2.39 Chung King
Posted on November 13, 2008
Filed Under Best of the Best, Chinese, Extra Hard Core | 2 Comments
I wanted to cover at least one good Sichuan restaurant in LA before we end this year, and Chung King has presented itself to be a worthy feature. As you might have gathered, there are some major branches of Chinese cuisine: Cantonese, Northern (Shandong), Sichuan, and Huaiyang. Here in the US it’s apparent that you can find Cantonese and Sichuan restaurants fairly easily, even if a lot of them are terribly diluted.
The spiciness levels of Chung King dishes speaks volumes about how authentic the food is. This is not stuff made for your mainstream audience, but the most hard core spicy foodies instead. We start off with some very simple, non-threatening stuff. Braised pig ears and some smoked chicken. The pig ears, if you never had them, is mostly cartilage and skin; crunchy on the inside, a little gelatinous on the outside. It’s braised, then sliced thin and mixed with chili oil, garlic, soy sauce. I really like pig ears, having grown up eating them as an appetizer to beef noodles.
The smoked chicken is incredibly flavorful, tender and infused with smoky aroma. My American friends could be turned off a bit, though, since it’s chopped up with the bones broken in the Chinese style and looks a little pink. I’d still recommend it even if you’re a little timid.
Flavored Fish with hot pepper: This is one of their signature dishes, the fish is incredibly tender and fine, and there’s several layers of spiciness and flavor that comes from the chili oil and at least two types of chilies. The key to appreciating Sichuan cuisine, I think, is to experience the different kinds of spiciness that chilies, oil, and peppercorn can bring. Each ingredient not only makes the dish spicy, it brings different flavors and sensations when the spiciness hits.
Beef in small pot: This is the most sophisticated dish here, with several kinds of chilies and peppercorn. Your tongue goes numb from the chilies, which is a somewhat strange sensation, and most people will sweat quite a bit from this dish.
The flavors are incredible, though, with a depth and uniqueness that you can rarely find. Highly recommended if you can stand some spicy.
Spicy Tofu with Minced Pork (Mapo tofu)
This dish contrasts sharply with the beef. This is a straightforward kind of spicy, without different layers or a different lingering aftertaste. Very good and very spicy.
Shredded pork with bamboo tips: A non-spicy dish for a break from the firestorm. Of course it’s very solid and authentic, but in the company of these other dishes it fades a bit into the background, a very good dish if you have someone at the table that can’t eat very spicy food.
Boiled pork in mashed garlic:
They say it’s pork but I’m gonna level with ya, it’s BACON!!! Soft, succulent boiled bacon in a sweet soy sauce and chili oil mix topped off with a big pile of pureed garlic. Ridiculously good and of course incredibly bad for you, order only when you have a big party so you can spread the damage around a bit. Definitely recommended.
Service is no frills but responsive, the interior is nice for a low key Chinese place. Prices are very decent, most items are $7 to $10, with our beef in small pot being the most expensive at $13. Can’t handle spicy stuff? 2-3 Tums right after the meal will help. I’d love to come back and try more stuff, but I will definitely order the fish and the garlic bacon again.
Chung King restaurant
1000 S San Gabriel Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 286-0298