Spicing Up the 'Burg: Hot & Numbin' Szechuan Cuisine

Written By: Phuong Tran

Published November 2014

I did not foresee this.

Lying in front of me is an inviting feast: mountain after mountain of seductively aromatic and irresistibly tasty food. Everything looks fresh, subtly adorned, and probably not what you usually see at other restaurants around here on your feel-like-eating-Chinese-food days. I came to Andy Chang’s simply expecting a more upscale version of the Americanized Sesame Chicken and left with four full containers of what was probably the most authentic Szechuan dishes I have tried so far. (While my dear Mom has given me a somewhat bottomless stomach, the fact that I ended up with that much leftover is enough to show how HUMONGOUS their portions are and how dedicated Mr. Chang is to feeding starving college students).

A steaming hot plate of Chang's special Golden Mountain with Beef -
a tangy, flavorful new experience for only $15.
Photo Courtesy of Phuong Tran '15

Located at 205 Gristmill Drive (a little bit off Forest Road), Andy Chang’s is about 20 minutes away from Randolph, which is a relatively long distance for the hungry and impatient foodie that I am. Although I was constantly fidgeting on the way there, I would say that what Andy Chang’s has to offer is well worth the wait.

Andy Chang’s Chinese Restaurant came to Lynchburg about two months ago. Since then, it has been spicing up the town’s somewhat plain food scene with what is supposed to be “authentic” Szechuan cuisines. How “authentic” is “authentic”? I cannot tell you since I don’t know what “authentic” means when it comes to Chinese restaurants. However, I can tell you that the food is good, and definitely different, because Andy Chang is the apprentice of Peter Chang, an award-winning chef whose restaurants in Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Williamsburg are labeled by Bon Appétit as some of the 500 Best New Restaurants in America. I was truly thrilled to try the food prepared by these well-trained chefs from mainland China, both in Richmond and here in Lynchburg. So, if you are an adventurous eater who has nurtured an unrequited love for spicy Chinese food, Andy Chang’s will probably be your perfect match. But what if you are not one of those masochists who likes to burn his or her taste buds? You will still have a wide selection of non-spicy-yet-still-savory dishes.

For a party of four with two spicy-food enthusiasts, one fried-food lover and one vegetarian, Andy Chang’s menu did an amazing job of pleasing us all. For an appetizer, we shared a Dry-fried Eggplant ($10), which is highly priced because it is one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. The appetizer came out about ten minutes after we ordered, piping hot and smelling delicious. Honestly, I don’t know what “dry-fried” means, but what I had in front of me looked like batter-coated deep-fried tossed-and-seasoned eggplant. It was crunchy, tasty and very spicy, with a balanced combination of garlic, (Szechuan) chili, paprika, something like powdered chicken bouillon, scallion, and cilantro. The eggplant used in this dish is Chinese eggplant, which is thinner and has less seed than the normal ones you see at Walmart or Kroger. As a result, the dish has a more delicate and much less bitter flavor. My friend is not really a fan of eggplant, but he agreed that Andy Chang’s version is superb.

For the entree, my friend ordered a dish called “Golden Mountain with Beef” ($15), which is basically a mountain of deep-fried shredded beef sprinkled with sesame seeds, seductively laced with scallions, shredded carrots, and a special “secret recipe” tangy sauce (which tasted like a combination of ginger, garlic, dry sherry, vinegar, dark soy sauce, and other spices too foreign to my palates). The beef was crunchy on the outside and very tender on the inside, and the tangy sauce added another dimension of flavor to the dish, complementing the beef and making it more interesting to eat. I would recommend this dish to anyone who does not eat spicy food, because it was so good I could not stop myself from stealing my friend’s food.

The  Braized Fish in Szechuan Spicy Sauce, one of the spiciest
dishes on the menu proved to be tantalizingly spicy.
Photo Courtesy of Phuong Tran '15

For my part, since I am all about spicy food, I got myself a wonderful dish, “Braised Fish in Szechuan Spicy Sauce,” ($17) which was marked with three chili peppers, the highest spicy level, on the menu. When my dish arrived at the table, I thought it was a mistake because the  braise looked just like a fish soup. Except for the excess of sauce and hot chili oil, the fish itself was succulent and bursting with flavors, numbing my tongue with the royal hotness of chili pepper and then pampering it with the earthiness of Szechuan fermented black bean, the warmth of ginger, and the vibrancy of garlic, leek, and napa cabbage. Eating this dish also made me realize how helpful the staff was trying to be: Seeing me chugging my water at the speed of light, our waiter was quick to refill my drink without me having to ask for it (I was immensely grateful for this because I don’t think I could have said anything comprehensible with a burning mouth).

My other friend, a vegetarian, got herself a “Shanghai Tofu Skin Roll” ($7) and a “Vegetables Pan-Fried Noodle” ($13) which she was super nice to share with all of us. Some (including me) may think that the tofu skin roll is an egg roll with tofu skin instead of wonton wrapper, but it is actually tofu skin stacked on top of each other, tightly rolled into a log, sliced crosswise, and then bathed in a soy sauce-based dressing infused with a hint of oyster sauce, scallion, and sesame oil. Again, I think that the chef was a little too generous with the sauce, making the dish look too watery and less appetizing. Despite that, it was still delightfully tasty with a delicate and subtle taste, a perfect palate cleanser after my spicy fish braise.

Vegetable Pan-Fried Noodles did not quite live up to the high
expectations established by the earlier courses;
 although simple, it still proved delicious.
Photo Courtesy of Phuong Tran '15

The “Vegetables Pan-Fried Noodle,” our last dish, tasted much better than the dry and sometimes rubbery stir-fried noodles found at other mainstream Chinese restaurants, with fresh crisp broccoli, sweet peas, mushroom, and carrots in a thick peppery brown sauce. Yet, it paled in comparison to the other gloriously savory dishes I have reviewed thus far. This dish would be a safe choice if you are new to Szechuan cuisine and want something simple. However, if you are seeking a mind-boggling concert of exotic and intense flavors, you may be underwhelmed by the lukewarm slightly-under-seasoned noodle.

While Andy Chang’s sits at the higher end of Lynchburg’s restaurant price range, the large portions (which actually saved me four meals from D-Hall all weekend) and the delectable taste are worth the cost. Although not something I would eat on a weekly basis, this serves as a great treat on special occasions, considering all the different options offered by no other restaurants around here. The restaurant’s totally unique and amazing approach to Chinese Szechuan food (something you can only find at Chinatowns in New York or California) reminds me of an old Chinese saying: “China is the place for food; Szechuan is the place for flavor.” Admittedly, having Andy Chang’s in small-town Lynchburg is really a gift from heaven.