Respectably spicy Respectably spicy (September 16, 2005)

Hangen Szechuan on Castro Street offers no-nonsense Chinese cuisine

By Elaine M. Rowland

It may not be hard to find Chinese food in Mountain View, but if your requirements include spicy Szechuan-style cooking served in a pleasant, family-friendly atmosphere, Hangen Szechuan delivers the goods. From the prompt waiters and Kenny G-like music in the background to the immediately familiar pastel-and-white decor with chandeliers, this is where diners bring their mothers and mothers bring their kids.

There might be more hip, bustling places to eat Asian food on Castro Street, but perhaps not without the corresponding attitude. At Hangen Szechuan, I noticed that guests who arrived shortly before closing were courteously greeted and allowed to take their time with dinner. And though a "No Trespassing" sign is oddly juxtaposed next to a "Come In, We're Open" one on the back door, there's no such confusion once inside.

The food at Hangen Szechuan, like the decor, is respectable if not exceptional. Prices are decent, as well, since entrees easily serve two, and soups serve two to three. Like other family-style restaurants, here you might want to order at least one dish fewer than the number of people sitting at your table.

The large menu is divided into family specials, restaurant specials, pork, beef, seafood, vegetarian and chicken dishes, appetizers and soups. (Unfortunately there's no "soup for one.") Since they serve Szechuan-style cuisine here, many of the dishes are spicy, so look for that symbol on the menu when ordering, or you could end up with a plate full of little red death-peppers when perhaps you didn't mean to.

We started with a mild dish -- the Pu-Pu platter appetizer for two. A smorgasbord of the restaurant's offerings ($8.95), it had both hits and misses: The butterflied fried shrimp tasted good, but were not de-veined; the dry barbecue ribs had more color than flavor; the beef kebabs, which you cook to taste atop a little stove on the platter, were somewhat bland, as were the fried wontons; the egg rolls favored cabbage over other ingredients, though they had a good crispy texture. I enjoyed the paper-wrapped chicken (it's the foil-wrapped item on the platter), which was tender and moist, dripping with a garlic and soy sauce.

We were more adventurous with the next course, ordering the spicy Kung Pao shrimp and scallop ($12.95) with peanuts and green onions, and a side of steamed rice (which you need to order separately). It was indeed spicy, even before biting into one of those red peppers, with a medium-brown sauce that tasted of garlic, soy and roasted peppers. I like scallops to be a little firmer than these were, but they tasted just fine; the shrimp were a little firmer still, and tasted better. The crunchy (not soggy) peanuts that garnished the dish were a nice touch.

Hangen's pork in plum sauce ($7.95) had a fruity, almost citrusy flavor. The pork itself -- slivered, then cooked -- looked like noodles, and was served atop julienne cucumber with a hint of black pepper. The combination won't knock your socks off, but it's good.

Wanting to try another spicy dish, I had dry-braised chicken, Szechuan style ($9.95) for lunch. It had a pleasant burn, but wasn't "pass the rice, quick!" hot. I ordered pork fried rice ($6.95; veggie and beef fried rice is available, too) to go with it, and that, too, had those odd pork "noodles," peas, carrots, egg and green onion. I'm glad I didn't order white rice, since there wasn't that much going on in the chicken dish. Though the chicken had a batter coating and arrived drenched in a heavy red sauce (it looked like sweet and sour chicken, except not crispy), it tasted predominantly of chili and not much else.

In case the dry-braised chicken proved to be very hot, I ordered the scallion pancake appetizer, which I quite liked. For $4.95, it's two 45 rpm-sized fried cakes with crispy, slightly flaky outsides and a mild scallion flavor.

All I all it was a pleasant place to eat. There's a comfortable amount of space between the tables. The waiters don't pester you, but stand by, ready to help. Alcoholic beverages are available, including wines by the glass (starting at $5), domestic and imported beer, and plum wine ($4). And desert is a simple orange wedge and a fortune cookie. But if you eat an entire entree by yourself, you might not have room for much else.

Information: Hangen Szechuan Restaurant, 134 Castro St., Mountain View; (650) 964-8881
Hours: Lunch, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily; Dinner, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily

E-mail a friend a link to this story.