Chef Liu Restaurant

This is Chinese food on a whole other level. The cucumber salad was not what I expected, but it was so good and refreshing, and a little bit spicy. The sweet and sour chicken was not fried like most places, and the sauce was fresh and it wasn't the typical bright red sticky sauce, this had an amazing flavor and the chicken was just right. I really enjoyed my meal and the prices are completely reasonable.

We have been to Chef Liu a number of times. This time, we brought a guest with us, who loves beef noodles soup. We love spicy foods and we like the food here but we don’t like the Sichuan Peppercorns floating in our foods and we don’t want too-much Sichuan spicy oil that drowns our food. We ordered three dishes – Braised Fish with Broad Bean Chili Paste (F2), Spicy Braised Beef Noodles (8), and Stir Fried Water Spinach (V1). Just to be sure, we told the waiter repeatedly to omit Sichuan Peppercorns and don’t use too much spicy oil. The fish dish was very good but the fish was a bit smaller than we expected. The stir fried vegetable with garlic was good but very salty. The beef in the noodle was excellent and the texture of the noodles was one of the best we had but these were drowned in spicy oil with lots of Sichuan peppercorns! For the uninitiated, Sichuan (also spelled SzeChuan) peppercorns give a diner the numbing sensation in his/her mouth. That is why Sichuan cooking is often described as “mala Sichuan cuisine” where mala in Chinese language means “numb and spicy” or “numbingly spicy”. The restaurant also sells pre-packaged sauces and seasonings that you can create your own Sichuan dishes at home. These packages are on display on the wall right at the entrance.

I'm so lucky to find this restaurant that has the best Sichuan food in Houston! The dry chili chicken is not battered by starch and still tender and juicy which is how people from Chongqing cooks. The shreded potato is cut by hand which give big difference on the texture and cooked on super high heat that seals all the flavor. The whole fish is extremely flavorful and fresh but not salty at all. Overall they have the most authentic Chongqing food which taste much better than Chengdu Taste and Mala Sichuan Bistro. Many people might be scared by authentic Chinese food cuz can easily associate that with strange food; however, in this place authentic means better taste, bigger portion, and super flavorful!!!

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED! We have pretty much been to all the Sichuan cuisine restaurants in Houston area and this is one of the best, if not The best. The taste is very authentic, the same as we have had in China. Their spicy dishes are REALLY spicy and numbing. Good portion. Service people are very nice too.

We visited Chef Liu restaurant on a whim because of the cute panda logo. This is the most AUTHENTIC Szechuan restaurant I've ever eaten in the US! The dishes are so spot on! So flavorful and delicious! The portions are super generous and the prices were great. The servers are super attentive and pleasant to chat with. We all left super full and satisfied, with plenty of food to take home. I highly recommend them - you will not regret it!!!