Fairfax find

Last month Dad and I made it over to Fairfax and found that Szechuan Chef was open. It is not open for lunch, so I've had to wait for a dinner time to try it. There are cheerful prints for the tablecloths, as well as window dressing. It seemed more popular as a take-out the night we were there as there were only a couple other parties there besides ourselves, and not at the same time. There were at least 10 parties grabbing take out bags when we were there. Although bright, the tables were in a bit of dissarray with the tablecloths on some tables rather wrinkled and skewed.

We chose to have a family style dinner option, so a very tasty and hot appetizer of spring rolls came out first.

Then our seaweed soup came out. We were shocked at the size of it. It had a nice flavor but we could have made an entire meal just from the eggrolls and soup. The photo is just my serving of it.

The first entree to come out was the Empress Prawns. I asked for mildly spicy, and the chef hit it right on. These prawns are VERY garlicky. However mixed with the carrots, bamboo shoots and sliced water chestnuts it was quite a hit with Dad and I. And we weren't going to visit anyone that night, so the garlic was just a healthy add.

The other entree we had was Vegetable Chow Mein. The vegetables were fresh and flavorful and the chow mein was perfectly al dente with just the right amount of sauce. I'd order this again in a heartbeat. We were also served by the owners son, who was very pleasant, friendly and added a positive note to our visit. I wouldn't take a date here, but for take out or a very casual (and cheap) family dinner it stacks up quite well.

Restaurant Inspection Results
Critical: 0
Noncritical: 4
Last inspected: 3/11/2009

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