Sam Sifton's NYT review of Hunan Kitchen of Grand Sichuan of Flushing of New York. →

What an absurd name for a restaurant! Like calling a place the Utah Kitchen of Grand Canyon.

But you have to hand it to the New York Times and Sam Sifton. They do a great job of covering Chinese food in Flushing as a food beat in and of itself.

A restaurant like this in China would probably advertise itself with the phrase “Chairman Mao’s Hometown Cooking” aka 毛主席家鄉菜 way more prominently than they do in the U.S., like this place in Shanghai. But I don’t think that would go over so well here. You do, however, see a Mao’s Home Cooking (sans “Chairman”) section at just about every Sichuanese restaurant in NYC.

My absolute favorite from the Mao menu is braised pork or 紅燒肉. Most Westerners are squeamish with how much fat they leave on each pork morsel but the fat is what gives the dish such great taste and texture. Looking forward to trying the rendition of it here.

Hunan Kitchen of Grand Sichuan

★

42-47 Main Street (Franklin Avenue), Flushing, Queens; (718) 888-0553.

ATMOSPHERE Modernist Mao.

SOUND LEVEL Conversational and pleasant.

RECOMMENDED DISHES Wood ear mushrooms, pumpkin cake, cucumber with scallion sauce, sliced fish and sour cabbage soup, big fish head in hot pot, BBQ fish, BBQ pigs’ feet, braised pork “Mao’s style,” lamb with cumin flavor, sliced cured pork with dried turnips, white-pepper smoked beef, sautéed and dry string beans.

WINE LIST Tsingtao and Coke.

PRICE RANGE Appetizers and soups, $3.95 to $8.95; entrees, $9.95 to $22.95.

HOURS Daily, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

RESERVATIONS Recommended but imprecise. Be prepared to wait awhile.

CREDIT CARDS All major cards.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS The restaurant is at street level and is accessible through a foyer. Restroom is in the rear of the restaurant and is quite large.

WHAT THE STARS MEAN Ratings range from zero to four stars and reflect the reviewer’s reaction to food, ambience and service, with price taken into consideration. Menu listings and prices are subject to change.