Pot & Noodle

I used to live in China for a number of years and fell in love with Sichuan food while living there. When I moved to SF, I had a difficult time finding a sichuan restaurant where my mouth and tastebuds would become tingly from the mala spice (which is an amazing feeling). This restaurant delivered and was incredible. We got the mapo tofu, cold chicken, and beef in chili oil (ie dishes drenched in mala). The mapo tofu could have been spicier, but we added the chili oil from the chicken to meet our needs They do have non-spicy sichuan food, so I do think this restaurant can serve a variety of audiences. But for those wanting a mala-filled experience, look no further Please note that for my photo, we had already devoured the beef in chili oil and ate most of the chicken.

After spending a couple hours in Japantown, my friend & I headed to Chinatown for some grub. So what attracted us to this place? Of course it was the lights & the red & black color that surrounded the building. And yeah, the view of the bridge helped too. The place was packed. We waited about 10 minutes to be seated next to another couple that we shared the table with & another 20 minutes to get our food. Pot & Noodle serve some of your favorite Chinese over rice dishes, hot pots, and of course, some pork buns and smoothies. I was super excited for the Kung Pao Chicken...but it was just too saucy. & c'mon we love saucy, but this made it unbearable to eat. And the chicken was cute up very weird. My friend had the duck soup & really enjoyed it. I tried the broth which was good enough to warm me up on this chilly night in The City but it still did not cut it for me. Would I come back again? Perhaps not. But it could've been I just ordered the wrong thing. So try if for yourself & let me know what you think.

They have refreshed the decor here and it is awesome! New menu too. Great Sichuan style food, nicely priced. Great spot to take a group. Pretty authentic compared to many other places in Chinatown, which are probably better versed in Cantonese style cooking. We had cold noodles, ground pork with green beans, and spicy cauliflower. Great night out!

Great food with a devil-may-care service. We ordered the vegetable hot pot and eggplant in garlic sauce. Both were really good! The server however couldn't care less if we were there or not. Forget any smiles, she almost shouted "How many rice you want?" We were never asked if the food was okay or if we needed anything else. There were glasses but no water was served. Thankfully the food arrived in time and was delicious. I had to grab hold of, and keep asking a different guy for everything else that we needed. Despite the decent tip, I never got any thanks or even an acknowledgement. There are plenty of other great establishments in Chinatown. Look elsewhere.