Ancient Chinese secret? Sorry, couldn’t resist, because there is a secret to China Yuan’s version of this largely ubiquitous and — at other places — largely forgettable sauce. This one is chunky, with whole roasted garlic cloves, brick red pepper detritus and atomic pink oil, as well as that extra something that adds brightness and freshness to the whole thing. Ask owner Peter Chan nicely, and he might tell you the secret. 8502 N. Armenia Ave., Tampa, 813-936-7388.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2006.