date: 3/16/10
location: bloomington
grade: a- (group grade)

a group grade for all two of us. we didn't argue about the authenticity, for sure. though they do have the standard chinese american fare (which, oddly enough, seems to be the only menu items posted to their web site currently), they also have many pages of szechuan fare not seen in most places... especially in bloomington. not surprising, as this place was opened by a lot of the kitchen people who left st. paul's little szechuan.

we were almost obliged to get the highly praised dan dan noodles ($5). and yes, were as good as you've heard about the dish is true (even without the pork- they obligingly brought it on the side). it's all spicy from the chili oil but also complex (almost nutty and sweet and sour) and you don't just taste the heat. i think you should be obliged to get them when you're here also. not sure why they were listed on the cold dishes menu, they're served hot.

also off the cold dishes menu, served cold, was the mouth watering chicken (with bones) ($8). it was also a chili oil dish and this one was more about the texture of the food than the flavor- the cold chicken (a bit gelatinous like it can get) and green onions and peanuts against the oil. it was an interesting experience to eat it, but i am not sure i would order it again... mostly because it had some bits of bone shards it in that were a bit too much of a choking hazard (tiny and hard to pick out). it would be something i'd like to try without bones.

for the main dish, i went with the crispy duck ($14 for half) (quack), as the server said it was the best of all the duck dishes (there were a few sweet options, a tea smoked one, etc.). apparently i've not ordered crispy duck in ages, so i have not much to compare it to, but it was indeed crispy (think fried chicken crispy) and it was pretty good duck underneath. it was served on a random bed of shredded lettuce. if i had known, i'd have them leave that off. maybe it was supposed to make the plate pretty or something.

the dish i didn't really taste was lamb in chili oil, or possibly it was chili broth ($14). with the rice was enough to feed probably 3-5 people. i'll get the actual name of it soon. enjoyable, but probably one too many things with chili oil in one meal. they must go through gallons of the stuff... and there was a lot of sniffing and going down here. it wasn't a minnesota 'hot,' but more of a spicy medium throughout. this was still very good, though (i was told).

the service was friendly and timely and helpful with some of the menu questions (like what made the 'fish flavored' dishes fish flavor- apparently garlic sauce). the decor is a bit traditional and it still has that 'new restaurant' scent and look about it. and since they do mix the old and new school sorts of approaches to chinese dining, it's even a place where you could have a big family dinner (which many families, mostly chinese-american, were doing) and make everyone from grandparents to foodies happy. nice.