Szechuan Lei Lei: Surprisingly Good Chinese

When most people think of Chinese food they think of greasy, salty, inexpensive, and readily available fare. When I think of  Chinese food I think of A Christmas Story which I have seen about two dozen times.

It's no secret that I love food, eating and movies. Chinese food has a role in many films I have seen. Who can forget the creepy dinner scene in The Lost Boys? In addition, there have been numerous scenes with the white origami take-out box with the wire handle. I think Chinese food shows up often because it is a familiar face in the American dining landscape.

In America most Chinese restaurants are on the casual, less expensive side of the spectrum and thus more accessible. falls under that category. Housed in a strip mall, this highly affordable restaurant offers an abundant array of Chinese dishes that surprised the entire dinner party.

We started off with the egg drop and hot and sour soups, egg rolls and spring rolls. The egg drop soup had a rich gelatinous chicken broth, plenty of thin ribbons of cooked egg and a slight sprinkling of scallions. It was mild in flavor and though my friends loved it, I could have used a touch more salt. 

The hot and sour soup was slightly sour but not all that hot initially. The heat in the soup was very subtle but built up after each spoonful. The thick soup was brimming with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, mushrooms and tofu. Each bite had a wonderful combination of different textures and flavors, not to mention a rainbow of colors. There were a few chili flakes scattered throughout for an added splash of red. This hot and sour soup was one of the better ones I have tried in the area.

The spring rolls and egg rolls were slightly greasy but definitely crisp. There's the saying that anything fried is good but I would beg to differ. I couldn't really taste much in the spring roll. I had to look back on the menu to see what was supposed to be inside (shrimp). The egg roll was the better of the two as I could actually taste the vegetables and pork inside. A quick dip in the duck sauce and you had a perfect sweet and savory bite. 

For our entrees we had the barbecued spare ribs, chicken mei fun, sesame chicken and hunan lamb. The spare ribs were not the favorite of the table. They were on the dry side, not tender and the sauce was cloying and very salty (we all know how much I love salt, so this is saying something). I actually couldn't eat more than one despite the overwhelmingly large number of ribs. It was a carnivore's dream come true.

The chicken mei fun was the opposite of the spare ribs. This delicate dish was mildly seasoned and bursting with thin noodles, vegetables, egg omelet and tender pieces of white meat. If you could classify dishes as being masculine or feminine, this would be alarmingly feminine.

Though mildly seasoned, it was not without flavor. We all enjoyed the subtle seasonings of this dish. You could taste soy sauce, some sesame and aromatics (onions, garlic). It's actually refreshing to get a noodle dish at a Chinese restaurant that is not heavy on oil and sauce.

The sesame chicken had plenty of bright green steamed broccoli and was on the sweeter side. The morsels of chicken were breaded, fried and then drenched in a syrupy thick sauce which tasted vaguely of sesame. I would compare this dish to General Tso's and sweet and sour chicken. If you like those dishes, you will love this dish as well. The chicken was also white breast meat.

The hunan lamb was the show stopper for me. Normally when I go out for Chinese there is the same quartet of proteins: chicken, beef, pork or shrimp. I rarely, if ever, see lamb as an option. Hunan cuisine is known for being spicy and is not as omnipresent as Szechuan or Cantonese cuisines.

So I jumped at the chance to try an unusual protein cooked in the manner of a lesser known province. The dish featured many different vegetables, a rich and slightly spicy sauce and tender pieces of lamb. The lamb was succulent and not gamey at all. The sauce was multi-layered and had great body (most likely from cornstarch). I loved all the perfectly cooked vegetables (broccoli, young corn, green peppers, snow peas, etc.) in the dish. 

We opted for ice water instead of hot tea as it was so hot outside. There is no liquor license so you can not enjoy your spicy Hunan lamb with a cold beer. They do offer soft drinks and juices. To be honest, I think ice water or hot tea are the best non-alcoholic pairings for Chinese food. For wine, I think Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and sometimes a Zinfandel (for spicier foods).

The service is polite and laid back. Our questions were answered efficiently and there was never a long wait for anything. Food was brought out in a timely fashion and once the dishes came out our server disappeared until we needed the check. it almost felt like there was an invisible staff that saw to our needs.

The decor is dominated by red and gold, both colors of good fortune in Chinese culture. The dining room is large and wide open. About half of the tables are booths which I love.

There are banners overhead and though obviously not a brand new space it is clean. It actually reminded me of the Chinese restaurant the family goes to on Christmas Day in The Christmas Story. Our meal was just as memorable and enjoyable. We too were the only ones in the dining room that evening, but it only made us feel more special.