Shu Han Ju

Bad and good– Good price for lunch special, tasty vegetable fried rice, very fast delivery
BUT.sesame chicken is not very good. Tastes like very fast-​food fake sesame chicken with a ketchup like orange sauce

Just really really bad beef fried rice. The beef is squishy and gross. The rice doesn’t have a great taste to it and there are way way too many bean sprouts. This apparently is how one messes up something as simple as fried rice

My coworkers and I all love ordering take outs from here.
It’s clean and service is great!

I was in the mood for some spicy Chinese food that night. After Whitney museum, it seems to be the best Chinese food choice around.
The service was ok, it’s not a busy Friday night, most of the tables were empty, but the lady seems really rush us to order food.
We got Kong bao chx, spicy braised beef. As a Chinese, I can tell you the food isn’t authentic. BUT truly delicious! If you are expecting to have the authentic taste that you miss from Chinese food, you may
get disappointed. But if you are just looking for some good price, decent, delish Chinese food, I’d def recommend this restaurant. My bf rated it as the best Chinese restaurant he had so far. Lol

From what I had, the quality and portions lead me to 3 stars.
Honestly, the portions were small for the prices we paid. After I had an entrée, I was still hungry and had to have an appetizer to feel more content.
If you don’t care about the cost so much or if this is super convenient for you, maybe give it a try and go all out, but I’d prefer going to better places in either Chinatown or elsewhere.
The service was spotty, with something being forgotten. Once reminded, we were told it’s coming right out. Waiting for several minutes we decided to ask the bus boy about it, and he ran into the kitchen and brought it right out. The waiter himself didn’t go get it for us when we asked.
They did serve tea and gave the bill with a few slices of orange at the end of the meal, which is sorely lacking in Chinatown.

Admittedly, I’m no expert in Chinese cuisine — I’m about as ‘American Chinese food fan’ as it gets. However, I’m enough of a snob to always have turned my nose up at places like Panda Express, etc. I was lucky enough to grow up in a town with some pretty authentic Chinese restaurants, so I’m always looking for the same quality and consistency when I order delivery in New York.
Enter Caviar (the delivery website), which introduced me to Shu Han Ju. Now that we’ve been together for a few months now (ha!), I won’t get Chinese delivered from any other restaurant. This is just so good — fast, consistently delicious, and extremely high-​quality.
PS. Have no fear if you’re a white idiot like me and just stick to your Americanized favorites! Their hot&sour soup, scallion pancakes, lo mein and fried rice are all ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Go for it!

I don’t understand the good reviews at all. We had the Szechuan chicken and it was greasy and tasteless. The meat in the Chong Qing Beef was even worse — inedible! We sent it back and they brought the exact same thing to our table. No compensation offered.
I really don’t understand this, because there are good reviews and regulars at this place as we observed. Has anyone web to CHONG QING in Vancouver BC? That is what dreams are made of.
Where are the good places in NYC for Chinese???

The L10. Ma Po Tofu Lunch ($ 8.45*) was a very good rendition.
How Spicy?: Extra Hot and Spicy
Choice of Appetizer: Spring Roll
Choice of Rice: Vegetable Fried Rice
Didn’t care for the Sweet Sticky Rice Ball Soup $ 2.95, but it may have been well-​executed.
*Sodas priced @ $ 1.50 means you can’t combine the two for $ 10 minimum for Eat24 codes

TL;DR — Best Szechuan you can find, best I’ve ever had in America. I don’t trust Unilocal reviews, especially with Asian food. Order: double cooked pork, cumin lamb, mapo tofu. Great management & service
Ok, so this place is AMAZING. My favorite cuisine is Szechuan and I definitely ate my fill here when I came for dinner. I ordered double cooked pork (my all-​time favorite), cumin lamb, and mapo tofu. I wanted to try the special Szechuan pork but knew my stomach would not be able to handle that much food sadly :(
Double cooked pork — maybe I’m biased because I absolutely LOVE this dish and ALWAYS order it when I go to a Szechuan restaurant. But this dish HERE… yes I was stuffed at the end but I most definitely could have ordered another one and eaten it myself. It wasn’t too oily or greasy like how many Szechuan or spicy places often serve their food. The leek was perfectly cooked and textured, and the pork… I don’t even know how to explain. Just trust and try it.
Cumin lamb — this is what you want if your tastebuds can’t handle spice. It’s so agreeable but the cumin really makes this dish and goes so well with the lamb. It has green peppers and onions to go with the meat. Also offered with beef but the lamb is where it’s at, as recommended by the owner as well.
Mapo tofu — the only kind of tofu I will eat, and I recommend ordering a bowl of rice to go with it as a perfect complement.
DON’T order typical American dishes like chicken and broccoli??? Please no. Of course the people who ordered these dishes gave bad reviews, which makes me sad because this place is honestly so amazing and great quality, because I’ve never been to an Asian restaurant that specialized in these American-​style dishes because that’s not what they cook! If you want dishes like that then let’s hit up Panda Express. But for some real authentic Szechuan food stay here and order something else :)
I want to also address what many of the other lower Unilocal reviews talk about — the décor and atmosphere. The picture of the restaurant’s outside is not up to date, it now has a nice wooden sign and the interior is so different from the outside — in a positive way. The design and décor is lovely and creates a great atmosphere for a sit-​down.
And lastly, the service and management is great. The owner is awesome and HILARIOUS.
Please come here and try this place at least once. Order some of the dishes I did and you will not regret.

I can’t help but to come here 2 or 3 times a week for lunch.
The people are very nice and the food is amazing. I eat anything with the Szechuan peppers in it, particularly the HOT and SPICY Pepper Chicken Szechuan style. The flavors are fresh, the meals are always hot, and the service is speedy and courteous. The prices are competitive but you do also get a LOT of food. A meal and a Corona makes for a perfect lunch.
I highly recommend this place and for you to try some of the unusual meals in lieu of the basic sweet and sour, general Tso’s Chicken, and Orange Chicken staples.

3.5−4 stars. Ordered delivery via DoorDash. Since this is a Szechuan place, I had to opt for the braised fish with cabbage in chili oil. Also got the egg drop soup as an appetizer, which tasted pretty standard (thought the egg pieces were chunkier than most but not necessarily bad). Was impressed that the packaging did not create a mess (usually the chili oil gets everywhere). The fish was high quality and there was a lot of it, but I really wished that there were more cabbage leaves as opposed to stem. The stem portion is a bit hard and crunchy. The leaves on the other hand are really flavorful and complement the fish well.
Would definitely try again/​order other dishes!

This restaurant served me uncooked tofu drenched in hot chili oil — the kind that is used for seasoning and is extremely salty and spicy — not meant for consumption in mass quantities! The WonTon soup was two frozen dumplings floating in chicken broth! I paid $ 9 for food worth pennies and the staff was inattentive and gave my food to the guy sitting next to me, and just switched our plates when they realized their mistake. Very very very very awful never again and I suggest the same.

3.5 stars– but rounding up because we only had delivery and I think the food here would be better freshly served. It seems Manhattan has an awful lot of really good Szechuan-​style, Chinese restaurants and so you can add Shu Han Ju to that list.
The standouts for me were the sauteed chicken wings in chili sauce, the «griddled» fish with pepper, the eggplant, and of course the tea smoked duck. Most things here are spicy (Szechuan pepper-​corn and chilies) which gives them a bit of a one-​note in terms of flavor, but we really enjoy that note, so…
I really didn’t enjoy the Dan-​Dan noodle, and the fried pork dumplings were just OK, but all-​in-​all we’d order from here again. Definitely need to experience dining in the restaurant itself next time though.

Don’t miss the braises lotus root and Chong qing chicken! Very authentic Szechuan cuisine esp for nyc! Chic ambiance and always room at dinner time. It’s never too loud either!
The outside is a but deceiving but inside interior is very clean and tasteful!

This small little place is located in a corner serving authentic Szechuan or Sichuan food. It has a bar and about 12 tables with white table cloth.
This is not your usual saucy Sichuan food. There spicy and some non spicy food.
The fried fish with peppers and Szechuan peppers was good. I like it better than the small chicken pieces done in similar way. This chicken version makes a good appetizer with some beer.
The bitter melon was actually not bitter. It’s cooked with egg that got mixed in it. I could eat the entire plate and that could be my meal right there.
A nice find in the West Village.

Great spot if you have a craving for good quality Chinese food. There are so many spots in the city that have greasy bad tasting Chinese food, but this place is on a league of its own.
I have never eaten at the restaurant and always diver. The food comes quick, hott, and no need to reheat. Every time the portions are perfect and the vegetables are fresh. Usually when you order on its never as good as the restaurant but I have no complaints!
My go-​to dishes are the general tso chicken and beef lo-​mein. The general tso chicken is perfectly crispy and sauced right. Not to spicy and all white meat chicken. None of those fatty pieces of chicken. All the lo mein dishes are yummy. Lots of veggies including onions and not greasy at all! The fried rice and spring rolls are also a great choice. Seriously, everything is so good here. You cannot go wrong.
**all dishes are definitely sharing size**

Don’t be deterred by the cheap, plastic tablecloth signage outside. Enter and you are guaranteed an exquisite dining experience in Szechuan food and service. About the service first because it’s often rare to find in NYC Chinese restaurants – genuinely welcoming, efficient staff work here! One time the candy bowl was low and the young gentleman saw me fishing for a mint and came out with a whole bag and I never asked. The staff greet you with a big smile and serve you with a big smile – no throwing chopsticks at the clients here. And the décor is in such contrast to the tacky sign outside. Inside you get openwork wooden screens, dim lighting with lantern lamps – it’s nice enough to take a date here or someone who squeamish about eating at some typical Chinatown dive.
Now about the food. It’s Szechuan but not as incendiary as say the food at Mapo Tofu or Gourmet Szechuan. But for those of you with friends or family who can’t tolerate excessive levels of heat, Shu Han Ju is the place to bring them to as nothing here really has a heat level beyond two chilis. But the food is well seasoned by a chef who understands five element theory as relates to his cooking. When you eat the Eggplant with Garlic Sauce here, it’s salty, slight vinegary, slightly sweet, pungent and mildly spicy. There’s a subtle melding of the flavors and at the same time, a deft hand to ensure that you can taste each individual flavor. I know one Unilocaler said the eggplant was greasier than most places. This is true Szechuan style, and you will get dishes swimming in a chili oil that you are not supposed to drink. If you want a vegetable flash fried but with less oil, order the Sautéed String Beans. We had that one night and I actually considered a chopstick fight to get the last string bean. You can ask for it without pork if you don’t want meat as we did. The hot and sour soup is one of the best I’ve tasted, lighter, and less starchy then other places and with the right amount of vinegar and numbing peppercorns to make it pop. It has enough tree ears and mushroom slivers and water chestnuts unlike other poorly made renditions I’ve had elsewhere. I’ve also had the Kung Pao Shrimp, which rewards you with the occasional numbing sting of Szechuan peppercorns and it wasn’t greasy as what is served in many Americanized Chinese restaurants. On another occasion, I’ve had the Braised Sliced Fish in Chili Sauce, which was more a chili bean sauce than the chili oil I was expecting. Nevertheless, it was delicious. The food here is presented well and depending on what you order, made prettier by a creative chef who like to decorate his dishes with animals carved from carrots and daikon. The lunch specials are a value and the portions, lunch or dinner, or good. If I had one critique of Shu Han Ju, it’s that I do wish the chef would be more adventurous and dare to offer the 3 and 4 chili items. So I would have deducted half a star for that if I could have but the service here brings it back to five stars. I have gone a few times already and still can’t seem to find the braised fish in napa that I have at other Szechuan restaurants. But this is definitely a restaurant that will endear itself to you and anyone you bring here to eat.

This isn’t your typical Chinese restaurant because its not your typical Chinese restaurant — it is a szechaun restaurant and a damn good one at that.
We have been coming here since it opened a year ago and have been overwhelmed by the subtleties of their perfectly prepared dishes — tonight we enjoyed their double cooked pork (a must order), snow pea shoots and cold noodles — i think it is one of the best in the city and hope you too have a chance to try

I had no idea what Szechuan Covered Pork was when I ordered it… and I kind of still don’t. What I know for a fact is that it’s really tasty!
Food: I had the Szechuan Covered Pork, which looked good in the menu photo, but presented even better in real life — or maybe it was that it just smelled fantastic. The pork was cooked wonderfully, and the blend of flavors were balanced and delicious (though completely foreign to me, so I couldn’t begin to identify them). A small gripe was the significant amount of oil at the bottom of the plate — maybe it was meant to be there? The dish didn’t seem oily, but that was likely because it was all sitting at the bottom there. This also came with either brown or white rice — I chose white, and have no complaints (though unless they really botch the cooking, there’s not a whole lot to say about rice!)
Instead of water, you are brought green tea in a teapot, which you pour yourself. The tea was good, but the bag ripped and the leaves got loose. A very minor complaint, but a detail that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Décor was fine, if a bit cliched. The visit was late December, so the traditionally conflicting bright Santa faces vs dark traditional Chinese style was as weird as ever. Honestly, it evokes a much cheaper, less authentic place, and they can do better.
The service was top notch though. My waitress was a young woman who was prompt, polite, always around when needed and never around when unneeded.
All in all, a very tasty experience for a reasonable amount of money, especially if you go for a lunch special. However, a few minor details dinged what would have been a five star rating.

Wednesday
Lunch pick-​up
1:30 PM
Because of the loud opening flags (I find any restaurant at the beginning of their business, they try to deliver tasty foods) so I walked in and opted for one of my favorites Chinese foods, eggplant and garlic sauce ($ 7.88) and chose hot & sour soup over a spring roll.
My hot & sour soup had all what it should have, tofu, bamboo shoots, wood ear…, but it was so watered down that I had to add more soy sauce, salt and vinegar for more flavors.
Although eggplant and garlic sauce sounds vegetarian but bits of ground meat was mixed in. For me, it gave an extra texture and taste so I liked it but it was also restricted in salt and made it bland.
Shu Han Ju might be a good choice if you need to watch your salt intake. This location used to go for cheap pizza for years, Famous Roio’s Pizza, and it’s near PS41 on 11^th St.