Years ago, the running joke around town was that the best Chinese food in Portland required a drive to Boston, which actually held some weight until Empire Chinese Kitchen brought its take on traditional Cantonese cuisine to the city in 2013. Then came Bao Bao’s addictive dumplings just one year later, a second venture for Cara Stadler after her success with the exceptional Tao Yuan in Brunswick. Suffice to say that things have improved, but also that there are a number of provincial Chinese cuisines that are completely unrepresented in Maine, and lots of ground left to cover.
Sichuan Kitchen has stayed busy since opening in January.
Opening last winter to warm reception, Sichuan Kitchen has been a much needed addition to the fold, offering up a slew of dishes from Southwest China that will be entirely new to many Mainers.
A true family affair, owner Qi Shen opened quietly on January 1st, 2017 with the help of a small staff and her father Shang Wei Shen, who is largely responsible for both the cooking and the recipes (a new chef moving to Maine from Southwest China is expected to take over for Shen shortly after this review goes to print). Bright, clean and decidedly casual, the space is both warm and approachable — not unlike Qi and her staff, who’ve replaced early service hiccups and timing issues with a noticeable attention to detail and helpful guidance for the uninitiated.
Everything on the menu at Sichuan Kitchen is designed to be shared once it reaches the table, which means there’s really no wrong way to order. The restaurant’s signature Zhong dumplings — pork loin bundled in a toothsome wrapper, steamed to perfection and served atop an aromatic garlic and chili sauce — shine as a starter. Fragrant, smoky and laden with warming spice, they are perhaps the best introduction to the cuisine of Chengdu (the capital of China’s Sichuan province).
The sweet and spicy Yu-xiang eggplant dish
Sliced beef in chili sauce is melt-in-your-mouth tender and supported by fiery numbing spice, with a slight funk that gives way to clean herbal notes and a burst of cilantro. If a beef dish could ever be “refreshing” while simultaneously setting the taste buds ablaze, it exists in this offering.
Meat is certainly well-represented here, but this is not to say that the vegetable dishes at Sichuan Kitchen aren’t standouts, too. Sichuan cucumber salad performs a similar function to the sliced beef in chili sauce, adding a cooling contrast to the meal that kicks with just enough garlic and chili to rebalance the palate. The slippery, entirely unique texture of cloud ear mushroom salad is worth the price of admissions alone, yet plays second fiddle to the depth of flavor and burst of umami that comes along with each bite. Yu-xiang eggplant is altogether sweet, spicy, tangy and warming, skillfully blurring the cultural lines of comfort food and home cooking.
The second half of the menu is loaded with classic large-format dishes of the region, from the strong, assertively rich flavors of pork in sweet bean sauce to the deeply satisfying Sichuan noodle soup with roast pork — possibly the city’s best lunch option on a chilly afternoon. Mapo tofu warms both body and soul, silky and absolutely built for the Maine winter. Dry-fried chicken is an homage to the region’s málà dichotomy, equal parts numbing and spicy thanks to a showering of red chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. Double-cooked pork is sweet, salty, tender and perfect, co-mingled with a veritable garden of leeks and mushrooms.
If there’s a “best” dish at Sichuan Kitchen, it’s got to be the Sichuan poached fish. Filets of Swai — a river-farmed catfish native to Southeast Asia — are gently poached in a hellfire broth of more chilis and peppercorns, finished with a generous portion of yellow bean sprouts throughout. The fish flakes beautifully and is mild in flavor, serving as a blank slate for the vicious, yet spot-on spice levels. Rich, incendiary and impossible to find elsewhere in Maine, it’s a must-try for those who are new to Sichuan cuisine.
Coming up on its first anniversary, Sichuan Kitchen appears to have fully addressed the timing and service issues experienced early on — largely the result of learning how to own and operate a restaurant in real-time. Nothing can change the fact that it’s the best introduction to Sichuan cuisine within 100 miles from here, and with a new chef on the way, 2018 should prove to solidify Sichuan Kitchen as an important part of Portland’s dining community.
Sichuan Kitchen | 612 Congress St., Portland | Sun-Wed 11:30 am-9 pm; Thu-Sat 11:30 am-10 pm | www.sichuankitchenportland.com
