Daniel B.
Yelp
Sho Spicy is like Tasty China Sandy Springs, but with a new name. I think the interior has been spruced up, but not significantly, and the menu is largely the same; at least, for all the Sichuan items I like to get. If you are/were a fan of Tasty China, you should be mostly satisfied with Sho Spicy.
As has been well-documented in my Yelp reviews for over a decade now, I've always been a big fan of Tasty China. It's not for everyone, but I love how Tasty China's chefs liberally use Sichuan peppercorns in many of their dishes. To me, it makes a big difference. It's what brings the "ma" part of the "mala" cooking (numbing and spicy) that Sichuan cuisine is known for.
To date, I've yet to encounter a Sichuan restaurant that brings the mala as consistently intense as Tasty China (Marietta and Smyrna) does. While the spice levels are still satisfyingly high here at Sho Spicy, I do think the numbing levels have been backed down (to my disappointment). Again, it's not for everyone, so I understand if that was a decision to conservatively appeal to a wider range of palates, especially in Sandy Springs and Buckhead.
Sho Spicy replaced Tasty China Sandy Springs (https://bit.ly/3vmXibb) in the Fountain Oaks shopping center sometime in or around July 2020. This is the same shopping center as Kroger on Roswell Road, inside the perimeter. Tasty China Sandy Springs had opened in September 2018 so it lasted less than two years. I have a sneaking suspicion Sho Spicy might be part of the same metro Atlanta network of Sichuan restaurants that includes Urban Wu in Buckhead, Hai in Decatur, and Wei in Marietta, but I could be wrong. For more on that, see my review of Wei: https://bit.ly/3wA8pxI.
The dining room is spacious and nicely decorated. During my visit, it was clean and still looked relatively fresh and new. For bigger groups, they have round tables with Lazy Susans which are great for large group dining.
The menu is pretty solid with apps like A6. Beef Tendon & Tripe in Chili Oil ($9.95) and A9. Wood Ear Mushrooms with Wild Peppers ($6.95). There's a lot of good "authentic" stuff under the "Chef's Specialty" and "Classic Sichuan Cuisine" sections of the menu such as B3. Braised Fish (or Beef/Chicken) in Chili Oil ($15.95) and B6. Double-Cooked Pork ($13.95). They have "Americanized" Chinese selections too, of course, with $8.95 lunch specials offered weekdays, 11:00am-3:30pm, and $11.95 dinner specials.
Here's what I got:
A2. Dan Dan Noodles ($7.95) - Chinese egg noodles, ground pork (beef also an option, peanuts, scallions, chili paste
C6. Cumin Lamb ($20.95) - sliced lambed, cumin, onion, cilantro, red peppers, sesame seeds, jalapeno
C8. Salt & Pepper Squid ($19.95) - shrimp also an option
V1. Sichuan-Style Dry Fried Eggplant ($13.95)
V12. Snow Pea Tips with Minced Garlic ($14.95)
V21. Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce ($14.95)
In general, the food was good and the portion sizes were fair to generous. I was quite happy with the portions of the snow pea tips in particular.
There was a $1-3 difference per dish between the print menu at the restaurant and the online menu. I ordered and paid online using Sho Spicy's online platform, qMenu (https://www.qmenu.us/). The qMenu prices were anywhere from $1-3 more per dish. For example, at the restaurant, the Cumin Lamb and Salt & Pepper Squid were $17.95 and $16.95, respectively. Online, they were $20.95 and $19.95, respectively.
I placed my order on a Monday at 6:15pm and it was ready at 6:31pm. Fast. The lead time I was given was 20 minutes so they beat the estimate. My order was sitting and waiting for me at the front when I arrived. The dining room was empty except for one table and my takeout order was the only one ready for pickup, at least out front. My order was packed securely, included five boxes of steamed white rice, chopsticks, fortune cookies, several packets of duck and soy sauce (which I did not use), and super cheap disposable fork-napkin sets The takeout containers, though, were good quality. Thanks to server Sophie at the restaurant.
I ordered a lot of my longtime (in general) favorite dishes and there were no surprises except for the Salt & Pepper Squid. This was my first time having Salt & Pepper Squid prepared Sichuan-style with red peppers. I prefer the Cantonese version, which is drier and has a lighter, more crispy batter. In this regard, I still think Canton Cook II does it best. Some pieces of the Cumin Lamb were tougher than average, but the flavor was good. I just wished the lamb and the Dry Fried Eggplant had more Sichuan peppercorns for that wonderful, tingly, numbing sensation. The spiciness was definitely there, however. The Dan Dan Noodles were rich and flavorful. The noodles had excellent texture and the spicy oil sauce was full of umami. Both the Snow Pea Tips and the Chinese Broccoli were fresh and delicious; simple yet yummy and gratifying. I recommend all of these dishes except for maybe the Salt & Pepper Squid.