On my first visit to Daji Spicy Pavilion 黔香阁, a girl at the next table is introducing her friends to “food from my hometown.” That would be Guizhou, a mountainous province in southwestern China whose sour-spicy food is distinct from Sichuanese mala spice. Daji opened in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza last year, but I never got there until my dad, our team’s unofficial Chinese food authority, suggested we go for lunch. Now, it just may be my new favorite noodle shop.
As far as I know, Daji is the only Guizhou cuisine restaurant on O‘ahu. The menu features noodle soups and dry mix noodles plus dumplings and appetizers like spicy cucumber and sweet and sour ribs. The $7 keiki meals are smaller versions of some noodle dishes. And it looks like the menu changes—I see additions when I refresh it while writing this story.
We try the Signature Beef Brisket Noodle Soup ($15.99), which my dad has enjoyed before, with thick, chewy egg noodles. Cabbage and bean sprouts add a nice crunch, and the green onion and cilantro garnishes are bright and refreshing. The broth is clean and comforting. My dad notes that the brisket is juicy, not dry like other places’, and light despite being fatty.
The soup is so yummy that we order it again on our second visit. It’s just as good this time around, and distinct from the beef brisket noodles we’ve had at Cantonese- and Taiwanese-style restaurants.
But it isn’t spicy, so to try something that’s distinctly Guizhou, we get the Crunchy Cui Shao Dry Noodles ($15.99) with the thick noodles our server recommends. The pork belly in it is unlike any we’ve had before. The eponymous cui shao 脆哨, small cubes of pork dotting the noodles, is like crackling fried to a crisp. Its smoky taste reminds me of burnt ends but without the bitterness, while the ultra crunch that rings in my ears gives crouton vibes…