Chengdu Taste

The food is great, but don’t use credit card to pay, because they will copy your information and use it online.

Superb spicy Chinese food! I love the kung pao chicken and toothpick lambs. Fast service too with clean not too loud atmosphere considering how busy it gets at night.

I haven’t eaten Szechuan type of food since my trip to China. The place offers some authentic Szechuan flavors… the distinctive taste of pepper corn that is tongue «numbingly» spicy. The only negative opinion is the restaurant use disposable plastic cups which is wasteful and bad for the environment… imagine the amount of plastic waste per day the restaurant is contributing, yikes!

The restaurant is a bit small, so there’s always been quite a wait every time I’ve visited. However, the wait is always well worth it! Their target market is Mandarin speakers, so it is a bit intimidating if you don’t speak Mandarin — they will first speak to you in Mandarin, then broken English if you can’t understand Chinese. The menu is pretty hilarious because of the mistranslated things.
Like most other reviewers, I highly recommend getting the toothpick lamb. This item is extremely flavorful. The lamb is juicy and delicious! I’ve gotten the chili oil fish each time I’ve been here. I recommend this item, but it is extremely oily, so if you’re health-​cautious, then this is something that you might want to avoid. I believe the fish with green chilies is also popular here, but I haven’t had the chance to try it.
Recommendations: Toothpick lamb (must try!); chili oil wontons; mapo tofu; water-​boiled fish in chili oil

4 & ½…Wowzahs! I cannot stress this enough; I am by no means an authority on Szechuan, for all intents and purposes, I am basically a neophyte. However, the fact is that this is by far the most delicious experience I have had with the cuisine, and I have sampled in on numerous occasions back home in its local environs of Manhattan and Flushings Chinatowns, surely some of the better places in the country to try it. This would leave to believe there is credence to claim that this is in fact the best Szechuan establishment in the country.
The dish that blew me away, firmly establishing this places high review and justifying the hour drive out of LA at rush hour into the fascinating Chinatown that has materialized in the exurban San Gabriel Valley, was the Cumin-​packed Toothpick Lamb. It was one of the best things I have eaten in quite some time, the numbing peppercorn sensation matched by the most overpoweringly delicious Cumin sensation I have ever been confronted with. Served in bitesize nuggets on the eponymous toothpicks, they are as fun to eat as popcorn chicken and millions of times more addictive/​delicious. Other Szechuan staples were paradigms of the dishes particularly the ubiquitous mung-​bean jelly, shaped and served in a manner similar to noodles, with a much squeakier and rubbery in a good way texture befitting the «jelly» title, doused with a deliciously wicked sauce of chili oil, chives, peanuts, and of course, the peppercorns.
Do as the mainly Chinese clientele does and simply copy their orders if need be, and of course avoid anything ametricaized like fried rice and king pow. Service is professional, if a bit cool, as might be expected, and lets face it in fact deserved for a table of visiting gringos. Again, this place is well worth the trek if visiting LA. In fact, if I had to do over again I would have given myself more time to explore the surrounding Chinatown in the sprawl.

I’ve been dying to try this restaurant after hearing about all the positive reviews. We went on a Wednesday night and we’re seated immediately. There were several empty tables so I’m guessing the nights to avoid are Friday, Saturday and Sunday… unless you want to wait in line.
I love hot, spicy food so the warnings didn’t alarm me: only made me want to try it that much more. They do use chili’s by the truckload here so if you can’t handle the heat don’t bother coming. Probably the «mildest» dish we had were the green beans in garlic sauce. Also probably one of the best dishes (I’m not a vegetarian). The spiciest dish by far was the boiled fish with lemongrass and bean sprouts. The fish was quite good (firm and tasty) however the broth that it came in was nuclear.
The eggplant with garlic and the toothpick lamb were also quite good and highly recommended. However. as much as I enjoy spicy food, I think I would appreciate it more (in some cases) if they toned down the chili’s a little bit. Definitely worth the visit but, again, be prepared to be shooting flame throwers after eating here!

came here with my mom on a weekday right as it opened. and there was a line already :(
the wait time wasn’t too bad (maybe 30 minutes)
mandarin is recommended! (moment of silence for the Cantonese speakers here)
I ordered the Mung bean noodle, beef stew noodle soup, and mapo tofu
the mung bean noodle was delicious: it was cold, and there was a numbing sensation, but it was tasty
the beef soup tasted a little funny. but it wasn’t too bad! it wasn’t that spicy (as I remembered)
the mapo tofu had a good spice, but I felt that the meat flavor was a little too much compared to the tofu; the tofu tasted perfect
overall: would I come back? YES

Really excellent food with just the right level of spice to bring out the wonderful flavors
Much better than expected, will definitely be back to try out the fish w/​green pepper sauce!

Definitely good food, and I should know because this is the only place I’m allowed to take my girlfriend, she is very particular, and does not take well to ‘american’ food.
We’ve been here before and you may as well not make any other plans because you will wait for hours.
Points off for the wait, and also for the waiter telling my girl he’s seen her someplace, ya probably in Vogue magazine bc she’s a model. Dude if I come back again you’d better not be working
Also they use fake glass noodles, these are made from plexi glass and are not as good as the glass ones.
Huge portions, we always have some left over.
Get the lion fish, toothpick beef, bo bo chicken, Mao cai hot soup

Excellence; best Szechuan I’ve had. Deliciousness here isn’t from excessive amounts of oil /​fried breading, but instead from fascinating blends of spices.
Numb taste wonton — a little spicy, but mostly a textural thing — your tongue feels all activated and fuzzy and salivates. totally unique experience
cumin toothpick lamb — floral and herbal and cumin-​cumin-​cumin
eggplant — satisfyingly mushy and spicy
*** green beans: the star of the show: perfectly crisp, somehow coated in the most poignant coating of salt + umami, with all these funky floral herbs I definitely don’t know the names of.

Finally here to eat, and it is worthwhile for the wait and name. 藤椒 serious is very good, and the 小吃 here is quite authentic. Have to come here again!

Ya’ll need to quit yo’ whining about the wait. Somethings in life is worth waiting for and IF YOU WANT YOUR MOUTH TO BE A BURNING DELICIOUS INFERNO WITH HOT LAVA COMING OUT OF YOUR ASS THE NEXT DAY then you’d better wait.
What did I get?
I got the thing. With the meat. Poked with toothpicks.
I also got the fish. In the soup. That’s red. With the chilies. That’s not really soup. Because the liquid burns more than chugging Smirnoff.
It was all like GOOD LAAAAAAWD almighty. Have mercy on my weak ass tongue but give me the strength to eat this toothpick mutton because IT’S DELICIOUS.
There’s a curious phenomenon that happens when you eat anything spicy from Chengdu taste. Your tongue is coated with the chilies and suddenly everything tastes metallic or salty.
*sips water* tastes like iron
*eats veggies* tastes like iron
*drinks that weird prune juice thing they serve* tastes like iron BUT SOOTHES THE BURN. Get the weird prune juice thing.
Okay. I don’t know if this review helps out anyone but in all honesty my weak ass tongue loves this shit. Rarely do I put myself through such torture to eat spicy things only have it leave the way it came in. If ya’ll like to challenge your spice intake, ya’ll know what I mean.
Chengdu is a marvel and it deserves your patronage. Chengdu, you the one baby… Like an abusive lover I just can’t quit. Its love hurts so good.

I’ve been trying to go to this restaurant for over two years… but because of J Gold’s cult following and me never willing to wait in an insane line never made it until last weekend. How did I get in without waiting? I came at 4pm on a Saturday!
The restaurant is cleaner and a bit more modern than I expected. I loved their use of mah jong tiles on the bar.
liang fen– fantastic. Perfect flavor and not too salty
tooth pick lamb– pretty good as the others have noted.
hotpot with intestine and blood tofu– very disappointing. The soup flavor was pretty bland.
Potato slides– We liked this one. Very light and refreshing.
Overall I liked this place and would come back to try more stuff. Can’t say I’d want to wait 1+ hour (actually I wouldn’t).

I came here with a group of 9 on a Friday at 8:30pm with reservations so we didn’t have to wait. Actually, the restaurant had a few other smaller tables open. If you have more than 10 people in your party, I wouldn’t come here because they don’t have a table to accommodate more than 10 and 10 is already pushing my personal space comfort level.
The food here is solid. It’s spicy and savory with generous portions. Remember to ask for both water and the smoked plum tea.
We ordered:
— toothpick lamb (⁵⁄₅) — I don’t eat lamb, but this was good!
— twice cooked pork with leeks (³⁄₅) — I’ve had better elsewhere. The leeks were undercooked.
— combination hot pot (⁵⁄₅) — Love this! Must order.
— crispy intestine dry pot (⁴⁄₅) — I don’t like intestine, but when it’s deep fried and covered in spicy oil, it’s pretty good. Also, the vegetables that come with the intestines are really good.
— mung bean noodles (³⁄₅) — I didn’t like the texture and through the sauce was too sour.
— crispy sliced potatoes (²⁄₅) — Tasted and looked like potato chips. We meant to order the stir fried long sliced potatoes.
— boiled fish in spicy oil (⁴⁄₅) — Solid dish
— green beans (⁵⁄₅) — Very good
— spicy beef noodle soup (⁴⁄₅) — The broth was on point and the noodles were chewy. It’s a very big bowl.

A friend suggested I visit this restaurant, during my recent visit to LA, to feed my Sichuan cravings. We avoided the long wait by reaching the restaurant early, as by 7 PM there was already lots of people waiting outside.
Chengdu Taste surely hit the spot with delicious food and very generous portions esp. for the relatively low prices.
We ordered Mapo Tofu and Boiled Fish With Green Peppers. Both dishes were cooked perfectly and had that nice mala kick. The soup in the boiled fish was amazingly delicious. I tried to find similar dish on returning to Houston, but I guess I will have to make another trip to LA for this delicacy. Mapo Tofu tasted excellent as well — tofu had that perfect texture that’s so easy to feel yet so many restaurants miss the point.

Wow! This place has got a kick!
The first time I ordered here I got the Spicy Mung Bean Noodle and I’m telling you I believe my mouth was still on fire five days later. If you like food that gives a good kick of heat and spice this is the dish for you. I enjoyed it thoroughly and haven’t experienced anything quite like it.
The second time I came the group I was with (Annee T and Tim C) we all ordered several different entrees.
The Boiled fish with Peppercorns,
Sautéed Eggplant with Garlic Sauce,
Toothpick Lamb and
A side of white rice.
All choices were spot on and glad we choose what we did. The fish was just a tad overcooked but had an abundance of great heat and spice. The eggplant was absolutely delicious! Perfect amount of garlic, cooked well and the flavor was pure enjoyment. Last but not least was the lamb, I’m not a big meat eater but I did sample and I’m not ashamed to say I kept on sampling and sampling until I broke down and scooped a pile onto my plate. The spices and flavoring were excellent and it wasn’t over cooked either. The food was to the «T» a party in my mouth and I couldn’t have anticipated anything better.
The customer service on the other hand was lacking unfortunately. None of the staff here like to make eye contact and the noise level is already so loud I caught myself yelling several times, oops. They are usually always packed with eager customers and a line waiting outside so I did take into consideration that all of the servers were swamped with plenty to do.
One last little detail that I also enjoyed was their chopsticks. Seriously, I very much liked the style of chopsticks they used, the shape, length and whatnot. Perfect for picking up delicious yummy food.
If you have an appreciation for heat and spice this would be the place you’re looking for. You get an amazing kick with each bite.

Ewwww.
Health department closed them down ⁸⁄₂₇.
Cockroaches.
Scored. ‘c’. 72.
Still closed.
Szechwan Expression up the street should benefit.
Ugh

Are you ready for szchwan food?! And I actually mean are you ready for a plate cooked chili peppers with some meat on the side?
Because get ready, this stuff is stuff is spicy.
Toothpick lamb (mutton on the menu) & the boiled fish in spicy soup are some no brainer, just order them type of dishes. But I wouldn’t hesitate to experiment, all of the dishes that I saw looked and smelled great.
But what really sets this restaurant apart from the others is their restroom! I kid you not! The restaurant is not only fully stock with the essentials like soap, toilet paper, paper towels, but is also fairly clean… There is are scented candles and toilet cleaning solution everywhere, if a restaurant/​owner is willing to put this much care into their toilet, I can only guess how much effort and care they would put into food.
Last little tidbit, if you don’t have the true stomach for spicy, ready that peptol bismol or whatever you may need now. Your taste buds will love/​hate you as they dance in fiery delight.
and don’t expect some crazy good service here, it’s mostly really all about the food.

If you are an adventurous eater who loves spicy food and interesting meats, you will love this place. It’s been on my list for a while, but I don’t know that many adventurous eaters. I was down to even go solo here, but I’ve heard about the crowds that wait outside just to here. Doesn’t seem too friendly for a solo diner. I could take it to go, but I’ve never had the opportunity living a bit far from Alhambra.
I was in the area at my friend’s home enjoying a documentary movie marathon and decided we were hungry. I suggested Chengdu Taste and she was game to try it. Unfortunately, she wasn’t too much of an adventurous meat eater so I felt bad for recommending it. She did find a couple of things on the menu such as the spicy shrimp and eggplant. I ordered the most popular item on the menu, the toothpick lamb.
I loved all three dishes we tried. Each were spicy, but not to the point of tears I would have eating at some Thai restaurants. I did ask for a carafe of water, just in case. It looks like many of the tables were enjoying a carafe of the plum juice.
Service is weak and one of those Chinese restaurants where you have to call or holler at someone for service.
Highly recommended for Szechuan cuisine!
Cash only.

Hot in… Hot out…
If you’re going to light my butt on fire, at least take me out on a nice date first. Buy me flowers and chocolates, pick me up, take me out to a nice candlelit dinner. Common courtesy right? Be a gentlemen about it.
This location is so much hotter than the Rosemead location. Trust me, my butt was complaining for the next couple days. He was so angry at me I had to send him an official apology letter a private carrier thru the mail. After that he was still angry at me so I was a gentlemen about it and took him out on a date. I just couldn’t stop eating the chicken in spicy oil though. So good.
Why the line?!
Kept wondering why this place always had a line. I know how, it has enough seats for a south El Salvadorian family. You figure it out. On top of that the service is so slow, the entire time we were there not a single table finished.
So don’t think that just because a place has a line means it’s a great spot.