Old Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant 老成都川菜馆 – Delicious and Authentic Sichuan Cuisine in Chinatown

Recently, we have been on the lookout for delicious Sichuan food and our latest find is Old Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant. This Chinese restaurant is located along Pagoda Street in Chinatown. It offers a wide variety of feisty Sichuan dishes which will appeal to people who enjoy spicy food. Raevian and I went on a Friday evening after work. It was finally the end of the week and we were eager to reward ourselves with a tasty Sichuan feast!

Luckily, there was no queue when we visited. We were promptly ushered to a seat on the first floor. The restaurant was pretty small and had a typical oriental design. However, we didn’t feel cramped at all. Ventilation was good and the place didn’t reek of “mala” odour. Old Chengdu has a second floor as well but we didn’t get to check it out. We quickly ordered our dishes and the food came pretty fast.

Double Boiled Fish

Our main dish was the Double Boiled Fish ($28.80). The simple name belies its compelling flavours. This feisty dish consists of a generous amount of fish slices served in a “mala” base of chicken broth, chilli oil and Sichuan peppers. I was blown away by the delicious fish slices, which were firm but still delicate. Eaten together with the feisty mala base, this was a perfect combination which sent me to Sichuan cuisine heaven. The portion was quite big too and I revelled in one tasty fish slice after another.

Sauteed Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce

For our side dish, we ordered the Sautéed Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce ($12.80). The meat was quite tender and tasty, though we didn’t really enjoy the tangy flavour of the sauce. On the whole it was decent but we probably won’t be ordering it again.

Chilli Frog

We visited Old Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant on another occasion and had the Chilli Frog ($23.80). This delicious dish consists of frog meat marinated with Sichuan-style fermented chilli oil and vegetables. I know some people have an aversion to frog meat, but I simply love eating them and Old Chengdu’s frog meat did not disappoint me too. The savoury meat was succulent and tasted great with the spicy chilli sauce. The dish was really spicy but very satisfying too. The mushrooms and other vegetables served as nice compliments. However, the frog meat portion was a little small so if you are sharing with another big eater it might not be enough.

Stirred Fried String Beans

We also ordered the Stirred Fried String Beans ($9.80). The vegetables had a great savoury taste and surprisingly it wasn’t really very spicy. We enjoyed the dish but found it to be a little too oily.

Chong Qing Chilli Chicken

The Chong Qing Chilli Chicken ($20.80) is a staple of Sichuan cuisine, and Old Chengdu certainly does not disappoint with this dish. We requested for 小辣 (minimal spiciness) which was just the right level of spiciness for us. The chicken, stir-fried with Sichuan chilli bean paste (doubanjiang), Sichuan peppers, garlic, and ginger, looked intimidating and tantalizing at the same time. Nonetheless, we attacked the dish with gusto and were blown away by the gutsy and savoury flavours. The chicken meat was fried till slightly crisp and tasted great. This is a delicious dish that I highly recommend.

Conclusion

Old Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant is definitely a great place for delicious and authentic Sichuan dishes. It has decent service and ambience too. The joint is conveniently located right beside Chinatown MRT station (Exit A), making it easy for office workers to visit during lunch or after work. We are happy to have discovered yet another great Sichuan food joint. (If you are looking for Chinese food that is not too spicy, you can check out the great Hunan cuisine restaurant Wah Kungfu which is just next door.)

Old Chengdu Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant
Address: 80 Pagoda Street 059239 (beside Chinatown MRT Station Exit A)
Phone: +65 62226858
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 1.30am
Facebook: www.facebook.com/laochengdou