Red Lotus - Web site:

This newly renovated restaraunt is an excellent place to stimulate your taste buds. The vast menu contains spicey szechuan treats that will keep you going back week after week. Try the house specialty, hot pot fish. It seemed that every table had this dish on it. It is so tasty.

Red Lotus is a Chinese restaurant in Mississauga that focuses on Sichuan cuisine. It's one of my family's favorite spots, and I've been wanting to write a review for months. Unfortunately, our schedules never aligned, and my parents would often go without me. The one time we tried to visit, the restaurant was closed for renovations. However, in August, everything finally fell into place, the renovations were complete, and I was able to indulge my taste buds with the delightful flavors of Sichuan peppercorns.

If you enjoy your food spicy, this restaurant is a great choice. If you're a fan of extremely spicy Szechuan cuisine—those dishes that deliver both heat and a numbing sensation—you'll likely love this place. However, they do tend to overuse Szechuan peppers, which can overshadow the other flavors. After just a few bites, the spiciness can become overwhelming, making it hard to taste anything else. On a positive note, their spicy blood stew is quite enjoyable, especially with the addition of quail eggs!

The menu features Northern Chinese classics like boiled dumplings, mapo tofu, hot and sour soup, and dan dan noodles, all of which are authentic and tasty. However, like many Szechuan restaurants, Red Lotus struggles with the delicate xiao long bao dumplings. These dumplings should have a thin, soft skin that is strong enough to hold in the piping hot soup, but unfortunately, Red Lotus' version is served a bit cold and lacks the needed juiciness. If it’s not hot enough to leave a mark on my chin, it doesn’t qualify as a true xiao long dumpling. (For the real deal, I recommend making the trip to Din Tai Fung in Markham despite the long lines, but I digress...) Regardless, for Szechuan food in Mississauga, Red Lotus remains the best option available.