Chilli and spice & everything nice

With a few overseas guests in town, today was going to be a food marathon... after an awesome dim sum brunch, we headed for dinner at San Xi Lou (7/F, Coda Plaza, 51 Garden Road, Mid-Levels Central, Hong Kong). I had long wanted to try the place (seems I am on a mission to test all the Sichuan joints in town...), which has an outstanding reputation in chilli-addicted circles and beyond. We arrived to find the place jam-packed with happy and slightly rowdy diners, eagerly tucking at various hot-pots and other bright-red dishes. The warm and meaty smell of chillies and Sichuan peppercorns that greets you as you pass the door lets you know immediately that you are in good hands and that the food is going to be gorgeous. And it was. Overall, the chillies were used very skillfully, and the level of heat was highly manageable. The menu also features quite an extensive range of non-spicy dishes; the ones we tried were very tasty and warranted second helpings. Considering the quality and quantity of food, the bill came out rather on the cheap side, making the place outstanding value for money. I would very warmly recommend the place to anyone in need of a chilli fix... and everyone else.

Appetizers: marinated chilli beef and marinated chilli deep-fried tofu

The beef was particularly tasty, while the tofu had soaked up the spice like a sponge... delish.

Mouth-watering chicken (aka saliva chicken)

A staple of Sichuan cuisine. Not my favourite type of dish due to the presence of chopped-up bones, but the chicken was tender and the sauce very flavourful. Someone pass me a piece of baguette to dip in... :o)

Ma Po Tofu

An all-time favourite of mine. This version was interestingly different - less spring onion and sauce than at Yu Chuan, not as meaty as Yunyan's or as spicy as Da Ping Huo's. I guess each restaurant has its own spice mix, and this version veered on the Sichuan peppercorn side of the scale. Delicious.

Stri-fried beef with celery

This was one of the non-spicy dishes and was absolutely delish. Tasty, tender beef and fresh, clean celery flavours in a sauce full of umami. Yum!

Stir-fried runner beans and ground pork

Another non-spicy dish, packed with flavours thanks to a liberal use of garlic and spring onions. Very good.

Stir-fried pig's small tripe with chillies

This was wonderful. The thick tripe slices were crispy on the outside, bouncy on the inside, and quite fatty with a strong and pungent porky flavour. We had to fish them from under a pile of dried and fresh chillies, garlic, scallions and ginger. Delish.

Noodles in chilli and peanut sauce

This was medium-spicy and was so delicious we proceeded to order a second bowl straight away. The noodles looked hand-made and had retained some bite despite being rather thin. The sauce was packed with chilli-nutty flavours. Simple and beautiful.

Almond cream

Nice flavour but the texture was a failure - instead of the usual thin threads, the egg white had coagulated in rather large bland lumps that were a bit unpleasant to eat.

Fermented rice soup with fresh fruit and osmanthus

Very fruity and fragrant with a touch of acidity, a very nice way to cool down after all that spice...

Tofu and ginger sugar

I particularly enjoyed the light texture and fresh flavour of the hand-made tofu.

Black sesame rice dumplings in ginger soup

The ginger soup was a bit on the sweet side but the dumplings were very delish, with a particularly fragrant and creamy black sesame paste filling and a bouncy texture.