Review: Sichuan Chinese Restaurant
Author: WIBIA | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: Carmel, IN
Sichuan Chinese Restaurant
11588 Westfield Blvd
Carmel, IN 46032
You already know that I am not a fan of boxed Chinese Restaurants. China Garden #54 or whatever! If the menu looks the same as every other chinese place and if the menu has coupons on it, that is usually a bad sign.
This place usually gets good reviews, so I thought that I would stop by and check it out. The menu was pink and had handwriting on it to change prices and that is usually a good sign. There were your normal offerings, but something was a little different here…Pork Ear w/Chili Oil, Beef Tripe Medley, Pork Kidney Stir Fry! Now we are talking. Before I jumped into the deep end, I decided to play it cool and go with:
Hot and Sour Soup: $1.85
Lemon Chicken $7.99
Twice Cooked Pork $7.99
The hot and sour was pretty standard, so no surprises here. I wasn’t a big fan of the broth; it was over peppered and just ok. This was very average and not even close to the best hot and sour in the city at Sesame.
Lemon Chx was my wife’s. She enjoyed it, but again it offered few surprises. I found the meat to have a little too much breading and it was a little bland. I am not going to concentrate on this too much; it is kind of like going to review a pizza place and ordering cheese.
My twice cooked pork looked good, but there was oil/sauce around the box. It was a nice mix of veggies and pork. I enjoyed it, but there was too much oil. My lips felt slippery when I ate it. However, the veggies were crisp and fresh and it did taste pretty good.
Would I Buy It Again? On the fence. If you are looking for your run of the mill Chinese offerings, there are better. However, I can’t give a total sign off until I try some of their more authentic Chinese dishes. Stay tuned, it is worth another try.
-WIBIA
I prefer Mandarin House, a block or so further north on Rangeline. It’s lunch specials are comparably priced and have significantly larger portions.
My wife has tried most of the specials. I almost always stick with my tried and true chicken with shrimp, crabmeat rangoons and hot and sour soup.
Sichuan has a lunch buffet that is pretty good. There is a spicy chicken item that is fantastic. (I have no idea what it is though)