Crab puffs, sweet-and-sour chicken, pork fried rice and cashew shrimp from Szechuan Chinese Restaurant.

Szechuan Chinese Restaurant

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Food: Szechuan is my go-to for Chinese takeout or delivery in Bend, and not just for the convenient location mere minutes from my apartment. As the restaurant’s website proudly proclaims, most food is cooked to order from fresh ingredients, and leans toward healthy stir-fry dishes as opposed to deep-fried junk. My regular order hits upon everything I want in my Chinese take-out: sweet-and-sour chicken, crab puffs (or crab rangoon), pork fried rice and in my opinion the star of the meal, cashew shrimp. On this particular visit, the sweet-and-sour chicken was passable and the crab puffs, while tasty, were a bit under-filled for my liking. But the cashew shrimp, which features the titular ingredients stir-fried with fresh vegetables, was on point and paired nicely with the fried rice.

Service: The woman who took my order was very friendly, and my takeout order was in my hands within 15 minutes.

Atmosphere: Small and cozy, with subtle decorations including a waterfall display in the entrance and plants.

More info

Location: 1600 NE Third St., Bend

541-383-9033

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Monday

Cuisine: Chinese

Price range: $9.85-$12.85 for lunch

— Brian McElhiney, The Bulletin