jobst wrote:Certainly the first fits in a very general way, but given its almost exclusive use for describing noodles I suspect a definition more similar to that described by al dente is usually intended?

Al dente translated to English means to the tooth (or toothsome), doesn't it?

Rene G wrote:I think that's now number 801 – Sweet Osmanthus Flavored Sticky Rice Ball in Soup. That bowl looks big enough to serve 40

Thanks Rene G, that's exactly what it was. You're right about the bowl size we were a group of 8 last night and gave about 1/3 of our bowl to a party of 6 next to us. I have to say I've gotten to like this, at first I thought it was too sweet, but the rice balls, egg and beans form an interesting combination. I finished my bowl before I knew it.

I hadn't tried the twice cooked duck before and I now have a new favorite. The fattiness of the duck kept it from drying out the way the 3 chili chicken sometimes does and this seems to be a riff on that Tony Hu staple. The chilies with black bean sauce were not as good as I had last week, they were overcooked and has too much oil and too little black bean sauce. The ground pork w/sour bean was even better than that last time and the stir fried lamb was earthy, crisp and tender with just enough chew. The whole fish was overcooked for my taste, so jestinf is right it was a textural issue for me. I was so full by the time the noodle soup with beef arrived that I just tasted it. I enjoyed what I tasted, but didn't have enough to comment on. Lastly the crispy eggplant elevates that vegetable to a whole new level. Anyone who hates it should come and try the crispy goodness here. They'll be converted.

jobst wrote:

jesteinf wrote:At least for me the highlight was the noodles which were nicely toothsome.

Not sure if this is the right place for this, but I consistently see noodles being described as toothsome on this forum, and I don't think it means what people think it does. Dictionary.com defines it as:

tooth·some   [tooth-suhm]
adjective
1. pleasing to the taste; palatable: a toothsome dish.
2. pleasing or desirable, as fame or power.
3. voluptuous; sexually alluring: a toothsome blonde.

Certainly the first fits in a very general way, but given its almost exclusive use for describing noodles I suspect a definition more similar to that described by al dente is usually intended?

Well, al dente isn't really right either. Maybe hearty? Pleasantly chewy? I don't know...toothsome seems like an apt definition for a certain type of noodle (normally Asian in my mind) that might not be reflected in a standard dictionary.

jesteinf wrote:Well, al dente isn't really right either. Maybe hearty? Pleasantly chewy? I don't know...toothsome seems like an apt definition for a certain type of noodle (normally Asian in my mind) that might not be reflected in a standard dictionary.

We all knew what you meant. Glad you enjoyed the meal. I'll have to try those noodles next time I'm in.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Well, al dente isn't really right either. Maybe hearty? Pleasantly chewy? I don't know...toothsome seems like an apt definition for a certain type of noodle (normally Asian in my mind) that might not be reflected in a standard dictionary.

We all knew what you meant. Glad you enjoyed the meal. I'll have to try those noodles next time I'm in.

=R=

I wouldn't jump at the specific dish that we got, but I'd look for the same noodles in a different prep.

Though Sun Wah's Beijing Duck might be my single favorite Chinese food item in Chicago, I'll go as far as saying that last night's meal at Lao Hunan was the single best Chinese meal I've had in Chicago, and I really can't wait to go back.

Perhaps my favorite dish was the very simply prepared Jade Tofu, but I really though it was a great beginning, with a great contrast in flavors from the chili oil and cilantro, and green onions and cilantro stems providing textural contrast. It was served cool, and my only thought is that it might have been interesting to play games with the palate by serving this cool yet spicy dish in the middle of the meal (as opposed to the beginning) with some of the hot items. My second favorite dish was probably the ground pork with sour beans, which I thought really packed in a lot of flavor - savory, sour and spicy.

Other items I loved:

Tai Gan Hunan Style - I'm not exactly sure what this was, but it was great.

Crispy Eggplant (not sure how this is listed on the menu) - the eggplant had such a light, delicate and greaseless crust, and was just terrific (although I can't remember the other elements of this dish) - highly recommended.

Twice Cooked Duck - Also excellent - my only complaint (and a very minor one) is that I wish the coating on the duck were just a little thinner.

Dry Chili Fish Fillet - Not much more I can add to what's already been said about this dish. I'm not sure I agree with Rene G that tilapia dream of ending up like this, but I sure dream of tilapia ending up like this.

And items I liked a lot, but which did not wow me:

Famous Hunan Chilis with Black Beans - Don't get me wrong, this was delicious. But when MBH told me that her previously served version of the same dish had less oil and more black beans, I must admit I grew a little jealous. Still very good ... also, not overcooked for me, but reasonable minds can disagree here.

Chairman Mao's Favorite Pork Belly - The pork belly was lightly crisped and delicious. I really liked the dish but think it should have packed just a little more flavor. That being said, it's not spicy so it makes for a nice complement to some of the more fiery dishes on the menu.

Famous Stir Fried Lamb - (I believe this is the lamb dish we had) Like the pork belly, this dish was delicious. But what I always love about lamb is its assertive flavor, and the lamb took a background role in this dish. But also like the pork, this non-spicy dish would make for a nice complement to the spicy items on the menu.

Hunan-style Green Beans (or so I think that's what we had) - Perfectly cooked, crisp exterior, very flavorful ... enough to turn a green bean-averse diner into a huge fan of green beans ... enough said.

Whole Fish - I agree with MBH that the fish was overcooked (over-steamed I assume), and that was too bad. Our waitress said she prefers the whole fish ordered fried. I think given the number of fried items, I would have preferred the fish steamed, just not overcooked the way it was. That being said, the sauce on the fish was really great ... if ordered crispy, I can see myself even preferring this to the dry chili tilapia.

In my opinion, the only dish that was not so good was the Unknown soup with noodles. I'm not exactly sure how this was listed on the menu, but I really was not a fan of this soup. There were some nice bits of flavor in the bowl, but to get there, you had to dig through a lot of oil and it was not the most flavor-packed oil. Yeah, the texture of the noodles was nice, but there's no way I'd order this soup again.

The pickled cabbage (or daikon, not sure) was fine, but not on par with LSC's version in my opinion. I had one cup of tea and it was pretty tasteless. And the dessert with gelatinous rice balls (pictured on the first page of this thread) was very different from any dessert I've ever had, but not objectionable and really not too sweet at all. What really stood out to me was more the flavor of fermentation than sweetness ... I just wish there were more of those gelatinous rice balls.

It can get very loud in there and it does not seem that it was designed to be conversation friendly, although after one particularly loud and boisterous group left (no, not us ), conversation was easier. You should also know that they validate parking for the Chinatown parking lot so discounted parking is $2.

I woke up this morning with thousands of hot peppers burning inside my stomach ... I can't wait until I wake up that way again ... I know it will be the morning after my next meal at Lao Hunan. Great LTH company; great food.

Based on this thread, we went there for lunch today. Had the ground pork with sour chopped beans (I forget their wording) and the double cooked duck. Terrific. I believe it is the best Chinese food I've had in Chicago.

This is a real find.

A very pleasing thing has happened. After giving some thought to our last dinner at Lao Hunan, my husband has decided it is, in fact, the best thing in Chinatown, and that we should eat there often. And now we are ideally placed to do just that!

Last night we picked up an order to go, with the pork and sour beans, country beef and vegetables, and the hunan peppers with black beans, which he requested with the apparently hellaciously spicy white pepper. It was reported to me that it was in fact hotter, which I was not able to confirm for myself since the regular heat level was at the very edge of what I could endure, so I didn't investigate. The beef and vegetables were fine, no real heat at all (at least, relatively speaking), a nice filler dish but with so many other great options, not one we'd get again. We were both crazy for the pork and sour beans, amazingly enough - that's the sort of thing that I'd get to keep for myself after the husband tried one token taste, but not this time! I had to fight him off to get my share.

I can't wait to get a big group together here, so I can try a wider variety of things.

I was lucky to also attend the Lao Hunan meal organized by Turkob. Thanks for organizing!

Echoing most of the comments already made. Yes it’s probably my new favorite spot in Chinatown, I’ll have to eat there a few times to see for sure. A tough job, but I think I can do it!
Notes on the meal, Loved almost everything. My favorite was certainly the Famous Stir Fried Lamb. I also liked the steamed fish very much. After those two, without hesitation I’ll say I loved the pork belly, twice cooked duck, tai gan hunan.

The green chili dish was certainly packed with heat, but I found it to be a bit boring. Salty, umami, and hot. The pepper flavor was there, but nothing too powerful or astonishing. As insinuated by BR, perhaps it was a consistency issue; maybe it’ll be better next time. I would have loved more black beans in that one.
Crispy eggplant was fine, but not what I like in an eggplant dish. Seemed over fried and dry. I tried to pick out the thickest pieces to get a juicy one and still found it dry and salty. Probably a fault of the order, too many “dry chili” type dishes had me wanting a juicy eggplant.

Interestingly I’ll have to be the first to speak out against the dry chili fish. I found it to be quite boring compared with the other offerings. Well fried tilapia, but then it was just that, dry chili long john silvers, which I suppose in its own right is good, just not spectacular compared to the rest of the meal. If it were served at any other restaurant I’d probably be singing praises. Again, it may have been my taste buds growing bored of the dry chili salty crispness. I think one or two of these dishes would have been adequate, and I’ll order better next time. But it seemed that a good ½ of our order was dry and salty, and my tongue must have grown tired.

In all, I found all of the food to be as toothsome as a beautiful blond.

The uniforms: Having spent a bit of time in China, and as silly as it sounds, the uniforms actually felt quite natural and authentic. While appearing cheesy to us westerners, in china they took their uniforms and jobs very seriously over there. I appreciate the extra touch of authenticity!

Here are some pictures from that trip (which i Swear I'm going to do a full post about at some point, i promise, I'm just a bit slow!)







And if you're an exceptional business owner you even number your servers.

I enjoyed my first visit to Lao Hunan so much that I decided to return this weekend. A couple of the dishes we ordered were ones I had previously enjoyed, so no further discussion regarding those dishes is warranted. But we also ordered the Famous Prawns in Hot Wok, which is discussed by others on page 1 of this thread, and I loved this dish. The prawns were lightly crisp and terrific, and I thought the dish was exploding with flavor. In fact, there seemed to be almost a hint of Szechuan Peppercorn, although I'm fairly certain that's not what I really tasted. What I particularly liked about this dish is that the flavors were somewhat different from most of what I tasted Thursday night, so I think these prawns would make a nice addition to other menu selections.

BR wrote:I enjoyed my first visit to Lao Hunan so much that I decided to return this weekend. A couple of the dishes we ordered were ones I had previously enjoyed, so no further discussion regarding those dishes is warranted. But we also ordered the Famous Prawns in Hot Wok, which is discussed by others on page 1 of this thread, and I loved this dish. The prawns were lightly crisp and terrific, and I thought the dish was exploding with flavor. In fact, there seemed to be almost a hint of Szechuan Peppercorn, although I'm fairly certain that's not what I really tasted. What I particularly liked about this dish is that the flavors were somewhat different from most of what I tasted Thursday night, so I think these prawns would make a nice addition to other menu selections.

funny thing... I have plans to go back again tomorrow night. guess It's that good. I'll be sure to try the prawns.

laikom wrote:

BR wrote:I enjoyed my first visit to Lao Hunan so much that I decided to return this weekend. A couple of the dishes we ordered were ones I had previously enjoyed, so no further discussion regarding those dishes is warranted. But we also ordered the Famous Prawns in Hot Wok, which is discussed by others on page 1 of this thread, and I loved this dish. The prawns were lightly crisp and terrific, and I thought the dish was exploding with flavor. In fact, there seemed to be almost a hint of Szechuan Peppercorn, although I'm fairly certain that's not what I really tasted. What I particularly liked about this dish is that the flavors were somewhat different from most of what I tasted Thursday night, so I think these prawns would make a nice addition to other menu selections.

funny thing... I have plans to go back again tomorrow night. guess It's that good. I'll be sure to try the prawns.

Note that you must specify shell and head on for this order.

Be careful when ordering prawns. I was there on Saturday and we ordered Famous Prawns in Hunan Style and got an eggplant casserole. We later asked about the prawns again, and got a response about eggplant.

All we could conclude is that the L / R thing might have made prawn sound like plant.

Maybe it was a one time thing, but next time I'll order-by-point.

We ordered the chili in black bean, and ended up with green beans. The green beans were a welcome addition however there seems to be no double checking on misunderstood orders. A point to a picture on my phone did the trick. Luckily i had the LTH thread open on my phone from the train ride down there.

So I had to plan another trip here. A few friends missed out on the first trip, were inevatibly going to get tired of me talking about it. So we made it out.

I did a bit of wiki research before the dinner and realized that one of the main things that separates hunan cuisine from szechuan is the use of smoked meats, and the more extensive use of pickled vegetables. I made it a goal to try a smoked dish this time.

The clear winner of the night, and in my opinion, probably the best thing at Lao Hunan was the smoked wild duck. It was extremely nicely done, an aggressive smokey and very savory, with perfectly crisp stir fried veggies to balance. Upon first bite my face must have lit up.





Another new-to-me dish was the tendon hot pot, perhaps the same Ronnie mentioned up-thread. The tendon was very soft and gelatinous, the taste mild and savory. A very nice palate cleanser, when the heat of the meal is getting to you.





Pork tongue and chili dish, also mentioned by Ronnie up-thread. Think it had the same (mexican?) peppers as the famous hunan peppers with black bean, only they were not cooked so fully. It was as mentioned firey. The tongue was sliced thin with a delicate pork flavor. Texture of a cold cut. Even the less adventurous of the group, who claimed they didn't want pork tongue, were scarfing them down by the end of the night.

laikom wrote:The clear winner of the night, and in my opinion, probably the best thing at Lao Hunan was the smoked wild duck. It was extremely nicely done, an aggressive smokey and very savory, with perfectly crisp stir fried veggies to balance. Upon first bite my face must have lit up.

This dish is awesome. Intensely smoky, while still tender - mixed with crisp veggies and a spicy sauce.

I've been to Lao Hunan 4-5 times in the past month (it's become a problem for me...) and each time I walk away more impressed. Style-wise, it reminds me of Thai food in a lot of ways (the balance of spicy/sour/salty/sweet, layers of flavor, mix of textures, etc), though obviously with a different flavor profile.

-Dan

Either through raves from this thread and/or it being just a sensational dish, the ground pork with sour pickle/bean (408) is selling at a rate of about 400/week, according to the head waitress there. She claims that Lao Hunan is now pickling the veggie for less than their standard 2-day period due to demand. It's a bit more crunchy now than before but still retains that serious sourness and funk.

I'm not really sold, though, that it's inferior.

Made it to Lao Hunan today for lunch with the woman. Overall, we were quite pleased, with one notable exception.

I'm glad that LH is on Wentworth - it's a nice change of pace from the mall on Archer. Feels much more urban and it's great to see the old school architecture and signage on the street.

Service was very bouyant and friendly. The hostess, Rebecca, was especially sparkly. She doted on us in the best way, suggesting dishes and answering all of our questions efficiently. There were no issues with our orders being misunderstood.

We picked the green chiles with black bean sauce - a fabulous dish and worthy of all the accolades it has received. I didn't find it too spicy at all. I loved the blistered chiles and the salty/oily balance. Spooned on top of rice it was miraculous, and reminded me of the best Mexican or Turkish grilled chiles. This is more than merely a condiment, its a showcase of bright, savory, chile flavor.

Spicy prawns in hot wok reminded me of salt and pepper shrimp with a more complex flavor profile. The breading was perfect and I detected a strong Szechuan peppercorn note. I thought the manner of service was more than mere novelty. Serving the prawns in a wok with a chafing dish underneath allowed the chopped onions and peppers to slowly cook in the spicy, savory, oily broth, and I didn't mind that the shrimp slowly soaked up the sauce, the final bites emerging completely soaked in a wonderful chile sauce.

Finally, we ordered wild smoked duck, the dish pictured up-thread. While the dish was pleasantly smoky and contained very tasty vegetables (I could not identify one that looked like green onions but tasted like celery - anyone know what this was?), we weren't crazy about the duck. The woman nearly spit her first piece out. I didn't find it quite that off-putting, but the harsh smokiness and a cheesy, funky flavor I've never tasted, made it a little too intense for me. I'm guessing this flavor comes from the duck being preserved in some manner? My woman guessed that the "wild" duck was likely caught in one of the ponds in Lincoln Park.

All in all, a great meal. Next time I want one of those whole fish in chile broth pictured in the first few pages of the menu.

PIGMON wrote:Either through raves from this thread and/or it being just a sensational dish, the ground pork with sour pickle/bean (408) is selling at a rate of about 400/week, according to the head waitress there. She claims that Lao Hunan is now pickling the veggie for less than their standard 2-day period due to demand. It's a bit more crunchy now than before but still retains that serious sourness and funk.

I'm not really sold, though, that it's inferior.

Don't forget the reach of Mike Sula, wrote about Lao Hunan (and this dish) back in October.

=R=

Had a taste for Chinatown on Friday night and convinced the wife we should try Lao Hunan instead of making our usual trek to Lao Sze Chuan after assuring her that Hunan would also be adequately spicy. We arrived around 7:30 and got a table right away, but got there right in time, as a group of about 20 showed up right behind us. Was a little slow to get a server at first and Rebecca the hostess/waitress was dealing with trying to seat the large group throughout the place. Once she came to our table, she was friendly and apologetic, explaining they were down half their staff for the weekend and running on fumes so bear with them if things were a bit slow. We understand that situations like that arise, especially around holidays, etc. and are very understanding when a heads up is given. But the preemptive apology turned out to be unnecessary as service was perfectly fine throughout the meal.

It was just the two of us, but I wanted to sample as much of the menu as possible, so we over-ordered a bit. We started with a soup chicken & corn soup had egg & ginger in it. Don't remember the exact name as the wife picked it out, but it was served in a large bowl that could've fed 4 adequately as an app. Was similar to a corn chowder, with the freshness of ginger giving it a unique bite.

For entrees we ordered the Chairman Mao's Favorite Pork Belly, Famous Stir Fried Lamb and Famous Prawns in Hunan Style. I liked the flavor of the pork belly, but there was a lot of jiggly fat so I soon began eating just the meat off the pieces. The wife wasn't so into the anise flavor, but it's never her thing. I suspected she wouldn't really touch this dish and was correct. But considering she's Israeli & didn't even eat pork when I met her, but I've progressed her enough that I got her to eat crispy pig face at Girl & Goat and like it, I'll let he off the hook this time.

The lamb was incredible... my wife had had bad experiences with lamb in (non-Middle Eastern) ethnic restaurants so didn't want to order it, but you guys were absolutely right about this dish. We both loved it! The other flavors balanced the strong, unique flavor of lamb quite well and the meat was nice and tender.

While we'd ordered the Famous Prawns in Hunan Style, initially we were brought the Spicy prawns in hot wok. We'd asked our waitress the differences when ordering and she said they were similar but recommended the Hunan style. We were halfway through the Spicy prawns in hot wok when she saw the dish, said that wasn't what we'd ordered and took the wok away before we could tell her we wanted to keep it because we were quite enjoying whatever dish it was! She shortly brought out what we had ordered, which was also crispy shrimp, but on a dry bed of jalapenos, chilis and boc choy. This dish was still good, but a little salty and I much preferred the onions, peppers and hot oil of the wok dish. That's the one I'd order next time.

At the conclusion of our meal, Rebecca brought us dessert coconut rice balls filled with bean paste to apologize for the service, which was so unnecessary as we had no complaints with the service at all! Service wasn't slow, and the shrimp mix-up was a net positive because we got to enjoy a 4th excellent entree. The coconut balls were... interesting. Not really either of our tastes, but something new to try.

As we were paying, a group of Chinese came in and one tried to commander the 2nd 2-top grouped with our table and move it to be with another table, rather than waiting to be seated. Rebecca was mortified, had some harsh words for him in their native tongue and profusely apologized both at the time and as we walked out the door because those visiting from China don't know the customs here. Again, the level of apology was way beyond necessary as it was no issue to begin with. But she clearly cared a lot that we had a good experience and that effort says a lot. We'll definitely be back again soon, but hopefully with a larger group next time so we can enjoy the same dishes again while also trying some more.

blipsman wrote:Had a taste for Chinatown on Friday night and convinced the wife we should try Lao Hunan instead of making our usual trek to Lao Sze Chuan after assuring her that Hunan would also be adequately spicy. We arrived around 7:30 and got a table right away, but got there right in time, as a group of about 20 showed up right behind us

Did you see us? Husband and I may have just left. We were at the 2 top right in front of the cooler.

He loved the ground pork & pickled vegetables. We were disappointed with the salt and pepper tofu. I've made this at home and expected it to be fiery and browner. It was better the next day topped with the spicy green beans.
No fried rice or egg rolls this time but did get a mango lychee tapioca.

It was packed when we got there and packed when we left.

I would call in for a reservation going forward.

I took some friends to Lao Hunan tonight and they loved the place. Chili in black bean sauce was much better than my first visit, now I really get this dish. The famous prawns in hot wok really rounded out our meal nicely. The shrimp definitely took on a great flavor as they sat in the wok, but didn't get goopy at all. Just a good balance of sweet, spicy, and salty. Man I love this place.

Why oh why don't they deliver? I am stuck and home and suffering from a head cold that could really use a dose of the peppers in black bean sauce. My chicken soup from a can is just not the same.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Why oh why don't they deliver? I am stuck and home and suffering from a head cold that could really use a dose of the peppers in black bean sauce. My chicken soup from a can is just not the same.

Did you check GrubHub? I think LaoSzchuan is in GrubHub network.

petite_gourmande wrote:

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Why oh why don't they deliver? I am stuck and home and suffering from a head cold that could really use a dose of the peppers in black bean sauce. My chicken soup from a can is just not the same.

Did you check GrubHub? I think LaoSzchuan is in GrubHub network.

It doesn't seem to be.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:

petite_gourmande wrote:

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Why oh why don't they deliver? I am stuck and home and suffering from a head cold that could really use a dose of the peppers in black bean sauce. My chicken soup from a can is just not the same.

Did you check GrubHub? I think LaoSzchuan is in GrubHub network.

It doesn't seem to be.

I think it depends where you live. We're in Streeterville and Lao Szechuan, Beijing, Shanghai, and Lao You Ju are all within our delivery range. Not Lao Hunan yet, but that's arguably a good thing at this stage in the restaurant's history. Let them get the fundamentals down to handle their success first.

dansch wrote: Style-wise, it reminds me of Thai food in a lot of ways (the balance of spicy/sour/salty/sweet, layers of flavor, mix of textures, etc)

I'd agree in theory, though execution was spotty Friday (which may have been the result of us coming in after several large parties). Maybe two bites of the pork and sour beans had the deep funk y'all been experiencing; the rest had the wet, rubbery consistency of canned green beans. When taken with the little too sparsely-laden herbs, the twice-cooked duck was brilliant; on its own, it was pretty over-friend. The chilis in black bean sauce were nice, albeit a little oily.

The food was good overall, though hardly revelatory; I'm eager to get back and try again before jumping to conclusions. I need to find the dishes where the funky and herby elements are played up more, because it's those notes where this place can be special.

I got a group of 9 to hit up Lao Hunan the other night, making it my 3rd visit. I ordered a few favorites, and searched the menu in an effort to find a couple more highlights on the menu. It was a great meal, although something bizarre seems to have happened last night. Overall, the fiery spice level was a good 2 or 3 notches down on the dial from what I remember. My friend, mikey came “prepared to get [his] insides pepper-sprayed”, and commented that he was a bit disappointed by our ordering. I truly hope they weren’t dumbing anything down for us. Hopefully it was that we inadvertently ordered 11 dishes which were not intended to be too hot, but still…

I arrived early and sat to look at the menu for a bit before the others showed up. I was offered an oolong tea which was hand selected by Tony from the mountains somewhere in china. It was indeed a quality tea with a strong flavor without becoming bitter. I was given a side of the spicy cabbage similar to that which you get as the amuse at lao Szechuan.

While sitting there I noticed a couple of interesting things. One of them was that you could buy your very own chairman Mao uniform to take home. It will cost you $100. The other was a special on the chalk board which was a soft shell turtle stir fry. After dinner we spoke a bit with our server, and she was sure to tell us that, like in America, most people in china do not eat animals which they think are cute or they have as pets. She has pet turtles at home, so she would never eat that dish.

On to the food: While looking over the menu I noticed a few things and noted them. I didn’t get a chance to try everything I’d like to have tried, but there will be other trips.

We ordered some of the old favorites:
Jade tofu, Tai Gan, prawns hunan style, smoked wild duck, peapod leaves, and chairman mao’s pork belly
And we ordered some new (to me at least) dishes:
The steamed fish special, Home Fed Chicken XiangXi Style (as recommended by time out, in their top 100 dishes listing), A stir fried pork stomach dish with sour vegetables (forgot the name), dry chili string beans, and to my surprise I found chou doufu on the menu! I also forgot the name of this on the menu, but was listed something like famous style tofu with odor. I’ve tried to find this from time to time in Chicago and have always failed, so was happy to see it!

The steamed fish special ended up being tilapia. The flesh very moist with a nice delicate texture, but was bland and boring as is the curse of tilapia. It was served completely hidden under red chili peppers and green onion. It looks spicier than it was. As with the other dry chili preparation of the tilapia dish here, it was one of the best tilapia dishes I’ve had. I guess they know how to do tilapia right. They really make the flavor (or lack thereof) balance well with the sauce and spices. The cool flavor of the fish held its own against the spice. I enjoyed the broth it was sitting in.






We ordered the prawns hunan style, but upon rereading the thread, I realize we should have gotten the prawns in the hot wok. Ok. Here is my confession. I do not like the breading used at lao hunan. It reminds me of long john silvers for some reason, and I find it boring and plain. I had one prawn and wish we’d ordered the hot wok one. I’ll have to save that for another trip. Most of the table really enjoyed this, however. In fact I believe there was an polite conversation about who would get to eat the last one.



The home fed chicken xiang xi style was a good stir fry. With Time Out listing as one of the best 100 bites in Chicago, so I expected a bit more from it. I didn’t find any flaws, but it was just a good stir fry, with nothing standoutish about it.



The dry chili string beans was good, though I like the diced up ones with the black beans at lao Szechuan better. As with most veggie dishes, a necessary component of the meal, but nothing remarkable.



Pork stomach in general may be my favorite of the innards. I really like the texture of it especially when cold. I enjoyed this dish. I picked it because of the fact that it came with pickled vegetables. As i mentioned in my previous post, I was looking for the dishes that epitomize the hunan cuisine. I enjoyed the different preparation of pork stomach, and do think the sour veggies complimented it well. It was a nice dish, though (again) not too spicy. If it comes down to a comparison, I still think i'd prefer lao szechuan's cold stomach appitizer.



Tofu with odor! Ok, I love this, call me crazy... but I don’t see why people make such a fuss over it. It smells very “farmy”, like hay. If you’ve eaten a pork intestine, you may find the odor it has to be very similar. Being a huge fan of stinky things, I find this so be far less intense than limburger or natto, for example. I think there were only one or two of nine people at the table who didn’t care for it, including a few who may have been squeamish. If you happened to be on the fence about this, give it a try!

This pic is after everyone got their serving. An order probably had 5 full pieces (10 halves).



Another interesting point about the meal, they decided to add some extra color to the smoked wild duck dish. If you compare it to my previous picture upthread, you’ll notice the addition of American broccoli and candied cherries. And interesting touch, though I admit I ate neither the broccoli nor the cherries.



In all it was a great meal, and at $20/pp for 11 dishes, after tax and tip. You can’t beat the price for that much food... plenty of leftovers. Wonderful service. My only regret is that (I’m blaming myself for ordering wrong) it was not as spicy as I was expecting! But on that note, to anyone who is hesitant to visit because of the spice level here being too high, you could probably use this order as a loose guide to ordering!

laikom wrote:Hopefully it was that we inadvertently ordered 11 dishes which were not intended to be too hot, but still…

The odds seem very much against this. Not a good sign, IMO.

laikom wrote:If you compare it to my previous picture upthread, you’ll notice the addition of American broccoli and candied cherries. An interesting touch, though I admit I ate neither the broccoli nor the cherries.

Ouch.

These 2 comments have me more than a bit concerned about Lao Hunan. I mean, adding the broccoli and jarred cherries to the duck dish seems like a complete and unfortunate departure from everything I love about the place. I seriously hope this meal was an aberration.

Thanks, for the detailed report.

=R=

I was just coming here to post about the same thing - we got takeout Saturday, and the Famous Hunan Chilies were literally as hot as a bell pepper. The last time we got them they were so shockingly hot even my husband had trouble with them, so it was really surprising.