Definitely good food, and I should know because this is the only place I'm allowed to take my girlfriend, she is very particular, and does not take well to 'american' food. We've been here before and you may as well not make any other plans because you will wait for hours. Points off for the wait, and also for the waiter telling my girl he's seen her someplace , ya probably in Vogue magazine bc she's a model. Dude if I come back again you'd better not be working Also they use fake glass noodles, these are made from plexi glass and are not as good as the glass ones. Huge portions, we always have some left over. Get the lion fish , toothpick beef , bo bo chicken , Mao cai hot soup read more

Favorite scechuan food in LA! Inexpensive and serves enough quantities. Try the boiling fish! read more

Wow the most spicy food I ever had . I have had tried other Szechuan places, but this place by far most spiciest. Food is delicious, ordered the toothpick lamb, green pepper fish, egg plant and noodles. The toothpick lamb is One of kind, just an awesome finger food. Will go great with cold beer. Green pepper fish is one of the most spicy food but full of flavor. The mung noodle is cold appetizer, this one is just ok. read more

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If you want to give your taste buds some spicy flavors, this is the place to go to. I am not talking about just any ordinary spice, this place gives you that 7th taste. But you have to be a veteran spice food lover. This is authentic full body flavored food, so hot your ears will pop and your mouth will go numb. I'm addicted to it and I crave for that numbing and spice. My top favs are the Toothpick Lamp and the Veggie noodle soup (XXX Hot) they warn you before you order it! read more

If you've been craving some spicy chinese food, this isn't a bad place to visit. This place is known for their Boiled Fish entree and I can see why. The dish is tasty, but honestly, if your even a semi health nut, be prepared to coat your stomach lining with chili oil. That's how much grease is in this thing. Don't get me wrong, the flavor is good, but the grease isn't. Combine this with copious amounts of mouth-numbing Sichuan peppers and you're in for it. Run to the nearest CVS and pick up some TUMS, you'll thank me later. I also had a couple of their other items which include: Complimentary noodle dish: They serve you a plate of noodles before your entrees come. Strangely, it was the best dish of the night. Pepper chicken - do stay away from this dish. It's like they forgot to turn on the fire and steamed this dish. Pretty nasty. Daughter sauce rabbit: This was a pretty tasty dish. Too bad it was served as a cold appetizer. Some heat would have made this dish awesome. Yu Shang Eggplant: Okay. Nothing great. Beef noodle soup: Just okay as well. Shredded pork with garlic sauce: A good dish. Has lots of flavor. Service was a bit spotty, but that's to be expected at a Chinese restaurant. I personally prefer the food over at Chung King. 3 stars. read more

Above and beyond the most eye-opening and what will probably have people coming back here is the service. I think most are able to brush off the less than friendly service that we have come to expect at most Asian owned and run establishments. The service was genuinely friendly. Suggestions were offered by the pleasant staff. Toothpick mutton: This dish had a great balance of flavors. Although, you will be made aware of the cumin in the dish, but it didn't overpower the rest of the spices like similar dishes at other restaurants of this style. This was the most standout dish for me. Tan Tan Noodles: They really try to push the cold version of this dish, but tan tan/dan dan noodles are one of my favorite dishes. I think Lucky Noodle King has a better version. However, Chengdu Taste is definitely a close second. Fish in green chilli sauce: I found this dish bland. It just felt like everything was just thrown together: slices of fish, beansprouts, bamboo, peppercorn, green chillis. If you can get past the thick layer of oil at the top of the enormous bowl, the broth was actually tasty. Instead, you end up fishing out the solids which didn't have too much flavor. It came highly recommended. I normally get the fish in hot chilli sauce and I was craving that the whole time I was eating this. Again the service and follow up (when do Asian establishments ask how your meal was going) were superb. With the great food and amazing service this place is sure to become a popular spot. read more

Great: mung bean jelly noodle - cold noodle dish that is very vinegar and has great texture. This was our first dish and it didn't disappoint. Mouth was beginning to get numb toothpick mutton - a must get! cumin dusted fried mutton on tooth picks. Dry at times but great flavor. Good: tan tan noodles - order if you wanna take the numbness from your mouth to the rest of your face. This is going to FORCE even the most lactose intolerant people beg for milk despite knowing the consequences. You're gonna be excreting fire regardless so you might as well tame that fire butt with some milk. All jokes aside, this dish was was really enjoyable for those who were able to handle it. Bad: rabbit in younger sister's secret recipe - if you hate bones, avoid this at all cost. While I could manage, I felt as if this dish lacked flavor and wasn't anything special. Service was just okay. Lots of people on yelp were exclaiming some amazing service but for me, your prototypical Asian American who speaks a lick of Cantonese (south) eating in a Northern Chinese resturant, it was very normal, which basically means it was non-existent. read more

This place is soooo good. If you're in the mood for something spicy, you definitely want to come here. They have all kinds of delicious dishes--lamb on toothpick with cumin, twice cooked pork, eggplant, all kinds of fish dishes, and so much more. Definitely get the lamb! I was very impressed with this place and am looking forward to ordering other dishes the next time I come back. Be prepared to wait a bit for your food. Because everything is cooked fresh, each dish takes awhile to come out. Also, if you don't come early, there will be a line to get a table. But they have chairs for their customers who are waiting and even have a nice water cooler. The service here is also very good. We were in a rush to leave b/c we had a later engagement, and one of the ladies helped us box everything up quickly and even provided us with a huge box to carry all our leftovers (yes... we always over order...). read more

Great Szechuan food, portion, and reasonable price. The only downside is the 1 hour wait time, but it's worth it. A few favorites are the toothpick lamb seasoned w/spices and cumin, peppercorn fish, spicy live fish, Szechuan beef, and Szechuan shrimp. read more

Came at 10pm on a Saturday and waited an hour. The restaurant is pretty small inside. I think there are only about 12 tables. The wait is the same whether you come with 1 other person or 3 other people because all the tables seat at least 4 people. I came here with my husband. We ordered dan dan noodles, fresh boiled fish, and toothpick lamb with cumin. And a pitcher of plum juice. The dan dan noodles were good and spicy. Some of the noodles were stuck together. The lamb was very flavorful and tender, and of course spicy. I'm pretty weak when it comes to spiciness so I drank lots of plum juice and ate rice which helped. The fresh boiled fish was great as well. You have the option to order normal fish or fresh fish which is more expensive. We ordered the latter and I'm glad we did. The fish is cooked with bean sprouts and bamboo. Everything was tasty. The taste numbs your lips afterwards but it wasn't that spicy. We had so much food that we had leftovers for lunch the next day. I will probably come back with more people so we can order more food. Maybe I'll come at 11pm next time. read more

As a sichuanese I admit my standard is a little higher. Very mediocre restaurant. Not authentic.

The wait here is...um..let's just say....very long, so long that you might as well bring a book or make sure you have a fully charged phone/tablet or something to keep you sane and patient because it is gonna take awhile. Let me give you an example, If my friend was about to birth out a baby, by the time i'd take her to the hospital, her having her kid, naming it, and getting released, you might still be waiting to sit down........ok I kid, it isn't that long, but make sure you keep yourself occupied. If you are dying of hunger, just walk over to another place, luckily I wasn't super duper hungry, just that average hunger you get around dinner time, so I didn't mind the wait. Ok enough of wait times. Onto the food, when you finally get in, the menus have some pictures on it for the EASE...My friends and I ordered 5 dishes, technically 4, one was an appetizer; Mung Bean Noodles (appetizer); similar to glass noodles, thicker in width, served in chilli oil and is a cold dish, the sauce itself will leave your mouth sort of numb, might be a good thing if you order other spicy foods from here, I liked it, but the numbing feeling got to me. String Beans; says spicy, but it was not that spicy, served with red dried red chillis, and some grounded meat, similar to many other Chinese restaurants that have this dish, was a good veggie dish. Eggplant; also spicy, served in chilli oil as well, similar to the mung bean noodles but hot, eggplant wasn't overcooked, I liked it. Sauteed Pork Kidney; my favorite dish minus all the celery they top on it. Also has woodear mushroom, dried red chilli, and some type of peppercorn that also leaves your mouth numb. Just looked it up, it is flower pepper, I tried really hard to not grab an item from this dish that had it, those bastards are pretty small, even if you think you didn't grab something with it, it is somehow there. Not enough kidney, but overall it was delicious, sliced in small pieces. Cumin Lamb on toothpicks; they give you A LOT, which is a good thing because this was delicious. Seasoned with cumin obviously, but not to the point that you take one bite and want to spit it out because they dumped too much cumin, just the perfect amount. If you aren't a lamb fan because of the gamy texture, which imo didn't really taste that gamy, they also have cumin beef too. overall I like this place, open till midnight, probably dies around after 9, so if you want to try this place minus the wait, maybe come a little over 9PM. read more

As a lover of spicy food, this is one of my go to spots to get my fix. The tongue numbing amazingness of Szechuan food is something that you can't really experience in any other cuisine. My favorite dishes are the boiled fish in hot sauce, toothpick lamb, deep fried pork stomach, and the beef with crispy rice crust. The boiled fish is always a staple for me whenever I go to a Szechuan restaurant. It really gives you the quintessential "ma la" experience. I do feel like Chengdu Taste has lowered their spiciness levels of this dish throughout the years as they've grown in popularity. The toothpick lamb is another staple for me and it's incredibly flavorful and enjoyable. As a fan of pork stomach/intestines, I absolutely love the deep fried pork stomach. Usually, I'm used to pork stomach being a little chewy with some great flavor, but Chengdu taste slightly fries it, so the outside has a nice crispy that contrasts nicely with the chewy insides. If you're a fan of pork stomach, I recommend this. The beef with crispy rice crust is another great dish that I recommend. The crispy rice crust is very Rice Krispiesesque, however without the sweetness. Overall, I love eating at this restaurant, especially during the winter to help warm your body up. The price can add up if you order a lot of dishes, but I think it's well worth it. read more

Tip #1 Don't come here if you don't like spicy food! I personally love spicy foods so this was a delight. I had the cold noodles and the toothpick lamb served with hot tea. IT WAS BOMB. The place was nice and clean. Cool vibe. I'll definitely be back. read more

This is my favorite restaurant in the world. Anyone that says otherwise has bad taste in food or doesnt know how to order. I hope this place has a monument resurrected to it someday read more

The reason I don't update my own blog (or help my puppy update his) more often is because I spend so much time reading other people's blogs. Of course, food blogs are my favorite; fashion blogs are fun; and travel hacking blogs let me dream about my next vacation. And Monday was just another ordinary day of my blog-browsing when I saw that the Gastronomer went to Chengdu Taste. In her blog (which is excellent and helped us tremendously on our trip to Vietnam), the Gastronomer mentions that Jonathan Gold talked about Chengdu Taste in a chat recently. J. Gold is the only white guy whose opinion on Chinese food I would take seriously and I quickly shared the exciting news of this new Sichuan restaurant with the bf, who said he wanted to try it as soon as possible. The bf and I tried to go for a late lunch but we didn't get there until 5 so I'll call it an early dinner. There was only one other party in the restaurant when we arrived and the waiter (or was he the owner?) was super excited to tell me about the bloggers who have discovered the restaurant and that J. Gold has gone 3 times already. I'm sure when he writes an article on it, the restaurant will be hard to get into. I was pleasantly surprised by the comfortable decor. We slipped into a banquette and studied the well-designed menu. We couldn't decided which noodle to get and the waiter suggested the Cold Noodles (with Garlic). It didn't sound like a winner but it's the best cold noodle dish I've ever had. The Boiled Fish (with Green Chili) was recommended by the waiter but I wouldn't recommend that. It was a bit on the bland side. The Stir fried Spicy Pork was the weak linkest, however. It was such a same that the meal had progressed in that order since the it had started out so strong with the noodles. We also ordered some Mapo Tofu to go and while it's a solid rendition, Chung King's is tastier. We still have a ton of items on the menu to try but so far, the cold noodles are the clear standout. read more

My personal opinion... I'm glad I tried something out of my comfort zone, but I think Chengdu will stay out of my comfort zone. Trying it once is enough for me. Service: It's whatever. They're not horrible, but they're not that attentive. It's the typical kind of service someone gets at Asian restaurants. One negative thing was the food didn't come out around the same time. Our last dish, the Lion Fish, came out when we were practically done eating the rest of the food we ordered. Atmosphere: It's a typical Asian restaurant. It's located down Valley Blvd. across the street The Boiling Crab. It's pretty small and seats about 50-60 people. Food: We ordered the following: ~ Mung Bean Noodles in Chili Sauce - It's a cold dish. It was alright. The noodles were gelatin-like and had a sour/vinegar-y smell and taste to it. The chili sauce was amazing, though. I could put that on steamed rice and eat it with some fried fish & I'll be a happy person! ~ Toothpick Beef - Really good, but gamey tasting for some reason. My table and I think the reason why it tasted gamey was that they maybe use the same oil for the Toothpick Lamb, as well. It's practically drenched in cumin, but it was really good. I could put that in a corn tortilla with some hot sauce and lime & call it a day! ~ Chengdu Fried Rice - Good stuff. Not spicy, but was really good. One of my favorite dishes we ordered that day. ~ Wonton Soup in Chicken Broth - WOW! This was, by far, my favorite thing we ordered. The wonton was really meaty and packed in a lot of flavor. ~ Sauteed Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce - I enjoyed this, but it also had a sour smell/taste to it. ` Lion Fish - It's called Lion Fish because of the way they cut the flesh around the fish's head to make it look like a lion's mane. The fish they used was Tilapia. It's deep-fried and is place on a bed of sauce that I'm not sure how I can describe. You order it for the look, because the flavor was like fried fish you could buy at Seafood City or Island Pacific. read more

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I came here on a Friday night. It was around 6 when we got there and the place wasn't too busy. The place smells AMAZING. They have a really good variety of food choices. I went with the fried rice. Although fried rice isn't the most adventurous options, it was really good. They also give you big portions so this place would be perfect for families. I ordered some chili because I like my food spicy. HOLY HELL that chili is HOT. You've been warned. By the time we were leaving they had a bunch of people outside waiting to be seating so I guess we came at a good time. read more

Before I went there, there were so many buzz around and everyone is praising it. Last night, my friend ordered a lot of take-out from them for our small game party. I was totally blown away! I never been to that province so I don't know how authentic this is. But it's the best Sichuan food I had ever so far. It's not too salty but has enough flavor. The spicy pork joint (zhou zi) is the best, my favorite dish!! Spicy, a bit crispy at certain point, tender in meat. The spicy chicken (jiao ma ji) is really good. Tender and right portion of lean and fat meat. The sauce is really good with pepper and peppercorn(Zanthoxylum). It's green and has the spicy feeling but not killing you. Braised Dongpo Pork Crura is really good! It's stewed so tender and all the flavor is inside. Plus, the meat quality is also good for the dish. I've tried some other places serving this dish, but with some part of the meat still too hard. Toothpick Mutton, my first time got that in LA, and I miss this interesting way of serving my favorite meat. :D Boiled fish with pickled cabbage and chili, yum! It also has a lot of bean sprout in it! Other two dishes of frog and pork are also good! I know they have great cold bean noodle too. Gonna be there one more time! In short, it has good quality of the materials and cooked very tasty! As sichuan cuisine, it's not killing spicy, but you can enjoy the goodness of the spice chili and the peppercorn's sophisticated toungue-numbing effect! Enjoy :D read more

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Initial Thoughts: I came here on Wednesday night thinking that it wouldn't be crowded and that the two could grab a table. Boy was I wrong...We waited for 1.5 hours. No worries, we went to the market on the corner and grabbed some beers. I wasn't aware that there was a parking lot in the rear, so I ended up parking on the street. Asian people are crazy when it comes to parking, evidently, I took a guys space that he claims he was waiting for. So he started yelling at me and I ended up moving to avoid a confrontation. Food: We ordered the toothpick lamb, sichuan tan tan noodles, and fish. The food was fantastic and thought I was back in China. Service: Their service was unChinesey: It was a bit slow for a SGV restaurant; they were nice; they were prompt in filling up our glasses; and they also spoke English to help guide us in ordering the food. Conclusion: I'd go back again. I'd go there, put my name down and come back in an hour. read more

Came here on a Tuesday afternoon around 3 and there was still an hour long wait almost. The thing is, for a good 30 minutes...there were four tables that were empty, just not cleaned up yet. The service here is amazingly slow considering the amount of staff here. parking- I parked on the streets at valley! The food is solid and I really liked the oil cooked fish as well as the toasted tea leaves duck, but they really need to step it up in service. This place is really small with about 20 tables on the inside and the food can get pretty spicy...so the overall turnover of each table takes quite a while. Ordered the Garlic noodles- This dish is cold and is basically noodles with chili oil and some peanuts. I thought it was tasty but the noodles were a bit soft for my taste Dry stir fried intestines- good dish, but a little too oily for my taste, not very memorable chili oil cooked fish- really yummy! definitely recommend toothpick beef- yummy and something different! pieces of beef skewered with toothpicks, seasoned and fried! tea smoked duck- The most special dish i thought of the day! the duck came nice and hot with crispy skin and a pleasant smokey flavor! Overall, the food is solid, but the wait and service...not so much. If I were to come back, it would definitely come at an awkward time just to avoid the line! read more

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My experience at Chengdu Taste is rather puzzling. "Do people really enjoy this? Is this how real Sichuan food is supposed to be?" Judging by the long line, I'd guess so but I'm still overwhelmed by the torturing level of spiciness. I guess my wife and I completely under-estimated the degree of spiciness of this place. We like to think we are spicy food aficionados. We have always enjoyed spicy food of various origin - Thai, Indonesian, Korean, Indian etc. So we went with "couple's sliced beef in chili sauce" and "boiled veggie & meat in Sichuan style special hot sauce" (yes, a mouthful). The "Fuqi feipian" was great. It set the tone for the night, it was probably the most spicy Fuqi feipian I have had ever (*neither of us have been to China). It was pretty good though and I would order it again. Though portion was bit small, the tripe, tendon, beef combo were well seasoned with Sichuan pepper got our appetite going. By the time we got the main course though, the level of spiciness were pushing our limits. the boiled semi-dry spicy hotpot as I can best described it had a huge variety of ingredients. We knew it was going to be a lot of food so we asked to exclude the potatoes. However, the hotpot came loaded with variety of offal, spam, some beef, bean sprout and veggies. I can't exactly pin point the issue other than the fact that it was unnecessarily spicy. I think the fact that what went in there isn't exactly grade A products or USDA Prime meat doesn't help either. At one point, we realized that we hit our limit of eating dangerously spiced SPAM and offal and we should stop before we start to feel sick. So that was that. We left a bit hurt (emotionally and physically) unsure if we got played or we just don't have the stomach for real Chengdu Sichuan food. Would probably give it a 2nd chance and try the more moderate dishes. I didn't want to make a point about the wait because that's beyond the restaurants control really. You are free to either show up early, wait or leave if you don't want to wait. I will make a point to say that our host (upon learning that its our first time and would like suggestion) did a superb job giving me a thorough analysis of the menu, highlighting the strength and popular dishes. We had no trouble with service. read more

Yum! I want to go back already. Had the spicy boiled fish, eggplants and spicy fried rice. Omg! So good... and they give you A LOT. Our leftovers were so heavy, had to leave it in the car before getting post-meal coffee. The fried rice was the least impressive, as I didn't expect the rice to be so sticky. But the fish and eggplants!!! Wow. They were cooked just the way I like it :) will definitely be back soon. As for customer service... whenever I come to an Asian-owned restaurant I kind of brace myself/ know what to expect. They won't ask how your day is...they might not even smile at you. As long as I get my food, I am happy :). read more

Chengdu Taste - Spicy boiled fish, spicy fried rice and eggplants. - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

Great tasting, the spicy fish soup was really good and also the lamb w/cumin. this place give you big portions decent prices read more

Chengdu Taste - Szechuan Near Me - Alhambra, California

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Pros: portions are gigantic Cons: food is not that great, I got the chicken soup and it was 95% chicken bones with few pieces of meat and skin here and there, the fried rice with double cooked pork is basically a ton of rice with few pieces of soft bacon and green onions. That's why they can keep the portions so big and keep the cost fairly low. read more

Decided to give this place a try because we always saw long lines when driving by. For a family of four, we each had a menu (normal, you would expect). But about 2 minutes later, a waitress grabbed my and my brother's menu. She then explained, after grabbing them out of our hands, that they did not have enough menus so each table could only have two. For a restaurant that big with so many tables and such a long line, how could the entire store have so few menus? That was a rude start to begin with. She then was rude when taking our orders and gave us our check while we were still eating. The toothpick lamb was amazing! The boiled fish, not so much. Overrated. I will be back because the food is good, no doubt -- but they could really work on the service! When my dad tipped, I legitimately wanted to write "for you to buy more menus" on the receipt he signed. read more

Maybe the best hui guo rou (twice cooked pork) I've ever had. Also enjoyed the toothpick lamb with cumin and shui ju yu (fish fillet). The mapo tofu was just fine and the sauteed string beans were a bit disappointing. Overall, very satisfying szechuan meal! We went for lunch on a Friday and it was pretty empty, no wait. read more

Highly recommend : lamb. Others are OK. Service is too slow. And hard to get their attention. read more

There are two things that you can bet on when eating at Chendu Taste. 1. Be ready to wait for a table. If you come at prime time, you can expect, yes I said expect, a 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hour wait. The line forms as early as 10:45AM and runs through to dinner. 2. Be ready for some mouth numbing heat! We ordered the garlic noodles, the eggplant, the fish fillet soup with Sichuan peppers and the toothpick lamb. The lamb was the best. Best in flavor, aroma, texture and over all eating experience. The garlic noodles were tangy, sour and spicy. The eggplant was not as spicy, a little sweet. The fish soup was good. It has subtle flavor and a lingering heat to it. One Yelper said in his/her photo caption that the soup had no flavor. I wouldn't say it has no flavor. What I'm thinking is that the other dishes are either very high in flavor or the heat is just masking it. One important thing to note, this place is not for the health conscious. The food is greasy, period. There's no way around it because that's where the lingering heat comes from. In three of the four dishes (noodles, eggplant, soup) we ordered there was a generous serving of chili oil present in each one as if the chef wanted to make sure we had enough chili oil to coat anything that comes through the top of the dish. Would I go again? Maybe...but this time I'm ordering take out. read more

Arrived during the peak of dinner time so we waited for about 30-40 minutes. Not a problem because we had our menu and picked out what we wanted based off reading the reviews. As soon as we were seated they took our order and our plates came quickly. We ordered 10 dishes between the 6 of us. The best part of groups is ordering more and trying them all. Toothpick lamb: delicious spices and tender Mung bean jelly: cold spicy noddle dish, an absolute must Sichuan Tan Tan: flavorful and noodles cooked perfectly Kung pao chicken/ shrimp: both dishes tasted the same, tasty, and tender Sautéed Eggplant and string bean: were winners, not too spicy but drowned in garlic Boiled fish in hot sauce: Szechuan pepper, the tingling sensation was a first for me but it overwhelmed the taste and became unwanted with every single bite although we asked for very little of the peppers it was too much, we couldn't take more than a few bites, but the fish was delicious Pork fried rice: packed with lemon grass and ginger, again yummy Fried chicken without bone: crispy, oily and way too much peppers, every bite was more tingling sensation. Yes we were all new to the experience however it just left two plates untouched. Although it was nice to try something different the overwhelming amount of the peppers didn't sit well with me later. Service was friendly and fast. read more

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Went with recommendation from a friend/foodie. Left with satisfaction. Only wished for a little better service and it would of have been 5stars. Maps tofu, Dan Dan noodles, spicy dumplings were all great! read more

Love this place! The food is so flavorful! My favorite dish is the vegetable hot pot - the broth is so tasty and the lotus root is spot on. Also love the kung pao shrimp, Chengdu style rice, twice cooked pork... and the eggplant is better than Mama Lu's. We always order enough to take home. The hot pot broth holds up for another meal, and when the veggies are done, I add some noodles to the broth and get 3rd meal out of it. Delicious! read more

Authentic chengdu food. Like the Boboji best. The portion is very big as well. This is often a waiting line.

Our neighbor recommended this restaurant after hearing that we liked spicy food. We probably signed in around 11:30 and were seated by noon. We started noticing other tables getting their orders taken before us, that were seated after us. We should have known it was going to be one of those places. Cold garlic noodles came out first. That was a hit with us both. I once tried an Asian spicy peanut that contained little pods that would make your mouth tingle when you bit into it. These noodles had that same spicy numbness. I was excited to try the other dishes. Toothpick beef came out next. We had to wait quite a while for our other dishes after that. The vegetable pot was probably the least favorite. I love lotus root, but the soup was suspiciously beef broth-y. While I doubt there will be a next time, I would probably just stick to their cold noodle dishes. read more

This is some legit si chuan food. Traditional Si Chuan food must be spicy and numbing at the same time without overpowering the flavor of the ingredients. Most Americanized Sichuan restaurants go very lenient on the numbing flavor profile but not this place, they go all out. So if you eat here and start feeling the numbing sensation on your lips, don't worry and keep on eating, order some Beijing Yogurt, it helps a lot. Fu qi fei pian (not sure the english name) (5/5) - most authentic FQFP I've had in America, the levels of spiciness and numbness were just enough so that they didn't overpower the rest of the dish. The flavors of beef, tripe, peanut and chili co-existed in harmony, making this dish an almost must-order. Spicy chicken slices appetizer (5/5) - Another solid dish. The sauce of this dish was mouth watering good. Mung bean noodles (2.5/5) - Unfortunately the chilis and peppercorns were too overpowering for this dish. It felt like an empty shell of spicy and numbing, without having an identity of its own. I really don't get the hype for this dish. Toothpick lamb (5/5) - Unlike previous dish, this dish was actually worth the hype. It was also the only dish that I've ordered that's not numbing at all. The lamb was seasoned to perfection and very addictive. String beans with black bean sauce (4/5) - Nice vegetable dish. Watch out for the peppercorns though, they are scattered all over and hard to pick out. Water boiled fish (2.5/5) - Average water boiled-fish, don't bother ordering it because it's not worth it. Guess Guess Shrimp (4/5) - spicy shrimp with potatoes. The shimps were cooked with their shells, infused with spices and extremely flavorful, Spicy wontons (2.5/5) - not as good as Ding Tai Fung's wontons. Not worth it. Beijing Yogurt (5/5) - Just order this and drink it when the food gets too spicy. You will taste paradise. read more

I only came here for takeout so I can't really comment on the service too much. We came on a Friday night last week so there was a bit of a line and a wait for the food. We got the toothpick lamb as takeout and I was pretty impressed. We got it roughly 20 minutes after we ordered it, and the cashier was nice enough to take it to the car for me where I was waiting. It was roughly 75 small pieces of lamb on toothpicks. The taste was spicy and full of cumin. One of my all time favorite combinations. A bit pricey at almost $15 but it's lamb so that'll be a pricier ingredient regardless of place. Some of the fattier pieces were damn good. Two little tidbits from our wait: They seem to do birthday singing if you request it. They turned the lights down, played some funny music and started singing happy birthday in Chinese. That was pretty cool. Also, I heard a pregnant woman tell her husband she fell in the bathroom (or on her way to the bathroom) because it was wet. They left pretty disgruntled. read more

Decent, but not the best. I would recommend getting the braised pork hock, it was very well seasoned and tender. It was the best dish we had there. Also, they have Beijing yogurt here, so that's a plus. However, the spicy dishes aren't really that spicy. I have made better mapo tofu by myself, and their dry sauted string beans were overcooked and kind of mushy. They should have been crispy/dry on the outside. A lot of reviews seems to like the mung bean jelly noodles, but they were just meh imo. They didn't have any shredded cucumbers in it, or any peanut/sesame paste! read more

Came here with some friends on a Monday and had to wait maybe 30 minutes because their Rosemead location was closed for the day. What we ordered: - Toothpick Lamb: Wowowow was seriously so tasty and amazing!! Lamb isn't one of my favorite meats, but this dish was pretty much on every table there. MUST ORDER - Mung Bean Noodle: was not bad and was fairly spicy. - Cold Garlic Noodle: lightly spicy with good flavor. - Sautéed Chinese Green Vegetables: good garlic-y veggie flavor and a nice break from the chili oil of the other dishes. The food came out within 5-7 minutes of ordering which was great because we were so hungry! After we were done eating, I seriously considered ordering another plate of the toothpick lamb. I was surprised at how much I liked it. If you can brave the traditional numbing Sichuan flavor, I would definitely recommend coming here to try!! read more

Chengdu Taste and Szechuan Impression round out the two SGV Sichuan food favorites. Honestly, I get the two confused sometimes. But it's all good, since whereever I go I will be impressed. The classic toothpick lamb always comes with the right amount of red to tempt your palate and serve as a mild warning, but it's not the dry flakes that give the most flavor (nor the stomach whimpering). It's the ma la numbing spicy oil on the boiled fish (or mapo tofu, or probably many other dishes). This is one of the few places where something claims to be ma la, and I actually feel like I'm at the dentist with them injecting a splash of anesthetic. Overall though I think it's a tiny bit below Szechuan Impression in terms of taste (lamb can be slightly dry) and innovation so I have to give it a 4. Also, there's the water incident where us scrubs took to moving over to the jug and refilling our own water manually since the waiter never came by. Keeping a mental note of where this happens. read more

I love this place! Whenever I travel from m the East Coast I make it a point to stop in for their amazing chicken and green beans. So many great options on the menu! read more