2 posts tagged “chinese”

A few years ago I bought a guide to Chinese food in LA. One of the places listed was Yunnan Garden on Garfield. It was my first introduction to Yunnan and Sichuan food in LA.  I've been back lots of times -- it's now called Yun Chuang Garden (I think it's the third name change that I can remember). 

I went there on Thanksgiving.  Here's what I got:

Yunnan veg

There is a nice selection of cold appetizers/sides available. I guess the standard is to order three sides -- so here are mine.  At the top is a pickled cabbage dish. At first glance it doesn't look like much -- but it was very tasty and flavored with chilies and Sichuan peppercorn. The second is a seaweed dish and the third is cucumbers drizzled with sesame oil. 

Yunnanwonton

I really love wonton (or chao shao as they're called here). These are dipped in a chilli oil that's heavily laced with Sichuan peppercorn. My lips went numb from eating this -- in a good way, I promise.

Yunnan dandan

Dandan noodles brings together a really random set of ingredients: peanuts, sesame paste, green onions, pork, and preserved vegetables.

Yunnanchicken

This is Chonqing chicken. It consists of small pices of chicken that are breaded and deep fried, tossed with lots and lots of chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and green onions.

I didn't order any of the signature Yunnan dishes this time: "crossing the bridge" noodles and Yunnanese stewed chicken with broth. I also didn't order two mysterious dishes on the menu: "mother's chicken" and "mother's frog." Next time I have to get the frog.  

I had an online conversation with Claire about fusion food. She mentioned that she likes it, and I maintained my general dislike of fusion. What can I say, I'm a food purist...

But then again, there's one bit of fusion cuisine that I really like.  It's walnut prawns.  I think it's from Hong Kong originally, although I oculd be completely wrong about that. But what I do know is that it's heavenly. Shrimp are coated in corn starch and then deep fried. They end up with a light crust but don't have a heavy coating of batter like sweet and sour dishes. They are garnished with glazed walnuts and a mayonnaise based sauce.

Prawns_w_walnut