Szechuan Gourmet, Round 2

Ma Paul Tofu (for real this time)

3 days after the waitress at Szechuan Garden gave us the training wheels ma paul, I went back a second time. This time we made sure to specify that we want the full-strength stuff. The waiter asked us several time if we were sure. Yes damnit, bring it on! And he did. As you can tell from the picture, it looked pretty much the same except the sauce was a deeper red this time. And once again, the burning sensation in my mouth wasn't overwhelming. It's not as bad as, say, eating a jalapeno pepper.

But I will say one thing, and that is that when you're eating the Ma Paul, everyone at the restaurant will know it. By the time you get through the second bite, the drops of sweat on your forehead will have turned to rivulets running down your cheek. By the time I finished the meal, the tablecloth in front of me was dotted with little wet circles where perspiration had dripped off my chin. My friend and I each had to leave the table to blow our noses, since whatever's in that dish apparently gets your sinuses running as well.

Also, we noticed that if you dig in to the bottom of the dish, the sauce there is spicier and saltier than the stuff at the top. I highly recommend having some from the top and the bottom when you serve yourself.

Once again, the whole meal was fantastic. My friend ordered the wok tossed prawns with szechuan peppercorn & special salt (pictured below). Crispy, juicy, a bit garlicy, and just a tad spicy. Home run.

Wok Tossed Prawns with szechuan peppercorn & special salt