Fresno Chinese food is not the kind of Chinese food you can get in more metropolitan areas, which is a shame because there's a lot more to Chinese food than westernized chow mein and chicken salad. Hunan's was another international student recommendation. Actually it was more like a Chinese following. Students and tourists from China would make Hunan's a destination to visit (usually before or after Yosemite). Why? Because of the famous chef & owner of Hunan, Zhongyi Liu. I didn't, couldn't believe such a famous chef resided in Fresno. It must be a myth or Chinese wives' tale. NOPE, its true. We have this hidden gem of yummy right here in the Central Valley. We're so lucky!
So we ordered to go from this place when we were living on the NW side of town and then when we moved NE Fresno, just a hop, skip and a jump away from Hunan's; we forgot about it. Maybe the stress of a move or having a baby had something to do with it or maybe it's Hunan's unfortunate location. It's literally tucked away behind several stores at the Cedar Tree Village shopping center. I only remembered it because I was on a Chinese food kick and hating almost everywhere I ate and a fellow mommy asked me where I liked Chinese food in town and a light bulb turned back on - HUNAN's.
Chef Liu has catered his menu to this town slightly with his own original twist. For example the chicken salad is not the horrific lettuce with old fried chicken and won tons drenched in an oily sweet sesame dressing, it's shredded chicken in a sweet, pungent bean sauce on a light bed of lettuce. It's so simple but the intricacies of the sauce will blow you away. There was a recent article in the Bee about Hunan's so it's been pretty packed lately. We went the Saturday after the article and it was an hour wait. Fortunately a large reunion was leaving so our wait was cut considerably.
Potstickers $6.45
Look at the way the oil from the pan-fried, hand made won ton skin glistens from my flash. I'm a sucker for hand made won ton skins so upon my first bite, I was a goner. There are no soy sauce bottles on the table, no these dumplings are accompanied with fermented soy bean in a light chili oil. I had enjoyed the potstickers earlier that week for lunch so I had my heart set on Bao Tse (steamed bun filled with honey pork, I think) but they were sold out again. Darn it! I will try you Bao Tse before I die.
Sizzling Rice Soup $6.95
This is the way sizzling rice soup is done. Fresh cut vegetables (maybe not the bamboo, peas and water chestnuts), nice sized pieces of chicken and shrimp, and most importantly not laden with oil, just oil from the deep fried rice.
Butter Cream Prawns $13.95
This was a recommendation from a lady who was also waiting to be seated. The name says it all. It's buttery, creamy and extremely sweet. I was expecting walnut shrimp but this was initially way too sweet and kind of a disappointment until I had a prawn with a bite of strawberry. This took it to a whole 'nother level. The strawberries subdued the saccharine punch and enhanced the rich creamy flavor. If you're with a kid, definitely order extra strawberries so you can truly enjoy this dish.
The chef also has a secret menu for his staff and special banquets where his culinary prowess truly shines. I have to get myself to one of these banquets.
Hunan Chinese Restaurant
6716 N. Cedar #104 (behind the Dollar Tree)
Fresno, CA 93710
(559) 297-0336
thehunanrestaurant.com
YUM Meter: ***
