Restaurant Review: Little Sichuan

On Tuesday, Rob and I dashed down to San Mateo after work to help Margaret carry some heavy things into her new apartment. Who would have thought this errand would reveal a gem of a restaurant?

Rob and I stayed in Chengdu and Leshan for two weeks on our China trip a few years ago. We fell instantly in love with the spicy, fresh, salty Sichuan cuisine. Back in the US, we were disappointed to not find anything even close to the food we enjoyed over there. So I was nervous about giving Little Sichuan in downtown San Mateo a try.

As soon as they set down the boiled peanuts and spicy pickle squash, I knew we were in for an authentic treat. Between the three of us, we ordered way to much food. Shrimp dumplings, spicy noodles, twice cooked pork, ma po tofu and Beijing style pancake. Each dish could serve three on its own. The twice cooked pork (pictured) was mind-blowing good and I loved the pancake dish that was cut into strips and stir fried with veggies.

Everything was spicy and fresh, delicious for lunch the next day too. Easily the most authentic Chinese food we’ve had since China. They also have standard American-Chinese dishes if you go with someone not in for a spice adventure.