Lauded as the best Chinese food in Sedona for many years now (and the best sushi, in this writer’s opinion), Szechuan Chinese Restaurant received a slight makeover after its neighboring lounge, The Martini Bar, closed its doors. The sushi bar is now a combination sushi bar and cocktail lounge with low lighting, paper lanterns and a glass bar back displaying a selection of spirits. The main dining room remains the same with its lacquer tables inlaid with Chinese motifs and niches featuring jade sculptures.
You know what else hasn’t changed? The classic menu with a focus on creative sushi rolls, sashimi, nigiri sushi and Chinese favorites like chow mein, fried rice and beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, tofu and vegetarian dishes. We started our meal with a Rainbow Roll. The colorful sushi roll features a crab stick and cucumber topped with tuna, yellowtail, salmon, red snapper, cooked shrimp and avocado. It’s drizzled with teriyaki sauce and served with pickled ginger and wasabi. The sushi at Szechuan is always fresh, and the rolls are a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. For our entrées, we branched out and tried a few dishes we had never tasted. The Shrimp in Lobster Sauce is a creamy dish almost more reminiscent of Italian cuisine than Chinese. Plump shrimp, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, peas and carrots are topped with an eggy, homemade lobster sauce. The sauce is mild enough that you taste the flavors of the shrimp and veggies, but it’s also very rich. The Kung Pao Beef featured tender, thinly sliced beef stir-fried with peanuts, water chestnuts, green and red bell peppers, and dried red chiles. This spicy, flavorful dish is definitely a new favorite.
Finally, it was on to the Sesame Chicken, one of the most popular items on the menu. Battered chicken is stir-fried in a honey sauce and topped with a sprinkling of white sesame seeds. It’s sweet. It’s tangy. What more could you ask for? All three dishes come with a choice of brown, white or egg-fried rice. You know the old adage about not being full after eating at a Chinese restaurant? Not true here! If your party does have room for dessert, we recommend the ice cream. We aren’t talking about vanilla – think green tea, red bean, mango or lychee. Perfection. – Erika Ayn Finch. Photo by Deb Weinkauff.
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