Return to Uncle Liu's Hot Pot in Falls Church

Finally had a chance to introduce my boyfriend to Sichuan hot pot at Uncle Liu's (2972 Gallows Road Falls Church, VA 22042).  We met up with another couple who were trying hotpot for the first time, plus two other friends who went with me on the first UL's adventure.  Hot pot works best with a group of 4-6 people so you can order a nice variety of ingredients.  We ended up sitting at the same round table as last time. This time we tried the spicy broth with a whole fish (tilapia) included ($20). 

 Hot pot broth warming on the tabletop burner.  The spicy broth was oily, and I missed the milder, creamy chicken broth from the half-and-half broth option.

 In addition to the tilapia already in the broth, we ordered spicy beef, chicken, spinach, sliced lamb and mushrooms.

 We also chose meat dumplings, bean sprouts, Chinese cabbage and chrysanthemum leaves.

Bubbling cauldron of spicy broth. 

After the ingredients were cooked, we dipped them in our bowls of sauce.  AA saw a food blog recommended mixture of sha-cha sauce with hot chili oil, cilantro, garlic, soy and vinegar.  I made a different version of cilantro, soy, chili oil, sesame oil, and scallions.  With a couple of TsingTao beers, rice, dipping sauce surcharge ($1/bowl) and two wonton soups, it was $21 per person including tax and tip for all six of us. 

Uncle Liu's Hotpot Adventure

I've read about Uncle Liu's and their hotpot menu on http://www.donrockwell.com/, one of my favorite food-related boards.  Hotpot is great in the colder months, and a really fun group dining activity.  With my boyfriend back home visiting relatives, I had a Friday to myself and decided to gather some fellow hotpot fans to trek out to Falls Church.  (A good explanation of the restaurant can be found here:  http://tylercowensethnicdiningguide.com/?p=813) The location is a bit confounding for anyone using their iphone mapping function.  All three cars ended up lost.  The shopping center is anchored by a Gold's Gym, Great Wall supermarket and a Five Guys is located nearby.

We ordered a split pot with half spicy and half mild.  The mild broth was a milky concoction of chicken broth with tomato and scallions.  The spicy broth included Szechwan peppercorns and red chilies, with a sheen of oil.  It's fiery and numbing/burning in a "hurts so good" kind of way.

Lobster balls

We ordered Chinese cabbage, spinach, tofu, lamb, tender beef, bean sprouts, mushrooms, chicken, shrimp, lobster balls, meat dumplings and vegetable dumplings.  Most of the proteins are frozen.

Due to a shellfish allergy and a beef-intolerance in the group, we had all nonseafood items in the spicy side and no beef in the mild side.  Cooking the sliced lamb in the spicy side was recommended by food posts, and be warned that soft items like tofu will absorb the spicy liquid like a sponge.  We made a selection of dipping sauces for the table, but next time I would prefer we make our own dipping bowls to dunk cooked food into. 

Water was a bit hard to track down, but the TsingTao was nice and refreshing with the spicy hotpot.  Looking forward to taking my boyfriend here, and I think he'd love the spicy side.  With a group of 6, it ended up about $20 per person, including tip, which is really reasonable.

Great Wall Sichuan Take-Out

I finally tried the ma la dishes at Great Wall on 14th St NW.  Their menu is 3/4ths American-Chinese dishes, but the last page has the Sichuan dishes that make this bare bones take-out place worth trying.  We did carryout and waited only 15 minutes for our bag of spicy treats.

 Mapo Tofu $8.95 Soft tofu with ground beef, chili and Sichuan peppercorns.

 Dan Dan Noodle $7.95.  Fiery mixture of chili, Sichuan peppercorns, scallions and ground beef.

 Baby pak choy with garlic $8.95.  Not bad, but I liked the baby bok choy with garlic at Mark's Duck House better.

Ma La Wontons $5.50.

***

Everything was good, although the last bowl of Dan Dan Mein I had at Sichuan Pavillion on K Street was definitely hotter.  We ordered enough to share and still have leftovers.  The next day I boiled some dumplings and mixed them in the leftover mapo tofu.  Delicious.  If you like Sichuan dishes and don't feel like trekking to Rockville, Great Wall is a solid alternative.

Sichuan Pavillion and Service Issues

My better half loves spicy food. During the long weekend, we headed over to K Street for some fiery Sichuan noodles at one of his favorite places, Sichuan Pavilion, http://sites.google.com/site/sichuanpavilion/

Unfortunately, the weekend crew included a bizarre rotation of uniformed people lackadaisically tending to the tables. I'm pretty patient, but when we're waiting for 10 minutes without anyone bringing hot tea and water over to the table, and 2 tables who arrived after us already have theirs, it does not bode well.

After a rocky start, we finally had hot tea, water, cold Tsingtao beer and placed our order.

Pork Dumplings in Sichuan Sauce ($3.95) Jellyfish in ginger and scallion sauce ($5.95). Interesting texture and the flavor was a nice contrast to the spicier ma-la dishes. Egg drop soup with corn ($2.50).

Not really remarkable(Peking Gourmet Inn's version is miles better) and the corn did not add much to the overall flavor.

Dan Dan Mein Noodles in spicy sauce ($9.95) Ma-la dishes have a numbing and spicy composition that is quite addictive. The heat builds from the spicy sauce and your lips begin to feel both on fire and numb at the same time. A side order of sauteed spinach and the jellyfish are great to offset the heat. Super long noodles to slurp. Sichuan Pavilion's noodles are thin and very long, while Great Wall on 14th St uses thicker egg noodles.

Joe's Noodle House

I'm that special kind of person that thinks...fall down, hurt your hand, visit urgent care... eat some spicy ma la food from Joe's Noodle House. I luckily have a great friend who not only took me there, but did not for a minute question my desire to eat with chopsticks with a non-functioning hand. Despite the hurt hand, it was great to try out this Szechuan restaurant in Rockville. If I lived closer, I'd try more things from the ridiculously long menu. http://www.joesnoodlehouse.com/

Spicy and tasty fried tofu ($9.95).

The ma-la dishes are definitely mouth-numbing. This was fiery.

steamed dumplings ($4.95). A nice counterbalance to all the szechuan peppercorns and heat. cabbage and mushroom soupup close...see the fiery flakes? Man...this burned...

Beef Noodle Soup Szechuan Style ($7.50). This was a large bowl of fiery soup. Definitely large enough to share.