Since I am Cantonese on my dad’s side, I’ve always enjoyed and appreciated Cantonese food, but I think it’s fair to say that both San Francisco Chinese food and New York (Manhattan) Chinatown are dominated by Cantonese restaurants and bakeries. This isn’t totally a bad thing, but it means that there’s less variety given how vast and diverse Chinese food actually is. One thing I realize I’d never really done in Manhattan Chinatown was have Sichuanese food. We were down there tonight and were thinking about what to eat for dinner, and Chris suggested we get Sichuanese. I said I didn’t know of any places, so he quickly looked something up and we chose one.
Well, even if you are a Sichuanese restaurant here, there’s still pressure and demand to have Cantonese dishes on the menu. This menu was vast and had so many dishes from both cuisine types. So while we still got our beloved mapo tofu, dan dan noodles, and other Sichuanese delights, we also got Cantonese-style fish, as well. It’s the best of both worlds!