Sichuan in SYP: Bashu Garden kicks things up a notch in Sai Ying Pun, serving mouthnumbing dishes from Sichuan province in a simple but stately space.

Look & Feel: The main dining room is decked out in lantern lights and bian lian masks on the walls. There are a handful of traditional Chinese-style tables and chairs with matching carvings to complete the look. In the back corner is a private room with a low ceiling that, strangely, is plainer and uglier than the communal area.

On the Menu: Bashu’s menu offers all the classics, with the obligatory chili broth dishes, mapo tofu and chicken treated many ways. There are also less-common items like duck blood in chili sauce and stir-fried sweet potato leaves for those who are more adventurous.

Jeng: If the staff ask you whether you can take the heat and you say yes, the dishes come out as feisty and mouthnumbing as you’d expect. The cold chicken in mala sauce (口水雞, $158 half; $298 whole) is a perfectly seasoned beauty, with tender, chopped-up bone-in pieces soaked through in a pulpy chili oil bath (trust us, it tastes better than it sounds). The dan dan noodles ($28 small, $50 large) come with thick, flat and doughy strands sitting on top of a puddle of savory chili sauce and minced pork — it’s a drier, more intense (and frankly, much tastier) version than you’d get at most other establishments that serve the dish.

Not So Jeng: If you don’t book in advance, you might get relegated to that stuffy private room at the back of house. Also, apparently some of the dishes are so popular (read: the translucent beef slices) that they get sold out even if you’re one of the first sittings for dinner.

Service: Polite and friendly servers make sure to point you to the best dishes for your needs.

Great For: Small group dinners, a metabolism boost.

FYI: The term “Bashu” refers to the name of two ancient Sichuan states, Ba and Shu.

This writeup was based on an independent tasting. The Loop doesn’t guarantee/sell restaurant review coverage. See our editorial policy here.