Spicy PoPo Szechuan Fish

Authentic Szechuan/Sichuan/Chinese spicy food. Note: the Chinese spicy is mainly of chilly, quite different from the typical meaning of the word "spicy". For example, Szechuan spicy is called "ma-la" which combined with Szechuan peppers in hot and numb taste.

We decided to pick up food here for dinner, and I was pretty happy with our decision. We ordered the Szechuan Pork Intestine, Szechuan Popcorn Chicken, Pickled Pepper Beef with Cilantro, Dry Sauteed Green Bean, and Stone Plate Green Pepper Chicken. Everything was delicious, and the dishes had lots of chili peppers, which I loved, although some had a bit too much of the sichuan peppercorns for me. My favorite was the Szechuan Pork Intestine. The Dry Sauteed Green Bean was just a teeny but too mushy for us, but it probably was because we picked it up to-go, so probably would've have had a nicer cripsness to it if we ate it at the restaurant.

I'm just going to call it up front: BEST Szechuan Popcorn Chicken in town. Swimming in a pool of dried chilis, it is very spicy. Spicier than I would typically tolerate, but it's the flavor that keeps me from stopping. Crispy, spicy, numbing, and savory. It is *chef's kiss*. My favorite item here. The House Special Szechuan is also very good. It's probably big enough for 4 portions. You get to choose 2 meats and 2 veggies to go with the fish. For the meats, I chose lamb and beef based on another review. I was a little skeptical about the combination of fish and meat, but I'm glad I trusted the review because it turned out pretty good. For veggies, I chose bean curd and A Choy because I like those, but I'm sure you can't go wrong with any veggie. For dessert, Golden Buns with Condensed Milk. There were 6 buns that were steamed, then fried. The outside was crispy while the inside was fluffy. The combination of friedness and sweet, condensed milk made for a perfect end of the meal. This review was based on a takeout order I made through the Order Togo app. The order was completed at the time specified and the worker was very friendly. Parking is in a plaza that *could* get crowded during certain times, but the day/time that I picked it up it there was plenty of parking.

Known for their Szechuan fish soups, Spicy Popo is a great spot to warm up on a cold day. This restaurant is not as busy as some of the other Asian eateries in this plaza, but its high ratings enticed us to give it a try. Three of us came in around 1:00P on a Saturday and were seated immediately. Every table is equipped with an iPad which you'll use to submit your order straight to the kitchen. For many items, you can't leave comments, so if you have special requests, you'd have to wave down an employee to let them know. It took us some time to scroll through everything, but we selected four dishes which ended up being plenty of food. + HOUSE SPECIAL SZECHUAN FISH ($44.99): Served in a huge pot adorned with dragon handles, this soup was a pretty good deal and can easily serve at least 3-4 people. It came filled with delicate filets of white fish, choices of two meats, two vegetables and customizable spice and numbing levels. We decided on lamb, shrimp, mushrooms and taro. As for spice, our choice of 1 star heat was mild and we opted out of numbing spice altogether. The prawns were plump, the mushrooms acted as sponges for the broth and the taro was a good starchy addition. I enjoyed the soup and it paired perfectly with a bowl of white rice. I just wouldn't recommend it with lamb since the meat permeated the broth and it became pretty gamey over time. + GARLIC PEA SHOOTS ($16.99): A large mound of pea shoots with large pieces of chopped garlic. They were tender, the stems still had a nice crunch and they didn't seem too oily. I loved them and the serving size was really generous compared to other restaurants. + CUMIN BEEF ($18.99): Thin cuts of beef were boldly flavored with cumin and some heat from chopped red peppers. Most pieces of beef were tender with the exception of a couple gristly slices. The beef was stir-fried with red onion and thin green vegetables which added a nice crunch. + GOLDEN BUNS w/ CONDENSED MILK ($8.99): It was my first time having this dessert. The fried bread rolls were crisp on the outside, fluffy inside and a dip in the condensed milk made them taste like a glazed donut. Unfortunately, you could really feel and taste the grease. Make sure to order these at the end so you can enjoy them hot. We liked all the dishes and the service was fine, but other than bringing the food and a handful of additional napkins, we weren't checked on. It seemed like they kept an eye on tables and would only swing by if they felt the need, or if guests called them over. One thing we noticed is that they appeared to use the same gloves to clean tables and when bringing the food, so this was one sanitary concern from our standpoint. Also, the water had a chlorinated taste, so I didn't feel great about drinking it. The cost of the dishes may seem pricey, but the generous portion of soup and the quality of the food made it worth it in my opinion. Seriously, the soup could feed a hungry family! This is a promising Szechuan pick on the Eastside.

We got the House Special, which came with 2 meat and 2 veggies (beef, spam, bean curd and enoki mushroom) for $44.99. 水煮鱼 taste is pretty authentic, close to what I had in China. You can also choose the spicy and numbness level from 1-3. We also got 孜然羊肉 cumin lamb (delicious, slightly sweet) and 干煸四季豆 dried sauteed green beans, both of which I recommend. Service is decent for a Chinese restaurant. We wanted to change something on the order, and the waiter just communicated directly with the kitchen since it can't be changed on the iPad. Water refill was offered.