Santei Tenjin Area

Szechwan Chinese food is often associated with firey-hot dishes, but as Oh-san, the manager of this recently opened Szechwan restaurant located behind Shopper's Daiei in Tenjin explains, that is only half of the story. True, chilli and sansho (peppercorn) are key ingredients in Szechwan cooking, but they are only two of the many that create a palette of 24 classic flavors. With a chef's clever manipulation of these flavors, a dish can start out tasting sweet, then sour, and finally spicy – or in any other order. The two chefs at Santei are Oh-san's former classmates. Both built up impressive credentials in China by the time Oh-san was ready to open his own restaurant in Fukuoka. The trio now serve top-quality Szechwan dishes at extremely reasonable prices. Everything is made fresh and served with pride. Their hinabe (hot pot course) pictured here (portion for one) includes 12 items to dip and shabu-shabu in the spicy red soup for just ¥1,800. A mild soup is also offered. Their Sweet and Sour pork, made with rolled braised pork, not chunks, is divine, as is most of the other a la carte menu items we tasted. Open for lunch, but we recommend a dinner and a few glasses of 9 year-old Shaoxing rice wine!

Last updated April 2008