I’ve been coming here for lunch since it’s a couple blocks from Astrea HQ after Bradley posted about it on Instagram.
Usually I dine solo so I just get one dish and some rice. My go to is the stir fried celtuce (underrated veggie prep) but today I took the Shoku guys to lunch and we dived into the menu
On tap
House special bullfrog
Mouthwatering chicken
Fish in green chili and sour veggies
Cumin lamb
Pig kidney in green pepper
Shrimp fried rice
Stir fried Celtuce
First things first - what I enjoy about this place is that it’s not an overdose os messy oil like so many Sichuan spots are in LA. Food is spicy but it doesn’t feel greasy. Food comes out pretty quick despite there only being two chefs in the kitchen. A function of how small the restaurant is with only 5 tables.
The fish is excellent with a load of vermicelli at the bottom. Great sour acid kick.
Strong reviews for the lamb and bullfrog from the rest of the table.
I liked all the cucumber and bean sprouts they load under the pork kidney, absorbs all that spice.
The sauce of the mouthwatering chicken is indeed mouthwatering and very spicy.
Dang looks exceptionally good. I haven’t had Sichuan in a while, mainly due to the oil bomb that most of the classic places tend to deliver. Will add this to the short list though.
Clayfu’s dishes don’t appear oily, but the photos at Eater look every bit as oily as usual, which is a staple of Sichuan. Heavy use of chili oil. It should be expected. People go: “oh, it’s so oily” Yes!, it is. That is Sichuan. It would be like complaining that Italian was too tomato-y or too dairy heavy.
Definitely. My comment was to those who complain of the amount instead of taste/flavor. Similar for those who complain about Shaanxi using too much vinegar*. Or Sichuan or Hunan being “too spicy.” These are parts of the cuisine. The amount can vary from place to place, but there’s always going to be some, or even quite a lot. That was my point.
And, of course, there are some Sichuan dishes that don’t use the usual heavy amount of chili oil. As an example, the rattan pepper dishes.
*the caveat that I’ve encountered more Shaanxi places using a lighter touch on vinegar than I have Sichuan places going lighter on chili oil, but, again, it can vary even dish to dish.
FWIW, it’s been reported that the chef is here to be successful vs being “authentic”; he’s tweaked recipes in response to customer feedback. he’s also mentioned he can tell by the orders if the table has chinese palates; an order including bullfrog or the pork kidneys seems to be his litmus test. the point is that he’s aiming for business by acknowledging that a significant portion of his customers are not going to be chong guo ren. so the location isn’t so surprising, though i’d hardly describe it as old town pasadena as it’s located east of lake ave on green. given the prices, i respect the business model chosen; i’m not so sure just ethnic palates would give him enough business to stay solvent.
