Terrific Takeout: Wa Jeal Sichuan Chili House Inaugural Feature Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Vicky Guan, Host and Fangnan Chen, Executive Chef and Co-Owners of Wa Jeal
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It's not who you know, it's Whom You Know and now we know the sensational Vicky Guan, co-owner of Wa Jeal! Vicky hails from the Province of Sichuan in China, and this is the largest province in China. Both Vicky and Executive Chef Fangnan Chen are co-owners and they both hail from Cheng Du, the capital of Sichuan, so you are 110% guaranteed this is authentic Chinese food! We were so impressed on our inaugural visit with the array of cuisine we experienced, and you also should know that Vicky not only speaks perfect English (essential to working with us!) but also is fabulously fun to sip a glass of wine with! Or two. This is not at all your Chinese restaurant around the corner that delivers: it is upscale, it is high caliber cuisine and it is superbly authentic. And Vicky is a total peach. Wa Jeal opened in 2009 and Vicky came to the USA in 1997 and she likes to cook.
If you know Peachy Deegan, you know she likes green beans: she likes them all around the world. She of course picked the Sauteed String Beans and Bamboo Shoots with Minced Beef, and the flavor was sublime. Wa Jeal's food is delicate and delicious and not at all greasy, like lesser Chinese food venues that we skip telling you about altogether.
This precedent of light, fantastic food continued with our next choice: Sauteed Sliced White Meat Chicken with Asparagus. This is a perfect summer dish and not heavy at all but boasts tremendous flavoring which is not overdone either.
Next in the batting order was something from under the sea: Sauteed Sea Scallops with Spicy Garlic Sauce! This might have been our favorite item of the trip-and you do feel like you're in the Orient a bit because of their high commitment to authenticity. All the seasonings we understand are from China. Wa Jeal uses Ocean Frost from New Jersey for their seafood, and you're not going to believe how much you're going to enjoy the black fungus imported from a High Mountain in Sichuan in China! Vicky tells us it is good for your blood pressure too; we tell you: it is delicious. At this stage in the game we are always impressed when someone new can show us at a place new to us something we like! (We definitely see a lot of new that is "trendy" and turns our stomach. This is not that!)
The Sauteed Sea Scallops with Spicy Garlic sauce said they want to meet you for dinner too! We like the alliteration going on in addition to the flavor.
You know who loves spare ribs! Peachy! She was happy with them at Wa Jeal.
She ate them often as a kid in Connecticut.
Look at that flower:
Another one of our all-time favorite Chinese items is Roast Pork Fried rice and is is just delicious at Vicky's House...Wa Jeal! It's marinated for 3 days and the pork is sun-dried.
Another innovation with vegetables at Wa Jeal are the cucumber sticks with spicy dipping sauce. We've never had such sauce before and it is composed of peanut butter, garlic, sesame paste, sugar and vinegar. A lot was new to us on this inaugural visit!
Lovely presentation here!
Meet the Beef Filets with Roasted Chili Cumin.
This beef is light, thin and has a unique spicy flavor to it that you'll find appealing! This dish is from Cheng Du in particular and you should know that spicy burns fat. We were happy to see the peppers and onions joining in on the party here and overall we found this dish to be sublime.
Finally, for the true authentic experience, Vicky suggests Chef's Ma Paul Tofu with Chili-Minced Beef. We are told that Ma Paul was an ugly old lady but a great cook, and this dish is credited to her and is one of three most popular Sichuan dishes. The chili peppers in it are imported from Sichuan and it's 100% soybeans. If you like tofu you'll love this dish!
Wa Jeal is absolutely Terrific Takeout and we can't wait to see what this delightful duo does next!
