Northern restaurant - spicy

I wrote this post once, but then our school internet went offline and it was lost when I tried to send it grr.  So apologies if I can’t muster the enthusiasm for details.  Let’s see. 

Last week I went and had food at the Northern Restaurant (北国饭店).  I love this restaurant, it’s good quality, has a good reputation locally, you can get your own side room, the service is POLITE and HELPFUL, and the menu has pictures.  Also the toilets usually have toilet paper.  For all this a meal usually costs 20-30rmb per person, so it’s not cheap.  The more people the better, because more dishes can be ordered.  Booking is necessary on weekend evenings. 

Here, my observations tell me that ’north’ is anywhere from Sichuan up (well, it’s still a long way).  The common denominator is the heat - there are a few words I think, I know two of them: ‘la4’ (spicy) and ‘ma2la4’ (spicy that makes your tongue numb).  There’s Sichuan, Henan, northern and hotpot restaurants, and they all have their own specialities (see ‘hotpot’ post).  I love them all, because I love spicy hot. 

北国饭店：大洋总店  海滨路33号大洋商厦 
BeiGuo FanDian:DaYang  Haibin Lu, no.33, DaYang. 
Phone: 8538775, 8538776

北国饭店：阳光分店  韩江路阳光花园一期 
BeiGuo FanDian:YangGuang  Hanjiang Lu, YangGuang HuaYuan (Garden). 
Phone: 8878317, 8850121

北国风味管：衡山路和珠江路交界处 
BeiGuo FengWeiGuan: Hengshan Lu and Zhujiang Lu crossroads - that area. 
Phone: 8882617