Xiangshu Restaurant Wan Chai - Sichuan 湘蜀人家

Spicy wok fried chicken

In general, we've found that Sichuan food in Hong Kong is nowhere nearly as spicy as it is in actual Sichuan province. There are exceptions, but by and large, Sichuan food in Hong Kong is milder and sometimes even a bit sweet.

We recently discovered a pretty solid, no-fuss Sichuan (and Hunan!) restaurant inside Tai Yau Plaza in Wan Chai (the same building as Crystal Jade Jiang Nan) called Xiangshu Restaurant (湘蜀人家). The chef is from Sichuan and prepares both Hunan and Sichuan dishes at this restaurant. We haven't tried too many dishes, but what we've tried is pretty good.

The spicy wok fried chicken (picture above) had a nice combination of numbing (ma) and spicy (la) flavors. This version has bones (i.e. includes chopped up wings, legs, etc.), so it has more flavor but it's also messier to eat! Some pieces of meat were a bit dry, especially the smaller pieces, which is to be expected.

I'd never seen pig ears stir fried with Chinese chives, but I enjoyed this dish quite a bit. The seasoning was simple but the overall flavors were good. We purposely wanted to order some non-spicy dishes as well, and they have a reasonable selection of them.

Celtuce is a vegetable that I never saw in the US yet is quite common here. It reminds me a bit of broccoli stem but with a bit of celery flavor. I love it julienned into long ribbons and stir fried, which is a common preparation. They do a solid version here.

All in all, we enjoyed our first visit to Xiangshu Restaurant. We have barely come close to experiencing the whole menu, so it's hard for me to comment too much on individual dishes. I will say that the kitchen knows what it's doing and the general quality of the food is good. I'll definitely be back to try a few more Sichuan classics, and maybe even venture into Hunan food (which I think is possibly even spicier!).

Xiangshu Restaurant
Shop 218, 2/F
Tai Yuen Plaza
181 Johnston Road
Wan Chai

This is the thirty-fourth post in the updated #50Postsin50Days – Take 2 Challenge. Other posts in this series will be added to the bottom of the original post.