Skip to main content5331 SW Macadam Ave., 227-3136, szechuanchefportland.com.
[SEATTLE SUPERSONIC] There's
something piercingly lonesome about a vast Chinese restaurant hall,
something that summons a lifetime of atheist Christmases and an elusive
future dreamt by immigrant ambition. Also, you know, it's just spooky
empty. Few dining rooms come as retro-poignant as Szechuan Chef, a
'70s-era split-level with wooden candelabras and panoramic windows
looking out onto the strip malls of Macadam. The spot housed nondescript
Shanghai Noble House until last year, when a Bellevue, Wash., concern
launched its Portland offshoot. The menu is now packed with items rarely
found in paper takeout boxes; families spin pools of deep-hued sauce on
rotating table trays. The most iconic dish is the Chong Qing chicken:
equal parts fried breast pieces and dried red chilies, it is essentially
popcorn chicken loaded with firecrackers. Even better are the hot and
spicy hand-shaved noodles, each as thick and pillowy as dumplings. Most
house specialties warn of heat, and those are the ones you want to
order. The Sichuan peppercorns won't scorch the palate. They're just
something to warm yourself by.
Ideal meal: Green onion pancakes, hand-shaved noodles.
Best deal: Nearly every entree is generous enough to contain leftovers. Few cost more than $15.
Pro tip: Skip sweet items like the honey prawns; they tend to be cloying.
11 am-3 pm and 4:30-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-3 pm and 4:30-10 pm Friday, 11 am-10 pm Saturday, 11 am-9 pm Sunday. $$.
WWeek 2015