The Kung Pao Test: Peking (Bellevue)

Peking Mandarin & Szechuan Cuisine

14150 Northeast 20th Street
Bellevue, WA 98007
Next to a Dickey's

I drive by this place a couple times a week so it is about time I tried it.

Kung pao chicken $12

I did not ask for extra spicy

Rice $?

Total bill: $14.24

Service: friendly. Two women were there, but no customers at 4pm. large restaurant style.

 

Tea: pretty good. Steeped til dark, I really liked the flavor of the tea. Pretty sure it was oolong. Free.

 

Initial bite of Kung pao was pretty damn good.  The plate didn't look that impressive, but it tasted great.  This was the closest so far to what I grew up with, with a few differences. I picked this place next because the website said they use bell peppers in the Kung pao.  It also had onions, celery, water chestnuts, and mushrooms (which I don't think I've ever had in Kung pao).  There was sauce left at the bottom of the plate when I was done but overall I think the sauce level was decent, and was not too much, like most restaurants. The sweetness was at an almost perfect level nearly undetectable, acting only as a flavor enhancer.

 

Spice level: Very low. Anyone could eat this if they did not eat the dried chili's.

 

Ingredient quality: very good. Chicken was as good as it can be and veggies felt very fresh.

 

Would I come again? Most definitely.  My impression of this place is that it's almost classy, trying to avoid becoming too Americanized.  It might not be very much authentic but they're trying to keep things top notch and unique, which reflects in the price.  I could almost get two dishes at Sichuanese Cuisine for the price of this one.  I think it is a very close tie between the two right now. The two different styles show a very clear divide.  Peking trying to stick to a tradition at least a little bit, and Sichuanese Cuisine breaking it down and focusing on only the tasty bits (Keep in mind I could be completely wrong about this since I'm making a generalization based off of one dish).  I'm going to have to return to Sichuanese Cuisine soon in order to see if they can keep this top spot.  Or if I'm having these feelings out of nostalgia for my first review.  Sichuanese Cuisine can fill a binge quota in my opinion, and still fit into good quality and semi-authenticity.  Whereas I was able to eat the whole dish at Peking and feel like it was not unhealthy.

 

Happy Veterans Day!