Sichuan Food @ Another Village in Bashu 巴蜀又一村

Today, the family went to try a restaurant we passed by several times but never went in. It is along Baishi Street which is next to the Overseas Chinese Town in Shenzhen. While the exterior and interior decor is simple, the place appears to be well patronized and I noted when I entered that almost every table ordered either their fish scalded in boiling chilli oil (水煮鱼) or their sour fish soup (酸湯鱼). Clearly, fish is their specialty.

Upon settling down, we looked at the menu, which was filled with the usual Sichuan dishes and interlaced with some Hunan cuisine as well. Obvious fish had to be on the menu but I wasn't too prepared to have the fish in chilli oil (水煮鱼) or the sour fish soup (酸湯鱼). So instead, I ordered a more typically home cooked fish dish, what they call village fish (乡村鱼). The sauce and the fish are separately prepared. The fish is deep-fried till the skin is crispy while flesh remains tender and juicy. In the mean time, the sauce is prepared using traditional Sichuan condiments, a bit of chilli pepper, fresh chilli, preserved soya beans and other spices and once done, liberally poured over the freshly fried fish. A little celery is added as garnishing. The dish was done to perfection. The fish was fresh and tender and the sauce enhanced the flavour of the fish without overpowering it with spiciness. This was excellent!



The next dish stir-fried asparagus lettuce strips (莴笋丝) is a simple home dish that is a great test of the chef's basic skills. A test that the chef passed with flying colours. The asparagus lettuce was neither over cooked nor was it overly oily. The vegetables retained the fresh crispiness and sweetness and they left a fragrant flavour in the mouth that was a pleasure to savour.



To me, the twice cooked pork belly (回锅肉) is yet another timeless dish that deserves eating over and over again. Different restaurants have different ways of doing it. Some do it more flashily and make it a more formal dish like Baguobuyi (巴国布衣) but others do it the home cooked style. This one belongs to the latter. The dish is presented simply and casually but the meat portions are generously sized yet tender and in line with the rest of the dishes tried so far, finely done. The spiciness is always apparent but never overpowering so you are always able to enjoy the natural flavours of the dish you are having, rather than reaching for a glass of water to cool down your tongue.



The final dish we ordered is the large intestines cooked in a pot (干锅肥肠) which technically is more at home in a Hunan restaurant. I would love to say that this was excellent and rounded up what could be described as a perfect dinner outing. Unfortunately, I cannot. The intestines were well selected but poorly treated before cooking. As a result, the smell of the intestines were still detectable and even though the generous helping of spices could not mask the taste and this was the most spicy dish of the evening on our table. It certainly was not bad enough to make the food inedible but it was a small blemish in a great meal.



The address:
Another Village in Bashu, Shahe Street, Nanshan District, Shenzhen
巴蜀又一村,深圳南山沙河街
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