Xiang La Hui

It can be a tough gig opening up a Sichuan restaurant in the same neighborhood as Chengdu Taste and Sichuan Impression, but Xiang La Hui has proven it’s possible. While the menu has plenty of overlap with its famous brethren, XLH stands out for its high quality ingredients and balanced use of spice. Take the Chongqing-style fried chicken, which arrives as a mountain of thick boneless chicken chunks cooked in fragrant  spices and doused in red chiles, or the boiled fish soup, which comes with juicy, hand-sized filets of tilapia floating in a briney, pickled vegetable broth. The dining room is also fairly upscale, making it a good option to take your parents when they come visit.