Do you like spicy food?

I'm Cantonese, so hot spicy peppers and sauces were not very prevalent in the food I ate growing up.  In fact, out of all of my friends, I'm probably one of the wimpiest when it comes to spicy food.  Until about 2 years ago, I would always shy away from the heat and often wondered why people would ruin perfectly good ingredients by making it painful to eat.  I'm not really sure what has changed, but I find myself enjoying some tasty spicy Chinese dishes.  Maybe I killed off a sufficient amount of taste buds at Spices II.

{Photo by Telstar Logistics}

Spices II specializes in Szechuanese and Taiwanese style Chinese food.  The food is pretty consistent, though once in a while a little on the salty side.  The dry braised string beans and the deep fried fish with chili peppers (la zi yu) are amazing!  Another one of my favorites is the iron pot of tofu which includes four different types of tofu in a brown and slightly spicy sauce.  They're also known for stinky tofu if that's your thing.  We do ask them to bring the spice down a notch for some of the dishes so that I can try everything.  Some items on the menu are just TOO intense.

Spices II is located on 6th Avenue near Clement in the Richmond district.  There is another Spices on 8th Avenue which has a different menu.  We definitely prefer this location.