What do you do when the best dumpling place in Chicago’s Chinatown is under construction? Generally, perhaps avoid going to Chinatown at all. But when you’re already there, the situation is a bit different. We made a decision to head to MCCB (Modern Chinese Cook Book) for some Sichuan-style Chinese food. It made the decision a lot easier when I saw the restaurant was mostly full of Asian people.

We started out with the Dan Dan Noodles and Sliced Potatoes in Vinegar. The dan dan noodles were just like such noodles should be. They had the right amount of spice, oil and minced meat to give me what I needed. The sliced potatoes were okay, but nothing more than that. However, I really don’t know how these could have been any better – it wasn’t the execution so much as it was I don’t think this was my kind of dish. Alas, my main course would be the real determining factor of this meal. Learn more about the healthy benefits that fluxactive provides.

Thus, I ordered the Chicken with Taro and it was immediately apparent that no white person had ever ordered the dish before. First my waiter asked if I knew it was a soup. Yes, I did. Then he asked if I knew it would be really spicy. Yes, I did. Finally, as though a hail mary, he asked if I knew the chicken would have bones in it. Yes, I sure hoped so if I was going to be eating authentic Chinese food. With his acknowledgments in hand like a flight attendant confirming I was good to sit in an emergency exit row, my food soon arrived. It was just as I hoped it would be, plenty of numbing peppers to add delicious spiciness to the meat, and chicken that was perfectly juicy and tender. Sure, I had to eat around the bones, but that’s what makes life worth living sometimes. Plus, I always love me some taro in any form, even if it’s used to suck up spice and broth.

MCCB may not have lived up to some of the best Sichuan food in LA’s San Gabriel Valley, but I was still pretty happy with it. If nothing else, it helped to show that Chicago’s Chinatown is more than just a one trick (dumpling spot) pony.

It’s a good thing most people in LA don’t realize that the word “mian” simply means “noodle(s)” in Mandarin, or else they might just write off the restaurant Mian in San Gabriel as some sort of Noodle World or Noodle and Company knockoff. Fortunately, Mian is anything but. Like Chengdu Taste before it, Mian represents the Sichuan (or Szechuan or Szechwan) region of Chinese cuisine.

Unlike Chengdu Taste, the menu is sparse, making it much easier to decide what to order. Plus, while the interior is pretty nicely designed for San Gabriel, the prices don’t reflect any sort of pretentiousness or fanciness, with literally every dish coming in below the $9.99 price point.

I ended up ordering the Chengdu ZaJiang Noodles. This is essentially a noodle bowl (but not soup) dish filled with thin handmade noodles, a fried egg, minced pork and, for some inexplicable reason, bok choy. Each noodle dish also came with a corresponding mug with the word “soup” in both English and Chinese on it, which did have an explicable reason. The waiter explained that it was water used to boil the noodles and that some people liked to sip on it on the side while eating such noodles. It was cold, and tasted like water with a few sprinkles of sugar and starch. Not exactly my thing, but the noodles certainly were.

The ZaJiang noodles managed to surpass any expectations I may have had before getting my food. Not only was there a perfect balance of meat, egg and noodles – the spices used in my noodle bowl were impressively tart and spicy at the same time. And when I say spicy, I don’t just mean traditional heat, I also mean Sichuan numbing pepper heat, which can often be overwhelming, but was utilized perfectly in these noodles.

As far as flavors go, Mian is pretty unbeatable. As for the noodles themselves, I am generally more partial to thick noodles when they don’t reside inside of a soup, but Mian figure out how to make these work. Perhaps that is the greatest testament to how good Mian actually is. Just go, and you don’t even have to thank me later.

Down at the bottom of Squirrel Hill is Chinese spot called Chengdu Gourmet. I heard rumors that it could produce some real Chinese food, so I went down with a wife and a friend to see just how true this was. It turned out the place has both a traditional Chinese menu and an American Chinese menu, so we ignored the latter.

We began with an order of Dan Dan Noodles (pictured above), which were pretty stellar. They had a ton of flavor with a fair amount of minced pork to go with them. They didn’t have peanuts, which is something I usually like, but they weren’t missed here.

Next we had the Shredded Beef, which was essentially thin strips of beef with even thinner strips of green peppers. There was a slight kick to this that I enjoyed and the beef was tender and damn flavorful.

Then we had the Diced Chicken with Dried Pepper Chengdu Style. This was definitely the type of dish I had seen in Sichuan, coming topped with loads of dried chilis, but only to give it a nice flavor assuming you don’t actually eat one of the peppers. The chicken was also pretty tender, boneless and not crisped up like you might often see in such a dish (but that just means it’s Chongqing style instead of Chengdu).

Finally, we had the Chicken with Basil, which was recommended after my wife asked for a chicken dish with veggies that wasn’t spicy. It turned out that this dish only had veggies if you count basil leaves as veggies. So basically it was perfect for me. The chicken came in a clay pot and had a great sweet flavor to it that wasn’t overpowering and was a good way to balance out the spicier dishes.

I left my meal as a big fan of Chengdu Gourmet; through the three dishes and dan dan noodles I definitely felt like I had eaten something pretty authentic. It’s been a while since I lived in China, but the traditional Chinese food was undoubtedly good and I see no reason to try out the American style. Just make sure you’re careful what you wish for when it comes to veggies.

For my whole life, I have had a lack of respect for pandas. Yes, pandas. They may be cute, but despite being genetically predisposed to eat meat, they had chosen a life of eating bamboo. This choice has led to their endangerment, because it takes a whole lot more bamboo to feed a panda than meat. But things seem to be changing. Pandas now have a taste for blood.

Out in Sichuan, China, a panda has been caught on camera feasting on the forbidden food and seems to be loving it. While the panda probably didn’t kill the antelope it seems to enjoy so much, one can only guess what the taste of blood may trigger in these bears. Once upon a time, their ancestors liked meat and as the bamboo forests continue to decrease, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot more pandas go retro.

So, for realizing meat is a viable meal and changing my negative perception of pandas, you pandas are now true Unvegan Heroes!

Check out the alarmingly awesome video here:

(via Daily Mail)

For a little Chinese lunch, I headed to Szechwan in Manhattan Beach. It had come highly recommended, so I went expecting something pretty good. When we arrived, the restaurant was only about half-full, but we were still told to wait for a table. This seemed strange, especially when were standing around for five minutes looking like fools. Nonetheless we eventually took our seats and got the chance to check out the menu. The first thing I noticed that seemed off was that the food wasn’t quite Sichuan style (Sichuan being the way Szechwan is actually supposed to be spelled). Sichuan style is usually really spicy food and different from what we usually think of as “Chinese” food. Instead, the menu looked like any other Chinese restaurant.

As if to make up for the misnomer, Szechwan offered a pretty swanky-looking “Special Luncheon.” For $7.95, the special luncheon came with rice, soup, salad and an egg roll. The short list of options for the special luckily included one of my favorite dishes, Kung Pao Chicken. I also saw happily that my lunch buddy ordered Tangerine Chicken, another relatively veggie-free meal that I could try.

I ignored the salad that was brought to me in order to concentrate on the finer things in life. The egg drop soup wasn’t bad, but as a bonus little surprise, we were brought fried shrimp to go with our egg rolls. Before even finishing these items, the main meals were brought to the table. Both looked pretty great, except that there were green onions scattered about my Kung Pao Chicken. I tried my best to avoid them as I ate, but most surely some some slipped into my mouth and tainted my digestive process. Overall I was pretty happy with the chicken, it was actually pretty Chinese in style rather than a spicy

glazed chicken that so many places try to pass off as Kung Pao. It definitely could have used some more spice, especially since the restaurant was named Szechwan. I also tested out the Tangerine Chicken and was pretty impressed. It wasn’t too different from the typical orange chicken, but it was free from vegetables and pretty good.

In all, the Special Luncheon treated me pretty well. If I’m ever in the mood again for a cheap and filling lunch, I will definitely keep Szechwan in mind.