Anyone in the vicinity of the Upper East Side with a craving for mala flavors should head to Hui on East 70th Street. The dry pepper chicken is a reimagined (and slightly more tropical) Chonqqing chicken that’s reliably crisp and loaded with snipped red chilis and sweet pineapple to balance out the spice. The dry pot stir-fries here are also excellent and come with your choice of protein, plus potatoes, lotus root, mushrooms, and an abundant amount of numbing spiciness. Bigger groups should also opt for the whole fish with chopped chilis, which comes with plenty of sauce that you’ll want to coat all over your rice and noodles. Hui also has a small, shaded outdoor area out front, which is a welcome perk that not many Chinese restaurants in the area have.