Middle Kingdom
332 S Main St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2108
(734) 668-6638

Mon-Thu 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11 a.m. - 9:30
Sun noon - 9 p.m.

“I picked a good one for you!” Wai-Chong “Johnny” Tam grinned as we tore into the Szechuan String Beans.  If you go to Middle Kingdom, you’ll probably see Johnny; he’s a hands-on owner.  You’ll also see photos of the place’s most famous regular, Michael Phelps (“He’s a really nice guy!”).  Training for Olympic swimming burns a staggering amount of calories, which Middle Kingdom helped to replenished.

Middle Kingdom has been a Main Street mainstay since 1981. Back then, students and locals packed the place for its largely Americanized Chinese menu.  Times have changed, though, and Middle Kingdom has changed with them.  Five years ago, Tam introduced a separate menu featuring authentic Szechuan and Hong Kong dishes, cooked by a team of chefs straight from China.  Now, around 70% of their clientele is Chinese.  You can still get Americanized dishes from the blue menu, but if you want authenic Chinese food, go for the red one.

The Red Menu is great, but overwhelming with 264 items, plus a handwritten list of specials in Chinese, and the names aren’t always helpful.  Portions are large, so order accordingly or expect leftovers.  To get you started, here are some of our favorites.  Dishes from the handwritten list are asterisked, with translated names:

appetizers
Mushroom salad* - a refreshing and colorful mix of enoki and shiitake mushrooms tossed with slivered bell peppers and peapods, dressed with sesame oil. 

Szechuan Steamed Meat Buns (#8) - six to an order, hand-made and filled with mildly-flavored pork.  This dish is slow, so it may not arrive before your main courses.

beef & pork
Beef with Hand-Made Noodle Soup* - the beef broth is rich with great depth, and the noodles thick and toothy, topped with slices of beef flavored with five-spice and a dash of cilantro. Best eaten before the fresh noodles soak up too much broth.

Hot Pot with Mushroom and Pork* - an adventurous favorite, this has long-stalked mushrooms, mixed with vegetables, chiles, and several different kinds of pork , served in a small hot pot over flame at your table. We love the complex flavors and fun variety.

Noodle with Sour Pickle and Shredded Pork (#37) - pickled cabbage and pork served with egg noodles. A bit salty, though the bright vinegary tang of the cabbage makes for a nice contrast against other spicy dishes.

chicken
Chung Ching Dry Chile Pepper Chicken* - spicy dry-fried crispy chicken bites with the added zing of Szechuan peppercorns. Can be ordered boneless.  Great for spice lovers.

Xinjiang Big Plate of Chicken* - they aren’t exaggerating.  A huge platter covered with chunks of bone-in chicken and peppers in a spicy brown sauce redolent of Szechuan peppercorns, served with an almost equally large platter of big, flat handmade noodles. Too much for two, this is a large group dish.

fish
Fish Fillet with Bean Cake Soup (#51) - a top favorite; tender slices of fish and soft tofu in a red, spicy chile oil cooking liquid topped with crunchy fried soy beans and wonton skins.  The liquid isn’t meant to be eaten as it contains a lot of oil.

vegetables
(mostly not vegetarian)
Deep-Fried Tofu with Chinese Assorted
Vegetables (#226) – also called Pi Pa Tofu - tofu cakes mixed with chopped pork, shrimp, and black mushrooms, formed into palm-sized disks (shaped like a pi pa, or Chinese lute) and deep fried, then topped with a flavorful gravy.  We’re hopelessly addicted.

Double Fried Eggplant with Fresh Chili (#149) - a favorite across the table; even our eggplant hater couldn’t stop eating it. Very thinly sliced and stir-fried, with a fantastic charred smoky flavor that you only get with a truly hot wok. The eggplant is smooth and firm, with no bitterness. Vegetarian.

Another option (not for the timid or allergic) is to just tell Johnny you’d like a bunch of authentic Szechuan dishes and prepare to be inundated.  Either way, once you’ve explored the Red Menu, you’ve accomplished something Michael Phelps hasn’t.  He may have 14 Olympic Golds, but, we have it on good authority, he never left the Blue Menu...

Lisa and Joe have been blogging about food in the Ann Arbor area (and points beyond) since 2004.  Check them out at  www.kitchenchick.com.