Midtown, Manhattan · restaurant
Art Deco glamour on three floors off 37th Street. Moody lighting, Shanghai-retro room, and a menu that signals immediately there's no General Tso's here. The Chungking Spicy Chicken arrives buried in cayenne and Sichuan peppercorns; the dan dan noodles come properly dressed in sesame-chili; the ma po tofu is textbook numbing. The first Chinese restaurant in New York to earn a Michelin star, and still the one to beat for Sichuan done without compromise.
Silky tofu in chili sauce with Sichuan peppercorn. Properly numbing heat
Fried chicken buried in cayenne peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, the signature dish
Wheat noodles with sesame paste, pork, and chili oil; a Sichuan classic that everyone orders.