Quality authentic Asian cuisine with a beer selection you won't find at other similar restaurants. This location is actually a house with many rooms, giving it a cozy, homelike feel.
The twice cooked fish is a must get. Other solid choices includes the hot dry beef and cellophane noodles. Egg plant is very tasty and the sea cucumber is also worth ordering.
Ran continues to shine tending to his bar and keeps the drink menu rotating on a regular basis. We come back every few weeks to sample what's new; quieter nights are much more fun when you can interact with staff and get the utmost of attention. Looking forward to continued visits and sampling the summer drinks!
Review Source:This is a fantastic bar that serves Sichuan food as bar food :-) My bf discovered the bartender, Ran Duan on various cocktail blogs (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcocktailvirgin.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F12%2Fdomo-arigato.html&s=096effca79eb4e82d3e492acf4a154c062820fb9d12b6a2b2f1e7ccb6a1078ec" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://cocktailvirgin.bl…</a>) and was eager to make the drive out to Woburn, MA to meet the legend. We rented a zipcar on a Friday night and got there around 7:30. The restaurant is in the middle of the suburbs and so even though it was a Friday night, there was plenty of seating. We sat at the bar and were fully welcomed by Ran and his team.
Along with being super knowledgeable about cocktails, Ran is incredibly hospitable. I had glanced at the restaurant's website and had wanted to try this cocktail called "Nobody but you" which had cranberry shrub, blueberry infused gin, st. germane, and some chili to kick it up. The cocktail menu is continuously changing and so they weren't offering the cocktail anymore but if you name them a base spirit and a brief description of what kind of cocktail you're looking for, they'll whip something spectacular for you! The great thing about this bar is that they offer some very unique spirits including maple infused vermouth. When we were sitting at the bar, my boyfriend noticed another patron drinking a Hoppy Topper. I'm not as knowledgeable about beer as my bf is but apparently according to beer advocate and rate beer, it is one of the best beers in the world (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbeeradvocate.com%2Fbeer%2Fprofile%2F27039%2F16814%2F%3Fba%3Dbros&s=93958a69d3ace64eaac4dbb674bd0992f0f0b29d2b4c8597c0c5f034f4c72eff" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://beeradvocate.com/…</a>) <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ratebeer.com%2Fbeer%2Falchemist-heady-topper%2F32329%2F&s=fc45cec30cedbd5570864a09c2d96bdfeb41afcd7611815d7ad0cf41a1e921a3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.ratebeer.com/…</a>
A regular customer drives up to Montreal once every 6 weeks and so on the way up, he'll usually pick up a few cases for Ran. My bf had to seize the opportunity to try it and to him, the Hoppy Topper was the cherry on top of a spectacular cocktail night. For beer snobs, the Hoppy Topper is similar to Bell's Hopslam Ale <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbeeradvocate.com%2Fbeer%2Fprofile%2F287%2F17112&s=5d955a6b74efa4fbd89a78269d9df6a9e476a05ec444d36569e7de984d53a0be" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://beeradvocate.com/…</a>
For food, we ordered from the Sichuan menu a fish dish and a chicken dish, two hot & sour soups, a bowl of rice, and some soup dumplings. The Sichuan dishes were amazing! Full of spices and mouthfuls of meat! The soup dumplings weren't spectacular but are great as a small dish for the bar. Additionally, I saw a bunch of people enjoying their Dan Dan noodles and wings.
We look forward to coming back here. It's great to leave the city once in awhile and to go to a place where the bartender does a superb job with everything that passes through his hands but is unpretentious and down-to-earth. Thanks Ran and the team for a great night out!
Good atmosphere. Good food with plenty of options and specials. Service was not that great. For some reason one of our entrees came out 5 minutes before the rest of the food. But our waiter DID take the time to help one of the more adventurous of our party to pick out a dish. I've also had takeout here before and would like to reiterate that the food is always delicious.
Review Source:When there's a contest on beer bottle that expires Aug of 2012, you know the beer ain't that fresh. I searched high and low.. and found that my bottle of Miller Light has a stamp of Sept 17, 2012. Now that 12 ounces has been sitting in my digestive track for a few hours now that it is 1:15AM 2/21/13. No toilet action yet, phew!
We ordered 3 dishes and 1 app. Only one dish actually came out temperature hot. The other dishes came out luke warm. The supposedly 15 minute cook time of steam pork dumplings came out only warm though the server said he took it from the take out order to give to us first. Sometimes, I just wonder if I should ever believe what servers tell me. They also served some kick ass white rice that was not fresh.
The service was lacking. The server came into the dining area three times while we were waiting for out meal to be cooked and still didn't bother refilling the tea pot. Yes, I know he saw the teapot lid flipped out. OK fine, you don't want to serve me then I don't want to tip you 20%. He must have read my mind cuz after finishing our meal for 10 minutes, he has not stopped by at all. We sent Mr. Charming out to go fetch the server to close our tab. I can tell you one thing Mr. Server is quick on - getting me change so he can get his tips when I left the table.
I will stick to the Brookline location from now on.
Another delicious dinner last night - the pork with baby garlic sprouts are back in season and as good as they were last year. My wife and daugher LOVE the Ma Paul tofu and, while the Chengdu chicken is my long time favorite, the ChongQing Hot Dry Chicken is even better. The bar menu has a Hot Dry Beef that may be a new favorite.
Best of all are the cocktails - Ran and Mickey are artists and consistantly please us.
If you want an authentic and delicious meal with well balanced spice and flavor you will certainly return regularly to this wonderful restaurant.
OMG!! Â This was the worst Chinese meal we have had in year's.
We picked this establishment from the rave reviews on Yelp (which has never let us down). We were at the Woburn Cinema and wanted a good Chinese restaurant after a movie. Â The dismal food was compounded by totally desultory and confused service. We don't know where all those 5-star reviews come from, but it must have been a totally different kitchen and service staff. Â Or maybe there are some fans of certain exotic dishes there. Â But that doesn't make up for the negatives of the overall performance.
We have eaten Sichuan food in restaurants all over the country and never had worse. Â Just to illustrate with a description of one dish: moo shi chicken, the most straightforward item to expect any Sichuan restaurant to get right. The pancakes were standard central-supply version, but they were the best part of a repulsive dish. Â The veggies were haphazardly chopped, and totally over-loaded with salt. The flavor was truly "off". Â We didn't finish it, and still were left with an awful aftertaste for an hour. Â The other dishes were greasy and presented in the most unappetizing manner imaginable - brown lumps on a plate. Â
Meanwhile, as we waited through the slow service (even though there were few customers) we were the empathetic observers of a very patient couple at another table who had to ask repeatedly for the wonton soup they had ordered for their toddler, only to be told by the dour waitress each time "sorry", and yet having to ask again 5-minutes later. Finally, as they were half-way through their meal they politely asked her to cancel the by-now-pointless soup order, and she gave them an argument "but the soup is prepared for you and ready!". Â We had the same waitress and had to practically trip her to get her attention to give is our check. Â
The coda on this story was full GI cleansing ( to put it politely) for each of us on the following day.
Never again!
This place is amazing. I absolutely love everything about this place. I moved to the area about a year and a half ago and ever since stumbling upon this establishment, I've tried to go there as often as I can.
The menu is great, the staff is very friendly, and the bartender, Ran, is a true artist. Drinks are always changing and they are constantly trying new things and I have yet to be unimpressed. I had even made plans to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday there last month and Ran was very accomodating to our party and really made it an awesome experience. I can't thank him enough :)
I absolutely love Sichuan Garden and you need to go there.
Stopped in on a whim after attending to some business nearby in Woburn and tried the Hot Dry Beef. Â It was dynamite - little strips of beef wok-fried in oil with slices of garlic, veggies, and the most mind-blowing chiles I've ever tasted. Â I don't know how this happened, but it was just spicy enough that I wanted to keep eating more of it, shoveling it in my mouth like a giant tub of movie theater popcorn. Â
My lips started tingling.  My sinuses cleared.  I began to notice my brow sweating.  Strangely, it wasn't overpoweringly hot, like you would get if you ate a habañero or something.  It was an approachable level of spicy, but the tingling lips were a bonus.  The cumulative effect was that of the finale of the 1812 overture during a 4th of July fireworks show, but in my mouth.  I eat hot sauce on /everything/, and I can honestly say that's never happened before.  Bravo, sirs.
The bar looks pretty sweet too. Â I'll have to go back.
I ordered General Tso, and Sauteed chicken with asparagus with a side of white rice for take-out. Fyi the entrees don't include anything besides whats on the menu ( $12 for 10 regular sized pieces of chicken in a small aluminum tray). My total came to ~$28.
I'd like to elaborate on the General Tso Chicken: upon first sight it's drenched in a thick overly sweet sauce that cakes the chicken together. The batter was partially cooked, and I could taste unfried breading (egg). It has a texture of something that was microwaved, rather squishy and hard to pull apart or chew. I love spicy foods, and this wasn't even mildly spicy.
The chicken with asparagus I thought might make up for the General Tso, however it did not. It came with a watery buttery soup covering the entire tray. The chicken and asparagus tasted salty and slimy.
The white rice was very good, but thats no big achievement for a Chinese place. If you go here, don't get these things or let the pretty building deceive you; even better go somewhere else.
The food is very good, the cocktails are excellent, the atmosphere is interesting, and the service is weird. I say weird because it was certainly prompt enough, and the waiters brought all the right dishes, but perhaps they had not been to waiter school, or at least not in the Western world. You do NOT clear drinks off the table by stuffing one person's not-quite-empty glass in her neighbor's not-quite-empty glass so that you can remove both glasses with one hand. Our waiter did this twice. Also, watch out for those little red peppers and for anything such as a fish dish that we ordered that is spicy and has vinegar. I happened to be the first at our table to serve myself from it and lived to regret it, having a big coughing fit, maybe due to the hot vinegar volatiles or maybe it just went down the wrong way. The dish tasted just fine when I finally recovered.
The Baldwin House, rebuilt in its present form in 1803, is a lovely 3-story Federalist which on the outside has been somewhat lightly "restaurantized" by placing neon signs in a few of the 3rd story windows and hanging 2 Chinese lanterns on the front portico. Yes, it looks odd. Inside it is still a house with smallish rooms and several staircases.This setup is OK but the waiters do have to do a lot of maneuvering around the tables and whipping hither and yon through regular-sized (as in your house) doorways. White tablecloths on every table, though. Acoustics are a bit live, but it does depend on who your neighbors are in your "room". On Saturday night much of the clientele was Chinese, always a good sign that the food is good quality and genuine.
Come here for two things: the burn and the buzz!
- The food was great, as I love that sichuan burn! Â
- The mixologist works absolutely and completely in the name of love and artistry. Â He takes the art of cocktail making to heart and comes up with some creative and delicious concoctions. Â As far as I was concerned, it was a cocktail spot that just happened to serve yummy sichuan food =)
I go here often because it's so close by. I can't attest to any issue of authenticity since I'm not a guru, but this is the type of place I'm surprised to find in Woburn. It's not the typical American-chinese chicken figures/general tso/pork fried rice archetype. I keep trying to expand my horizons but I always end up ordering the same damn thing: Some combination of the shredded beef and peppers, tangerine chicken, braised fish stew, and last but NOT least the pungent fried fish. Thish dish truly impresses me. The sauce is lightly sweet yet tangy, and the fish is perfectly breaded and fried and delivers a crunch with each bite. Dessert is also good...Love the sweet sesame stuff rice balls. The restaurant setup is also unique - I feel like I'm in someone's dining room. I'll keep going for as long as I live in Woburn.
Review Source:Great Chinese food. Excellent for lunch. Every entree comes with a soup and appetizer and all for under 10$
This business is operated in a Victorian style house where the regular restaurant scene is off but still nice and cozy.
The downfall is routine chinese lunch items like fried rice, etc are not included in the lunch menu. But their food is really really good. The rice and meat qualities are so much better compared to many cheap Asian places around there. Always a great try.
Went here for lunch with a large group from lunch.
Interesting building, kinda like a haunted house but I dug the vibes.
We all ordered off lunch special menu which is great value (8$+tip for Soup Choice, Side Choice, Rice Choice and entree)
I got shrimp in Sichuan Chilli Sauce with Hot Sour Soup, Spring Roll, and white rice. Hot & Sour soup was very flavorful and spicey, good way to start the meal. Spring roll was decent, not overly fried/greasy like some I've had. Rice was nice and sticky and well cooked. Wish I got the vegetable fried rice though, its very lightly fried (i.e. healthy fried rice) and those that got it said it was good.
Shrimp in Chilli sauce was tasty, not all that much shrimp, but overall meal portion with sides/price was fair enough. Chilli Sauce was a bit spicey but nothing too crazy, stirfried veggies were good.
Great value for lunch, as someone whos been to china the food is pretty authentic Sichuan (i.e. Szechuan) style.
I can't eat soybean-based products anymore, and that makes dining out kinda difficult. I do try to be reasonable with dining accommodations...like, I wouldn't walk into a Chinese restaurant and expect them to cater to me.
However, I was brought here with a large party and I had some desperate glimmer of hope that they'd help me. And they did. I told them I couldn't eat pretty much any of their sauces because of a soybean allergy and they told me they'd saute anything I wanted without sauce. So, I had some surprisingly tasty shrimp and string beans and the staff here was super cool about making it for me. Mind you, I don't know how they'd act if I weren't with a big party, but it was nice that they acted like it was no skin off their backs rather than treating me like a leper.
The bar really stole the show though. Their bartenders are artists in their own right and once they heard we like bourbon Manhattans and were willing to explore other options, it wasn't long before we had creative Eagle Rare drinks in front of us. Behind us at the party, there were these crafted punches with, like, anise and absynthe and stuff. Just don't walk into this place expecting creme de menthe...who drinks that in April anyway?! (Or at a Chinese restaurant in Woburn, for that matter?)
Oh, and it's in a pretty sweet house with clean bathrooms.
Very uneven. We had a group of five with very different tastes, so we ordered a variety. Here's the run down:
- Dumplings: good - meatier than most
- Scallion pancakes - doughier than I'm used to, but tasty
- Shrimp and noodles - noodles were good, but the shrimp were tiny and tasteless
- Moo Shi pork - Excellent. Probably the best I've ever had
- Beef and broccoli - Way too bland. Meat was flavorless
- Lobster/Scallion and Ginger - This arrived late, was cold, and there was hardly any lobster. Â We got a head, the tail flippers (not the tail itself), one claw, and legs. Â For $24, I expect at least some meat. Â There really was nothing to eat, unless you just like to munch on ginger flavored scallions and shells. This was the weakest dish and the only one we ordered from the "authentic" menu. Â
Disappointing.
Had a great dinner on a Sunday night. Sat at the bar, had the Manhattan and the Regret, both simply phenomenal. Dinner was twice-cooked bacon and the dry chicken - both ridiculously tasty. the chicken is a combination of fried chicken bites, with chilis, and peanuts. It sounds crazy but it works, although a dish you'd want to split with others.
After my drink the bartender (he doesn't like "mixologist", although he's an artist) suggested an off-menu drink based around my choices. Ended up with a lime and gin based drink, very refreshing and matching the food.
Food was great, drinks were amazing, and the ambience was perfect for our date night out. Highly recommended, although that's based on sitting at the bar - we've sat in the dining room before and had a more mediocre experience.
2nd visit, I had the Sichuan flavor chicken with vegetable fried rice. Â Both were perfect. Â Ran recommended a perfect beer to compliment the meal. Â You would not expect a Chinese restaurant to have such a good bar. Â The beer selection is excellent and the drink mixology is an art form here. Â Don't be afraid to let Ran or Jamie pick something unique for you to try.
Sit in the bar area to get the good guidance and have great conversation.
This is the best Chinese place in the vicinity, hands down.
Not only do they have a menu of bar, finger foods that are all the typical Chinese fare but they also have a dinner menu that has real traditional stuff that has never disappointed me. They also have an extensive gourmet drink menu that are basically mini works of art.
 The staff are really nice, as long as your not an idiot and this is probably the only problem with this place.  It's location doesn't do it justice and the locals are...let's just say, not the most intelligent place in the world, which pains me to say because it happens to be my home town.
 Do yourself a favor, get a drink suggestion off of the amazing seasonal drink menu and leave the bud light for Bud Light Brian...
This is from the "where has this restaurant been?" department. About 3 exits away from my hotel sits this converted house that now houses a Chinese restaurant named Shichuan Garden. There's a dive bar area (where I of course sat), and a main dining room. The food was wonderful - the double cooked fresh bacon with spicy capsicum was outstanding, and the pork dumplings were very good.
But by far what stole the show were the cocktails. Yes, this place features a couple of bartenders that really know how to ply their craft. I started out with a cross between a manhattan and a sazerac, which was basically bourbon, Peychaud's bitters, sweet vermouth and an absinthe wash. Very nice. I was going to switch to a beer after that as the entrée was rather spicy, but the bartender, Ran, said he could come up with a cocktail that would work perfectly - and he was right.
My only regret was that I discovered this place the last night I was in town. Next trip I plan on visiting much earlier in the week; and taking a cab so I can enjoy more than two drinks.
We went straight for the authentic Sichuan dishes so couldn't comment on the quality of the typical American Chinese items. Â For things we tried, from simple spicy cold noodles to "water boiled beef", they didn't disappoint. Â
Service was OK, although the waiters seemed to be a bit too eager to move you along. Â One of them - they didn't seem to have a designated server - was quite friendly and chatted with the kids. Â
I like the environment. It's surely atypical, but clean and felt comfortable. Â The history of the house was fun to read on the menu. Â It's a little crammed though, and if you have loud diners in the same cozy dining room (there're several of them), it may spoil your experience a bit. Â Luckily we didn't have that issue. Â The customers were being spread to as many rooms as possible I think.
In short, highly recommended for no frill great Sichuan food experience.
I'm a frequent patron of the "funny house" chinese restaurant. I love chinese food and have traveled to shanghai with the express purpose of shoveling food into my face for two weeks.
This restaurant is the best Chinese food in the Boston area. I have had better at a banquet catered by China Pearl (in Chinatown), but since that was a catered wedding, i can't really compare.
The foods are spicy or flavorful, and all authentic. The ingredients are fresh and distinctive. Last night we ordered a shrimp dish that came with cucumbers soaked in chili oil. The shrimp was steamed and really delicious.
I have taken all kinds of people here : co workers, my parents, dates (not at the same time obv), and everyone can find something to eat, even my fussy nephew.
I love the sichuan peppercorn dishes, especially the bacon. Everything else is awesome. The Lobster doused in garlic ginger sauce is a really nice treat.
I see why a few folks on here were peeved with the service, they were ok, not great, but we got our glasses filled right away (thankful for that!).
The food was tasty ....we ordered from the Chinese menu...Chongqing Chicken and Sichuan Flavored beef....It was CRAZY HOT!!!! Tasty but CRAZY HOT. I can handle heat quite well thank you, but this was different. We ate a bit (considering this was our first meal of the day as we missed breakfast and dinner) we could not eat more than a few bites, we took home the rest (because we desperately needed yogurt) and when i removed the chillies from the Chongqing chicken it could have easily been a whole bag of peppers! I am still not sure if l would get it the next time...like I said Tasty but CRAZY HOT. My stomach kept talking to me the whole night!
This is one of the few places in the US that actually serve authentic Sichuan food. I love Sichuan food and have found that authentic restaurants are really hard to find.
Some of my favorite dishes:
 husband and wife beef (appetizer)
 Kung-pao chicken (you need to order the authentic style)
 Tiger-skin pepper (vegetarian dish, it is somewhat hot)
I don't remember how often I went back for authentic style kung pao chicken at this place.
House fried rice. Its the best here. Not the usual over cooked, dark brown stuff you are used to. Â They add a little pork, egg, veggies and on ingredient I cannot pin down, my guess is tripe. Â Its cooked fresh and done right, that's all there is to it.
There is plenty of other stuff to like here besides the house friend rice, soups are all good. Â A recent dish I had was the beef fillet with shiitake and bamboo shoots, which was delicious. Â There is a lot to like on the menu here, ever time we get food here, we try something new and have never really been disappointed.
The restaurant is in an old house, I am sure it has been a while since it was actually someone's home but it adds for an interesting atmosphere since there are a lot of rooms and not the usual open floor plan. Â The drinks are on the expensive side.
Take-out or sit in, its all good, just get the house friend rice.
Who knew Chinese food could be this good this far out in the burbs?
Oh yeah... the 24 other people who wrote reviews of Sichuan Garden II before me. Â Thank you, fellow Yelpers for steering us to this truly heavenly find. Â
We arrived on a Friday night and saw the parking lot was packed. Â Don't let that deter you, the bar does a lively business and many of the cars you see are there for the cocktails as opposed to the cuisine. Â
The decor of the restaurant is decidely NOT "Chinese Restaurant", but rather "Stately Colonial Inn" Â with hints of Asian splashes. Â We were seated in a lovely room next to an old fireplace and promptly handed menus. The owners son spied my Dining Partner in Crime and myself and asked if we had been to the restaurant before. Â
"No" we replied.
"Can you handle a little heat?" he asked.
He saw the smile that crossed my face and simply said, "I'll be back with the authentic menu.
I have to say, rarely is the occasion where you find yourself in the presence of someone who is truly "in the know" about what you should order AND willing to tell you. Â When you are faced with that situation you should sieze the opportunity and do EXACTLY what you are told. Â
That is EXACTLY what we did.
"What should we order?" was my simple question. Â
The owners son explained that his family hails from Chengdou and that all the recipes found on the special menu are his families recipes and the food he grew up with. Â
Everything we chose was his suggestion.
We started with the fish filet soup with pickled mustard greens. Â A light but spicy chile spiked broth with velvety fresh white fish and greens. Â Perfect for the chilly evening. Â
Next came the Baby Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce, which starts with a pan sear of the eggplant and then left to marinate for several days. Â It's wok-heated and topped with a rich dark garlic sauce and ground meat. Â A real show stopper. Â
Early on I had asked about Xiao Long Bao, which are simply referred to as Sichuan Pork Dumpling.  Typically an appetizer, they are steamed to order and take about 20 minutes to prepare.  Just order them as soon as you sit down.  You will be very happy whenever  they arrive.  Small pork meatballs which create their own soupy goodness when heated all captured inside in an exquisite dumpling wrapper.
Nibble. Slurp. Chew. Savor. Â I've had these elsewhere and they were too big. Â I love the bite size of these. Â Best I've ever had.
We also had the Sichuan Chicken. Â This off-hand name doesn't do it justice. All white meat chicken chunks are panko crusted and flash fried for maximum juiciness and crispiness. Â They are then tossed with de-seeded dried red chiles. peanuts and sesame clusters then the wok is deglazed with Asian wine vinaigrette. Â It's all mixed together and served in a foil lined bamboo basket which allow the vinaigrette to drain and not make the chicken soggy. I love that attention to detail. Â
Finally, we took home some caramelized walnuts just for good measure. Â Sweet, salty, crispy. Â What more could you ask for?
I can count on one hand the number of Chinese restaurants which can compare to this. Â We are still new to Boston so maybe we will find something else we like as much, but I seriously doubt I'll find something I like better.
I haven't even BEEN to this place, but my friends brought in their takeout and I was floored.
Good Chinese food in New England? Â I thought this was impossible. Â Keep in mind that I have insanely high standards when it comes to American Chinese food, though, being a native New Yorker. Â Chinese restaurants here have no idea what Mixed Soup is (egg drop broth with wontons) as I learned when I came up here for college more than a decade ago.
My friends in Woburn raved about this place, so I checked out their menu online. Â We ordered a whole bunch of dishes, but mine was the perennial favorite: cellophane noodles with chicken. Â It was super spicy (which I LOVE) and the noodles were addictive.
I heard that this place is in a mansion and saw it on the drive home that night. Â I'm excited that this restaurant is here because it brings new hope to my (now formerly) shattered opinion of New England Chinese food.
I used to argue with my friend Jennifer H. about food. Â Well, it wasn't really arguing, it was more like, I wasn't sure whether to trust her judgment. Â
That ended with finality when I encountered Chef Peter Chang. Â She'd suggested that I tried Peter Chang's restaurant several times while he was based in DC, but I never did. Â Yet somehow, I serendipitously ended up at the restaurant where he was working in Atlanta a couple years later and was completely blown away. Â I didn't even know who he was at the time.
But after a little snooping, I found out that he'd moved from DC without either of us knowing.
Well... no more doubting. Â She said that it was amongst the best she'd ever had, and I then saw why.
Needless to say, when she recommended Sichuan Garden II, I was much more likely to believe her rave review. Â So I went, happily and was mightily satisfied.
From the Mapo Tofu, intestines, fish, Four Season green beans, Kungpao chicken... Â I enjoyed all of it thoroughly.
Tastes were excellent with tonnes of peppercorn.
While I prefer Peter Chang, this was an excellent meal. Â The decor was very interesting; the converted house reminded me more of the venues that I know in Beijing and Shanghai, than restaurants in the States... which shouldn't be a surprise, come to think of it.
Great place... eat up!
The best Chinese food I have found on the Eastern Seaboard (and believe me, I grew up eating my way up and down the country)! Â From the moment you walk in to this charming colonial home you are made to feel like family. Â The waitstaff is friendly and welcoming and always especially cheerful at the sight of a repeat customer. Â Be sure to ask for the "special menu" along with the regular menu - it tends to only be given to those who speak Chinese unless you specify otherwise, but this little piece of laminated paper contains some of the best, most authentic dishes you will ever try.
With so many delicious items to try, we always order 4 or 5 things, plus some version of noodles and Sichuan Garden's amazing fried rice, to share amongst 4 or 5 of us (besides, who doesn't LOVE leftovers for lunch the next day?!?). Â We have made it through a fair portion of the menu at this point, and I have yet to have something I wouldn't be excited to enjoy again.
June 23, 2008 update - Absolute cold dish/appetizer: Chicken with Sichuan peppers. It is loaded with numbing pepper and spice. Goes perfect with the house Pinot Grigio (during lunch - yeah).
Back in the top tier of authentic Sichuan food. I have been frequenting this place for years (including its original location in Brookline). Most of the time it was great, but there was a time when the chef wasn't up to task. Now, after at least a dozen visits over the past few months, it has been consistently fantastic. Dan Dan Mien, double-cooked fish and/or bacon are my favorites. Water-boiled beef is great.
Close to what I recall from my two trips to Chengdu last year.
It was my first time here.. and I was pleasantly surprised. Â The restaurant is actually an older home that has been renovated. Â Plenty of parking.
The food was pretty good.. very authentic from what I have been told (and very spicy). Â We tried the tripe appetizer which was just as good as I have had at other places. Â We also tried the beef in spicy sauce.. whoah.. that was spicy! Â And I also had a Chinese okra dish that was pretty good but a bit overpriced.
I would definetely recommend going if you're out in that neighborhood and don't feel like heading to the city.
EDIT: Â So I went here again today and the service was horrible! Â Not only that.. their noodle dishes.. well at least their seafood noodle soup was really bad. Â I could make so much better myself. Â The seafood was basically salad shrimp. Â Seriously?! Â And I had the green beans with bamboo shoots.. but it was more like just green beans. Â I was pretty dissapointed this time.
So for me.. they lost a star. Â You have to be really careful what you pick.. not all dishes are winners.
UPDATE: 4-2-08:
Had lunch here a few times but last week was the last. I got a lunch combo and the hot & sour soup a LUMP of black pepper in it. The lump was a size of a small strawberry, me thinking it was a hunk of pork, ate it. Nasty! Minus 1 star.
Located very close to where I work so I stopped here while on a fast lunch to get some take out.
First impressions:
Easy parking, and great location.
Beautiful mansion with a gracious entry surrounded by water fountains and flower urns.
The luncheon special (7.99) was very very good. I had the chicken with peanuts and chile's. VERY SPICY and loaded with real chile's. It came with hot and sour soup which was also very good but loaded with black pepper. The spring roll was fresh and not greasy. I really enjoyed the vegetable fried rice which was light and not heavy.
I will definatly come back  here  as they have a very appealing menu.
Ate here for the first time last night, desperately craving Chinese food. Â First off, it's housed in the Baldwin Mansion, a large, pretty colonial home in Woburn. Â Unfortunately, it's also right off Rte 128 / I-95, which contributes a fair bit of traffic noise. Â However, the old home provides a variety of small dining rooms, and there is a decent-looking, well-stocked bar on one side. Â
So far, we've only tried 4 dishes, but they were all good. Â I had hot and sour soup, which was very good, and my husband had crab rangoon to start, which were lovely and crisp. Â Then, being in the mood for something "traditional" (read: Â traditional American Chinese takeout), I ordered Kung Pao chicken, while my husband tried something off the Chef's Signature list, Stir Fried Prawns in some sort of sauce. Â I have to say, the Kung Pao was just fine, but the prawns (shrimp to us Yanks) were delicious- next time I'm definitely going for a "Signature" dish!
I didn't peruse the wines available but the beer selection was limited mainly to basic American stuff (Budweiser, Sam Adams) and Tsingtao. Â There were some cocktails at reasonable prices, and I tried a Manhattan, which was pretty awful.
Prices were reasonable; some items were more expensive than you may be used to seeing in the average take-away joint, but I'm gonna hedge my bets and say the quality is probably a lot better. Â I'll update my post if we try more dishes!
I think it would be a good place to bring a large group, you could take over one of the rooms. Â We'll have to try their take-out, but I think part of what made the food extra-good was the piping hot temperature and crispiness of the fried appetizer.
*4/3/07 We have since tried a few more dishes, including Chengdu Wonton in Broth (very nice, and they gave us a HUGE takeout portion), Chef's Ma Paul Tofu (more on the liquid sauce-y side, spicy and good), Sauted String Beans with Chengdu City Spices (good, a wee bit greasy), and another shrimp dish (think it was  Sauted Prawns with Spicy Garlic Sauce- excellent).  Very fast, friendly takeout service.
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