I was worried that whatever the special oil was would be the sort of hot that I couldn’t handle. The rankings of chilis on the menu mean nothing without an actual reference. One place's single chili rating could be another place’s three. Luckily, I had nothing to worry about.

They were busy, but the server directed me to the one open table remaining. I scanned the patrons and realized it was full of locals–precisely what I wanted. Another server brought over a menu far more approachable than the binders at the other place. Each page except the sections for dumplings and drinks had two to three options, pictures of each option, and a translation (sometimes humorously bad) into English.