"A meal at Szechuan Mountain House starts with a complimentary bowl of pickled cabbage. Each bite, coated in a red chili oil and sichuan peppercorn, sends an electric current through your tongue. That mouth-vibrating sensation is a hallmark of any meal at Mountain House, and—at a restaurant that matches the energy of an amusement park—it’s only a taste of the ride to come. In the East Village, Mountain House is the second location of a Flushing original that’s quickly expanding. (They now have a restaurant in Midtown, as well as Boston and LA.) Here, the chaos of St. Marks travels right up the steps, where a crowd gathers by the indoor koi pond, waiting for tables. The place is elaborately decorated to look like a reclusive mountain cottage, with wooden beams and bamboo fixtures. But at peak dinner time, it’s more like a celebratory summit. Save yourself a 30-minute wait and make a reservation, usually available up to one day in advance. photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff photo credit: Alex Staniloff Once you’re seated, take your time examining the encyclopedic menu. The combination of numbing peppercorns and spicy chilies (flavors known as “ma” and “la”, respectively), can be found all over it. But even though we’d never skip the fantastic ma-po tofu and fried la-zi chicken, Mountain House is one of the few Sichuan restaurants in Manhattan that hits a wider range of taste buds too. Mix it up with the pickled pepper frog legs, beef in sour cabbage soup, salted egg yolk corn, and strips of pork belly and cucumber, served with a garlic paste that’s louder than any chili oil on the table. Dishes come out at a speed that suggests that the kitchen is waiting for you to finish, not the other way around. Servers zip through the room, communicating by headset, never missing a beat. On one occasion, our friend dropped their chopsticks—and a new pair materialized in under 30 seconds. Then, like a roller coaster pulling back into the station, the meal suddenly slows down. Right on cue a server swoops in with a moist toilette and the dessert menu. (Get the sweet drunken jelly.) Even as you step outside, the effect of those sichuan peppercorns lingers like a kind of novocaine. After a fast-paced, electrifying meal at Mountain House, St. Marks feels almost serene. Food Rundown photo credit: Alex Staniloff Swing Pork Belly Aside from all the platters that look like fiery peppercorn ball pits, this is Mountain House’s most social media-friendly showpiece. It also happens to be delicious. Crispy cucumber ribbons and light-pink, thinly sliced pork slabs hang neatly over a rack, which looks like something you’d use to dry jeans. Under it, there’s a thick garlic chili oil for dipping. photo credit: Adam Friedlander Ma-Po Tofu Mountain House’s mapo is outstanding, with an extra black pepper kick on top of the peppercorn and chili base. We order it every time. photo credit: Alex Staniloff La-Zi Chicken In case you’ve never had Sichuan food before, this fried chicken is your best introduction (along with the ma-po tofu). Crispy cubes of chicken—dry seasoned, but much juicier than they look—are tossed with a small mountain of dried red chilis and peppercorns. Mountain House also makes versions with jumbo prawns, shredded eel, and pork intestine. photo credit: Alex Staniloff Mao Xue Wang Mountain House is one of the few Sichuan spots in Manhattan and Brooklyn that has an extensive selection of dishes involving tripe, blood, brains, intestines, and other organ parts. (Flushing has plenty.) This one is our favorite. It has a range of textures, with silky duck blood curd, crunchy tripe, chewy chicken gizzard, and other organ parts in a hot red peppercorn and chili broth. They also have a green peppercorn version that’s just as good. photo credit: Alex Staniloff Ma-Ma Hot Flounder Fish Not to be confused with the ma-la fish stews on the menu, this soup employs green peppercorns only, creating a color that looks like watered-down yellow Gatorade. You’ll taste more of the fruity elements of the peppercorns (which are more closely related to citrus than pepper) here. Eating this dish, though, is less about flavor and more of a multidimensional experience—this soup leaves your tongue extra tingly and your lips extra numb, confusing and delighting the senses at the same time. Call it high vibrational living. photo credit: Alex Staniloff Pickled Pepper Frog A lot of people say frog just tastes like chicken. That’s kind of true, but the meat is also silkier, more slippery, and milder, so it easily absorbs whichever flavors you throw in. In this case, it’s pickled peppers, resulting in a spicy, sour, and salty dish. Our only complaint is that it can be take awhile to eat, with all the tiny leg bones. photo credit: Alex Staniloff Salted Egg Yolk Corn These golden kernels are fried and then sautéed in salted egg yolk. They are a good break from the spice, and should be sold at every movie theater." - Neha Talreja
