Gonna make u sweat....

Sichuan Cuisine, one of the major cuisine styles in China, originated from the states of Ba and Shu in ancient China. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, because of the introduction of peppers, Sichuan Cuisine formed its own unique taste and shape, and began to influence the surrounding areas.

I don't know about you, but when someone says Sichuan, I normally think - oily and super spicy food. Well guess what... In the past Sichuan Hot Pot was indeed very spicy. Now a days the edge has been taken off the chili and people can either taste the hot pot as a spicy soup, or, a milder milky soup. In Malaysia, it has been adapted to the “steamboat” version.

At Jin Shan Cheng, the steamboat is divided into two parts, and a customer may instant boil food in the spicy pot, or the milder herbal/medicinal pot. This kind of steamboat is suitable for both local folk as well as foreign customers because, obviously, it’s not so spicy .. and one can actually pace oneself by intermittent dunking of food into either the fiery hot or the herbal cool... Or, you can even go 50-50% with your soup - How ingenious!

A really marvelous concoction of 3 types of sauces are available for you to mix and dip your food into. This truly brings out the taste of the food! So, the dip consists of 2 types of peanut sauce (one roughly ground , the other more like a peanut butter consistency) chili oil and fermented tofu. Killer amazing – lets just say it’s got this stinky fermented yet peanuty, sweet saucy taste to it. Not that spicy as a sauce in itself, but wait till you eat it with the contents from the hot pot – gives new meaning to the word .. slow burn! Tres, tres yum!

The Sichuan Frog's legs are a must!(bottom right). Apparently they make you jump higher at basketball.. harhar.. fact or fantasy.. you tell me.

We were a little disappointed at the frogs legs served here though, because the legs were smashed up into smaller pieces and as a result, the bones were smashed up too. It was hard to eat without stabbing your gums on some bone! However, the taste was pretty good.


This was one of my favourite dishes - century egg with chilli - delicious!




So, back to the spicy steamboat...

For the hardcore, a bubbling pot of fiery oil sits on a burner at the center of every steamboat pot. Chiles and Sichuan peppercorns bob thickly on its surface. Diners dunk chunks of vegetables, meat, and tofu into the steamboat while they chat and laugh throughout the night. We were no exception.

I dipped my chopsticks into the pot, all gung-ho and all.. and pulled out a huge juicy prawn, glistening with spicy oil. My mouth and tongue began to burn. My eyes watered. With every bite, I got hotter: my tongue started throbbing, my lips tingled, and sweat poured from my forehead. Reason said to stop, but that greedy masochist in me just kept right on going… feel the burn baby… ooooooo… yea...

We ate, cried, chatted, cried some more, ate some more.. Before we knew it, the clock struck 10.00 and we were the last patrons at Jin Shan Cheng.

We had a grand old time that night, we did. What's more, when the bill came, the steamboat plus all the side dishes cost us only RM47 per head.

What a night. One cannot ask for more. Good friends, good food.. and a good sweat.
It doesn't get much better than this;)

Add:
No. 42A-2, Jalan PJS 8/2
Dataran Mentari, Bandar Sunway,
56301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Food:7/10
Spicy Factor:8/10
Peanut Chili Sauce:8/10
MSG levels : nil
Service:8/10 (owner even serves up the soup!)