"SJP" recently took a position in another department, while I'll miss her, it amounts to a raise and promotion of sorts. "YZ" and I wanted to take her to lunch. "YZ" chose Szechuan Chef for lunch.
Here's what we had.
First up was the Spiced Bean Curd with Chive. Basically, 5 spice pressed tofu like you get at the market.
The dish looked quite colorful, but this was quite bland, really lacking in flavor, and there was no trace of "wok hay".
I ordered the Beef Tendon with Pickled Pepper, something that was pretty good on a previous visit.
This was much more gloppy than what I'd had here before and still lacked a decent amount of Pa Jiao (pickled pepper). The texture of the tendon as excellent though; soft and buttery. And while not particularly spicy, this was far from bland.
I also ordered another dish that had been pretty good on previous visits; the Beef Sour Soup. And while there was a lot less beef than what I'd had here before; I think it was of better quality.
The assertive sour tones really cleared your palate after the tendon dish. Still a good dish from Szechuan Chef.
The other clunker of the meal was the Tofu Skin. YZ and I were a bit confused when this dish didn't come out first as it's usually a nice cold appetizer. Well, this version was stir fried.
The bean curd skin was brittle and the cut of the bell peppers was too large. It lacked flavor and was really bland.
For the last dish we had the Salted Egg Yolk Soft Tofu. This was done pretty well.
I recall this being the dish "RonR" enjoyed when we had lunch here a while back. It's very "eggy" and savory. There are pieces of a "canned meat product"….a Spam-like substitute that added saltiness and texture. The tofu was soft and supple; this was a nice dish as well.
So, three-out-of-five isn't too bad. "YZ" told me the chef is from Chengdu. In terms of Sichuan style food; there's a real lack of "ma-la" (numbing hot) going on here; even when I've tried some of the supposedly spicer dishes.
That's okay, it was good to get out of the office and the three of us had a blast "talking story". Good luck SJP! Don't be a stranger!
Szechuan Chef
4344 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111