A long time ago in a strip mall far, far away....
Episode LXIX.
A New Pouch.
It is a period of IBS war.
Marsupial Pouch, striking
from a hidden table, have won
their first victory against
the evil Gwailo Empire.
Tis was the year 2006, the "Ma La" Sichuan movement in Atlanta was born out of a little known Chino joint in Marietta. The infamous and elusive Peter Chang was the opening chef at Tasty China. It became a hit almost overnight for fatsos who craved the "hot and numbing" dishes that were unavailable in this one horse town. The dry fried eggplant had become an iconic dish that mediocre Chino joints across GA and the country have been trying to replicate and duplicate with mixed success. Then all of the sudden Peter did his Houdini act quietly and the chefs that worked closely with him had to take the reigns and some went on to new and bigger things... Like Liu Ri (Rui Liu) who opened Masterpiece back in 2014 in a dumpy small strip mall next to a QT in Duluth. It was pretty good in the beginning but over time, the gwailo flashmobs diluted the quality and authentic taste (like at Lan Zhou Ramen) and I haven't been back since. Surprisingly, there was another Chinese resto a few doors down called Taipei Restaurant that no one knew or cared about, served mostly roundeye Chino slop (zero interest)... That was until Xin Zhao took over from the previous owner (around 2011) and decided to serve Sichuan cuisine, most likely inspired by the Peter Chang's days of yore. Since, I had no interest of ever coming back to this strip mall in upstate GA, I was reluctantly convinced otherwise by a friend who swore that Xin's was no joke, especially, with the spicy dry pot dishes. After the mediocre visit at Good Harvest, I had to prove someone wrong, either, my friend or this fat fuck.
Let's go see what all the fuss is about...
Spicy Dry Fried Eggplant. Not too shabby looking at first glance. Big pieces with a light crispy wet batter. These were pretty good but they weren't spicy enough, just look at the plate, no pepper seasoning, no Sichuan peppercorns, no red peppers... Would I order them again? The real question is- would I drive all the way up here for them again... Only if someone else is driving and paying.
Tomato and Egg Noodle Soup. It says and looks like a soup but it's not a soup. It's just a soupy sauce. Tomato and egg is a very common everyday dish for Asian families, it's quick, easy and cheap to make and can feed a family of 8. This was a pretty good version. Lots of noodles beneath all that stuff on top. Mix it up really well and every bite will take you back to your childhood. You will get sloppy slurping this down your facehole.
Fish Fillet Spicy Pot. They didn't have my favorite dish, boiled fish in hot oil, so I resorted to getting the next closest thing... It looked like a hefty portion until you examined it closer. It's a good bit of filler like sliced potato and wood ears. The crispy fish fillets were pretty good, it was well seasoned but not spicy enough. It's a tasty dish but was it worth the drive? Y'all will have to decide for yourself.
Frogs Spicy Pot. So, Good Harvest's frog dry pot was a chopped up mess to eat... Xin's keep them Kermie legs whole and they were seasoned well but once again, not spicy enough. Same fillers. If you closed your eyeballs and ate the leg, it will would taste just like chicken... Mmm, did someone say Popeyes cheekan? If they came out with a big plate of Popeyes with Sichuan ma la seasonings... Fuck me. That would be some dream!
Pork Belly Stew with Bean Curd. Dish sounded great on paper but this wouldn't be visually appetizing to gringos expecting pork belly from PF Chang's. Stir it up because things get settled to the bottom. There's a good amount of pork belly but the real star of this dish was the bean curd knots. They absorbed the umami flavor of the stew and the bean curd sheets have that fruit rollup toothy mouth feel. I was going to untied those knots and filled it with the pork belly to make a little meat purse but people would think I'm some FOB from Temu that just snuck in through Eagle Pass.
I would go back to try some other authentic Chino dishes but be warned the other half of their menu is heavily Americanized Chinese grub. They have to have it to stay in business because there is no fucking way in hell they will survive serving only to ex-pats from the more authentic side of the menu. Don't believe me? Go on Yelp and look at the pictures, it's full of the Americanized Chino menu items.
3940 Buford Hwy NE A103
Duluth, GA 30096
