Midtown Lunch

Emei Szechuan Style Restaurant is a newish Szechuan Chinese restaurant that replaced Chung King Garden. Like its predecessor the menu has both Szechuan and American-Chinese type food. I tried a bunch of appetizers and their spiciest lunch special.

While you wait, some reading material.

And while you browse the menu, tea is served with peanuts and their version of kimchee.

The crab meat with asparagus soup (serving is for 2) is a beautifully refined dish with little soft pieces of both crab and asparagus. It was a nice change to have something beyond wonton (which I also had here)  or hot and sour soup.

The dumplings in chili oil were as slippery as they were delicious.

Their version of the traditionally Szechuan dish, dan dan noodles, came with particularly thin noodles but the peppercorn studded pork topping was more traditional.

Lunch specials come with a choice of soup. I enjoyed the huge wontons but the broth was too tame; this was remedied by adding some of the fiery sauce from my lunch entree.

I asked for the spiciest lunch option and was pointed to sliced beef with hot and spicy sauce ($7). The sauce definitely proved to be hot and spicy, it was flecked with szechuan peppercorns, but instead of the usual overwhelming battery feeling, the peppercorn use was restrained, it was very, very spicy, but the generous use of garlic provided a contrasting flavor that made it much more balanced and delicious. My only complaint is that the quality of the beef could be better.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Finally, some super spicy food
• Long menu of soups, appetizers, and lunch specials to explore
• Great waiting room reading material

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Beef could be better quality

E-mei, 915 Arch St (@ 9th St), 215-627-2500