I was invited for dinner at Sichuan Pavillion couple nights ago. Prior to my visit, I searched on the web to check out some reviews...there was almost none. Despite the fact that I probably passed by the restaurant thousands of times, it never struck me to check it out. The restaurant has a "traditional chinese/sichuan" menu on the last page of menu...the remaining of the menu is what you would see at a typical Chinese-American take out joint. We ordered from the traditional menu and we were pleasantly suprised at the authenticity of the dishes. We ordered the husband and wife beef tendon/tripe appetizer, sweet and sour cabbage, ma po tofu, steamed flounder, noodles with meat sauce (chinese take of spaghetti bolognese), chicken with dried red peppers, steam beef with red sauce and sauteed pea shoots. All of the sichuan dishes definitely had a kick and numbing sensation. Compared to Peter Chang, I would rank it lower but compared to Hong Kong Palace, the Szhechuan place on 14th Street and China Star, Sichuan Pavillion fared better. Can't wait to try out more dishes with a larger group.

I've been a few times for lunch which is always busy on weekdays. I've mostly stuck to the Chinese American fare like sesame chicken and lo mein which have all been very good with good quality ingredients (which I find is saying alot for most Chinese places in the city). The few items I've had off the traditional menu have likewise been good too. The decor is nice too having been fixed up and reopened only for a few months now.

I have used their private room, which has a large round table (seats 14), on several occasions. I've always been happy with the food and the service. Here's one of the menus I special ordered with the captain, Jimmy:

Spring Rolls
Sichuan Dumplings
Crispy Shrimp Packs
Fresh Smoked Fish Fillet
Snow Peas in Ginger Sauce
Seafood Soup with Crispy Rice
Whole Lobster with Ginger & Scallions
Crispy Fish with Sichuan Sauce
Sichuan Lamb in Garlic Sauce
Sea Cucumber Country Style
Peppery Shrimp & Squid
Double Delight Pork
Crispy Sliced Duck
“Ma Po”Tofu

I took a trip to Sichuan Pavilion for some takeout at lunch today. The place was hopping at lunchtime and since they use their space very efficiently there is nowhere to wait for either takeout or a table without being in the way. But that also gave me the opportunity to checkout the dishes as they left the kitchen and headed for one of the dinning rooms. I got a whiff of a fried rice dish that looked better and smelled better than any that I have witnessed in years. Even the westernized food looked and smelled better than I can remember witnessing other places.

I got an order of the Dumplings in Sichuan Sauce, and was greeted with a container of with wontons filled with nicely cooked pork and without some of the lesser quality fillers that most restaurants load into their dumplings. The sauce was tangy and spicy, but had a wonderful sweetness to it that offset the heat. For an Entree I tried the Dry Sautéed Duck Strips. This dish would likely have been better at the restaurant, 15 minutes in the takeout container made the skin rather gummy, but the duck meat had a wonderful flavor to it that was complimented by a savory brown sauce that had not been overly thickened or sweetened. By far the most disappointing part of the meal was the mushy flavorless rice that could not even be rescued with either the remaining sauces from my appetizer or entree.

I will definitely go back, and this time I will grab a regular menu instead of the takeout menu to make my selections since the home cooking section is only available on the former.

Just got back from a very good lunch here. My wife had her usual vegetable lo mein and egg drop soup which see eats at just about every chinese place, but thinks this place has some of the best. I was a bit more adventersome with half a tea-smoke duck and szechuan string beans. I've had szechuan string beans numerous times, but found this restaurant version's to have the best depth of flavor - due to the addition of sauteed scallions and not just tons of garlic - really good. Tea smoked duck was a first for me. Despite the name - I didn't detect much tea or smoke flavor, but I still really enjoyed it It is a big platter of boneless cut up pieces of moist duck breast that has been lightly fried (not like General Tso's - much more delicate) with shredded scallions and hoisin. But unlike Peking Duck, instead of pancakes they provide a bunch of mini steamed buns in the shape of lotus leaves. Definitely, worth a try. Also, since the duck is boneless, a half duck is a lot of meat - enough for 2-3 people to share as an main entree (or in my case more leftovers for me