I'll admit it: I'm a wuss. One gigantic Szechuan wuss.
Do not underestimate the little chili pepper next to the name of the dish - when they say hot and spicy, they mean it!
My friends and I made the mistake of ordering only spicy foods when we dropped by that fateful night. We ordered an order of mapo tofu, an order of chicken cubes with hot peppers and a Chung King hot pot.
Oh. My. God.
Ten minutes into this meal, I bailed - I threw in my chopsticks into the middle of the table, scooped myself a heaping of white rice, and attempted to pick out anything edible off those three plates that was not covered in spices and pepper. Go ahead, taunt me if you must, but I was DONE.
Don't get me wrong, the food was great. The mapo tofu was probably the best I've ever had - full of flavor with just enough of a kick to it to keep things interesting. The chicken was great and you could really taste the black pepper in each bite. And the fish in the hot pot was perfectly cooked - melt in your mouth perfect.
But when you paired all three dishes together, all primarily pepper based, with only white rice and Taiwan beer as ""side dishes"", the meal was ridiculously painful. Especially when the waitress brought in the hot pot, which had a layer of fiery red oil coating the surface, I knew - my heart will hurt after this meal.
So, heed my words (unless you too want to be labeled a wuss): Order at least one dish that is non-spicy. Your body will thank you for it.
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