Fatty Tuesday: Sichuan Citizen

Remember my initial restaurant observations? 

• Most restaurant menus in Shanghai are ten to 20 pages long. 
• Thankfully, almost all of them have pictures; some of them have funny translations. 
• It's no wonder that they may be out of what you order (out of 100+ options, they have to run out of a few items on some nights). 
• Food comes out almost instantly. "How is this possible," you ask? I think I'd prefer not to know. Let's move on.  

After sifting through the book-sized menu at Sichuan Citizen, we decided on fish, bok choy, kung pao jiding (you know what that is, right?) and honey walnut shrimp -- which is somewhat amusing since most of these dishes are considered very American Chinese food. (And here I was, proud of myself for finally dedicating a Fatty Tuesday to Chinese food.)   

The star of the show was the fish.  But be forewarned -- for those of you who require clean filets, boned and skinned, don't order fish in China, because this is what you'll get, eyeballs and all:

At fancy restaurants in China, waiters bring the fish you ordered to your table alive and in a bucket as proof of freshness. Sichuan Citizen was not fancy -- no show of squirming fish -- but it was good. Next time we go, though, I'd probably order other dishes since there isn't a shortage of choices.