Chong Qing Szechuan Mei Wei Restaurant

The temperature reader registered 100 degrees in my car, the sun was scorching hot, yet I was craving something spicy. It was a choice between our trusty Korean tofu pot place or this Szechuan restaurant I've been wanting to try. Decided to go for the latter.

It was around 530pm on a Friday evening, the restaurant was relatively quiet, but people kept coming in for their takeaway orders. We settled for the famed water boiled fish and the wanton in spicy sauce.

The food came out pretty fast and we happily doused the white rice with the spicy sauces. The wantons were huge and there were about 12 of them in one serving for $6.99. The sauce was spicy, sourish and hit the right spots. Our fave wanton with spicy sauce is from A&J restaurant across the street and we've not been able to find a strong competitor until now. While this sauce was not as tasty as A&J's, it was still v good and the value for money should not be overlooked. You get 12 big wantons whereas A&J's are on the smaller side and you probably get about 6 per serving.

The water boiled fish was a great choice as well. While the sauce looks pretty intimidating, it was not as spicy as I expected, though definitely not for those not accustomed to such fiery dishes. The sauce was made with hot bean paste, spicy oil, dried chillies and many other aromatic ingredients. I couldn't stop ladling the sauce over the rice. I would be contented eating just those 2 things :). The fish is most likely catfish. It was smooth and tender and complemented the sauce very well. The napa cabbage which soaked in the sauce's goodness helped eased the guilt of gulping down such a delicious albeit sinful dish. For $10.99 this was a huge portion and we had enough leftover for lunch the next day.

All in all, so happy to have found this place. It will definitely be on our list the next time we crave for spicy comfort food.

Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechuan Restaurant

5406 Walnut Ave
Irvine, CA 92604

(949) 651-8886

Mon - Sun 11am - 9:30pm