• Chinese - Szechuan
  • Chinese - Szechuan
  • Chinese - Szechuan

Chinese & Szechuan Restaurants in the West Island

Chinese cuisine is a combination of foods that originated in many parts of China, but has become a world-wide force in cuisine choice for many people. Although most Chinese food restaurants lump all of the different regional types of food into one large offering, there are actually eight different types of regional Chinese foods.

These types are commonly referred to as the Eight Great Traditions and are Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan and Zhejiang. These eight varieties can be broken down further into the four largest varieties with the strongest influence world-wide: Sichuan can be found in Western China and is the largest and most wide-spread variety followed by Cantonese in Southern China, Shandong in Northern China and Huaiyang in Eastern China. Among the most popular products of Chinese cuisine are egg rolls and crab Rangoon which can be found at most Chinese restaurants around the world today.

Szechuan Cuisine

Originating in Sichuan Province in southwestern China, Szechuan cuisine is praised by chili-heads the world over for its bold spiciness and rich, peppery flavors. In addition to the Sichuan peppercorn, Szechuan chefs rely heavily on broad bean chili paste; dried, smoked, or pickled ingredients; and a dizzying array of rich spices. Traditionally, Szechuan cuisine leans more heavily on beef than most variants on Chinese cuisine, but vegetarians will be happy to discover a heavy strain of Buddhist influence as well.

Chinese-food lovers will already be familiar with the chewy heat of braised or stir-fried Szechuan beef, but don't pass up other regional classics like the fiery, peanut-laden Kung Pao chicken; steamed beef drenched in succulent rice flour gravy; or the uncharacteristically delicate flavors of tea smoked duck.