Danwei Canting

(Aubrey Gigandet)
By Matthew Korfhage

Beijing-style counter-service spot Danwei Canting serves lovely dumplings ($8) and one of Szechuan province's most fiery trademarks. La zi ji chicken ($11), aka hot pepper chicken bath, buries delectable nuggets of fried chicken thigh under a firewall of red-hot peppers. Though it started out mild when the restaurant opened, Danwei chef Kyo Koo turned up the dish's heat by chopping up the fiery red chilies amid the scallion- and spice-crusted chicken, releasing the capsaicin that makes for pepper heat and toasting the seeds into warm smokiness.

GO: 803 SE Stark St., 503-236-6050, danweicanting.com, 11:30 am-9 pm Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday

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