Sichuan Palace Chelmsford Part Deux

After I finished the last write-up of Sichuan Palace in Chelmsford, I still had a long list of dishes to try, so here is the follow-up. They have the best online menu I have seen anywhere.

Nothing new here. Move on.

Pork Belly with Chestnut ($14.50) was 10% off during August. "Braised pork belly with chestnut." The small side of white rice is $1, and that's the right price. Again, the food comes out on a gigantic serving platter. The pork belly was excellent, and I really liked the sauce and the spinach. I had chestnuts before and didn't like them. Tried them again here and still don't like them. The taste is OK, but I don't like the texture. 08/26/21

Garlic Pork Rib ($14.95). "Fried pork rib with garlic, red & green pepper, onion, and scallion." The scallion was absent, and they were sitting on a big mound of lettuce. They were garlicky, alright! They were also super crispy, but the ratio of meat to bone was overwhelmingly in favor of the bone. I chewed the meat off all of them and could have had a dozen more, and I'm a light eater. A small bowl of rice is still only $1. 10/03/21

They now have proper menus with pictures. The menu has also expanded considerably, and I was happy to see the Ribs and Potatoes dish back on the menu, this time named correctly.

Guess why I go up Rte 3 on weekends?

Chicken with Pickled Mustard Greens (13.50). "Stir-fried with pickled mustard greens and cilantro in white sauce." No cilantro. The veggies were cooked well, tender but still firm. The dark meat chicken was juicy and tender. The mustard greens were mild and could have been pickled longer. It was an agreeable dish but a bit too bland for me. I asked for some chili oil and was really glad that I did. The chili oil was delightful, not super spicy but very aromatic. I might ask for it regardless of what I order 😋. 10/31/21

Pork Ribs with Potato (14.95) with 10% of during November. On the new fancy menu, it didn't have any pepper, and that confused me. I know I ordered it extra spicy the last time I had it, and I don't do that unless it's marked as spicy. The owner took my order, and I ordered it extra spicy anyway. She knew that I complained about a three pepper dish that was just about one pepper, so this time it was EXTRA EXTRA spicy! It was a severe case of a runny nose spicy. I wasn't going to order any rice since it already had potatoes included, but It was soo spicy that I had to order a small bowl of white rice. It also helped to soak up the delicious sauce. I again 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 were cooked perfectly. 11/25/21

Talkin to Yanni after I was done about the spicy versus the no-spicy, she checked with the chef, and it turns out the dish went from spicy to no-spicy. But, of course, you can always order it spicy, and you should.

SPICY TEA SMOKED DUCK (17.95 after 10% off). "Tea smoked duck sautéed with long leek, onion, ginger, red pepper, green pepper." It was really delicious, and it was 2 pepper spicy as listed on the menu. It was also sitting in a pool of chili oil that was shared with lots of peanuts. The duck was cut into too small pieces, and it was difficult to eat. The tea-smoked part didn't really stand out. 12/05/21

Every other Sunday, she has a Tastetest event. $20/pp, but the drawback is that it starts a 4:00 PM. That is precisely halfway between my lunch and dinner. Nevertheless, I decided to attend this event, and it was a delight. Small portions, of course, but I was happy at the end. This was a very reasonable way of trying dishes that I probably wouldn't order otherwise.

A01 SPRING ROLLS "Cabbage and Pork stuffing." This is actually A02 with A01 filling. Light a crispy.

CA17 SPICY MUNG BEAN JELLY "Cold Shredded Mung Bean Jelly in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce." Tasty and interesting.

F06 FISH FILET WITH SOFT TOFU. "Braised with soft tofu and roasted soybean in chili sauce." Excellent.

C12 SPICY SHREDDED CHICKEN. "Stir-fried with green long pepper, chili pepper powder, peppercorn oil and powder." This was seriously spicy but very good.

P05 STIR FRIED SALTED PORK BELLY. "Sautéed with long leek and red pepper in Douban and chili sauce." Excellent.

P11 SHREDDED PORK WITH KING OYSTER MUSHROOM. "Stir-fried with red pepper, green pepper and green onion in white sauce." Surprisingly likable.

V02 EGGPLANT IN GARLIC SAUCE. "Sautéed eggplant in garlic sauce." Not a fan of eggplant, except in Chinese restaurants. Very good, and the sauce was excellent but a tad sweet. Interesting dish.

V14 CABBAGE WITH CHINESE BACON. "Sautéed with dry pepper." No idea I didn't get this.

DE01 SESAME SWEET YAM RICE CAKE. "Deep-fried and sprinked with sesame seeds." Much to my surprise, I really liked this one. 12/12/21

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

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