Szechuan Gourmet 川味坊

Ever since the new Szechuan gourmet launched, everything’s leveled to an unbelievably authentic Szechuan food, highly appreciated by people coming from Szechuan. I personally visit this place regularly now, nothing that I ever ordered I would dislike. They are the only authentic Szechuan restaurant, I’m confident to say, among pretty much all eastern U.S. just simply looking at the way they process their ingredients and material, so descent! Now you feel no worry to order things like pork feet, pork kidney and liver, as they cleaned them quite nicely that you won’t smell or taste anything funny.

I was craving authentic Sichuan food that reminded me of my hometown, and this place came up as the closest option in my search. The photos looked amazing, so I decided to give it a try. Parking was a bit tight, but that’s understandable for Northeast Philly. I really enjoyed the dry pot fish I ordered. The glutinous rice cake was a pleasant surprise—I didn’t expect to find a dish from my childhood memories here. Both my husband and kids loved the food and are already asking to go back in the future.

This restaurant has hole-in -the-wall vibes. It's in a slightly sketchy neighborhood, but in the inside feels like a different world. Parts are nicely decorated, but there's also Xmas trees for some reason. The food tastes very good and authentic. That being said, I asked for less spicy because I'm a weenie with spicy food, so I don't know how spicy their food gets. But they get the numbing flavor right. My favorite was the clear noodles with chili sauce. They were fresh, slightly spicy, sweet, squishy, chewy, and well balanced.

I can approve that the taste of Sichuan is very authentic here. The spicy and aroma definitely match up. I love this place, and the only reason why I dropped a star is due to the things that have sold out. Attempted to order a fish and a couple of items on the menu, but they were sold out. I recommend getting the tofu on the hot plate. I never had tofu like that before, and it didn't disappoint me. My other recommendation for this place is to look at the menu ahead of time and call in to reverse certain things like seafood, fish, or roasted meat/sausage so it wouldn't be sold out when you tried to order!

Incredibly delicious, authentic Sichuan cuisine. Owner was very friendly and overall the service was quick. I will definitely come again in the future.