San Xi Lou 三希樓

Joanna, my ex-colleague at Cathay Pacific and ICLP, visited Hong Kong after years.  She connected Crystal and Kathy.  We happily met at San Xi Lou, an authentic Sichuan cuisine restaurant.  I never heard it before.   But it is actually very popular among mid-levels dwellers.   Kathy said that it is always full.  She could not get a table even a booking was made two weeks again.  We were lucky probable because it was hot summer time.  Hot and spice are not the big favour in summer.

San Xi Lou draws diners to visit again and again for its signature Sichuan Mala (spicy) hotspot soup base.   I am not a spice lover.   Kathy ordered a few Sichuan dishes and avoided the hot pot considering that I might not be able to take the heat.

First dish on the table was the spicy deep fried chicken with cashew and chilli.  It was a surprise that I could tolerate the spice.  Perhaps, spice does not permeate deeply into meat and nuts.

Second came the water cooked fish.  It got me a slight numb effect.  But the fish was tender and fresh.  We really enjoyed it.  It assimilated all kinds of spices and tastes wonderfully.  OMG!

The stir fry vegetables were fresh and delicious.  The sweetness of the onion, healthy fungus and the loofah.  The dish was heavenly good.

Last came the spicy tofu.   It was really hot, much hotter than I expected.   I could only take two spoons and ate with rice.   It tasted good.  Just too spicy for me.

We had the homemade sweet bean curd dessert to end the dinner.  The restaurant provides 3 kinds of sweet: syrup, sugar and osmanthus.


7/F Coda Plaza, 51 Garden Road, Mid-levels
2838 8811