If you’re looking for a restaurant to eat that features family style, fish and spicy szechuan flavors, come take your crew to try out The Memory Restaurant. It’s located in a small plaza that’s packed with other restaurants, stores and dessert cafes; not to mention almost unlimited parking underground. This place is PERFECT for large groups because the portions are HUGE. At a decent price, it will probably be your cheapest and spiciest dinner ever!

This bottle is SO CUTE. At first I was only opting to get just ice water to cool down the spiciness, but this bottle was so cute! It’s lemon black tea in a cute bottle. And check out the cap! It’s like a soda bottle cap. I washed it and re-using it for its cuteness. 😉

This cold appetizer dish is spicy backstraps served in a lightly szechuan oil. I had no idea what backstraps were so I ordered it to try it! Turns out it is spicy venison that is chewy in texture similar to beef tongue. There was also crispy, thin tendon mixed in there as well. This dish was lightly spiced and served cold.

Here is our main dish! The picture definitely does not portray the magnitude of this big, big pot of Longley fillets, lotus, taro and tofu. We chose their spiciest level of hotness. What you do is you order the type of fish you want as the main protein and order additional side dishes to be cooked with it. I have never heard of this Longley fish before, but it was cooked perfectly! Super soft and flaky and buttery and coated with that szechuan spicy. The lotus was crunchy, the taro was soft, and the tofu carried in packs of flavor. This was a very satisfying meal to my lips, taste buds and tummy! (THERE WAS TOO MUCH FOOD! This could easily feed 6 people. EASILY. We had tons of leftovers).

We needed a protein and we never saw street noodles before. What are street noodle? I don’t know.. let’s give it a try.. Turns out it’s the same type of noodles they use for dan dan mien and other noodle dishes. Oh well! The fish would have been better to eat with white rice, but if you take some of that spicy oil sauce and lightly coat these noodles with them, it’s perfect! Perfectly chewy with that hint of spicy tang at the end! And their spiciest level 5? Not THAT spicy, but pretty spicy..

And to make it even more spicier is to keep the pot boiling hot! There are two fire grill thingys underneath to help you keep your food hot. The longer and the more it boils, the more spicy flavors come out. Watch out! 😀

I am so glad I tried this place! If I just saw The Memory Restaurant on Yelp alone, I probably would not have given this place a chance. However, just walking by it and choosing a random place can sometimes be rewarding. You never know.. you might find a hidden gem somewhere that isn’t “Yelp-hyped,” but still delicious!