Original Cuisine Chinese Restaurant was on my radar for a number of weeks. This week I happened to read a glowing rare 4.5 star review from the Arizona Republic so Original Cuisine got catapulted to my short list on new places to try. I must start by saying that Original Cuisine specializes in Fiery Mouth Numbing Sichuan Food. Not everything they serve is spicy but they serve mostly foods you don’t find at American Chinese Restaurants. Like Pork Blood Intestine in Hot Chili Oil and Spicy Duck Feet.  If you are only used to take out Chinese like Beef and Broccoli, Shrimp Lo Mein or Orange Chicken it’s possible that you won’t enjoy yourself here because this is real Chinese Food. Here’s the menu and see what you think.

One might think of formal dining with a 4.5 star rating but the rating might be mostly based on the food. This isn’t a fancy place but the hanging lights are kind of fun to look at.

This restaurant looks like it used to be a fast food restaurant to me. It has the same woody fake brick floor I remember from the OLD Burger King and Hardy Fast Food Restaurants by my childhood home. The walls here are covered with a variety of wall papers. Some of the wallpapers looks like brickwork. Some wallpaper looks like paneling and some are sort of Asian Cartoonish. On my visit service was ok it was fast and my order was efficient but I never got the extra napkins we asked for……….that we really needed.

They use the tiniest peanuts I’ve ever seen to hold the chop sticks.

All the Dish-ware is cute.

We made our order and decided to share three plates….One of the plates we asked for was Spicy Fried Chicken with Chilies. We were there when they were only open less than an hour and they were already all sold out…..

So we started with Pan Fried Rice Balls with Sautéed Bell Peppers.

The Rice balls are thin shells that are made of pounded rice filled with black sesame seeds that are creamy like tahini. They kind of burst in your mouth when you eat them. Our rice balls were seasoned with something brine-y and sautéed bell peppers. The rice balls are tasty so if you like things like hummus you should enjoy them. I do warn you the rice balls are tasty but seem very rich so you will only want to eat 3-4 balls in a sitting.

The one dish I always wanted to try from Miu’s Cuisine (now closed for business) was the Lettuce in Garlic Sauce. We saw that dish here and also remembered The Food Critic from the Arizona Republic Review enjoying this dish so we decided to try it.

This dish reminds me of my Aussie Shepard because one of her favorite treats is the crunchy part from Romaine Lettuce. She actually slaps my leg when I prepare salads and begs for the crunchy romaine middles. The Lettuce in Garlic Sauce seems like a crunchy romaine leaf in a mild garlicy chicken sauce. The middle of the lettuce stays crunchy and the leafy part is almost unnoticeable. This dish is tasty light and mild and cuts the heat from our main dish.

We shared the House Special Barbecue Fish that is a whole catfish bubbling with molten hot oil, spicy chilies, mouth numbing ash berries (Sichuan Peppercorns), potatoes, peanuts, lotus root and wood ear mushrooms. It’s quite a feast.

I normally don’t care for catfish but I have to say this was really delicious!  I was able to eat some of the fish like pieces of fried chicken. I pulled off the crispy ends and just picked it up and ate it like a leg. It’s spicy but not too spicy because of the mouth numbing pepper. My nose is running yet I am almost craving more heat. But it’s so tasty….

Original Cuisine in Mesa AZ is Worth a Fork for Sichuan Food

No Website you just have to visit them at 1853 W Broadway Rd in Mesa AZ

Remember….Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.