Szechuan Impression

As far as Szechuan food, this place is pretty up there in my rating scale compared to other Szechwan places in the SGV. We had the lamb rice noodle casserole, which a pretty good-​sized dish, perfect for sharing; Very tasty. We also had the Mapo Tofu, which was also pretty good, and not overly oily. It was nice that both dishes were not overpoweringly spicy, which can be the case at some Szechuan places, which was nice.
Their herbal tea, with red dates/​jujubes, goji berries, and logan was also very refreshing and a good complement to the meal.
Would definitely recommend as a spicy alternative to take friends who aren’t inclined to those «knock-​your-​socks-​off» szechwan-​cuisine restaurants.

Well I grew up eatin spicy food but his place is another level. I had a dish that tasted like it contained gasoline and novacain… Made my mouth go numb. I think that’s what they were going for though. So if your into s&m you’ll love this place.

The honey rose drinks are delicious. We tried it both hot and cold
The chef recommended a veggie dish sautéed in garlic that was really good. Not sure what the English word for that vegetable would be.
Kung Pao chicken was good. Slightly sweet and crispy exterior and super pungent spices that would cause my tongue to tingle. It was a weird experience.
Mamas hand rolled noodles come in a soup with egg. It was much more bland than the other dishes we orders but honestly we needed that to mellow out the strong flavors we had in the other dishes.
Farm chicken in dry chili oil had really good flavor but not much meat on the chicken. I’m not much of a fan of chicken skin so there wasn’t really much for me to eat in this dish. But I took it home so I could reuse the sauce in my leftovers.
The service was very friendly and the food is well executed.

Until recently, Sichuan peppercorns were illegal in the U.S. Perhaps that explains why, until this week, I’ve never experienced that singularly Novocaine-​y feeling of a Sichuanese hot pot or plate of vegetables in my home country.
At Szechuan Impression the food every bit as authentically tingly as in Chengdu or Chongqing. Worrisomely so. It may start as a giggly little fizz at the lips, but when it spreads to your throat, it starts to be difficult to tell if you’re actually breathing since you can’t feel the air go up and down your throat. Ah, Sichuan. You make me fear for my life soooo good.
Such fear comes at a price. Our plates of numbing bamboo shoots, lamb noodle soup, and tea-​smoked ribs, plus rice, tea, and pumpkin red bean rice cakes, set us back $ 30 each. Not terrible by any means, but not your average Valley Blvd price point.
I couldn’t choose a favorite dish. They all went so well together. The tea smoked ribs were just like tea smoked duck, but with ribs. The same flavor with some onion and peanut garnish, plus impressively fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. The lamb noodle dish had the same broth, to the note, of the ‘spicy’ side of Sichuan hotpots, and unfortunately was mostly noodles and skinny curls of lamb. The bamboo shoots looked unassuming but were secretly the spiciest dish on the table. Each cold soft spiral packed a punch at least equal to that pre-​numbing Q-​tip you get at the dentist before the shot.
The rice cakes were hot, crispy, and perfectly chewy on the inside. No soft, slippery Japanese-​style mochi here! The skins were actually crackling.

Great and authentic food. They have some special dishes which other Sichuan restaurants don’t have. I am super surprised and excited to find the dishes specific to my hometown on the menu, and they are the right taste according to my memory. Recommend 鲢鱼 and 钵钵鸡。Other dishes are also tasty, just that I don’t have enough room to try them all!

Some friends and I tried szechuan for the first time (for most of us, one had it once before), and boyyy… we tried the authentic tastes, and we were wayyy too noob.
I was unprepared for the Mala flavor (mainly consisting of sichuanese peppercorns and chili oil)… oh lordy!
The tip of my tongue was almost immediately numb, include my lips and insides of my cheeks. That is NOT a flavor I was comfortable with. I don’t think this type of food is for my taste, but that’s not to say that the food wasn’t good.
+ long potato with spicy salt (basically, french fries) = so good, but that numbing flavor hits you about 5 – 8 fries in. With this preset, everything else just escalated after that.
+ mung bean noodle = the texture of the noodle is SOO delicious, but that Mala chili oil that it’s bathing in… not my favorite. I wonder if this mung bean noodle came in a milder form?
+ kung pao chicken = if you are not used to sichuanese peppercorns, opt OUT of the Mala flavor! omg… one accidental bite into one of these peppercorns, and it’ll explode into a mouthing numbness that takes awhile to subside.
+ mapo tofu = it was good, but again, in that Mala chili oil flavor. I prefer the cantonese kind with the thicker and saltier taste.
+ fish fillet in chili oil = same thing… fish was good though! wish there wasn’t so much chili oil (but what did we expect, at this point?)
+ wontons = the ONLY thing that came out clean, pure, white, and NO sichuan spice! SO DELISH
+ fried rice patty in caramelized sugar = like a dessert, with the korean peanut-​tasting something sprinkled on top. this was okay.
All in all, I don’t think Szechuan cuisine is for me. Maybe the more american-​ish szechuan, catered towards unknown palates? As I looked around at the tables around us, everyone’s plate was so NOT covered in spice. We took it way too far in the Mala taste hahaha.

I’ve been here four times since it opened in 2014, but I hadn’t been back in about half a year. It would appear that SI have gotten their act together big time. They were always a superior dining experience, but they have really perfected their dishes. I was really blown away by the subtlety of the flavors: the aromatics, the heat, the sweet patina that courses through the various dishes. It’s just really, really good.
Tonight we had the Kung Pao Chicken, the Boiled Fish in Chili Oil, and the Spicy Crab. Oh boy, each dish impressed me. The Kung Pao Chicken was possibly the best KPC I’ve ever had, so well-​caramelized and flavorful. The Boiled Fish was expertly cooked, tender and substantial at the same time, without any of the expected oiliness that this dish can sometimes acquire at other restaurants. The Crab is just a delight: fiery and smoky, the powdered chili coating the creature quite lickable.
The restaurant is a cozy and elegant dining experience. The waitstaff are earnest and prompt, and there is not a hint of their trying to rush you out, even if you show up in the last hour or so of business hours. Yeah, I know all about Chengdu Taste up the street, but I also know that I have spotted the staff of CT dining at SI, though without revealing their identities to the waitstaff…

This really is a favorite spot of mine right now. Especially with all the various Szechuan restaurants popping up around town lately; and it being a bit of a trend. A couple of reasons why:
— The flavors are on point. It’s hair raisingly spicy; but in such a way where you see all the nuance in the distinct types of spicy coming through. Whether it’s the deep fried peppercorn flowers, the slivers of fresh jalapenos, or the chunks of dried chili.
— Huge menu! I’ve been back three times now; and I have yet to scratch a quarter of what I want to try. Maybe I need more spicy friends to join in the fray, but I don’t have an army of people…
— Well translated menu; still some grammar things here and there, but for what it’s worth; it’s a very descriptive menu and well laid out in such a way that you can plan your meal out accordingly.
— And along those lines, staff is attentive and generally speaks decent English. It really helps a lot when trying to order things, just saying!
— Bonus points for the two giant big screens that show the games! And they also have a nice outdoor patio for those would want to enjoy the cool breeze outside. Cuz you know, it’s gonna get in there…
— Double bonus for being open late too!
— Finally, I have enjoyed everything there for the authentic flavors, a seemingly less reliance on MSG /​sodium, attention to details, and a good mixture of protein /​carbs /​vegs and mixture of non-​spicy, spicy, super spicy type dishes. Things I have tasted include the dried chili cubed fried chicken, spicy oil boiled fish, the seasonal lamb stew, ma-​po tofu, smoked pork ears, the seasonal vegs, and spicy wonton. Enjoyed it all!
…Next step; find more friends to recruit back here…

Had a great experience here. Everything from the service the moment we entered to the food to the courtesy we received upon leaving was so much more than we had expected for a Chinese place.
We ordered the hot chili oil wontons (紅油抄手), the cold noodles (涼皮), the marinated sausages (口口香腸), the chicken casserole, and the lamb on toothpicks (牙籤羊肉) and all was delicious and well-​portioned (for a party of 3).
During our meal, the waitress came to check on us every 20 minutes and asked us if everything was to our satisfaction and if we had any feedback. Finally, we told her we thought the chicken was quite salty and she seemed to take it seriously and relay that directly to the chef. But despite that, we still thought the chicken was tender and kept having it anyway.
We panted from the spicy was and the numbness, but it was all worth it bc all the meats were tender, and all the wontons were juicy, and the environment was hospitable. We never felt rushed, whether from ordering or from loitering (15 mins) post-​meal. We will be back for more!

Not as spicy or tasty as Chengdu Taste. The translated menu item names are a bit cheeky and full of it.
The cold noodles were good. Everything else was alright.
Quite disappointed that I waited outside for 20 minutes for this meal. Definitely was not worth that wait.
To be fair, I’ve only had Szechuan cuisine a handful of times so I may not be its best critic. Check out my pictures to see what I found mediocre.

Been hearing a lot about this place and I’m glad I finally got to try it. I love spicy, and the dishes here definitely hit the spot.
The fish in chili oil was super bomb. It left a tingle in my mouth after every bite. I think that’s the best thing about spicy food, which is the lingering numbness you get after. The toothpick lamb was good too. Not too oily. Service was ok here. They don’t really listen attentively when we requested for drinks. They shorted our table one water and didn’t pay attention much when we were ordering. But this is something small that can be fixed.
There’s street parking and a tiny lot in the back. I’ll come back for more.

This place gave me the best impression of Szechuan food. I ate here many times since it opened last year. I’ll probably eat here once a week if its closer to me.
Food: By far the best Sichuan restaurant in town. Yes, its better than Chengdu Taste. From the food quality to presentation, its just amazing. The food here is not overly spicy, like most other Sichuan restaurants around the area. Which I think its a good thing, because most Sichuan restaurant over do the spiciness to a point that you can’t even tell what you’re eating. Some of the must try dishes here: Lamb on tooth picks, pork with garlic, tea smoked rib, bo bo chicken,
beef broth and rice cake.
Location: The only thing I don’t like about this place is the location. Although its on valley blvd, but its more towards East LA. Kind of ghetto if you ask me. This place will be more well known, if its open at a more popular area. The restaurant is kind of small, but its very clean and modern. Parking is not that bad, there’s plenty of parking spaces on the street.
Service: Service is great, from the servers to the manager. They’re very attentive and friendly. The service has been improved a lot since it first opened. Food came out pretty quick.
Price: Very reasonable price with the quality of food that they’re serving.
This place is definitely my #1 favorite Sichuan restaurant right now, and I’ve been to quite a few of them. I’ll recommend it to all my friends.

Very nice Sichuan restaurant indeed! What is equally important is that the place is clean and the service is good. I have been here twice and both times are memorable.
We ordered the Tea Smoked Ribs and some other dishes. But the one that made the most impression on me is the ribs. They are not only nicely seasoned, but the presentation is equally nice.
Would definitely recommend this restaurant and will return in the future for their spicy crabs!

There are some distinctly good dishes here as described by Jonathan Gold. The food here is good, refined Sichuan, a nice heat, not abundant with peppercorn flavor as most Sichuan restaurants. Wait staff are well focused on serving you your orders piping hot from the kitchen. The 3^rd time I came, I tried the Lamb in toothpicks (a nice dish, the cumin omnipotent over chiles), Fish Filet boiled in Chili (the fish beautifully cooked in chili oil and cabbages and the cold noodle (with just the right amount of heat, sprinkling of peanuts and scant sauce). The noodle dish lacked balance– while the heat from the sauce hinted of noble development of flavor, it was lacking the punch that more green onion would have delivered and the sauce so scant I felt like I was eating a ton of noodles with a drizzle of sauce. The lamb went just a bit overboard with cumin that you wonder if you are about to chew on old socks as you brought it past your nares. It was a good dish however, notably different, the meat more chewy than tender. But when you ask different waiters, waiters feigning interest, for water 2 times and a Sprite 3 times yet none delivered, you wonder if Jonathan Gold got ignored by his waiters here. Not. This is the third time for me here, it’s got the same vibe as the other two. And that is, the wait staff here are on a constant push to get food from the kitchen to your table (nice) and service was brisk, but chicken without heads brisk. And as you’ll notice when you go they want to rush you out. Yet I had to ask twice for rice, twice is sacrilege in an Asian restaurant (that is only ¾ full) and finally ignoring various drink requests 5 times, the check appeared soon after the last (ignored) drink request. Hilarious. Mind you we were not rude, demanding or officious. I would have liked to have experienced the rest of the menu here but I’m not returning. Service can kill a restaurant for me and Szechuan Impression to me is dead. This is a classic example of a restaurant getting rave reviews by the food community and just wanna crank out the food (and it shows by the haphazard plating and assembly of dishes) and refresh tables and its patrons quicccccckkkkkkly.
Thrice. Not impressed.
Never coming back. #servicesucked
Visits: 2 or 3
Tip: $ 1

Way better than Chengdu Taste on Valley IMO. The dishes were spicy but not to the point that you couldn’t enjoy them.
Cold jelly noodles — awesome! Was spicy, refreshing, and a little sweet.
Wonton red chili oil — sweetness really cuts through the spice in these wontons. Really good!
Intestine starch noodle — this was the spiciest plate of this meal. Flavored were good but the intestines were a bit chewy. Would have been better if intestines were cooked for longer.
Fried rice cake with brown sugar — this is basically what turned the 4 star meal into 5 stars. It’s a sticky and warm rice cake that’s crunchy on the outside, sits on top of a puddle of caramelized brown sugar, and finally topped with heaps of soybean powder. MUST GET. SO GOOD
I’ll be back!

We had a feast here at Sze Chuan Impression. Ordered a lot of dishes that fills up our table.
Boiled fish in spicy broth:
~ Wasn’t expecting the fish to be served in a pot of chilli oil! You almost couldn’t see that this pot has fish in it. Omg! It’s too oily for me! I had to ask the staff to get me a bowl of hot water to rinse the chilli oil away before I eat my piece of fish. Not a fan of this dish, way too oily!!! ²⁄₁₀
Mung Jung Jelly:
~ Something new to me, first time trying it. Was Q and soft. ⁷⁄₁₀
Kung Bao Chicken:
~ Good. It was well-​cooked and very tasty. Great to go with white rice. This dish comes with spices that will numb your tongue so becareful and avoid those tiny little looking pepper/​chilli. ⁷⁄₁₀
Spicy Wonton:
~ It’s just wonton with chilli oil, nothing special. ⁴⁄₁₀
Plum Juice:
~ Don’t like it at all. Taste weird but I still did finish it in the end to rinse off the spiciness in my mouth. ²⁄₁₀

I thought I had Szechuan before, but holy moly was I wrong. What I had before was spicy and you felt the heat in your mouth, but this authentic Szechuan is numbing and oddly «omg am I having an allergic reaction» feeling.
Don’t let that scare you away though. The food here is delightfully tasteful & worth the experience. There’s a lot of choices so don’t let it overwhelm you. You can stick with my recommendations below, or try something else. From my experience, I doubt anything is awful and disgusting.
Come with a party so you guys can order more!
Here’s my list of items to get:
1. Shredded Garlic Pork
2. Spicy Wontons
3. Honey Rose Tea
4. Smoked Ribs

Curious to know what a numbingly spicy meal will do to you? Stop by Szechuan Impression!
Service was good, but English is definitely not their first language. So patience and understanding will be much appreciated here. :)
The boiled fish with rattan pepper sounds and looks light, airy, and wonderfully delicious. Although it is delicious, it’s packed with a lot of heat. The rattan peppercorns are the devilish little buggers that will almost instantly numb your mouth and punch you in the face with spicy goodness.
The garlic pork was amazing, but after a few bites too many, the dish quickly became quite salty. I’d probably pair this with some white rice to cut the saltiness, but overall, it was very well done.
Finally, the rice noodle with beef and tripe was 1) very slippery and 2) very yummy! Just be careful trying to get some into your bowl as slippage and splashing will occur. I burned my hand with a few spicy, oily droplets a number of times.

Incredible.
Diced Rabbit was a joy to eat, watch out for bones but it is delicious. The dumplings were amazing as well. Crab was good but really difficult to eat.
Service was unusually good for a Chinese restaurant. I enjoy their requests for feedback. Here’s some more, keep it up.

Amazing!
I was spending forever one weekend in San Gabriel Valley looking on Unilocal to find the most appetizing looking restaurant in the area with spicy Chinese food. I have no regrets selecting Szechuan Impressions.
I had the dumplings, spicy rabbit, and spicy crabs. They were all delicious and I most recommend the rabbit. Everything was full of flavor and very spicy without being painfully spicy. The crabs were seasoned well, though I would not order them again because they were extremely difficult to break open and eat.
I couldn’t help but eye so many dishes around me that were beautifully prepared and tasty looking. There was a pot with various bites in it such as lotus slices. The special non-​alcoholic drinks looked whimsical — colored and in tall glasses with flower garnishments. I saw many orders of pork ribs as well. Everything looked great, which I cannot say of anywhere else off the top of my head.
The service was also outstanding. Yeah, service at Asian restaurants is known as weak oftentimes, but all execution here was top notch for any restaurant of any kind. The lady serving us was sweet and friendly. A manager also spoke with us at the end of our meal to ask about our experience. I love the active quest to improve.
I also greatly enjoyed the high ceilings and contemporary décor here. The small succulents lining the outside patio added a warm and earthy touch.
A+