Last night I had dinner at a relatively new Chinese restaurant here in town called Panda Cuisine.  They call their food “authentic sichuan,” which I have no way to verify, but it sure tasted good.  When I order the Tender Beef Delight, the waitress looked concerned.  “That’s very hot,” she said.  Of course, that’s exactly what I was looking for, but when I told her this she didn’t seem convinced.

The food came, and it was different than any “Chinese” I’ve had in Lexington, and fantastic.  And for once, it was actually spicy.  I wouldn’t quite call it hot, but a comfortable medium.  My nose started to run just slightly, but my eyes were fine and I didn’t sweat.  I certainly didn’t start searching for a glass of milk, and that’s when I consider something truly hot.

Either way, I’ll be going back and looking for more menu items labeled with two tiny chile peppers, Panda’s sign for spicy!