Szechuan Spice

If you think this is the part where I suck my own dick and point out that I’ve traveled all over Asia (including China!) and ooze pseudo authority over what makes Asian food authentic… you came to the wrong neighborhood, motherfucker. Because no, this isn’t Hong Kong street food or Hunan mountain folk cuisine, but aside from dickbags who regularly call themselves «foodies» much to the chagrin of the people forced to tolerate them… who the fuck cares?
I enjoy their dan dan noodles and garlic eggplant, so that’s what I order on a regular basis. Their cream cheese wontons and egg rolls are alright — they’ll do in a pinch but they don’t excite me. Kinda like when you want sex but you’re dating a prude and the only thing she’s giving up are handjobs. You just gotta make do.
I love the surly service. Nothing makes me giggle harder than angry old Asian ladies who are sick of your shit. Yes, the food is fresh. No, nothing is gluten free. Hurry up and order and get out, you pretentious cracker.
Start accepting things for what they are in life and quit expecting to be served Asian food flown in from a grass hut village in Central China just to appease your need to utter phrases you’ve heard on the Food Network. You’re not that special.
Eat here and be satisfied. It’s food, not a cultural experience.

Ok — didn’t get the xiaolongbao or the dandanmien, but, whatever, as far as delivery «chinese» goes this place is below average and overpriced.
I don’t understand how Hunan Pork means stringy pieces of pork floating in an insipid brown sauce with a crap ton of american broccoli. I would urge the cooks at Szechuan to look up Hunan style pork and learn how to make it — or even just watch one of Eddie Huang’s many youtube shows about his restaurant and why Hunan style pork front and center on his menu.
We also got sichuan dumplings and they were about the same as every other cheaper delivery place. Yet everything on their menu seems to be priced at a dollar or two more.
I really have to part ways with other reivewers here, but I expected a lot more from this place and was really disappointed (maybe the blame should fall on Minnesotans, many of whom don’t know that well-​done Chinese basics like jielan niurou or hongshaorou are some of the most delicious foods in the world): Uptown pricing and bland food. Up your game if you want to be recognized, SS.
We can have so much better Chinese food than this, Minneapolis!

Came here because they are the few restaurants in Minnesota that serves pork soup dumplings (xiao long bao, or titled as «shanghai mini juice buns» on their menu).
So far, I have tried their pork soup dumplings, kung pao chicken lunch special, gui chow chicken, and shanghai wonton soup.
I tried their lunch special with kung pao chicken. It came with rice, soup, and one egg roll. Definitely a bang for your buck, but it is not anything amazing or special. It was good though.
The gui chow chicken was also good. It is a stir fried dish with chicken, bamboo shoots, and a bunch of chopped red chilli peppers. To my surprise, it does have a bit of spiciness, but it is not overpowering or strong.
The shanghai wonton soup was definitely worth it. It is an appetizer for two. It comes in a big bowl with about 8 pork wontons. The broth is not overpowering with flavor in a good way. It was soothing and refreshing, which makes a good sip throughout your meal. The wonton was good, packed a good pork flavor.
The highlight for me is the pork soup dumplings (shanghai pork mini buns). The skin is not too thick. The size is not too big. It compact great flavors. The meat ball in it is full of flavor. The soup adds on another soothing flavor of pork. Also, adding the Chinese vinegar adds another flavor and acidity. The only flaw about this dish is that it does not contain as much soup within the dumplings. However, it was still great. I really recommend this dish. So far it is the best xiao long bao in the twin cities that I have tried.
Overall, this is a good spot to eat at. I come here with xiao long bao (pork soup dumplings) cravings, and it sure does get fulfilled. Their other entrees are also good. Service varies, but the xiao long bao is worth it. Overall rating is 3.5÷4.

The food is usually very good. I think they make unique dishes that you wouldn’t normally get at other Chinese restaurants. However, the last time I was there, they ran out of the first three items we ordered. The customer service is just okay; we usually wait a least a couple of minutes before someone comes to the table. This place would get 5 stars if the customer service wasn’t so bad. But we keep returning because of the good eats!

I’ve never taken a chance and ordered what’s looked good and been so pleased. I want to try everything. They deliver in minutes! Only downfall — when I went to warm it later I realized the Dan Dan noodles were dripping with oil, not the amazing sauce from the night before. The flavors of the sauces on all dishes were impressive.

Ok…
They got their mojo back.
Boy do they deliver fast!
I’ve ordered several times now that they know how I like my food prepared and every time it has been perfect. Not soy soaked. Delicious and spiced right!
I recommend ordering items with white sauce.
Great local Chinese, dine in or delivery (fast).

No idea how the food is because we stood at the table and never got seated or acknowledged! Literally stood there for 10 minutes being ignored.

Really nothing great. Maybe I’m missing out on something here. The service was fine I guess. Our server wasn’t really friendly or anything. The won tons and egg rolls were obviously frozen. My boyfriends pork was bland and my sesame chicken was tendon-​y and pretty soggy. It would have been fine if it was maybe half the price, but it was really expensive as well. Do not recommend!

Didn’t think this place was anything special. My wife really likes it though. Got the sesame chicken and didn’t love the huge pieces of chicken mixed with their sauce. Then tried the broccoli chicken and it was just an average dish. If I ever went back here I would try something different.

The first time I came here was last summer and I wasn’t expecting very much from the MPLS chinese food scene. I brought my (Chinese) mom with me and she was pretty impressed by the soup dumplings. I grabbed takeout from here recently – chicken with broccoli – and I was able to stretch it out over three meals and it was delicious! Definitely considering this my go-​to chinese place when I want something tasty and simple

Well heck yeah. I waited to write my review until we’d eaten here a few times largely because I wanted to make sure our first experience wasn’t a fluke. This place is the best Szechuan Chinese place we’ve found in the area so far, and unlike some other restaurants with Szechuan in the name, I do not feel like I’m getting ripped off every time I eat here.
I’ll be honest, the service can range from good to not so good. But the food is always on point. And I will tolerate some mediocre service if the food is this good.
First of all, I could pretty much come here and keep myself quite content on appetizers only. Shanghai Mini Juicy Buns are pretty much a must get, steamed delicious soup like dumplings, served hot to your table in a steamer and accompanied by a brilliant vinegary, gingery sauce. I could seriously just order like three orders of these and call it a day. Szechuan dumpling in hot sauce is excellent and only missing some more aggressive garlic in my opinion. Fried pork dumplings are fine but not as good as the other two. Dan dan noodles are good but not exceptional.
My favorite entrée so far has been the twice cooked pork, which was delicious and crispy. We also liked the pork stirfry and the really yummy szechuan green bean vegetable. I also liked the egg drop soup I had last time, which came with small bits of corn for texture. Not for everyone, but to me a nice touch. We have yet to be disappointed by anything we ordered.
One final note: Many of the entrée dishes contain these beautiful slices of green pepper, but diner beware! They are almost always slivers of jalepeno pepper and they are wicked hot. I made the mistake of eating one once whole because I thought it was green bell pepper and totally missed the seeds. Look closely and taste carefully if you are not sure!!!

Parking across the street. Service was great. Spacious with plenty of tables.
+Dan dan noodles — get the large bowl to share. The sauce is medium to medium-​hot in terms of heat so those who can’t eat spicy food should probably avoid this
+Soup dumplings-​Great appetizers. The wrap is just just thick enough so it won’t break before you bite in. So far best version i’ve had in Minneapolis.
+ Szechuan Beef Noodle Soup– also spicy. Reminds me of taiwanese version. Beef were tender with just enough heat. However, I would still say Evergreen takes the cake by a tiny margin on this one.
+ Shredded Pork Stomach in spicy sauce– I am normally pretty adventurous when it comes to eating but I was not a huge fan of this. What bothered me was less about the texture of the pork than the sauce itself. It was a bit overly spicy where you can’t taste what meat you are even eating. But to be fair, generally Szechuan cuisine tends to be more heavy on the spice and sauce than on the natural flavor of the meat/​vegetable. Be prepared to have your tongue mildly numb.
Overall, great quick stop for food and likely will be back to try some others. But I would probably not get all spicy dishes next time — at the last dish my mouth was numb (in a somewhat good way).

Vegeterian Chinese options aren’t always great. But the General Tso’s tofu was delicious! Also, try the scallion pancake. It’s a little greasy (they usually are), but still crispy and delicious!

5 stars for food, flavor, and convenience! They do online ordering, though the payment and timing was a bit confusing the first time. I was expecting the confirmation page and/​or confirmation email to say when the food would be ready, but then I took the chance and walked over (10 – 15 min walk). My food was sitting for me on the counter when I got there!
I’ve had their dan dan noodles, beef noodle soup, and scallion pancakes, and all are super delicious. The pancakes were not what I was expecting (the taiwanese kind), but are just as yummy (the sauce is strangely delicious also. i almost want to drink it from the container…). I thought there were only a few pieces in the takeout bag, so I decided to eat all of the pancakes. Bad idea — there were so many more «slices» than I had imagined, and I got stuffed… (but hey, once i decide to do something, … i do!)
Beef noodle soup was very flavorful. Spicier than the taiwanese type, but obviously that’s to be expected.

The service was very courteous. The food was delicious, freshly made & spicy as I was expecting it to be. I especially loved the Szechuan dumplings in hot sauce. A must have at this place. I m definitely coming back here when I get my next cravings for spicy dumplings in hot sauce

This is the only restaurant (aside from places of employment) that has earned a place in my phone.
Must say, we’ve never been inside— but we have ordered delivery from them for a few years now. When they say they will be there in 30 minutes? They are lying to your face. Be prepared to eat in 15 minutes. How is that possible? Is it even safe to have food ready and delivered that quickly? NO IDEA! But it is wonderful!
Another wonderful thing that makes it feel like an authentic experience? When you ask for something on the menu that is unusual, they always ask if you’ve had it before and make sure you are prepared for the face explosion of goodness that will be delivered. Beef tendons? YES, great cold dish option in the summer!
A tip: always order an egg roll for each person eating. Your life will be made better by it.

I’m going to bump Szechuan Spice up a star, because there hasn’t been a month where I’ve looked in my empty fridge, stacked with different kinds of healthy greens, and been like «f*** it, I want Chinese food.» Unfortunately for Uptown, not a lot of options exist. Let alone deliver…
But it’s okay, because Szechuan Spice does the trick:
*Xiaolongbao: Before, they used to be a bit too thick with dough. Now, they’re thin enough that I can’t stop ordering them. This is phở sho my favorite treat from this Lyndale Ave establishment. Juicy, they are…
*Scallion Pancake: Even though it’s literally just fried bread with soy sauce, I order it as a guilty pleasure. I’ve woken up slightly hung-​over from a night of drinking, and have eaten it cold because 1) I’m lazy on the weekends and 2) it sober me up.
**Kung Pao Shrimp: This is as American-​Chinese I’ll go, but I think it’s pretty good. The shrimps are perfectly meaty, and there’s a generous amount of peanuts in there, too.
**Talapia with Chili Peppers: It’s a hit or miss — sometimes they put too much garlic; sometimes, they don’t. It’s a favorite of my girlfriends, and I’ll eat it when she orders it.
**Seafood Tofu Soup: Pretty tasty and there’s the perfect balance of tofu, peas, carrots, egg, etc… This soup helped me get through the winter.
**Eggplant With Beef: So greasy. So good. Where did all my white rice go?
**Seafood Chowfun: Not as good as other places, but it’ll definitely satisfy your craving.
When it comes to delivery or take-​out, this place hits the spot.

Above average Chinese food. Chicken in garlic sauce is good. They deliver.

This is the best Sichuan in Minneapolis. It is authentic from the ownership to the menu. Tsingtao is on the menu, as are spicy dishes like spicy beef soup, hot pot, dan dan noodles, the green beans, bok choi, all have the signature szechuan peppercorns and have a nice bite. I would say you should avoid the shanghai dumplings. Also, some of the dishes are a bit oily — which is great for the spicy kick but can be a bit rich for most.
Some have commented that the décor is a bit plain — but having been to China — it is very authentically decorated and furnished with minimalist décor and lazy susans
The service is consistent and I took a work colleague from Shenzhen China, and he absolutely loved it, plus enjoyed talking in his native language to the servers!

After tryting the Kung Pao Chicken, Garlic Shrimp, and Egg Rolls, I find this a better than average Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately though, Chinese food runs poor in this nation (I’m not speaking for others), so better than average doesn’t mean great.
However, this food is good, just nothing special, I find it not quite as good as Pings, a little better than Bill’s, and much better than all those little Chinese take out places with the huge menus that they leave on your door and offer free delivery.