A local secret: the Sichuan Kitchen at Poplar

I think my husband and I might have discovered a real gem of a restaurant not far from where we live, called Sichuan Kitchen. Having googled it online, it looks like it isn't very well documented online and so I guess it could be considered as a local secret. Well, I don't think it should stay a secret and I'm doing my little bit to spread the word!

Sichuanese cuisine is characterised by the abundant use of chili, Sichuanese peppercorns and garlic. The dishes are fantastically flavoursome and the fragrance so pungent, I find that it has almost addictive qualities. My first taste of Sichuanese food was at Bar Shu, a wonderful restaurant which is situated in Soho and is quite well known and highly praised: Guardian review. I would honestly say that the Sichuan Kitchen is just as good in terms of the quality of the food but much less expensive. I was really impressed with all the dishes that we ordered and the staff were very friendly, keen to engage in a conversation with us.

My husband and I shared four different dishes: Gong bao chicken with peanuts, fish fragrant aubergine, fried chili beef ribs and a pork chili dish that came in a delicious red chili broth. I would recommend all of them but I particularly loved the Gong bao chicken, the meat is so succulent and blends wonderfully with the crunch peanuts and the warming sweet-sour-spicy sauce. Absolutely delightful.

The Sichuan Kitchen is located at:
213  East India Dock Road
Poplar
London E14 0ED


I also recommend this book for any aspiring Sichuanese cooks!:

Dunlop, Fuchsia, 2003. Sichuan Cookery. London: Penguin Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-140-29541-2