Panda Country Kitchen turns on the heat

Loaded with hot red chiles, chile oil, garlic and fragrant — if mouth numbing — prickly ash berries or “peppercorns,” Sichuan cooking may not be for the faint of heart. But those who like the heat and are excited by a pantry that embraces pickled greens, leeks, fresh bacon, smoked duck and freshwater fish should consider Panda Country Kitchen. This two-year-old restaurant does a good job on some of the most typical Sichuan preparations.

The agriculturally rich, subtropical Sichuan province is located in southwestern China in a Yangtze River basin surrounded by mountains. Some 80 percent of the world’s pandas live in protected bamboo forests in nearby mountain sanctuaries — hence the name of this restaurant.