Chinese Culinary Arts Class #5 - Golden Szechuan Restaurant on Broadway

On Monday, our Chinese Culinary Arts Class met for our fifth meeting (and fourth restaurant meal) at the Golden Szechuan Restaurant (101-1788 West Broadway, 604 738-3648). Unlike the Golden Great Wall Szechuan Restaurant, the Golden Szechuan actually specializes in Szechuan food!

We had the following:

• Sparerib soup in soya bean paste (Pai gu dou tang)
• Double-cooked pork (Hui guo rou)
• Ma po tofu (Ma Po doufu)
• Smoked duck Szechuan Style (Zhang cha ya)
• Spicy pork in eggplant (Yu xiang qiezi)
• Big fish head with chili pepper (Duo jiao yu tou)
• Dan dan noodles (Dan dan mian)
• Wonton in spicy sauce (Hongyou chao shou)
• Sesame filled rice balls in rice wine (tian pin)

I liked the ma po tofu but, surprisingly it wasn't my favourite. The flavours were good but it would have been better with the heat 'cranked up a notch'! I like this dish to be spicier and prefer the ma po tofu recipe we make at home.

My favourites of the night were the double cooked pork (wonderful chili and meaty combination especially after our teacher sent it back for some spicing up!), Dan dan noodles (wonderful sesame and chili flavour with sesame nuts; I am definitely coming back for this one) and the duck (unusual and delicious smokey tea flavour).

We'll be back for a mini-review but, until then, here are some pictures:

Double cooked pork

Smoked duck Szechuan Style

Dan dan noodles