[Revisited] Pin Chuan

Spicy Sichuan Done Right - By Michael, Oct 31, 07

I avoided Pin Chuan at first because a Shanghainese friend derided it as a "place that only foreigners go," alluding that it's not authentic Sichuan food and packaged for tourists. So she took me to other Sichuan restaurants around town and I found most of them disappointing -- including the over-rated South Beauty, and many of the cheaper places that have "Shanghai-ed" the taste with the oily sweetness of Shanghai cuisine, and lacking that ma la (numb spicy -- Sichuan peppercorns and hot chili peppers) flavor that sets Sichuan food apart. One exception, Yu Xin, which is simply the best Sichuan I've had outside of the province itself. Anyway, a couple years ago I was invited to dine at Pin Chuan, and it quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in the city. For two years now I've been lunching and dining at Pin Chuan about once a week.

Even if Pin Chuan isn't the most authentic Sichuan restaurant, it excels above the others with clean, fresh ingredients, well-crafted dishes and, guess what, good service! The prices are also reasonable, and you can put together a fine meal for two at about 100-150rmb.
An absolute must is to start with the fresh lettuce salad covered in a spicy, salty peanut sauce. There's no insipid sweetness in it that creeps into so many dishes at other places. This one is the best I've had and it's on my list of reasons to stay in Shanghai. Simple yumminess. The "wild vegetable" (buckwheat) noodles is another must-do appetizer. The red pepper oil coating isn't going to kill you, it's medium-spicy with an agreeable sweetness. My mouth waters whenever I think of it.

If you don't mind me telling you what to order, I'll continue. The eggplant with green chili peppers was originally not on the English menu, but our waiter recommended it with enthusiasm, and that's become another favorite I always order. Dipped in black vinegar, the soft, subtle eggplant compliments the green chilis that are tart and spicy in a different way from the red chilis found all over Sichuan cuisine.

Main courses are also mostly excellent. There is a variety of shui zhu yu -like dishes -- fish cooked in a bowl of red hot chili oil. My favorite of these is cod cooked in a sour-hot sauce, but a pricey option at 169rmb. You can also get other meats in a shui zhu style, perhaps the most popular one is cooked at the table and is slightly dangerous as the waiter drops raw ingredients into boiling oil and it sizzles and pops violently. Tofu with crab meat is another highlight.

Unfortunately they recently stopped preparing one of my other favorites -- chicken with smoked tea leaves.

Here's another tip -- ignore the red wine list they push here, as red wine is a bad match with Sichuan food. Go with white wine, beer or perhaps fresh watermelon juice in case your mouth is burning.

Yes, you'll see a lot of foreigners eating here, and although it's usually a safe bet to slag off tourist-friendly restaurants, Pin Chuan is certainly an exception! They've received a number of media and reader-poll awards over the years, so they're not a secret. But in a city with so many sexy new restaurants, it's easy to forget gems like Pin Chuan. Reservations advised on weekend nights only.

In the search for the newest and trendiest restaurants
in Shanghai, older, established venues will often
become eclipsed in the public's eye. In "Revisited,"
SmartShanghai sends reviewers out for seconds at
the city's familiar and long-lasting restaurants, eateries
and cafes to find out what has enabled some restaurants
to succeed and improve when others have been little more
than flavors of the month.

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