You Jie Xiao Chao: The Secret Resto in Rockwell

There’s this secret restaurant near Rockwell and I’ve been hearing it for quite some time now.  No name, no signage, just “Secret Resto.”  Sounds interesting and even serves Hunan¹ cuisine.  The unlimited rice (for about 25 bucks), which I found out about later, is just a bonus.

Officially, the place has a name: You Jie Xiao Chao, which translates to Ms. You’s Little Eatery or something like that.  But for the sake of not having to type the whole thing and to boost our Google hits, let’s just call it Secret Resto. I’ll add the phrases “hidden” and “hole-in-the-wall” as well².

A word of warning: stay away from the Ziran Beef.  No idea what Ziran Beef is but let me save you the time (and money) and tell you that it’s completely inedible.  Tougher to chew than bubble gum so I don’t know how this is one of their best sellers.

The Gong Bao Chicken is nothing special and not even spicy.  They should just call this dish Gong Bao Peanuts with Chicken because I ate more peanuts than chicken.

People usually go for the Fried Dumplings and I’d probably say go for it. Again, nothing special.  Not much meat inside and there is more cabbage than pork, but totally edible and not all that bad.

Another one of their specialties is the Steamed Fish Head.  This dish might look expensive³, but this was easily the most value for money dish here.  Fish head was large and meaty.  Good flavor and amply spiced.  Sauce could be a bit thicker, but overall a good dish.  Best part of the fish head?  The cheek. Always go for the cheek.

My favorite dish is probably the Fried Intestines.  Taste was good, but could use a bit more spice.  There are better ones out there I’m sure.  A bit of a letdown during my second visit — the intestines were a bit tough and not cooked as well as my first visit.

Personally, I’m a bit disappointed with the spice level, which is precisely why I can’t say this is authentic Hunan cuisine⁴.  This is Hunan cuisine.  So spicy should be part of the dishes much like pasta has to be present in any Italian place.  To be fair, this is probably closer in authenticity than most Chinese restaurants out there.  But like LeBron James, close just doesn’t cut it.

You Jie Xiao Chao: The Secret Resto in Rockwell 2011-06-15

here’s this secret restaurant near Rockwell and I’ve been hearing it for quite some time now.  No name, no signage, just “Secret Resto.”  Sounds interesting and even serves Hunan cuisine.  The unlimited rice (for about 25 bucks), which I found out about later, is just a bonus. Officially, the place has a name: You Jie …