We walked into this restaurant ~ 7 pm and there were no other customers. Then we discovered why. The food was not well prepared, too spicy and with ingredients we did not enjoy such as stringy celery with squid with no other notable ingredients, kung pao chicken with very few peanuts which is usually one of the star ingredients of kung pao chicken. Portions were not at all generous for the prices which were much too high for the lack of quality and quantity. Besides lacking in quality, the preparation was not good. We were told this is not a Sichuan restaurant as billed online but does not live up to other Hunan restaurants we've eaten at in the past.
The food isn't really authentic Sichuan or Hunan flavor. We ordered Gong Bao Chicken to go. As you can see from the picture, it mixed with celery, which has never been part of the ingredients in this particular dish. The food portion was okay. The flavor of both dishes was rather plain.
We went to Spices for lunch on a weekday. The server was attentive and efficient and the restaurant is clean and comfortable. Note, however, that "Spices" is an appropriate name. The food is SPICY. I like it a lot. But you know yourself, you need to judge yourself as to whether you really like spicy food, and please be honest!
Order Fire-Burst Mongolian Beef, Lamb Cumin, and Explosive Chicken.
Food was good with generous portions. Dining environment was nice. Service was okay, but slow. I believe they were too busy and under the staff.Authentic Hunan dishes. Recommend the sizzling cumin lamb. Very hot so you might need to ask them for different level of spice.Will come again to try more.
Ordered the fish fillet in hot chilly oil. Definitely serves more than one person. It’s one of the most popular dishes thats ordered here.
Excellent Iron Pot! However, we need Mochi to cool off after please!Katty <3
like eating in china. great aelection. friendly great food.
An absolute favorite for Chinese in SF. If you like spice, this place is an absolute gem. The dishes are mostly Sichuan with some Hunanese.The Mapo Tofu is a must. The tofu is soft and velvety and provides a cooling effect to the chili broth that is enriched with numbing Sichuan peppercorns. The addition of pork adds some great texture. This is always one of the spiciest dishes whenever I order.Chicken wings are incredible. Cut into small pieces for maximum crunch. Dry battered in a bed of sauteed, dried red chilies with some stems of cilantro. The wings provide a bit of heat with a dusting of Sichuan peppercorns for a bit of numbing effect. They are highly additive and a great value for the price.Pickled long beans with pork is another favorite. When we ordered this, we were looking for a vegetable heavy dish that was spicy and hearty. What an absolute treat! The long beans are cut small and have a slightly sour pickle, so the texture is really crunchy. The pork compliments the pop of the fresh greens really well. The fresh spicy, green peppers sauteed into the dish compliment the dish perfectly. Sour, spicy, and fresh. Apparently, this is a classic Hunanese dish.Lamb, beef, or fish in flaming red chili oil is perfect for spice lovers. Personally, I prefer the flavor of the fish with the broth is comes in the best, but my partner really enjoyed the lamb. The broth is rich and spicy with a mix of chili flakes and chili oil. The dishes also include some cabbage and small pieces of bok choy. The portion size is generous.As far as noodles go, I prefer the chow fun over the chow mein. Both seem to incorporate chili oil to achieve the level of spice promised and IMO the thick rice noodle handles the additional oil better. It also keeps a better texture. Though tbh, it's a minor preference to me. I often rotate between ordering the chow mein, beef chow fun, or the combination fried rice.So many other fantastic dishes oj the menu, but these have been our favorites thus far.
The food is really not that great especially if you are looking for authentic Hunan food. The frogs are preciously frozen so doesn't have the tenderness of freshly cleaned frogs. The portion of the spicy and sour pork stomach is pretty large but it's not tender or tasty. The iron skillet squid is more like calamari but mostly too blend and not very fresh either. It's very hard to recommend this place even though from the name or the place you'd think it's authentic but definitely not because of the food.