Sichuan Palace Chelmsford

Sichuan Palace in Chelmsford has been in business for quite a while with an excellent Sichuan menu. They have a very extensive lunch menu that includes two duck dishes that are excellent value for the money. Checking back, that seems to be what I almost always get here.

I headed up here on the weekend before all Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, and it seems life is getting back to normal. My plans were to go to the North Shore for lunch, but it seems the things are so normal that 128 North again isn't usable on weekends.

They are in a small plaza with plenty of parking. After the meal, the owner stopped by and asked about the food. Turns out that Yanni is the new owner and just purchased the restaurant in April. The previous owner was also a good-looking lady, but it's difficult to recognize people wearing masks. She kept the old chef, much to my relief.

The website is completely redesigned and works really well. Want to see what dishes are new? There is an option for that. Want to see what's discounted this month? There is an option for that. All dishes have three pictures, lunch dishes included. My favorite lunch dishes are still there, but with a new owner, I'll have to try them again 😄.

The interior is bright and pleasant and in excellent condition. There is a bar with seating to the right.

Upon looking at the new menu, this caught my eye, and I thought it deserved a small road trip. Double Cooked Pork Belly Noodle Soup (10.50). This is like two of my favorite dishes in one! It's marked as spicy on the menu, so Extra Spicy, please. Excellent noodles that were cooked really well. The thinly sliced pork belly was really tender, and the was a surprising amount included. For both this dish and the twice-cooked pork, I wish they cut the pork slices in half. Some leeks and red peppers were floating around.

Extra spicy it was. Look at the color of that soup! The soup was full of flavor in addition to being properly spicy. The noodles had a little bite left in them. 05/22/21

Their H&S soup is usually really excellent, but today there were some big pieces of tofu in the soup. Seemed to be more tofu than soup. The wing is juicy and crispy and really tastes like chicken. The menu actually gets this correct (1 wing) and doesn't promise chicken wings when you only get one. Technically you get 2/3 of a wing since the tip is partially missing. You also get a "poached" five-spice egg that's really a hard-boiled egg. You could technically poach an egg to be hard-boiled, but poached generally means cooked without a shell. I didn't read the menu correctly and missed the "egg and one of the following" part, the waitress, who I have known since she worked in Woburn, gave me both soup and the chicken wing in addition to rice. The five-spice egg was fantastic! Much to my surprise, the egg was warm and was marinated all the way through. Super tasty and such a nice surprise.

Lunch Sichuan Spicy Crispy Boneless Duck (10.95) and I took a chance and ordered the Fried Rice. I have always stuck with white rice because my experience with fried rice has not been good. The fried rice here was excellent, light and light on the soy sauce. Taipei Gourmet is another restaurant with an excellent version of fried rice at lunch.

I just noticed on the menu that the choices are the egg and ONE of rice, soup or wing. This can't be right. Shouldn't it be egg and rice and one appetizer?

The duck was crispy, but the back part was soo crispy it was almost like a cinder. There were bamboo shoots, onions, a few peppers and wood ear mushrooms. Extra spicy didn't work, but it was still tasty. I'm not really complaining since where can you get a duck dish for $11? There is nothing Sichuan about this dish. 05/28/21

土豆排骨 Pork Chop with Potato (14.95) said the menu. This translates to Pork Ribs with Potato, and that's more accurate. Extra spicy, please. I also ordered a small bowl of white rice (1.00). Yes, the pork and the potatoes are sitting in a pool of chili oil and spices. I had high hopes for this dish and wasn't disappointed with the tasty and tender pork that fell off the bone. Be aware that there might be bone splinters in the food, but this is kind of expected with anything on the bone. The potatoes could have been cooked 5 minutes less since they were borderline mushy. This will be added to my favorites list.

How big was this plate? I had a big lunch, dinner with no rice, and I still have a serving left. 06/03/21 Update: This is no longer available on the updated menu. 10/03/21. This is now back on the new fancy menu.

霸王大盘鸡 Chicken Legs with Douban Chili Sauce (18.95). "Braised with potato, noodle, onion, long leek, dry red pepper in Douban, and chili sauce". There is a heap of noodles hidden underneath. This was an excellent dish with tender, succulent dark meat and a bushel of perfectly cooked potatoes. This is on the bone, so beware. The menu said three chillis, but despite pleading with Yanni to get it three chili spicy, it was at the most, one chili. It was, however, a super tasty dish, and it was a VERY generous serving. Another new favorite. The rice bowl in the background shows the size. Probably should have put it next to the dish instead.😋 06/20/21

Yup, a picture of an H&S soup again, but it's only because today it was excellent. Both sour and hot, and it had interesting bits floating around in the soup. Don't miss the soup if you go for lunch.

Lunch Hot Dry Pepper Fish Filet (11.95). This is a classic preparation and appears on all Sichuan menus, albeit under different names. The fish is spicy, crispy and delicious. There were some leeks involved, but apart from that, it was all fish. My chicken wing today was BIG and super crispy and, of course, cooked perfectly. The "poached" five-spicy egg wasn't ready and arrived later. I finally have figured out the lunch menu. It should say "and one choice each of the following". 07/07/21

Lunch Fish Filet with Spicy Chili Oil Sauce (10.95). This is another classic Sichuan dish, sometimes called Fish Filets with Napa Cabbage with Spicy Chili Sauce. Look at the size of that lunch portion! The fish was a tad mushy, but everything else was top-notch. The leeks and celery were cooked, and the celery still had a bit of crunch. Plenty of chili oil sauce. Don't miss the excellent chicken wing if you go for lunch. Last time the egg was barely marinated, and today it was absent. 07/20/21 Update: No more egg at lunch.

The service is always pleasant here, but make sure the waitress repeats your order so that it's correct. 

The suggested tip on the check is calculated including tax, but this only benefits the staff. 

Address: 7 Summer St #17-18, Chelmsford, MA 01824 Phone number: (978) 256-8545

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.

-- Anne Lamott