Ethnic City - Ethnic.city: Gu’s Bistro Sichuan

Five years later, the Buford Highway Sichuan restaurant is still a staple

Near the corner of a large shopping plaza on Buford Highway, just up the road from the Buford Highway Farmers Market, is where you’ll find Gu’s Bistro along with some of the best Sichuan in Atlanta. Chef Yiquan Gu, along with his wife Qiongyao Zhang and daughter Yvonne Gu Khan, opened Gu’s in 2010. The family comes from the Chengdu region of Sichuan, which is known for sophisticated cooking. It was declared a City of Gastronomy by the United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO in 2011.

The Sichuan province in southwestern China is generally known for its make-you-sweat-type-of-spicy cooking style. For centuries, the area has enjoyed an abundance of natural resources. People there have a particular fondness for food and flavor, making it one of the most popular regional cuisines of China. While the famously spicy, tingle-inducing Sichuan peppercorn is a central element, Sichuan food is not all about spice. A good, authentic Sichuan meal ideally hits a variety of senses and tastes: pungent, aromatic, sour, hot, sweet, bitter, salty. Dishes are typically served family style with steamed rice and cold or hot noodles on the side.

Gu’s menu is divided into hot and cold appetizers, soup, beef and lamb, chicken and duck, pork, seafood, fish, tofu, and vegetables. There is also a modest selection of wines and craft beer. The lengthy menu may seem overwhelming to first-timers, but it comes with instructions. A note from the Gu family on the cover recommends diners select a mix of spicy and mild items so as not to exhaust the palate. Luckily, the menu’s many food photos provide a useful point of reference. Unlike other Sichuan restaurants, the menu encompasses a wide variation in the level of heat. PRO TIP: Make sure you pay attention to the spice ratings, little red chiles printed next to a dish to indicate its relative heat level from one (hot) to four (extremely hot). And finally, be prepared for dishes to come out from the kitchen as soon as they’re ready rather than being delivered simultaneously.

Sharing an order of Gu’s one-chile-sign Chengdu cold noodles ($8) has become a popular way to start a meal. The chewy noodles are stir-fried in garlic and chili oil and come garnished with chopped green onion, white sesame seeds, and chili flakes. A cold app of luo jiang dried tofu ($8) is made with dehydrated cubes of tofu. At first the texture is rather chewy, but by the third bite, its Sichuan symphony marked by three chiles will have you hooked. Among the warm appetizers, a plate of sautéed green peppers with black vinegar ($8) tastes both healthy and delicious. Don’t miss the Zhong-style dumplings ($8), half moon raviolis stuffed with pork and tossed in mild chili sauce.

The entrée portions at Gu’s are moderately sized, but certainly enough to share. There are crispy fried slices of beef in a light chili oil and cilantro ($16) and jumbo stir-fried salt and pepper tiger shrimp ($18) gently coated with panko and served on a lettuce leaf with bell peppers. Spicy crispy crawfish ($19) is a similar preparation of fresh crawfish tails battered and fried with whole red chiles, green bell peppers, and sliced onions. For a special occasion, you can also pre-order one of the house specialties: smoked duck ($17) that has been marinated in Jasmine tea for three days.

On the veggie front, discs of lotus root ($13) — similar in texture to water chestnuts — come in a mildly flavored kung pao sauce with peanuts, chile, and scallions. And, of course, crisp, chewy chunks of dry fried eggplant with fried red chiles and cilantro ($12) is one of the restaurant’s signatures. It is a delightfully addicting vegetarian entrée.

The décor at Gu’s has a nondescript Chinatown feel and familiarity. Overgrown plants and lucky bamboos welcome you into a long narrow dining room adorned with red Chinese lanterns, scrolls, and large mirrors. A bouquet of dried chiles hanging in the center of the room gives a subtle hint of what’s to come. On the left are a few wooded, teahouse-style private dining rooms reserved for parties of six to eight guests. Right away you pick up the sound of chopsticks click-clacking as diners already seated chow down.

Following the success of its first location, Gu’s is preparing to launch intown food stall Gu’s Dumplings at Krog Street Market. It will focus mainly on dumplings and noodles. Menu highlights will include favorites such as Zhong-style dumplings, dry fried eggplant, and Chengdu cold noodles. Gu’s Dumplings is set to open any day now.