5 Gongyuan Toutiao, Jianguomennei Dajie,Jianguomen
建国门内贡院头条5号,建国门
This popular restaurant is nearly universally acknowledged as the best Sichuan eating in Beijing. Small wonder, as it's located in the same building as Sichuan province's Beijing representative office. It's worth braving the crowds here at least once, if only for the tongue-numbing glory of one of Beijing's most authentic Sichuan restaurants.
A ton of guides say that this is the best Sichuan in Beijing, but, really? Price is fine, as are the dishes, but I was expecting to be blown away by their food. We ordered the shui zhu yu, mao po dofu, and a couple other classics, and they were fine, but I didn't find them to be spectacular. Service skews towards the inattentive side, but the place is jam-packed during lunch, so clearly they're doing something right.
Reading the comments, I feel like I should set a few things straight first..... 1. Don't expect very good service because this is a state-owned outfit. In fact the service exceeded my expectation knowing that it's a state-owned place. Waiters and waitresses were friendly and tried to be helpful. 2. Don't expect flashy decor and nice table settings. But it's very clean and neat. 3. Don't expect them to open between lunch and dinner because, again, this is a state-owned outfit. 4. You need to forget about all the other so-called Sichuan food that you've had before. If you are OK with the above, then Chuan Ban is a MUST TRY for real, authentic Sichuan food. All the sauces have subtle differences to go with the main ingredients, some with a tinge of more nutty flavor and the other has more peppercorn. All the fish and meat were cooked to perfect tenderness. This is simple, authentic Sichuan food at it's best.....at least in Beijing.
We like the spicy food and since my girlfriend is from sichuan this is her favourite place. She finds this place quite close to her food likings of her hometown in chengdu. Maopudofu is her favourite too. Service is not so excellent here but we care more for food.Also the price is bit high but this restaurant is for our special occassions anyway.
I'm just going to come right out and say it: I don't know what all the fuss is about. This place just didn't live up to its reputation as the best Sichuan spot in the city. That isn't to say it was bad; far from it. It's just that, judging from the word-of-mouth this place enjoys and the line out the door when we got there, I was expecting something more than the pretty standard Sichuan fare that they served up. Those looking for something a bit tastier and (significantly) less crowded should give The Sichuan Pavilion near Xidan a shot.
Hey Jr. – why battle the crowds at Beijing’s best Sichuan joint if you’re not going to go all-out in an orgy of gut-disintegrating hellfire? I agree that the cold dishes are decent, but I found that the “shui zhu yu” – chili-infused boiled fish soup – as well as the “mapo doufu” were significantly hotter than their counterparts elsewhere. Call beforehand for a reservation. I went on a Wednesday night, and the place was stuffed with fellow capsaicin fetishists. And yeah... being a Chinese restaurant, the beer is fairly cheap and I also stayed until late into the evening, getting rowdy while the waitstaff flitted around and refilled our glasses of "baijiu".
Disappointingly, Chuan Ban is not actually open from 10:30am to 10pm as listed. A friend and I were sorely disappointed to make the trip one afternoon only to find they had stopped serving by 2pm. If you speak Chinese, it's probably worth a call beforehand to make sure they'll be open, or risk embarrassing yourself as you try to show your friends how Beijing-savvy you are, smoothly navigating the back alleys of the Sichuan Banshichu, only to be turned away at the door. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed a late night sharing drinks and peanuts far past closing after one delectably spicy meal, and the waitstaff didn't even so much as give a disapproving glare as we talked and drank until midnight, after all the other empty tables had been swept and mopped. Or at least I was too drunk to notice if they did. While you can get your standard Sichuan fare like spicy chicken and boiled fish, the best are the plentiful and varied cold dishes to be enjoyed as appetizers or with drinks. But tempting though it may be, it's probably best to do yourself a favor and try to avoid ordering nothing but dishes doused in chili oil. Your stomach, if not your tastebuds, will thank you the next day.
Let's play Two Truths and a Lie. 1. Delicious Sichuanese cuisine. 2. Worth braving the crowds. 3. Gloriously tongue-numbing. If you guessed the last the lie, then you're on my page as far as pepper is concerned--and you win the chance to recommend another spicy spot. Maybe I'm on the wrong malajiao tip? Please, set me straight.