From noodle houses to fine dining establishments, these are the best restaurants spicing things up with hot chillies and fragrant herbs
Fiery chillies and bursts of complex flavours are not the only labels to describe Sichuan cuisine correctly. From numb and fiery mala dishes to complex sweet and sour courses accented with flavours layered with heat and tartness of vinegar, the complexity of Sichuan cuisine is just as variant as the many faces and identities of each dish, moving beyond chilli-oil-laden dishes. Below are our picks for the places that best represent Sichuan on a plate in Hong Kong.
Deng G
Fine execution with balanced flavours is key to Deng G’s success. Following the footsteps of culinary consultant Deng Huadong, a master chef in Chengdu with exceptional expertise in Sichuan cuisine, Elite Concepts’ Deng G is home to some of the most original flavour profiles of Sichuan cuisine. While chilli-laden dishes are popular, it is the masterful technique to handle non-hot dishes that are beyond mellow and mild. Start with the restaurant’s popular kung pao prawns, where the addition of vinegar lightens the rich dish, introducing a fruity sweetness to the course. The supreme cabbage consommé is deceptively simple: a clear chicken consommé is served with a wedge of slow-braised napa cabbage, an excellent specimen that highlights the lighter side of Sichuan cuisine.
Deng G, 2/F, 147 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; +852 2609 2328
Sijie Sichuan Restaurant
One of the first Sichuan private kitchens in Hong Kong, Sijie Sichuan Restaurant continues to impress with its vibrant selection of regional favourites, including the show stopping mandarin fish slices poached in chilli broth. It is, however, the cold Sichuan noodles that won the hearts of many. Served with a generous helping of chopped green onions and toasted peanuts, the chilli topping is well-seasoned and toasted, with just the right amount of sesame seeds, chilli oil and vinegar dressing ready to be tossed just before serving. A selection of larger, more elaborate Sichuan main dishes such as Chongqing-style hot and spicy crabs or steamed pork with rice flour are available for pre-ordering for a minimum of 12 guests. The restaurant also has a second branch at Aubin House on Gloucester Road, Wan Chai.
Sijie Sichuan Restaurant, 10/F Bartlock Street, 3 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong; +852 2802 2250
Yu
Across the road from the Causeway Bay branch of Sijie is Yu, a petite Sichuan eatery offering everything from hot-and-sour noodles to meats cooked in Sichuan soy sauce marinade. This best-kept secret is home to noodle lovers, and the restaurant’s hot and sour sweet potato noodles are perfect with an al dente texture and a broth with depth, best enjoyed in its lunch set menu that includes a selection of cold vegetable dishes, mouth-watering spicy chicken, and the establishment’s heat-quenching iced cucumber soy milk.
Yu, G/F, 4 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong; +852 2838 8198
Jing Alley
Jing Alley, the sister restaurant of Wan Chai’s Flower Drum, celebrates Sichuan dishes without the over-the-top chilli-laden dishes. Many of its delicacies are well-thought out from ingredients to execution, such as adopting a unique firm-textured fish jaguar guapote for their version of fish in chilli broth. The Sichuan restaurant’s Chengdu-style boiled jaguar guapote strays from its original form, enriching the broth with green chillies and fresh Sichuan peppercorns for a fresh interpretation. The cold appetiser of chicken with Sichuan green peppercorn paste is an impressive dish to enjoy as well.
Jing Alley, G/F, 145 Connaught Road Central, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2868 9801
Fu Rong
Harbour City’s Fu Rong takes a contemporary approach in the traditional regional Sichuan cuisine. The restaurant’s signature courgette noodles are a modern, Chinese interpretation of zoodles dressed with a sweet soy vinaigrette, a fresh appetiser to welcome spicy courses ahead. The restaurant’s bon bon chicken, a reimagined bang bang chicken cold dish dressed with a generous helping of spicy red chilli oil held within a blown-sugar globe, is a nice interactive touch to the spicy dish. The braised shrimps with Chinese cucumber and pepper sauce is great for sharing, with an unlikely but indulgent steamed glutinous rice with pork belly and osmanthus a sweet ending to a chilli-rich feast.
Fu Rong, Shop 201, 2/F Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 3-17 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong; +852 2388 2008
Crazy Noodles
Residing within a commercial building on Stanley Street in Central, the aroma of toasted Sichuan peppercorns and black vinegar gives a homely vibe to the eatery. Noodle bowls are best ordered cart-noodle style, with a soup base and ingredients of your choice. Braised tripe and kombu are best enjoyed with our favourite sweet potato noodles and chilli broth. The ‘Sichuan skewers’ are great for sharing with meats and vegetables served in a bundle immersed in toasty rich spicy broth.
Crazy Noodles, 1/F, Kai Tak Commercial Centre, 66-72 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2311 3905
Chuan Palace
Located within one of the most popular malls in Mongkok, the Sichuan restaurant of LUBUDS group is home to an amazing line up of spicy dishes as well as Cantonese classics. Settle in one of the more comfortable booth seating and order Chuan Palace’s spicy dishes as you enjoy them, ensuring dishes remain hot throughout the meal. Chuan Palace’s signature Sichuan-styled stewed ox tongue is wonderful, where the thick-cut bovine muscle absorbs the spiced broth. Sichuan peppercorn stewed mandarin fish is refreshing, where the tart broth is richly flavoured with pickled mustard greens, Sichuan peppercorns and a twist of lime juice. Servings for main course tend to be rather large and good for sharing.
Chuan Palace, Shop 501, 5/F Moko, 193 Prince Edward Road East, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong; +852 2339 1900
Dong Lai Shun
While Dong Lai Shun remains one of the city’s best Northern Chinese restaurants, the Chinese restaurant at the basement of Royal Garden Hong Kong is home to one of Hong Kong’s best Sichuan hot pots, featuring a generous house-blend of spices in its signature Sichuan soup base, a great accompaniment to the restaurant’s homemade meatballs and dumplings. The establishment is also revamping classics in its new Sichuan dishes collection, notably abalone and assorted seafood with spicy sauce in casserole, a twist on a Chongqing-style spicy chicken casserole, and double-boiled sea whelk and matsutake soup with minced chicken and egg white, an update on double-boiled chicken tofu in clear chicken consommé.
Dong Lai Shun, B2/F, Royal Garden Hong Kong, 69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong; +852 2733 2020
Sichuan Lab
Realised by renowned Sichuan cuisine chef Kenny Chan, Sichuan Lab takes traditional Sichuan fare and adds a modern twist. You may indulge in classics such as paper-thin beef slices, Chan’s signature since his former Yunyan Sichuan Restaurant days and a Sichuan specialty, where thinly sliced beef is deep fried and coated with a glossy caramel glaze. Sauteed peanut sprouts are highly recommended, as is the restaurant’s signature poached giant grouper in chilli broth, among other spicy main dishes for sharing. Sichuan Lab also offers a variety of hot pot casseroles with a fine selection of sliced meats, house-made dumplings and seasonal vegetables for a warming treat.
Sichuan Lab, G/F, 28 Tai Wo Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; +852 3126 6633
China Tang
Housed within the luxurious Landmark Atrium, Lai Sun Dining’s China Tang may be the obvious answer to Cantonese classics and dim sum lunches, but the establishment’s executive chef Menex Cheung is ringing in a surprising handful of Sichuan flavours. Garoupa, a local favourite fish, gets double billing in Cheung’s execution at China Tang, as he captures the multitude of textures between the fish and tofu in simmered garoupa fillet, tofu, Sichuan pepper, sun-dried chilli and chilli oil. Other recommended Sichuan classics include Cheung’s simmered garoupa with bean sprouts, cucumber, and bamboo shoots in chilli broth and wok-fried sliced beef with Hangzhou pepper and black bean sauce.
China Tang, Shops 411-413 4/F Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2522 2148
Twins Liangpi Limited
This hole-in-the-wall Sichuan eatery is the gem of the neighbourhood. Opened and operated by two sisters, Twins Liangpi Limited takes great pride in its chilled potato starch noodles, a glutinous noodles that are translucent, chewy and a great canvas for spices and condiments to shine, particularly the shop owners’ house-made chilli oil and a touch of black vinegar. The shop mostly covers take-away options with limited standing space within. Beef offal slices with Sichuan red chilli oil are also a wonderful cold dish to accompany the selection of cold noodles available.
Twins Liangpi Limited, G/F, 15 Cedar Street, Prince Edward, Kowloon, Hong Kong; +852 6537 3913