Cindy T.
Yelp
Delicious authentic Chinese food, with many perks and a few negatives. This restaurant is located on Oak Tree Road in Edison, on the side of a small shopping center. It tends go be busy on weekends, but there shouldn't usually be a wait for a table.
The inside is quite well-decorated. It looks like a typical Chinese restaurant: several 4-6 seater tables and a few large round tables with lazy susans at the center. The inside is dim, but clean and neat. There's a table at the center of the restaurant with complimentary all-you-can-eat appetizers/dessert: large pots of soup (porridge, hot and sour soup and sweet taro soup) and hot, yummy scallion pancakes. On that note, the complimentary sweet taro soup and scallion pancakes are absolutely delicious. The taro soup is sweet, hot and tasty--have a bowl for dessert. The scallion pancakes are crispy and hot, better than the ones at most Chinese restaurants and those aren't even free.
As for the food, the dishes are classic Sichuan style with sharp, strong taste. The spicy dishes aren't that spicy, but I'm big on spice so that may not be the case for most people. The lunch menu is pretty reasonable, but the dinner menu is a little pricey (note: on weekends, lunch follows the dinner menu). On the dinner menu, main entrees are $11-18 while smaller dishes, like noodles or fried rice, are around $7-10. The portions are sizable, and you get a large complimentary bowl of rice.
There are a few downsides though. Although one of the servers was very nice and accommodated all my requests quickly, in general you have to go out of your way to get things done. Servers won't be checking on you once all the food is on the table, so make requests when you're seated, when they come to take your order or when they're bringing dishes. Second, you're required to order at least one dish per person, as in if you have a 5-persons party you have to order at least 5 dishes. Lastly, the menu is completely in Mandarin Chinese. There may be a small English menu, but the main menu is only Chinese characters. This wasn't a problem for me because I could read most of the characters and I was with my parents, but obviously this could be a big problem for those who don't know Chinese.
Overall, a fantastic authentic Chinese restaurant with great dishes and delicious complimentary pancakes/soups. If you dot have a problem with the downsides--as I didn't--I definitely recommend this place as one of NJ's best Sichuan restaurants.