Taste of Sichuan

16261 NW Cornell Road, Beaverton, 629-7001, tasteofsichuan.com. Lunch and dinner daily.

At Taste of Sichuan's Vancouver location last year (now sadly closed), I suffered a slurping accident. I took the end of a noodle too fast and ended up flinging fiery hot-pepper sauce onto my cornea. But I would gladly risk permanent visual impairment to slurp again. Yes, this Seattle-bred chain of Szechuan places is that good. On weekends, it serves soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) rolled and cut in-house—the only credible version I've had in town. Otherwise, flip directly to the "Wild Side" section and start ordering. My favorites include the Sichuan bean jelly ($7.95), noodly strips of mung bean jelly in a layered sauce of earthy heat, and the classic chopped pepper hot chicken ($12.95) drenched in a spice blend that's extra heavy on numbing Szechuan peppercorns.

Check out Willamette Week's 2016 Cheap Eats guide here.

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