The regal interior of this restaurant belies its humble strip mall exterior. The huge menu includes American Chinese food classics, if dining with more timid palates. Spice fans should dive into the savory with a hint of sweet Chendu Spicy dumplings and anything drenched in spicy broth.

This Lyn/Lake mainstay is best known for soup dumplings. Tender dough is wrapped around broth that is best approached with Jucy Lucy-like precaution. These are temperature hot, not spicy hot. Although, there are plenty of other red-oil doused dishes to satisfy the heat cravings.

There are restaurants that scratch the Szechuan itch without having actually being named Szechuan. There are other locations using this name, but the best to visit is the one on University Avenue near the U of M. This is the best place for Ma Po Tofu, the squares of tofu are served in a porky, flavorful chile oil.

This new Saint Paul restaurant has been an immediate hit, with guests clamoring for hand pulled noodles and the charming atmosphere. The Szechuan wontons are wrapped in tender, thin layers of dough and dressed in that tingly, hot chili oil. A bowl of noodles in the Chongqing spicy broth are the only recipe from the wonderfully, unrelenting heat and pork-studded broth.