Boiled Fish in Chilli Oil水煮魚
A cauldron of chillies with delicate fish beneath. The dish to order once and remember.
Chinese · Willowdale
Ba Shu Ren Jia
巴蜀人家
Sichuan cooking on Yonge that does not adjust itself for anybody
ChineseWillowdale, Toronto$$Details being confirmed
The review
There is a stretch of Yonge in Willowdale where the Sichuan restaurants have quietly become better than most of what downtown offers, and Ba Shu Ren Jia is near the top of it. The kitchen uses Sichuan peppercorn as a primary ingredient rather than a garnish, which is immediately obvious.
Boiled fish in chilli oil arrives as a cauldron of dried chillies with soft white fish underneath, and it is the dish to build the table around. Mapo tofu is the test — numbing rather than merely hot — and it passes. Dan dan noodles are cheap and show more technique than anything else on the menu.
Honest notes: the heat is not adjusted because you asked. The room is plain. The English menu is a shorter version of the Chinese one, so point at what the next table has.
What to order
Mapo Tofu麻婆豆腐
Numbing, oily, correct. The test of any Sichuan kitchen.
Dan Dan Noodles擔擔麵
Sesame, chilli, pork. The cheapest thing that shows the most skill.
What works
- Sichuan peppercorn is used properly, not sparingly
- Very good value for the portion sizes
- Menu goes well beyond the greatest hits
What doesn’t
- Heat levels are not adjusted on request
- Room is plain
- English menu is thinner than the Chinese one
Verdict
Water-boiled fish, mapo tofu, dan dan noodles. Do not ask for it mild.