Although the words greasy, oily and fatty are often associated with American Chinese restaurants, these words do not describe the food at Sichuan Garden. Despite its casual ambiance, Sichuan Garden offers a fine dining experience.
The menu is split into nine different sections: speciality, Sichuan province delicacies and appetizers, soups, Sichuan Garden chef’s signature, poultry, meats, seafood, vegetables, rice and noodle dishes. The spicy foods are marked with a red chili pepper. We had one vegan in our party, and even he could choose from a wide variety of available dishes.
Our appetizers included the Chicken Corn Egg Drop soup ($2.95). Its unique corn base added an unexpected sweetness.
Crab Rangoon ($7.25) and Sichuan Pork Dumplings with Roasted Chili Vinaigrette sauce ($5.50) arrived soon after. The Crab Rangoon’s triangle shape appeared especially novel, since most Chinese restaurants tend to make them in a cup form. Though the outside had too much dough, a well-proportioned cream cheese and crab filling balanced out the flavor. The pork dumplings also received praise for the contrast between their crisp interior and tender filling. Most importantly, the dish was not excessively oily.
As a side to our entrees, we ordered the House Special Fried Rice ($7.95). More than your average bowl of white rice, this dish mixed rice with chopped white onion, bright red beef and shrimp. This side order packed enough flavor that it could have stood as its own dish.
A favorite, the Chengdu Dry Hot chicken ($13.95), consisted of chicken coated with a crispy orange sauce over the meat. The flavor had a dryness to it, as the name suggests, though not so dry that it was tasteless. Throughout the dish, peppers were scattered alongside the chicken, which provided the dish with a slightly spicy punch.
However, the Chengdu Dry Hot Chicken was only slightly spicier than your normal chicken. Sichuan province is commonly known for food that burns your mouth, yet dishes that failed to provide enough heat included the Sautéed Beef Filets with Spicy Tea Flavored Sauce ($12.50), the Shredded Beef with Cayenne Chili ($7.95) and the Sichuan Pork Dumpling with Roasted Chili Vinaigrette. This, however, was the only way in which the food failed to meet our expectations.
By the time all our dishes had arrived, the restaurant had begun to fill with large groups of people. The majority were college students. Our side of the restaurant, however, remained relatively empty, apart from one young couple, which had to endure the noise created at our 10-member table.
Sichuan Garden does not bring to Brookline the fast-food-like cuisine we have come to consider Chinese food, but rather the intense flavors of real China in a casual package, fit for large groups of adventurous eaters.
Sichuan Garden
295 Washington St
Brookline, MA 02446
617-734-1870
Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m. – 11 p.m. Sun 12 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Ayan Noyan and Jennifer Sun can be contacted at [email protected].
