This post is long overdue! I'm always game for Sichuan spicy food at 渝酸辣粉 (Yu), especially when it's hot and humid during the summer, or cold and windy during the winter. Tucked away on Yiu Wah Street behind Times Square, this little restaurant serves some of the best Sichuan food in town at affordable prices. You'll know what to expect when you walk in - the aromas from all the Sichuan spices hit your nose with a punch.
9 times out of 10 I go there at eat the Tasting Set Menu ($76). It has a bowl of their hot and sour Chongqing potato starch noodles (I love the bouncy, chewy texture), a serving of Sichuan chilled spicy chicken (in Chinese, it's called 口水雞 meaning "mouthwatering chicken"), and a trio of marinated black fungus, marinated cucumber, and marinated beef tendon (they've changed it to marinated chicken feet for the current menu). On top of this, you get a choice of a drink and still have dessert - a bowl of clear jelly with osmanthus syrup to cool your mouth down after a fiery meal. Try their cucumber soy milk (+$6 to change your set menu drink) - it's a refreshing combination of the cool from the cucumber and the sweet from the soy milk.
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| Tasting Menu at Yu |
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| Hot and Sour Potato Noodles |
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| Mouthwatering Chicken |
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| Dessert - Sichuan Pepper Panna Cotta (left) and Osmanthus Jelly (right) |
Their signature dessert is the Sichuan Pepper Panna Cotta. The owner told me that a friend of hers helped develop the recipe (he's a dessert chef at the Four Seasons). They've turned your normal, creamy panna cotta up a notch by infusing the cream with Sichuan Pepper, which gives you that tongue-numbing sensation. You might not taste it at first, especially if you ate from the restaurant's spicy selection, but after a while you'll notice a numbness at the back of your throat. Some restaurants have tried to re-create this but no success.
For diners who can't take spicy food, no need to fret. They have a set menu of soy-sauce based marinated meat (choice of one between beef shank, tripe, chicken wings, goose wings, and pork spare-ribs) paired with a shredded chicken noodle soup ($54). The soup base of the noodles is a creamy white color, obtained only by simmering a stock of chicken and pork bones for 5+ hours.
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| Shredded Chicken Noodle in Soup + Sichuan Marinated Beef Tendon (not spicy) |
Straying away from the sets, you can order your marinated veggies and meats a la carte. Here are some of the dishes I've ordered:
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| Sichuan Beef Noodle in Soup |
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| Chilled Sliced Pork Belly with Cucumber in Garlic Sauce ($48) |
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| Sichuan Spicy Bean Jelly Noodle (Cold Dish) ($32) |
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| Spicy Marinated Cucumber ($30) |
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| Sichuan Spicy Marinated Beef Shank and Tendon ($48) |
All the spicy dishes uses the same Sichuan pepper oil (made a few times a week by the chef on site, none of that manufactured stuff from China), salt, sugar, sesame oil, pepper, garlic, and a myriad of other Sichuan spices, but the chef is able to make different kinds of spicy. Pretty neat, and one of the main reasons why the owner decided to hire him!
I haven't tasted everything on the menu, but so far I love what I've eaten. I have to say I think the non-spicy marinated meats are average compared to the other items, but worth a try and a decent option for people who don't like burning their mouths off.
Yu offers spiciness options, such as not spicy, very little spicy, all the way up to additional spicy (5 options). However, some dishes, such as the Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup Noodle, don't have options. The servers will let you know.
For those who can't make the trek out to Causeway Bay because your office is in Central, not to fret! Yu has a take-out store on Queens Road Central closer to the Sheung Wan side, but will do deliveries.
Yu 渝酸辣粉
4 Yiu Wah Street, Causeway Bay, 2838-8198
Central take-out address:
Shop C1, Ground Floor, Siu Ying Commercial Building, 151-155 Queen's Road Central, 2544-8885
