This week I wrote about Snack Planet, a new Sichuanese stall in the subterranean food court in Chinatown's Richland Center, pushing "shashlik" as well as a number of big, budget-friendly soups, noodles, sweets, and cold dishes such as the Nanshan spicy chicken to the left. After the jump, with the aid of the august Dr. Peter Engler, further visual evidence of the deliciousness therein:

I'm already starting to look back on the year to decide what my favorite things to eat were. I'm certain "Laganma" (known to Asian condiment aficionados as "LaoGanMa") chili paste with beef will make the list.

"Crispy" isn't quite the right adjective for these cold wood-ear mushrooms. Snappy, maybe. Resilient, tensile, elastic, good for your liver. . .

Sichuan puerco con mojo

The spice is subdued in this fungal mixture, relative to its textural riot.

These crispy rice gluten orbs have a molten sweet-bean interior.

Sweet papaya soup with white fungus is sunrise in a Styrofoam cup.