川霸王 Szechuan House

"Flushing has its fair share of great Szechuan restaurants (some of which you’ll find mentioned on this list) but Szechuan House is the oldest in the area. It’s been around since 1985, and produces mapo tofu so intensely seasoned with peppercorns and mala spices that it’ll make even your water taste sour. This dish is served in a pool of thin red oil with a heavy dusting of ground Szechuan peppercorns on top. If you like your mapo tofu on the extra tingly side, you’ll love this one." - hannah albertine

"Where to get it: Xiang La Hui in Alhambra, California, has a good version, along with SzechuanHouse in Flushing, Queens." - Matthew Kang

"Flushing has its fair share of great Szechuan restaurants (like Szechuan Mountain House, Szechuan Absolute, Guan Fu to name a few), but Szechuan House is the oldest in the area. It’s been around since 1985, and still makes dishes like fish with pickled cabbage, plump wontons in chili oil, and numbing mapo tofu. While it’s possible you’ve encountered mapo tofu in a thick, pork-heavy sauce, Szechuan House’s version isn’t like that at all. Theirs is served in a pool of thin red oil with a dusting of ground-up Szechuan peppercorns on top. If you like your mapo tofu on the extra tingly side, you’ll love this one. Szechuan House currently offers takeout and delivery, as well as limited indoor dining. In case you’re looking for a spot to eat outside, walk your takeout bag down the block to a parking lot where the New York Food Hall has set up about a dozen tables under a tent. photo credit: Hannah Albertine photo credit: Hannah Albertine" - Hannah Albertine

"Open since 1985, Szechuan House is the oldest restaurant serving the fiery cuisine in Flushing. Though its menu has been modernized, it still concentrates on the classics. Recommended are clear noodles in spicy meat sauce (sometimes known as “ants on a log”), tea-smoked duck, and sliced beef and tendon. There’s also seafood galore, including the hottest thing on the menu: “slice fish with peppercorn.” The most unusual we’ve encountered? Wasabi arctic surf clams, sounding like the adversaries in a Ninja Turtles movie." - Robert Sietsema, Serena Dai

"Opening in Flushing in 1985, Szechuan House is possibly the oldest continuously operating Sichuan restaurant in New York, although ownership has changed several times over the years. One of the main draws here is the thinly sliced beef tendon with red chili vinaigrette, a perfect appetizer for anyone who likes slick, soft textures and a hot tangy sauce. Equally spicy are the dan dan noodles, which seem innocuous at first because of the little amount of sauce used compared to what you’ll find at other restaurants - until you realize much of the heat is in the crushed red chili paste dolloped on top. To bring a little balance, mix in some sweets with dinner, like the pan-fried sweet potato cakes, instead of saving them for the end. The sweetness and starch will help cool things down between bites of the fiery dishes." - Diana Kuan