alcohol but the food speaks for itself. All the dishes were very flavorable with just the right amount of spice. The stand out dih was the lion fish read more

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First time here and very impressed with food; so fresh! I opted for water and hot tea to really taste this food. We were a party of 7 and received great service. Very nice and clean restaurant. The wonton with chicken broth soup was so good I forgot to take a pic. And Vegetable with tofu and baby bok choy soup very comforting. Szechuan Chinese food is my favorite type of cuisine for their spice, the chilis used are spicy! Stir fried noodles to balance the delicious Kung pao chicken. I give them a 10 on flavor and presentation. Excellent menu; there is something for everyone. read more

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The chance for a first-time visit finally came this past weekend, and this venerable and regularly crowded SGV spot did not disappoint for spicy Szechuan cuisine. Arriving on a Sunday afternoon, I was surprised to I was lucky to grab a table. The servers generally can speak English, perfect for the diverse crowd of folks from all over the city that swamp this place soon after I sat down. -Toothpick Lamb was the flavorful dish I made it a mission to eat, and I quickly devoured it with stuffings of rice to cleanse my palate of the mild spiciness between each bite. The toothpick piercing each small bite of lamb allows space for all the flavoring from the spices and cumin to seep into the meat during the frying phase. - Wonton with Pepper Sauce was a dish that my girlfriend swears by as a must-eat here. Tried it and find it quite delightful from the mix of a numbing spicy feeling and a hint of sweetness. Sweep large scoops of sauce and flood it all over each delicious wonton before biting to the center to absorb all that taste Szechuan is famously known for. Everywhere I look all the other couple diners are ordering 2 or 3 dishes per person, and I'm sitting here too full from devouring all that lamb by myself. How do other people have the stomach to eat so much food in one sitting? This Szechuan food is best served best, so you won't find me overordering just to take the food home for leftovers here! read more

Chengdu Taste - Toothpick Lamb with cumin and wonton with spicy sauce! - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

Finally made it to this highly recommended Szechuan restaurant. I ordered two dishes between the two of us and that was plenty. Each dish was large and would be enough for three people. There was plenty left over to take home. Our first dish was the fried chicken with pepper. Seriously spicy but oh my goodness delicious. There is so much flavor. The mini jalapenos weren't spicy but be prepared because the peppercorn can be numbing. The second dish, boiled sliced fish in spicy red sauce was exactly that...spicy and red. Covered in string beans, bits of cabbage and lots of sauce, this too was one tasty dish. The dishes were spicy enough to cause a tingle in the back of your tongue and induce a mild sweat. Interestingly, it's not a lingering spiciness. Unlike the spiciness found in Thai food or Mexican food, it kind of comes and goes with each bite. Of course, you can ask to tone done the spiciness of just about any dish. Certainly tasty and if spicy is your thing then this place is it. Still burning... read more

Chengdu Taste - Fried Chicken with Pepper - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

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Park in street. Price is fair. Portions fair. Scan qr code and order from phone then itll say order submitted. Pay regular like u do at a restaurant. First time here suggested with friend. We also got the toothpick spicy lamb. Good stuff. With a chicken dish and shrimp fried rice. The shrimp fried rice was perfect had peas egg shrimp. The chicken didnt taste like chicken but thats chinese food right. Not the lamb had like 50% fat. Maybe 10% gristle. Quality of meat could be way better. The service ppl weren't the most friendly and welcoming. Idk. I smiled and thanks and everything and it felt like cold shoulder. The food was ready in a blink of an eye lol. Would i go back? Idk. Leaning more towards no based on quality of meat unfortunately. Theres a reason why i prefer grass fed steak . All 3 dishes came out to like $68 total. The dishes here were really different which was cool too btw. Also chew carefully, u might catch a bone and a lot of gristle. read more

Chengdu Taste - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

This is going to come to a surprise but I actually enjoyed Chengdu Taste and here's why. First of all, if you're not into spicy food (like me), you will be okay if you eat here. You can ask to change the spicy level to mild. This is a very hint of spicy but it's not "OMG painful spicy". They do use peppercorn here so you do get the numbing sensation which I think is great and unique. For parking of this place, I recommend parking on the street. It's straight forward and really close. Limited but I don't know if they actually have a parking lot themselves. For the interior of the place, it reminds me of a museum so it's interesting none the less. The food is really flavorful. I ordered A Choy Sautéed, tooth pick lamb, pork intestine deep fried, and double cooked pork. The A choy was my favorite dish, well flavored and good texture. The tooth pick lamb is also delicious, it looked pretty spicy but it's not and it's extremely flavorful. You won't be disappointed. The double cooked pork was okay, there was a bunch of leeks for fillers and not a lot of meat. The pork is just pork belly and it wasn't anything spectacular. The deep fried pork intestine was unique, it was the spiciest and most numbing dish, but it had a lot of fillers. This makes it look like portion sizes are big, but it's actually just fillers. Service is pretty much non-existent, the water was never refilled, tea was never refilled, and they didn't check on us. So overall, come for the delicious lamb and Achoy, highly recommend those two. Flavors are amazing. read more

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Still an SGV favorite. Since it opened in 2013, Chengdu Taste has played a pivotal role in introducing Southern California to authentic Chengdu-style Sichuan cuisine. Having spent almost a month in Chengdu and the outer suburbs back in 2008, I was enraptured my first time visiting the restaurant by the familiar smells and tastes of the Culinary Capital of Southwest China right here on Valley Boulevard in Alhambra! Although it doesn't have the same heady buzz as it once did back in the 2010s, the restaurant is almost always full so get there before meal times to snag a table. This time around we had Dan Dan Noodle ($9.99), Sliced Pork with Garlic Sauce ($11.99), Twice Cooked Pork ($14.99), Toothpick Lamb with Cumin ($18.99), Flake Beef in Golden Sauce ($19.99), Flavored Shrimp with Crispy Rice Crust ($21.99), and Boiled Sliced Fish in Hot Sauce ($17.99). To me, Chengdu Taste still has the best Toothpick Lamb in all of SGV, years after it first popularized the dish. There's something about their particular Sichuan mirepoix that not only cuts out any gaminess in the lamb but makes the dish so irresistible you don't even realize it when you finished the whole thing. The no frills pork dishes are done especially well here and the Flake Beef (which is basically fatty beef belly) is a perennial favorite. If you're a fan of saucy, gummy noodles, the Dan Dan Noodles are excellent here. Since reopening for dine-in Chengdu Taste also has this great new way of ordering: instead of just sending the menu to your phone via QR code, you can actually order from your phone and choose to pay via phone or by asking for a check at the end of your meal, the old fashioned way. Even better than most QR code systems at other restaurants, you don't have to conclude your bill after you make your selections... you can continue to add new menu items to your order throughout the meal! I still kind of miss having an actual physical menu to peruse, but I guess this makes it easier and more sanitary for everyone. While I'm always down to try new Sichuan restaurants in San Gabriel Valley, Chengdu Taste will always have a special place in my heart. If you have friends who have never had authentic Sichuan cuisine before, this restaurant is the first place you should take them! read more

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My girlfriend took me here a while back, and it is indeed a special taste. We got the toothpick lamb and intestines. To most people, that would throw them off, but I was so eager to try it out, and it was worth the risk. I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did, but here I am, writing a five star review of this place because of how good it is! read more

Chengdu Taste - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

Food was delicious. Not super super tongue on fire spicy like Thai food, but spicy and make you sweat spicy. Service was good, they even boxed up everything for us. read more

This was my first meal back in LA after New York and it was phenomenal. Truly the go-to spot for spicy comfort food. My family and I have a set list of items we order but we recently tried some new dishes which were amazing. Highly recommend but will warn that the spice is pretty spicy. Getting plum juice helps with the heat! It's a cozy little restaurant and service is really fast. read more

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Are all you people insane? Jonathan Gold. I don't know who you are. I know you have plaques in all the restaurants and work for the LA Times, but did you really rave about this horrendous restaurant? You people are waiting 2 hours to get in here? I went at the start of dinner service and did not have to wait. If I had waited even 45 minutes, I would cry upon tasting the generally abysmal food. First off, the service stinks. Two waiters, one waitress, and one girl working the take out and cash register. Now that everyone knows that it takes 2 hours to get in, I guess people just get take out, so there is a never ending line of people in the restaurant picking up their food. After being asked a couple minutes after being seated if we were ready to order, the counter girl never came back. We waited 15 minutes before we had to wave the waitress down. It took forever to get our food. It took forever to get our drinks. And after sending off the bill with a credit card, no one brought it back for 15 minutes until I asked where it was. It had just been sitting on the counter. We also asked the waitress what dish was on another table. She pointed to one I was going to order; but then the dish we got was the wrong one. On to the food. First to come out were the two best dishes. The Tan Tan noodles - which were tasty and sufficiently spicy. Also good were the sauteed string beans. Though not particularly spicy. Decent was the "toothpick" beef (did not get the lamb). It is just dry beef chunks on toothpicks smothered in cumin. if that sounds good to you, you will like it. It was not spicy. Then everything went downhill fast. We had asked for the pork in garlic sauce fried rice but were served the pork in garlic sauce over white rice. It was meh. Too much vinegar. Then came the most disgusting dish of the night - off the special dishes menu - Fried Chicken with peppers. It was all bones with tiny bits of meat around the bones. If you tried to even eat around the bone, you could not. There were shattered spears of bone throughout the meat. It was dangerous to even attempt to eat. Totally gross. We left that on the table when we left. Totally untouched. Finally, and most offensive, although not as gross as the chicken dish, was the Kung Pao Shrimp. They literally make it with peanut butter!!! Absolutely disgusting. The only person I ever saw make kung pao with peanut butter was an ex-roommate who would eat anything. Bottom line. Terrible. Note: this review is from when they opened. I had one disparaging comment about my ex-roommate that made YELP delete my review today. So I took out the one line. I would say, "Enjoy," except you won't at this terrible restaurant. read more