Ten Miles B.B.Q 春风十里 (Downtown店) – 359 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON M5T 2G3
Country: China  
Seating: Only indoor seating is available but the restaurant has several tables
Must-try dish: Beef in Hot Spicy Sauce Pot
Dinner guests: Big Al & Suited Sebastien
The high: We discovered a new Chinese beer called Huang Special Beer, that the restaurant serves on draft
The low: The glasses, cutlery, and plates are plastic

Sichuan cuisine is not for the faint of heart, or rather. it’s not for those who can’t handle spice!

As a part of our deep-dive into Chinese cuisine across Toronto, we took on the heat from Sichuan Province, and although we didn’t quite lose, our taste buds were on fire (in a good way) long after the bill was paid. It’s possible to find recipes with little spice, but the cuisine as a whole lives up to its spicy reputation at Ten Mile B.B.Q., which has a few locations scattered across the Greater Toronto Area. 

This one in particular is in the middle of Chinatown, and despite the fairly unsuspecting exterior, the inside is decorated flamboyantly with neon lights and bright flower arrangements. There’s significantly more stimulation once inside with the local music and small groups of diners speaking Chinese languages.

It’s not difficult deciding on what to order from the menu since several of the dishes are barbecued protein on skewers from a style of Chinese cuisine called Chuan’r, that originated from the Xinjiang Region, but it’s practised all over the country today. The Uyghur people and other Chinese Muslim groups are the brains behind this delicious operation centuries ago. 

Each order of grilled meat comes with four skewersm – a perfect number for our hungry crew. We opted for the beef, the pork belly, the whole shrimp and the squid. Both the shrimp and the squid were the most exciting in presentation, however, the beef was the juiciest. 

As for the traditional Sichuan dishes of the meal, there were two: the Mapo Tofu and a Beef in a Hot Spicy Sauce Pot. Both of these dishes included Sichuan peppercorns, for those who have not experienced their numbing sensation, this is normal. There was a toss up with these as to which was the favourite of the meal. But in the end, the Hot Spicy Sauce Pot was the winner. It was presented in a massive bowl in a red broth and abundant chili oil. A generous portion of thinly sliced beef pieces floated throughout. It’s packed with flavour, but also heat. 

The Mapo Tofu was addicting both in taste and in texture. There was a large portion of soft chunks of marinated and cooked tofu mixed with minced pork, peppers and chili oil. It was the first dish delivered to the table and all of us kept going back for more despite having additional dishes on the way. 

All the food was washed down with Huang Special Beer. As our server put it, this beer’s on draft and it’s only served in a “big guy.” Naturally, we ordered the pitcher for the table, which was accompanied by red solo cups to drink from. I don’t know about you, but for us, this brought back big memories of our university kegger days, and we liked it. 

A word for the wise – the menu is mostly in Chinese, so it’s best to ask your server for recommendations while dinning in. 

Chinatown, and Chinese food, in general, are intimidating because there’s such a wide range of regional dishes and ingredients used across one country. Not to mention, how does one differentiate good Chinese food from the bad without having visited the country or knowing someone who can walk you through it? Mandrea Bike wants to explore Toronto’s Chinese food scene over the next few months with the intention of answering some of these perplexing questions. Until then…

Eat with you soon,

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)