Hunan Chilli King

The first (and only) rule of a spicy restaurant is to avoid drinking water. You’ll help the California drought with this trick, but you’ll most of all help yourself and your tastebuds. Hunanese cuisine is famous for being the spiciest in mainland China; and Hunan Chilli King is famous for being the spiciest Hunanese restaurants in LA. Bad luck if you’re not into spicy food. Hunan Chilli King is one of the chefs’ favorite restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, along with Mian and Szechuan Impression. Among the 170 dishes on the menu, the insolent “Spicy Over Spicy” will burn your tongue twice: sauteed greens and radish with a gigantic amount of chillies and Sichuan pepper. The specialties are listed on the front page, and don’t skip the lamb toothpicks (yes, it’s a real thing). You won’t regret it.