Grand Sichuan House

Fine meal last week - the duck with string beans was wonderful as always, featuring their tea smoked duck), the miraculous sauteed chinese broccoli, a Chengdu aromatic fish dish, pieces of fish braised in a peppery and fragrant broth, the mung bean noodle in spicy sauce (cold), also the cold chicken. First try with the cumin beef - companions liked it I thought it was one-dinensional, too much...+READ Fine meal last week - the duck with string beans was wonderful as always, featuring their tea smoked duck), the miraculous sauteed chinese broccoli, a Chengdu aromatic fish dish, pieces of fish braised in a peppery and fragrant broth, the mung bean noodle in spicy sauce (cold), also the cold chicken. First try with the cumin beef - companions liked it I thought it was one-dinensional, too much flavor of roasted cumin, nothing else. Ma po tofu, ordered without pork was disappointing rendition. Plenty of chile and peppercorn heat present where appropriate in dishes.

Friendly welcome, glad to see they are still turning it out-COLLAPSE / REPLY (121 Replies) (by jen kalb, created January 4, 2012)

We get to Grand Sichuan House at least once a month and our last visit was this Friday. The chengdu dumplings, fresh sliced pork, and chicken with spicy capsicum were all as good as ever. Our meal last month was also very good.

Our visits are all on Friday or Saturday nights. Maybe that's a factor? REPLY (73 Replies) (by Bob Martinez, created December 12, 2011)

I haven’t posted about this place since last March. That’s not because we haven’t been back, we’ve gone 5 or 6 times since then. And it’s not because it’s not great – it continues to be one of our favorite Sichuan restaurants in the city, including Manhattan and Queens. Chalk it up to laziness.

All our old favorites continue to shine (see my earlier posts for recommendations) but one of the...+READ I haven’t posted about this place since last March. That’s not because we haven’t been back, we’ve gone 5 or 6 times since then. And it’s not because it’s not great – it continues to be one of our favorite Sichuan restaurants in the city, including Manhattan and Queens. Chalk it up to laziness.

All our old favorites continue to shine (see my earlier posts for recommendations) but one of the luxuries of repeat visits is giving in to our inclination to try different things and find new favorites.

Cured Pork w. Garlic Shoots – a nice change from the double cooked sliced pork. Assertively flavored and slightly chewy. Worth checking out.

Sautéed Fresh Sliced Pork – the picture doesn’t do it justice. This is really good, robustly spiced without being overwhelming. More bacony than their usual pork belly dishes – in my book that’s a good thing.

Braised beef with chili sauce – It took us awhile to figure out that when this dish comes to the table it needs to be thoroughly mixed since a lot of the spices are on the surface. If you don’t do that the first few bites will be overwhelming. A few stirs distributes the spices evenly and the result is fantastic. The spicing is aggressive but not over the top. There’s plenty of heat but the beefy flavor shines through. An absolute winner.

Crispy Shredded Beef – milder than many of GSH’s other dishes, this still has plenty of heat and well balanced spicing. Man does not live by braised beef alone.

GSH continues to do good business, almost overwhelmingly drawn from Brooklyn’s Asian community. Families with kids and groups of nicely dressed and well behaved twentysomethings. Hipster free.

Go.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (121 Replies) (by Bob Martinez, created October 14, 2011)

It is probably not better than Bamboo Pavilion (haven't been there, but heard good things universally), but Grand Sichuan House at 87th and 5th is also excellent Sichuan and may be more conveniently located if you're coming into Dyker Heights from the Bay Ridge/R Train side rather than the Bensonhurst D Train side. We ended up there after our visit last year (on Christmas Eve, no less) and had a...+READ It is probably not better than Bamboo Pavilion (haven't been there, but heard good things universally), but Grand Sichuan House at 87th and 5th is also excellent Sichuan and may be more conveniently located if you're coming into Dyker Heights from the Bay Ridge/R Train side rather than the Bensonhurst D Train side. We ended up there after our visit last year (on Christmas Eve, no less) and had a great meal.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (27 Replies) (by hankshiny, created December 5, 2010)

bobjbkln, I LOVE that pile of onions that the cumin lamb is served with! (I just read your link) I wonder if they're blanched. Anyway, I find them an excellent foil for the big punch of the cumin lamb.

The Chinese broccoli with smoky chiles and the sour green bean dish w ground pork are new favorites. The sour green beans are chopped fine, and taste a bit like tempeh to me, nutty and slightly...+READ bobjbkln, I LOVE that pile of onions that the cumin lamb is served with! (I just read your link) I wonder if they're blanched. Anyway, I find them an excellent foil for the big punch of the cumin lamb.

The Chinese broccoli with smoky chiles and the sour green bean dish w ground pork are new favorites. The sour green beans are chopped fine, and taste a bit like tempeh to me, nutty and slightly pleasantly sour. The vinegar potatoes are a good bland side to go with some of the big flavor dishes, but I would not get them unless I was ordering a bunch of other stuff. I like GSH best with a group.

This is one place that I will cheerfully return to, as soon as they are open.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (121 Replies) (by pitu, created March 9, 2010)