04/06/09

Bad food with bad service

by PotatoDude

I work at a school nearby, and I decided to go to this place a few times because another place I always went to was temporarily closed. And I think I am done with this place after several trials. First, the receptionists/cashiers are not nice and kind. Then, more importantly, food is not good at all. I tried several different dishes, but all of them was subpar compared to the other place I used to go.

I feel sorry to write such a bad review, but this place needs to improve both its service and food, I think.

• Pros: Not sure
• Cons: Food and service

10/23/08

Ongoing bad service...for years now

by myoki

The food is decent here but the service is so horrendous, there's no justifying going back. I've tred it out maybe once a year for a few years now and every time I do, I wish i hadn't. I know several other people who had the same problems and just finally gave up on the place. The worst part about it is that the staff or owners don't care that they treat their customers poorly! With the thousands of other Chinese restaurants out there, I can do without this one. Perhaps the other location is better...

06/23/08

Authentic Szechuan... not for dabbling tourists

by eat_club

Great food. Nice and spicy, with a huge variety of fish and fowl, bovine and porcine... with some tofune thrown in for good luck. Most of the customers were Chinese... that's always a good sign! If you're looking for CHOP SUEY, you're in the wrong place. This is the real stuff. Greasy, spicy, we had a native Szechuanese with us... She said it's just like mom used to make.

Good thing they had those moving family (Chinese family, that is) style trays. Most of us shared everything. We all had Tsing Tao beer. The table next to us, some kind of Chinese wedding or graduation, drank 100% Budweiser... I guess it was exotic for them. --Eat Club Org is a roving group of NYC gluttons.

• Pros: authentic food, fast service, great for groups
• Cons: not for casual tourists

06/21/07

Average food at best- I don't understand the rave reviews

by goliathslw

I have to say, the food here was definitely average at best. Wasn't a bad place- but I don't think I'd make a trip to the area specifically for the restaurant. The food is spicy, so that's a plus for all those hot/spicy lovers out there. There was just nothing that stood out to me

12/31/06

A GRAND DISAPPOINTMENT!

by wise1too

I was extremely interested after reading about this place. I can only think that they have either changed hands or the great reviews were put up jobs. I've tried this place twice and found nothing to come back for. I must agree with the other negative reviews previously filed. It's the worst chinese food i've had in a long time. And I've been to China and the orient too! I'd go into greater detais about each dish but each was so poor that I'd rather not waste my time. Very few places are a total "do not return". This is one of the few!

A mini-empire of Sichuan-oriented Chinese restaurants.

by Justin Hartung

In Short
This Chinese restaurant has proven so popular, it's spawned multiple outposts, this one in Murray Hill. Decor varies from location to location, with photos of Mao Tse-Tung making occasional appearances. Menus also vary, though most break down into Sichuan, Hunan, and "American Chinese Food" sections. Sichuan should be the main draw, with basics like smoked tea duck and double cooked pork available alongside more intriguing dishes like sliced conch and "Bad Smell Bean Curd."

01/03/06

Authentic Sichuan Food, Recommended

by citybao

I'm from sichuan, this is the restaurant I recommend going. food is delicious, the affordable price makes it more attractive (most items ~$10). What makes this restaurant special are the authentic sichuan cooking and being the only one in NYC that offers authentic chongqing hotpot.

my picks are:

´ÐÓͱý - Scallion Pancake (fried with vegetable juice, very special and tasty)

¹óÖݼ¦ - Guizhou Chicken

ËÄ´¨Ð¡³´ - Shredded Squid Family Style (one of my personal favorites)

ÏãÀ±Èí¿Çз - Sichuan Spicy Soft Shell Crab

Ë®ÖóÓã - Shuizhu Fish (this one is for hardcore Sichuan food fans, I wouldn't recommend to my American friends as it's very spicy. But people from Sichuan will die for it)

ÖØÇì»ð¹ø - Chongqing Hot Pot, chongqing was the biggest city of Sichuan, now became an independent province. This is also where I was from. :)

• Pros: Food, Price
• Cons: Decoration

03/11/05

Not as good as expected

by zmzm807

I went there for lunch and it was not as good as I expected from the reviews I read. Sauce was watery and the food didn't have much flavor. If you like the food and the value you get from some of Chinatown restaurants, this is not the place for you. I don't think I would go again.

02/19/04

Authentic Sichuan food with great value

by petitepluie

I consider the best Grand Sichuan restaurant in NYC. It is run by the same Sichuan chef who started the chain in Chinatown. If your favorite Chinese food is General Tao chicken, then this is NOT your place.

Quality of food is excellent and price is cheap, stick to pork, fish, chicken, lamb and vegetables. my picks: Guizhou chicken, fish with hot bean source, fish fillet in spicy source (special menu). Be careful, when they say spicy, they mean it!

• Pros: Good food, staff friendly, inexpensive

06/27/03

Lousy Food

by lana811c

If you want Americanized Chinese food with your usual watery, generic white sauce, this is your place. They even have a section in the menu called American Chinese food! The hot and sour soup was unbearably hot and tasted of only pepper and nothing else. My entree of hot pot with seafood was full of imitation crabmeat with a couple pieces of shrimp and squid, and was unnecessarily heated with a burner. The sauce was watery and tasted heavily of MSG. (I was thirsty as hell afterwards.) My companion's entree didn't fare any better either. (Both our entrees were not from the AC section.) His cabbage with baby shrimp came also with the same watery sauce, and no real shrimp, but dried, reconstituted shrimpthe cheapest thing you can buy. He was terribly thirsty after the meal too. What a ripoff! Don't go there!

• Pros: decent decor, clean bathroom, inexpensive
• Cons: bad food, inadequate service, menu too long