Chengdu Taste

Chengdu Taste has been forefront on my radar ever since I got a note from a friend saying it very easily could have been the best Sichuan meal he has had in a very long time.
Let me start with what I perceived as the only con of the meal which is atmosphere. There is none. The room is fairly sterile and chaotic. Not in a bad way chaotic but rather waiters constantly buzzing tables and the endless procession of people trying to secure tables (when we left there were easily 10 people inside the restaurant and an additional 20 – 30 outside). I did not count the amount of tables inside the restaurant but my guess is close to 8 four tops and a smattering (3-​ish) of ⁶⁄₈ tops.
We were originally suppose to be a gathering of 8 people but as does happen in Vegas, three of the eight opted out last minute. I will try and minimize the blow by blow details of each bite and list the dishes we had.
Wonton in spicy chili oil. One of the best I have had anywhere. Perfect balance of sweet spicy tingly goodness. Originally 1 ordered and so good we ordered another.
Mung bean jelly in chili oil (chilled). I have never had nor have wanted to have mung bean jelly. That has now changed going forward. This was a delightful dish with the mung bean jelly like soft strands of udon noodles. I am certainly not a veteran of this dish but those that are considered this to be an excellent version.
Sliced beef and tripe salad (chilled) in chili oil. Again, excellent. I have had only one better and it is the one at Nan Xiang in Flushing. I will say that the Nan Xiang version is more of a sledge hammer of flavors while CTs version is very well balanced and nuanced.
Cumin lamb on tooth picks. I think this is CTs signature dish, and rightfully so. Perfectly spiced, cooked too perfection little bites of lamb shoulder. Like the wontons, these were so good another round was ordered.
Braised fish and silky tofu in chili oil. This was ordered because the green chili oil version was not available this evening (along with the duck tongue). This was a good dish with good spice levels and flavors but a distant 2^nd to my favorite version from Café China in NYC. Very good but not great.
Diced rabbit in mother-​in-​law sauce. While many at the table loved the ingredients of this dish, for me and a couple others, the rabbit was sooooo boney it took the pleasure out of eating this dish. The flavors were excellent (chili oil, scallions and other veggies I believe) and again the balance of heat was perfect. It’s just those darn bones…
Crisped rice with shrimp. This was a very interesting dish and not at all what I was expecting. The rice was more puffed that was crispy. Like all the other dishes this was well balanced with a tinge more sweetness and a level higher in spice, mostly because of the fact that I ate the peppers (dried red chili and serrano).
Ma Po Tofu. My friend had extolled the virtues of this dish so there was no chance we would not order it. My experience with Ma Po tofu in the past has never been good so I was a little hesitant to try. But at a meal like this you HAVE to try everything at least once. Thank God I did. What a wonderful dish. Nice textures, the tofu headlining (we commented that a bit more silky, fresher would make it even better) with the minced pork and sauce perfectly complementing.
Fried rice. Cmon, seriously! Who orders fried rice at a place like this? Make sure you order the fried rice here!!! WOW! I’m not 100% sure which version we ordered but my guess is we ordered the Chengdu Style fried rice. Everything about this rice was perfect. Texture, flavor, spice… EVERYTHING. It’s fried rice so don’t expect a life changing dish but it was one of the best I have had. Perfectly complementary to the entire meal.
Sichuan Potatoes. Think potato chip, almost. Fried twice and perfectly spiced. Without a doubt get these as a side. A wonderful plate.
Stir fried greens with garlic (maybe a watercress???). They did not have the snow pea leaves so we left it in the hands of our waiter, who was simply wonderful and patient! Like the potatoes, a great dish and a perfect side for the meal.
So in short, as long as you are not one of those diners that need an Adam Tihany designed room, constant adoration from the waitstaff and don’t need the owner to fawn all over you, RUN to Chengdu Taste, do not walk. My advice is to go early (we arrived at 6pm and the place was ¾s full and 15 minutes later there was a line) and order often. This places is a must!

My stomach lining is undergoing a severe battle six hours after dinner because Schezuan food just KICKED MY ASS. Let my story be a warning to any Schezuan noobs out there.
But first, here’s the deal: I’m giving this place four stars respectfully to the cuisine and to this place which is apparently one of the best Schezuan places around. (The star docked off is due to an even worse lackluster customer service than most typical Asian places.)
SO… There are these things prevalent in most Schezuan dishes (especially the boiled fish in green «sauce» pictured everywhere on this Unilocal page) called peppercorns. Other reviewers below politely *kinda* tell you about them before deflecting to another point of their meal. But really, they should give a huge flag about this. When these peppercorns go co-​mingling with chili oil, as it does in a majority of these popular dishes, these little balls of hell make your tongue feel not only numb but UNMERCIFULLY attacked with this stinging sensation that is left with a bitter, not-​great-​tasting aftertaste. Rice is your only friend until you realize, as you shovel it down your mouth, it’s just carrying the chili oil into your esophagus and into your stomach.
And see, those photos and the way they prepare that dish makes the sauce appear clear, when really, if you put Truth-​O-​Meter Glasses on, should be a flaming HOT, FIERY RED dish. But it sits there so unassumingly.
I’ll insert a note here that, yes, if you managed to trick your brain into tasting the fish before the heat kicks in, the taste is rather delicious. But the oil that engulfs your tongue soon afterward makes it fall short for me. And let it be known that if you get the fresh fish versus just fish, you’re given a catfish with TONS of bones rather than tilapia filets. Normally, I’m never deterred from bones (and farm-​raised tilapia is not a good nor healthy fish to eat), but when your whole being is on fire, you don’t want to suffer for little slivers of meat that you’re picking off of bones.
My mom decided to order this dish of a vegetable mix with lotus root, potatoes, soy sprouts, and mushrooms in their house special hot sauce, which came out perhaps 15 minutes after the boiled fish in green sauce. We were sitting there contemplating whether to cancel our order because now we were taking their claim of «hot sauce» rather seriously.
So this pile of vegetables arrives (which looks like it could feed 4 people) and no Truth-​O-​Meter glasses are needed here; it was sitting in FLAMING HELL-​RED CHILI OIL.
My mom was quite adorable… she wanted to be a trooper and eat some of it (actually, by dipping the vegetable into the other dish’s sauce to clear off the actual red chili oil sauce). Half an hour after the meal, her ears were still colored a bright red. Instead of peppercorns, they through straight-​up pepper seeds ALL OVER. There is no mercy in this place.
Thinking ahead to my digestive system, I thought I’d be smart and refrain from eating more than ten bites of the fish and a curious bite of the vegetable mix (which was hotter). We ordered the toothpick lamb with cumin — you could have this either spicy or non-​spicy and thank gad we ordered this non-​spicy — and I mostly ate this. It was quite delicious. What can be not delicious about little fried bits of grisly lamb?
Well alas, here I am, and my stomach has a knot in it even from the limited heat exposure. You’d think being Chinese would give me some sort of genetic defensive points — some shield on the heat — but man, did I find out that we are most definitely southern Chinese who enjoy sambal and/​or Sriracha and call it a day. I looked around at the rest of the clientele and saw they were all most definitely northern Chinese, just eating these same dishes without breaking a sweat. They are like the other Unilocal reviewers on this page who don’t comment on the spice level in ALL CAPS. They are not human, in my opinion. «Tis just a flesh wound…»

Love the lamb on toothpicks and beef with tofu. Definitely recommend to choose it.
The place used to be another restaurant making similar food, but now under new management. The new owner remodeled the place so it looks a lot cleaner. The whole store is brighter. The food is very good. There is peppercorn that is numbing. The food isn’t just spicy but it has many layers of flavored. Everything is very fresh.
Will come here again when in Vegas.

As a Chengdu native, I’m extremely picky about Sichuan food.
I love this place! I used to go to their LA locations everytime when I’m in traveling there.
There are some really authenitic and not well-​known for American home style dishes served here — including the flour steamed pork, and the chili oil chicken.

Like local. If you want some real Chinese food, here is the place you should go. (Make sure you like spicy food before you go!)

Boiled Sliced Fish in Hot Sauce 水煮鱼，is by far the best I had in 20 years. It’s very spicy and strong taste dish. There are plenty soy bean sprouts and vegetables underneath. It’s my favorite dish. It’s about $ 15 and good for 2 – 4 people if that is the only dish you order.
Chengdu Style Fried Rice 成都炒饭，amazes me when I taste it. It’s not regular fried rice. It is flavored with pickled vegetable which bring out another level of flavor for the fried rice. The rice is slightly fried and sticky. Every grain is covered with flavor. It’s about $ 10 and good for 4 people to share and feel full.
Boiled Fish with Green Pepper Sauce 藤椒鱼，is covered with hot oil and jalapeño on the top. When it is prepared with live fish, the broth is amazing and fish is never taste so good. That make this dish the number one. The live fish is $ 6 more than sliced fish, but you will get the best taste of fish in your life.
One thing I don’t recommend is Couple’s Sliced Beef in Chili Sauce 夫妻肺片. It’s my favorite Schumann dish, however, it’s a failure here. It tasted like what I tried at home.
For those three excellent dishes they have I will still give them four stars.

Awesome place!
The food is authentic and comes with great portion and very reasonable price. I noticed that they already had three stores in Cali before they opened the fourth one in Vegas. Obviously they brought their Cali standard over to Vegas, which is really wise, considering there were not many legitimate Szechuan food restaurants in Vegas before. I came to Vegas almost a year ago and they were not opened at that time. Obviously they gathered quite a lot of popularity in less than a year.
If I am visiting Vegas again, I’ll definitely come back.

My mouth…
My mouth…
I will have to take it from the other reviews this is authentic Szechuan culinary experience. I believe that I counted at least six different kinds of peppers in the various dishes that we ate. I am not sure why they put tilapia in the soup dish because you really couldn’t taste it. That is is not exactly accurate but there were at least three kinds of peppers in this lemon grass-​based soup or stew, not including the hot oil that created the cauldron of fire that was emanating from my from my mouth. In fact my wife was ready to take me to the hospital as the tears were running down my cheeks. I grow hot peppers at my house and enjoy heat, but my warning to my fellow caucasians is to be very careful of what you order in this restaurant. We ordered five dishes in which none of which exceeded one star for heat. By the way, I couldn’t answer my wife of whether I wanted to go to the hospital because I really couldn’t talk.
My mouth, my mouth…
I am pretty sure that the combined Scofield count of what I ate this evening was clearly in the millions. There was one small brownish crushed pepper in the above dish that I was not able to identify. That pepper alone created a circus in my mouth — no, more like a cirque de Soleil event. It was with this additional pepper that I prayed there was some ice cream on the menu, but there was none. At one point I really could not talk to anybody at the table, because every taste bud on my tongue was stimulated (think fried, burnt, singed.
24 hours later
My rectum
My rectum
That’s right, the experience continues. I think that same little black pepper may be the culprit. However it could’ve been the jalapeños or the Thai chilies. Maybe it was the hot chili oil that they used to cook several of the dishes with. My wife is very concerned, apparently, when I scream in the bathroom. It scares her. I don’t care if it scares her, because I am in pain.
You learn a lot about various cultures by the food that they eat. I will return to this restaurant the future. But lemongrass this got the best of me, but not next time. And by the way, if you have a cold but lemongrass dish was mouthless. There was mucus in cavities of my sinuses but I never knew existed. This simple — may be the cure for the common cold.

Pretty excellent! I went with a large group, and we over ordered, so I got to try a lot of the menu. Most things were pretty spicy. I think my favorites were the Green Chile Boiled Fish, the cold garlic noodles, the boiled beef, and the Ma Po Tofu. We also tried plum juice to drink, which was unusual and smoky tasting. We spent about $ 25 per person, but we really ordered too much, we could have ordered two or three less entrees. Entrees ranged from 15 – 25, but were large sharing portions.
We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table, the place was packed, and seemed to have mostly Chinese customers, which I think is a good sign for authenticity!
I’ll definitely go again!

As a person who lived in Sichuan for 4 years. I must say that It is best Sichuan food compared to those Sichuan restaurant that I have ever ate. If you are fond of spicy food, you must try it.

It’s probably the best Chinese restaurant in Las Vegas.
I highly recommend this place. Their chiefs are from chengdu. The price was reasonable.
The only problem is the seating. They don’t have many seats so we waited for like 30mins. But it’s all worth it!

I’ve been to the one in SGV, so I figured why not come to this one while in Vegas? Best decision ever. Just as amazing as the original location. Nicely secluded and not busy (yet).
Things to get:
–mung bean appetizer
–lion fish (non spicy)
–toothpick cumin lamb
We also got broiled beef (My husband’s favorite. It’s definitely one of the spicier and oilier ones but super flavorful), boiled fish with green chili sauce (this one is a famous one, but I thought it was just ok. I don’t think I’d get it again).
Be prepared for some fire in your mouth and watch out for those szechuan peppercorns!

I have to say. It tastes really good! Hot and spicy. Miss the taste from hometown! You have to try the lamb there.

Szechuan style food which pretty much means majority of the items are spicy. Big portions so come here with an appetite. Stumbled at this restaurant by accident due to Yu Nnan being full but not regretting it.
Side note: Hip hop /​RnB music was playing which was different but wife and I enjoyed it.

This is probably one of the best Schezuan restaurants in Las Vegas or America? I’m unfortunately not able to share what it’s like in the motherland. One can only wish…
Wonton in chili oil– 4.5 stars. I love spicy food and usually order this because of the combination of wontons with a tad of spice. This is the least spiciest version I’ve had; however, dare I say that this was one of the best wontons I have ever had. The meat filling is legit– it’s packed and has amazing flavors. I was able to taste the marinade inside the filling and it was juicy, too! The wonton skin was also perfectly cooked – not too soggy.
Boiled fish with green pepper sauce– 4 stars.
I guess it’s Jonathan Gold approved. But Mr. Gold and I don’t always agree (ahem, Lotus of Siam) so I was just chillin’ wondering if we’d be on the same page this time. I have grown to love the spicy dishes with peppercorn, but usually have ordered it in the reddish sauce at other restaurants. This broth is so clear and delicious looking, but it turns out I saw the article in time, and the broth is not meant to be eaten. The fish was cooked perfectly, but I personally prefer this dish with other types of meats and also in the red sauce/​stew. It also isn’t too spicy IMHO until you eat a peppercorn. Then good luck. You better make sure that water is on its way.
Chicken in garlic sauce– 4.5 stars. My first, best and most fave version was in Paris. Yeah, so strange, but this dish is the closest to the one I had. The chicken is cooked perfectly and the flavor was ON POINT. The best in Vegas so far. FYI it’s a cold dish.
Toothpick Cumin lamb– 5 stars.
My favorite dish of the night. The lamb chunks are nice sized meats, it was cooked to perfection and the flavor is amazing. I highly recommend it!!!
Price is competitive with other Schezuan restaurants. Service was on point, and I will definitely be back to try more. I saw an earlier review on cash only… they take CC FYI.

Heard of the Chengdu Taste restaurant in Alhambra, but we never do get around to going there when we’re in the area. Now that it’s in Vegas, we had to give it a try. We ordered:
* mung bean jelly noodle with chili sauce — this is a cold noodle dish. The flavor is very good. We ordered it mild, but it was still really spicy.
* fish with green pepper sauce — supposedly rated one of the best dishes in LA. I don’t know if I’d go as far as saying its that good, but it’s good. Maybe it lacked a little flavor, but the fish was cooked perfectly. Like buttah.
* toothpick lamb with cumin — I love the taste of cumin, and this is always my favorite dish at Sichuan restaurants. I must say theirs is the best I’ve had. I could eat it everyday.
I definitely recommend this restaurant if you’re into this spicy style of Chinese cooking. RIP to Yunnan Garden next door, which serves the same style of food. They’ll probably be going out of business. Lol. Can’t wait to go back here and try different dishes. Everything looks so good, and from what I’ve tasted so far, I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.

** Famous Sichuan restaurant in Alhambra opens a sister store in Las Vegas. Food is excellent, lots of Sichuan dishes that you will not find anywhere else. Very spicy! **
I was going to put off writing a review until I been here a handful of times. But the glory of being the fourth review was too much temptation. So disclaimer, my initial thoughts of this restaurant are premature. It’s one of those restaurants where you have to try several times before you find your groove. And I admit, for my first go, I was not finding it.
So, why am I giving it five stars, you say? Well, because it’s incredibly well-​made Sichuan food, hard to find anywhere outside of China. Don’t believe me? Well maybe you’ll believe Pulitzer food writer, Jonathan Gold, who rated the Boiled Fish in Green Chile Sauce as one of top ten dishes in Los Angeles. (2013)
Not only that, my personal hero, J. Kenji Lopez-​alt, of Serious Eats fame, labels Chengdu Taste as «the» best Sichuan restaurant in America. I’m not going to go against that!
But I ain’t no paid food critic, and imma gonna tell you the truth… food does not taste that good. And this is coming from someone who thinks the greatest flavor combination known to man is sichuan red peppers, garlic and oil. I. e, I love Sichuan food. But Chengdu taste is not the same flavors you’ll find at your local Sichuan joint. It’s much more delicate and refined.
But you’re going to eat here anyways and let me tell you why… you’re going to taste the most subtly beautiful fish soup that you’ve ever tasted in your life. Sichuan food subtle? Oh yes. THE BOILED FISH WITH GREEN CHILIES will be tickling, instead of blaring your tongue, as this dish brings out the oft-​annoying but absolutely essential use of the Sichuan peppercorn (those darn spices that numb your entire mouth when you bite into one). Together with the serrano chiles, it creates a perfect forefront to the light, delicate flavor of the tilapia, while numbing your tongue along the way.
Trust me. Get this dish. No one else in town does it. And don’t bit into a peppercorn when you do. Just don’t. Trust.
Does it taste good? Not really, but you get to taste the pinnacle of Sichuan cooking. And this is why the critics love this place so much.
The other dish I ordered was Tony T’s recommendation, PORK WITH GARLIC SAUCE. This dish is awesome, best version I had anywhere. Their chili-​garlic sauce was perfect, a tad sweet, and the pork just melts in your mouth. Get this. Then get a bowl of rice and sop up every bit of that delicious sauce (yes, I know this is a faux-​paus, but just do it).
There’s a more to this restaurant that I have to try, like their famous mapo-​tofu, their hot-​pot (of course, actually, I can’t believe I’m reviewing this place without trying it), their lamb, spicy eggplant, and so much more… so I’d like to come here a few more times before I give a verdict. Hopefully I can find some partners in crime, so I can sample some more of their exquisite cooking.

This place the food taste is the most worst Sichuan kind of resturant I ever been, and CASH ONLY…

They got very authentic Chengdu Food! Me and my boyfriend (My boyfriend is American and I’m Chinese) when back to China and we visited Chengdu last December, and we ate Sichuan Tan Tan noodles. Chengdu Taste’s Tan Tan noodles just taste exactly the same in Chengdu! And me and my bf had been looking for the same taste in the US for a long time! And now we found it in Vegas!

I almost didn’t come here to eat tonight, because I am not into eating really spicy food. But I was visiting my friend’s store and mutual friends dropped by for a visit and invited us to try this popular Chinese restaurant from Alhambra, CA. that just opened up in Chinatown.
While walking over here, we were even discussing why this particular spot have host quite a few failed restaurants in the past few years, in spite the fact that the restaurant next door always seems to be busy.
We arrived right after 5pm, and there was already a crowd standing, presumably waiting for an open table. The restaurant is sparsely decorated, there are Chinese opera masks acting as ornamental points of interests on the otherwise unremarkable interior walls of the establishment. But I don’t think anyone really paid attention them.
After glancing through the menu, our party had picked two appetizer portioned items immediately, while debating on which entrée items to ordered. In the end we opted for the following:
1. Pork with Garlic Sauce 蒜泥白肉
89. Wonton with Red Chili Sauce 紅油抄手
22. Boiled Fish with Green Pepper Sauce 藤椒魚
56. Toothpick Lamb with Cumin 牙籤羊肉
The first two items are a must! I can literally order that and be able to down 2 – 4 bowls of rice with these Chinese comfort food. The sauce is the secret trump card of nearly divine deliciousness (sadly it is not vegetarian friendly. But that does not affect me.) The pork is sliced thin and cooked by a chef that have obviously perfected the dishes. The wonton is good, but their version of the Red Chili Sauce is superb!!! Major nom nom time as soon as the servers dropped off these two dishes!!!
The Toothpick Lamb with Cumin is decent, but it pale in comparison to #1 and #89.
The Boiled Fish with Green Pepper Sauce 藤椒魚 is listed as being spicy, but it has a nice flavor and was not overwhelmingly spicy (we asked them to not make it too spicy), and it was a great recommendation from our waiter.
Overall, for a place that has probably not been opened for more than a few days in Las Vegas, I can already predict that it will be a major success story. The food is good to «shut up and take my money» good. Servers are busy with the number of tables they have to wait on, but they did an admirable job of it.
Menu price is higher than expected, but with the superior execution of the dish it can easily be justified. Plus the whole time we dine here, it is clear that the restaurant is packed only with super informed Asians (mainly Chinese) patrons, a major indicator of superiorness.
I highly recommend that you all come and check them out, but preferably after I am sick of dining here (after about two month) or after I am already seated at our table and waiting for our food.
So keep it on the DL. Only share this wonderful recommendation with your dearest friend or the one you intend to marry. Otherwise everyone will have an hour wait just like the people visiting their Alhambra and Rosemead locations.
So hush x4.