As I never tire of saying, Grand Szechuan is our family’s favourite restaurant in Minnesota. We eat there more often each year than anywhere else—probably more than the next five places put together. Over the years—from well before I ever started this blog—we’ve introduced a good number of friends and colleagues to this great restaurant; and via the blog I’ve introduced a number of strangers to it as well. The introductions for friends and colleagues come with detailed suggestions—tailored to their tastes—on what to order. On the blog I once presented a suggested order but for the most part I’ve let my reviews function as a guide to the menu. But the menu is large and for people who aren’t just first-timers to the restaurant but also new to Sichuan food it also can be overwhelming. And so—sparked most recently by interest on the excellent Twin Cities East Metro Foodies Facebook page—here is a fuller guide to the menu that will hopefully result in not just a good first order but a second and third and fourth and fifth as well.

A few framing points before we get to the orders:

1. This food—like most Asian cuisines served outside of high-end cheffy contexts—is meant to be ordered and eaten “family style”. And it’s best to go in a group so that you can eat a meal with a range of flavours and textures. The guides below assume a group of eight diners. I recommend highly that, like us, you order this way even if you are only two or four people and just take leftovers home to have a number of delicious meals in the ensuing week.
2. The menu is large but is not quite as large as it seems. By which I mean that there are many dishes that repeat across different protein options. In the case of such dishes I will recommend the one that seems to me to be the best version and if you like it you can try the other iterations on subsequent visits.
3. As I said above, you want a mix of different types of dishes. You should start with a couple of appetizers, most of which are served at room temperature or warm, before moving on to a mix of crispy, braised, stewed and stir-fried dishes. Soup is always nice too. And it’s good to eat your veg.
4. You absolutely do not have to have a crazy high chilli/heat tolerance to enjoy Sichuan food. And at Grand Szechuan you can have a very good meal even without ordering anything very hot. That said, you should try to get at least a couple of hot dishes. Keep in mind that unless you look Asian or are known to the house you’re unlikely to get crazy levels of heat anyway without begging for it. If you’re worried ask for a dish or two to be “medium spicy” and you’ll be able to handle it alongside everything else that will be on the table. On the other hand if you do want dishes that are meant to be hot to be properly hot ask for “Sichuan spicy” and repeat yourself.
5. It’s also possible to eat very well at Grand Szechuan ordering only vegetarian dishes. Accordingly, there’s a suggested vegetarian order below as well.

Okay, let’s get to it! Each recommended order is accompanied by a slideshow of those dishes so you have a sense of what you’re getting into. If any of the orders contains something you are averse to or don’t eat let me know in the comments and I’ll suggest a substitute dish.

First Visit

• Chengdu Spicy Wontons. These are on the Szechuan Snacks menu at the very front. The dressing is spicy; if you want to reduce the heat don’t toss the wontons completely in it.
• #6, Spicy Hammered Chicken. Don’t spoon the chilli oil over rice and you’ll be fine. And you shouldn’t spoon the chilli oil over rice even if you like very hot food.
• #20, Dan Dan Noodles. This is a Sichuan classic and Grand Szechuan’s version is very good.
• #32, West Lake Ground Beef Soup. A good relief dish.
• #73, Kung Pao Chicken. Kung pao chicken is an American Chinese cliche but if you haven’t eaten it in a good Sichuan restaurant have you really eaten it? Best with a bit of heat but fine without too.
• #116, Double Cooked Chinese Bacon. Chinese bacon=pork belly. This is a mild dish.
• #147, Spicy Squid Roll. Aka “triple-flavour squid”, this is one of very best dishes served at any Minnesota restaurant.
• #182, Mapo Tofu. Another Sichuan classic done very well here. This is best when pretty hot but will be good at medium too. Bear in mind this contains ground pork.
• #191, Szechuan Green Beans. Don’t ask questions, just get them. Also mild.

Here’s a slideshow showing the dishes above. Scroll down for the next order. (The captions are from the original review posts in which these images appeared.)

Excellent as always.

The friends we usually go with always want this and we’re always happy to eat it.

Inevitability.

And so.

The one dish we always get.

Second Visit

• #4, Pork Belly in Garlic Sauce. Shake the chilli oil off before eating the strips of pork belly.
• #16, Bamboo Shoots in Chilli Sauce. Same deal with the chilli oil.
• #34, Pickled Mustard Tuber and Shredded Pork Soup. This slightly sour soup is also a great relief dish to have on hand to deal with any heat that gets too much for you.
• #62, Chengdu Grilled Lamb. Don’t like lamb? Get #61 Cumin Beef Filet instead
• #81, Country Style Chicken. Little cubes of chicken fried to a perfect crisp.
• #114, Fish Flavor Pork. Don’t let the name confuse you or put you off. There is no fish in this dish: the pork is just cooked in a way often used for fish. This is a stone-cold classic as well.
• #164, Steamed Flounder Fillet. Now this does contain fish: a wonderful, mild dish of fish steamed with soy sauce, ginger and scallions.
• #181, Szechuan Spicy Tofu. Despite the name this is not very spicy. The interplay between the crisp outside and the soft inside is very good though.
• #197, Stir-Fried A Choy. A simple but very tasty dish of sauteed greens

Here’s the second slideshow; third order below.

An old mainstay, it’s been a little inconsistent in the past but always on point this year.

These bamboo shoots are a cold appetizer, and despite the chilli oil they’re sitting in the coolness makes them a nice relief from hotter dishes.

We don’t always get soup here but this used to be our go-to as our boys like the mild broth and the shredded pork.

Just excellent.

Another old favourite.

This is the regular steamed fish from the menu with ginger and lots of green onions.

Another first-timer this year and another we really like. It’s not terribly spicy but the interplay between the crisp outside and soft inside of the tofu is very nice.

As is the stir fried a choy.

Third Visit

• Sweet & Spicy Noodles. From the Szechuan Snacks section of the menu, these chewy noodles tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce are rather good.
• #1, Couple’s Beef. A Sichuan classic, this features thinly sliced beef and tripe tossed together in a hot dressing. Shake the oil off before eating the meat.
• #12, Peanuts and Diced Tofu in Chilli Sauce. A nice mix of textures.
• #37, Fish Fillet in Milky White Broth. Perhaps our absolute favourite soup here, this is wonderful in its own right and also works very well as an antidote to heat.
• #111, Garlic Pork Ribs. My favourite of their various fried ribs options.
• #125, Chengdu Style Saute Pork Belly. This stir-fry of thinly sliced pork belly is another favourite.
• #148, Fish Fillet with Bean Jelly in Spicy Sauce. Stop wondering what bean jelly is and just get it.
• #188, Tofu with Shrimp and Pickled Pepper. A wonderful mix of textures and mild, hot and sour flavours.
• #193, Eggplant with Sweet Bean Sauce. Just lovely.

You know the drill.

Sweet & Spicy Noodles: From the “Szechuan Snacks” section (now at the top of their updated menu). Always very nice but you have to like your noodles chewy.

Couple’s Beef: A classic cold appetizer and always excellent here

This was one of the dishes we only tried for the first time this year. And I have no idea why we waited so long—it’s really excellent and texturally interesting.

If you get the shrimp it’s best to get this lovely, mild soup of fish in what I think is pork bone broth. I could eat a whole tureen of this and be happy.

This is the one item that is translated on the list. It’s a very nice spicy, slightly sweet stir-fry.

Fish Fillets with Bean Jelly: Another of the 2012 New Year’s menu holdouts. Always great with a bright. acidic heat and depth from the bean sauce.

You have to like soft tofu but if you do, you’ll like this.

Another excellent relief dish.

Fourth Visit

• #5, Mouth-Water Chicken. A bit fiddly because it’s bone-in chicken but it’s very tasty.
• #10, Beef Tongue in Chilli Sauce. Don’t like the idea of eating tongue? Just think of it as thinly sliced steak.
• #31, Fish Fillet Soup with Pickled Vegetable. As with the other soups, a very good relief dish and very tasty on its own.
• #60, Unmatched Beef. A relatively mild dish of beef braised with vegetables.
• #78, Griddle Cooked Chicken. A not-very spicy dish of chicken cooked with crisp cauliflower.
• #119, Chairman Mao Braised Pork Belly. This is not health food but it is very good. A mild dish.
• #146, Diced Fish with Chopped Dry Pepper. Best ordered hot, this is one of our current favourite fish dishes.
• #189, Crisp Beancurd with Spicy Soy Sauce. Again, despite the name this is not particularly spicy—more a mix of sweet and sour notes with a bit of heat.
• #192, Fish Flavor Eggplant. The eggplant version of the fish flavor meat dishes.

More fiddly is the bone-in mouth watering chicken but I like it better anyway

So are the thinly shaved slices of beef tongue in more or less the same dressing.

This had fallen out of our rotation for reasons unknown but is back now. Another stew/casserole-style beef preparation, this includes celery and cucumber (hence, I think, the name).

This is one of my new favourites there: a mildly spicy dish of chicken with cauliflower. I suspect I like it because it in some way evokes South Asian flavours.

Chairman Mao’s Braised Pork Belly. Just this side of cloying (okay, maybe right on the line and tipping over) but so, so good.

You have to like tofu and you have to like the interplay of crisp and soft textures. The soy sauce is not particular spicy. Another dish that’s best got in a large group.

The eggplant version of the popular dish. I do not eat the devil’s tumour so cannot report on it, but the missus always likes when we order it (when dining in a group).

Advanced Studies

• #3, Ma La Beef Tendon. Soft, thinly sliced tendon tossed in chilli oil etc.
• #13, Elder Sister Diced Rabbit. Also fiddly because bone-in, also very good.
• #19, Szechuan Cold Bean Jelly. Thick bean jelly “noodles” tossed in a hot-sweet-sour sauce.
• #36, Fish and Lamb in Clay Pot. I’ve never quite figured out where the lamb is in this dish but this soup of delicate fish balls floating in a mild broth is excellent.
• #59,  Tofu and Beef with Chopped Jalapeno. As tasty as it is a dramatic presentation.
• #130, Spicy Pork Brain. You need a lot of people to eat this otherwise you will die. Best got at a very lethally hot setting.
• #142, Ma La Fish Fillet and Tofu in Spicy Broth. Hot, tingly and excellent. Don’t drink the soup.
• #179, Chengdu Spicy Shrimp. When got at the proper heat setting this dish of crisply fried whole shrimp is pretty, pretty hot. It’s also pretty, pretty good.
• Tofu with Salted Egg Yolk. This is not on the menu but if you ask for it you will get it. You have to like soft tofu and creamy textures but if you do this mild dish will wow you.

Slideshow etc.

Got this after a while this year. Excellent.

But soups lurk elsewhere on the menu as well. The unlikely sounding “Fish and Lamb in Claypot” turns out to be very mild fish balls in a milky broth. There’s not much evidence of the lamb but it’s quite good (and mild).

Still not on the printed menu, this is a must-get for anyone who enjoys organ meats. You have to have a lot of like-minded folks with you though as otherwise you’ll die. Also, this works best when ordered extra-hot.

As is this classic dish of fish in a chilli oil bath.

These head-on shrimp, however, are very good and quite lethal if asked to be made spicy.

Vegetarian

• #12, Peanuts and Diced Tofu in Chilli Sauce. A nice mix of textures.
• #16, Bamboo Shoots in Chilli Sauce. Same deal with the chilli oil.
• #19, Szechuan Cucumbers. Mildly spicy, this dish pleases me even though I don’t normally like cucumber.
• #21, Szechuan Cool Noodle. I would get this more often if the kids didn’t require we always get dan dan noodles.
• #35, Vegetable and Tofu Soup. Mild and lovely.
• #181, Szechuan Spicy Tofu. Despite the name this is not very spicy. The interplay between the crisp outside and the soft inside is very good though.
• #191, Szechuan Green Beans. Don’t ask questions, just get them. Also mild.
• #192, Fish Flavor Eggplant. The eggplant version of the fish flavor meat dishes.
• #198, Kung Pao Lotus Roots. All the pleasure of kung pao with crisp disks of lotus root.

This was one of the dishes we only tried for the first time this year. And I have no idea why we waited so long—it’s really excellent and texturally interesting.

Slightly spicy, cool cucumbers are a good contrast.

As the boys usually insist on dan dan noodles, we’d never got this before this year. But we sneaked it past them earlier this year and now it’s in the rotation. Not unlike dan dan noodles but with a little more vinegar.

Another first-timer this year and another we really like. It’s not terribly spicy but the interplay between the crisp outside and soft inside of the tofu is very nice.

Beloved of children and adults alike, this was excellent as always. We felt a little guilty afterwards, watching the staff de-string a veritable mountain of beans at a table in the back.

A Greatest Hits Blowout

And here finally is the birthday banquet blowout I hope to eat at the end of February with all of our old Grand Szechuan crew if the pandemic permits.

• Chengdu Spicy Wontons
• #4, Pork Belly in Garlic Sauce.
• #11, Pork Ears in Chilli Sauce. I would have recommended this above but I think the texture might be an acquired taste. Try this if you like the tendon.
• #37, Fish Fillet in Milky White Broth.
• #59, Tofu and Beef with Chopped Jalapeno. I didn’t recommend this above because I think this mix of soft tofu and fatty beef might also not be for everyone.
• #62, Chengdu Grilled Lamb.
• #130, Spicy Pork Brain.
• #147, Triple-Flavour Squid
• Whole walleye in spicy bean sauce. Another off-menu special
• #182, Mapo Tofu.
• Tofu with Salted Egg Yolk.
• #191, Szechuan Green Beans.
• #192, Fish Flavor Eggplant.

The pig ears are a good change-up.

An excellent relief dish from the heat.

This used to be on the Chinese specials menu and the name doesn’t quite prepare you for the dish, which is mild and all about the texture of the soft tofu and the fatty beef.

Just excellent.

Okay, this may be a harder sell for most but this is really very good. Scrambled pork brains in a hot and numbing sauce. Kang had the kitchen make it extra hot for us to “bring the flavour out”. If you’ve not had brains think softer but much milder liver. Try it but maybe also get it in a group of six people; for even if you like brains there’s a limit to how much brains two people can eat (even on Halloween weekend).

Top 10 Twin Cities dish? Top 5?

They don’t always have the whole walleye but when they do it’s very good. In a broadbean sauce that you need to ask for on the spicier end of the spectrum. Get it in a large group, both because it’s expensive and because it won’t be any good as leftovers.

Stir fried Green Beans: Our sons eat these like they’re made of crack. Always very good.

So, here it is. More information than probably anyone wanted. If you do try some of these order suggestions do let me know how you like your meals. Again, if there’s anything in any of these orders that you’re not jazzed by let me know in the comments and I’ll suggest a suitable substitute. And, of course, if you are a Grand Szechuan regular and are outraged to see one of your favourites omitted above, please feel free to write in to berate and add. Though keep in mind that even with seven orders detailed I have not been to include all my favourites either.