Chili-lover’s outing

For the first time in our six-year dining history, a waiter gave my fiancé a fork, while I got chopsticks. An important detail: He’s Chinese-American, and I’m white(ish). At this meal, I had ordered the twice-cooked pork ($10.95), a Szechuan-style dish from the traditional Chinese menu at Hunan Bar & Restaurant in Davis. He had ordered zucchini shrimp in hot garlic sauce ($11) from the Americanized menu at the same restaurant.

Last spring, Mike Yang purchased the restaurant and revamped it to accommodate the growing Chinese student population at UC Davis. Initially a source of not-too-spicy grub like mild kung pao chicken, the restaurant has added dishes from Szechuan and Hunan, with a few pan-Asian, Cantonese- and Shanghainese-inspired dishes thrown into the mix. It offers distinct menus for cheaper Americanized food, and Hunanese food that’s a few dollars more to pay for its specialized ingredients.

The menu uses “Szechuan” to describe the style of many of its dishes, though Hunan doesn’t even border that region in China. Americans tend to understand that “Szechuan” means “daringly spicy,” so this translates better. Szechuan dishes feature a distinct style of spiciness, made from a mix of Szechuan peppercorns and chilies, and the resulting hot-and-numb mouth feel even has its own name: mala. You’ll find plenty of that at Hunan Bar & Restaurant.

For example, the clay pot of red tofu in spicy soup ($14.95) does not kid about that spiciness. In a sea of blood-red soup, tender bits of pig intestine and beef tripe offer an adventure of texture and gamy flavor in each bite. The herbaceous peppercorn spice shimmers with numbness on your tongue. Slippery and translucent jelly noodles add to the fun. I must admit, this dish is not for everyone. (Later, when reviewing the menu with my fiancé’s father, he said, “You ate that?”)

For those who love spice but crave familiarity, the hot and chili chicken ($12.95) features the nuggets we all know and love, but with juicy and flavorful chicken surrounded by a salt-and-chili-packed, fine layer of fried crisp. Chunks of chili, garlic and green onions are nestled among the small, meaty firecrackers.

Just as fiery, but perhaps more healthful, is the mapo tofu with fish fillet ($13.95). The angelically soft mound of white tofu has been slicked with chili oil, carrying a spiciness that rips through your mouth with painful pleasure. Coarsely chopped garlic, green onions and ginger deepen the complexity.

The dan dan noodles ($5.95) offered a pleasantly simple mashup of noodles and bok choy drenched with chili oil. The spicy nest was sprinkled with peanuts, fried shallots and garlic.

Now, back to that twice-cooked pork: I wished it had been spicier, if anything. The cabbage was infused with pork flavor, but the fatty bits of meat could have used a zap of chili oil. The worst dish we tried? That zucchini shrimp off the Americanized menu. Gelatinous and sweet, it registered as Panda Express-style food, but elevated.

The restaurant has joined the ranks of the burgeoning Chinese culinary scene in Davis, along with the proliferation of milk tea spots. For Taiwanese meals, Hometown Chinese Restaurant also serves traditional dishes. But when you’re craving the merciless kick-in-the-mouth of mala, consider a trip to Hunan Bar & Restaurant. Order from the Chinese menu, and you might even get a pair of chopsticks.