There are few dishes that can make me salivate as much as stir-fried lamb with cumin. Even before reaching the table, the pungent aroma of cumin wakes my senses to the adventure that is about to begin. S&W Pepper House is, unfortunately, located in Crystal Mall (aka the place with the circular parking lot from hell). If it wasn’t for this fact, I’d probably be eating here a lot more often.
Gastrofork Dee De Los Santos
+3.5
I’ve heard a lot of positive things about this place and since I was in the area for a meeting, I thought it’d be a great time to check it out for lunch. Be warned that S&W Pepper House is in the infamous Crystal Mall. If you want to skip the headache, I suggest parking elsewhere and walking over. The parking is a little ridiculous, think of a round parking lot…which doesn’t make a lot of sense. Or at least to me it doesnt – it means narrow to wider parking spots with pillars every couple of parking spots which makes for a super frustrating experience.
came in during dinner, it was because the place that initally wanted to go is closed and my relative want to eat chinese food, so i kind of know what he likes in a food, something a little bit bland but the taste of the natural spices that is a little bit underwhelming, a definitely a little bit of hunan/szechuan spice, so definitely s&w was along kingsway, chose this restaurant, then ordered only a few items, veggies, and kongpao chicken. everything is definitely alright, the price might be slightly higher than i thought but still within range, overall the place is okay and service for chinese restaurant i would say is superb! should try their huoguo yu as well, is definitely decent.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
It goes without saying that eating out (on a daily basis) takes a toll on one's health. Ever since I started eating out again, my skin has been suffering as a result. The additives/colours/preservatives in restaurant food make my eczema flare up. And it's dreadfully painful. So I decided to host an intervention. For myself.
"THIS IS AN INTERVENTION."
So, for the past 2 weeks, I've been eating a gluten-free, soy-free, organic, vegan diet. (How did I survive?!) Well I did. And I thrived. The results were instant. My eczema cleared up in the span of 2 days, my brain fog disappeared, I lost 5+ pounds...not bad eh? You don't realize the effect restaurant food has on your body until you stop eating it.
Oh, and something that I have failed to mention is that I'm actually a closeted CELIAC. "Closeted" as in: I've never told anyone, because half of the time...I forget. Yup, according to my blood tests...I'm allergic to gluten and wheat!! (Oh, the horror!)
"WHAT ELSE DON'T WE KNOW ABOUT YOU SELINA?!!"
Does this mean I'm going to stop eating gluten? Ideally, the answer would be: "HECK NO GIRL!!!" Gluten is in pretty much everything...(and every fried food that I love) so cutting it out entirely wouldn't be very realistic. But I'm probably going to have to practice "some sort" of avoidance in the future (for the sake of my health.) Sigh.
Okay, enough about celiac disease...let's get on to the food, shall we?
The other day, my mom and I went to S&W Pepper House (in Crystal Mall) for lunch! S&W is one of our favourites for authentic, Sichuan food!! I use to pass by on a semi-regular basis (when I lived 3 mins away from Crystal Mall.) On this particular visit, I was determined to try their water boiled fish (which is #1 on their recommended dishes list!!)
This is good place to grab casual Chinese food. It's very busy place and couple of times, we have to wait to be seated. My favourites there are the spicy chicken with red chilli pepper and their pig feet with chilli pepper. I did not like their fish with vegetables soup or hot pot though. They make food spicier than other Chinese restaurants. The place is very crowded and can get very noisy. Their decor is underwhelming and atmosphere is noisy but if you just want casual and good food, this is a good place to try.
We ordered two appetizers- Assorted Vegetables (3/5) and Lettuce Stem (3.5/5). For our entree, we went for a Bamboo Shoot and Shredded Pork stir-fry (3.5/5). The food was all quite delicious and had that authentic regional taste. Not overwhelmingly oily either despite the use of chili oil. A few critiques- I was disappointed with the assorted vegetables being broccoli and cauliflower, which isn't even vegetables used in traditional Chinese cooking.. and also, the lettuce stem came out lukewarm. Being a cold appetizer, it was a little awkward.
Service is mediocre, but pretty good compared to most Chinese restaurants for a busy weekend night. Overall, a good place to go to if you want some homestyle Hunan food.
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 3/5
Value: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Perfect Spice Level. If you like your food crazy spicy, then this isn't the restaurant for you. This is a toned down version of a szechuan restaurant, catering to Cantonese/Western palates. Pretty basic menu, which includes your typical szechaun dishes like cumin lamb.
In fact, my family loved it so much we went three times in a month! That says a lot.
Foodrebuttal.com recommendation: Order the beef shank and beef tripe in chilli sauce (or any other appy) the minute you sit down. Thank me later.
The only complain I have with this place is the crappy parking. Normally if parking is difficult, I would rather go somewhere else. However, this place is worth the hassle. If you want real kung pow chicken, this is the place to go. There is this one steamed pork dish with spicy sauce is a must try. Explosion of flavours will not leave you dissapointed. Don't be discouraged by the parking. I would return to try other things on their menu.
Very tasty food!. We went here for lunch because one of us was craving for this type of Chinese food. It was quite busy that day (weekend). Luckily our friend arrived early to get us a table. The Sliced Pork Breast with Garlic Sauce we ordered was huge. It was nicely plated with beansprouts on the bottom. The pork was not too rough and the sauce, which was sweet and spicy, compliments the pork well. We also ordered Boiled Sliced Fish with assorted vegetables, a dish known for being quite spicy. We found this dish a little on the salty side but our friend said it is the style of this type of cooking. Another dish we ordered was the Kung Pao Diced Boneless Chicken with Peanuts. This was another tasty dish. Our friend liked this dish the best. Next time, we would like to try the Chopped Chicken in Chilli Sauce. We recommend this place to anyone who likes this type of Chinese food.
Very spicy. Good taste, small portions, average prices, the sweet & sour fish looks good, i will be trying this at my next visit.
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