I got up late this morning and did not have time to pack lunch, as a result, I paid a visit to one of the better Szechuan restaurants in Midtown. I had been to Szechuan Gourmet for dinner, but this was the first time for lunch. The menu boasted of over thirty different lunch specials, but L1 caught my eye - Double Cooked Sliced Pork Belly with chili leeks. It turned out to be a great decision.

Szechuan Gourmet packed the rice and the dish itself in separate containers. I was a big fan of the compartmentalized storage because that meant if I went with someone else, it would have been easy to share the dishes. They also gave the option of either a can of pop or a thing of soup, I chose hot and sour soup. Most hot and sour soups disappoint, since they generally lack flavor and hotness; mine was pretty good and had a nice kick of pepper.

When I saw the little container and all the reddish oil involved, I knew this was the right dish for me. Pork? Check. Spicy? Check. Vegetables to trick myself that this was actually healthy? Check. To clarify, the pork was not like the chunks of pork belly at Momofuku that was meltingly soft; Szechuan Gourmet sliced their pork thinly and smothered it with chili oil. Mmm.. delicious. The thinly sliced idea was probably to make sure it was easy to chew in case of over-cooking. Anyway I had no problems at all. The spicy level was manageable and the chili oil made everything awesome.

The whole thing cost me $7.55 (taxes included), which made it a decent deal for lunch. I have had disappointing street cart food for $5 bucks, and no other Chinese takeout place in the midtown area could have pulled off this dish as well. Other places simply would not have made a spicy dish on par with a Szechuan joint. I definitely plan on going back next time I want spicy food.

Szechuan Gourmet
21 W 39th St.
New York, NY 10018
212-921-0233

Posted by Danny on October 24, 2007 at 12:25 am

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• mmm. "reddish oil involved". your descriptions make my mouth water almost as much as the pics

  caitlin
  October 24, 2007 3:45 pm

• haha, good! i'm glad you like it.

  Danny
  October 24, 2007 11:07 pm

• *sigh* Pork belly with chili leeks, one of my favorites and MY DAD knows the owner of Szechuan GOurmet ... i want to be back in NYC right now!! bring me some tomorrow? =)

  steve
  October 24, 2007 11:50 pm

• Dude for real? That place is pretty good. I have been there two or three times for dinner and it has always been pretty good (and spicy).

  Danny
  October 25, 2007 12:26 am

• Midtownlunch.com linked to you and I just went here for lunch. The beef noodle soup was "pretty good (and spicy)." I liked that their menu had a spice index of 1 - 3 chilis, but some dishes were marked with 4 chilis worth of spicy.

  et
  October 29, 2007 3:13 pm

• Hi et.

  Thanks for the note on their beef noodle soup; that is one of the things I am always on the look out for in the city. I have tried a couple of the 4 chili items on their menu for dinner and they are no joke. Usually I have to order a vegetable dish that is not spicy at all just to give my tongue a rest!

  Danny
  October 29, 2007 4:27 pm