To say the secret is out about Zhu Ting Ji, would be an understatement for the ages. The Taylorsville newcomer has been nothing short of besieged on every trek I’ve made. It’s a wonderful sight to see. Since my first aborted visit, the business now offers a handy touch screen up front, allowing guests to join a waitlist. Our wait time for a table on a bustling Saturday lunch service was no more than 25 minutes.
Seated we delve into a couple of menus, stuffed to the brim with Sichuan cooking. Spicy Boiled Fish is a staple, so that’s where we start. It’s a prep that makes a mockery of the adage, less is more. Of course, it’s not. More is most definitely, well, more.
More garlic, more numbing Sichuan peppercorn, more garlic, more chili, and as much doubanjiang as you can muster; this, the fire engine red paste that’s the nucleus of many a Sichuan dish. Made from koji fermented fava beans it delivers heat and umami depth. A first bite delivers a mouth-coating slick, glossy coating – this from the final steps of preparation – a scald of hot oil ladled to enliven those chiles and peppercorns.
The brilliance of the dish is the nuanced balance of those heavy-hitting ingredients, each more than capable of dominating proceedings left unchecked. Too much peppercorn, the dish can slide into the metallic, too few chilis, and the broth bores. Zhu Ting’s is handily the best blend I’ve tasted in Utah since the dearly departed Chef Gao was at his galvanizing best (if you know, you know).
The dish is served in a large tureen, plenty enough for two or three to share. Be sure to order rice bowls on the side (ours did not come with rice as standard). From there, spoon on the gloriously arresting broth, studded with white fish.
Oh, and yes, the XLB are good. I know you wanted to know that…
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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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