If you like it hot, then this is the place

If there were such a thing as insulation for the mouth, it would be useful at a Chinese restaurant in Alhambra named Oriental Pearl. Chile lovers take note: Most of the dishes here are over-the-top hot, because they’re from Sichuan province. Some are bathed in chile oil or red broth, others are buried under dried chiles. The only nonhot thing I had one night was a glass of water.

You do get fair warning. The waitresses’ aprons are printed with chiles. A giant artificial chile hangs inside the front door, and strings of chiles cascade from the ceiling. More than half the dishes on the menu are tagged, in an in-house heat-rating system, with one to three chiles.

I survived a couple of three-chile dishes, such as the beef and tofu hot pot, which wasn’t as fierce as you’d expect. Flat glass noodles and sweet-tasting chunks of green gourd helped to mitigate the heat, and tofu is always cool. The spicy broth was quite nice spooned over rice.

Chongqing-style hot chopped chicken is bearable, even enjoyable, though it really ought to have a four-chile rating, because it includes four kinds of chiles: fresh, pickled and two different dried. Mushrooms, whole garlic cloves and ginger shreds bring in flavors that distract from the heat. And I thought I tasted Sichuan peppercorns, although it’s illegal to import them now because they may carry a disease that could damage American citrus trees. Perhaps Oriental Pearl stockpiled peppercorns before the ban, like a couple of my foodie friends who are saddled with 5-pound sacks.

Gasping at the deep-fried red chiles blanketing fried fish slices with hot pepper, I wondered how the dish could have qualified for just a two-chile rating. It proved to be an accurate gauge, though. Coated with panko and fried to an appetizing gold, the fish was somewhat hot, but the main flavor was salty. A dash of vinegar sets apart the enjoyable kung pao chicken (one chile) from other restaurant kung paos. “Fish-flavored” fried, shredded pork is not dangerously hot, and it’s delicious; the fine shreds of pork with black fungus, slivered bell pepper and green onion are seasoned with vinegar and slightly sweet. No fish is involved -- it’s pork seasoned as if it were fish, a technique that Oriental Pearl also applies to eel and eggplant.

It’s possible to organize a fine meal at Oriental Pearl around dishes without chiles. Fish slices with Chongqing pickled green vegetable is a good way to start. The big bowl of slightly sour broth contains thin slices of sole, translucent noodles and pickled mustard greens, the last supplying the sourness. Spareribs with garlic are so mild that you don’t even taste the garlic. Unlike American-style ribs, these are cut into small bits and deep-fried.

Garlic is the key flavor in boiled pork slices in mashed garlic. Slices of pork belly fan out on the plate, topped with a golden cloud of mashed raw garlic and surrounded by chile oil and double-black soy sauce.

One of the nicest dishes is steamed sliced fish with soft tofu, a beautiful blend of delicate sole (batter-coated, so it must have been fried before steaming) with pudding-soft tofu in a gentle brown sauce. With this, you might have the ong choy, a leafy green with garlic in lightly seasoned broth. Another dish, pork shreds with pickled mustard tuber, was mild but too salty to eat.

The restaurant has old-school Cantonese dishes such as sweet and sour pork, chow mein, fried rice and wonton soup. Instead of the chow mein, I suggest the Chongqing-flavored noodles (one chile). These look quite plain, but you’ll taste layers of flavor including soy sauce, sesame oil, preserved vegetable and, I think, Sichuan pepper again. Sichuan cold noodles in special sauce sounded so interesting, I tried that too, only to find it was the Chongqing noodles served cold.

Be sure to order quick-fried shredded potato with vinegar: potatoes cut into strings, fried and lightly seasoned with black vinegar and a few bits of dried red chile. It’s one of the best potato dishes around.

But the real reason to head for Oriental Pearl is to indulge in a chile-pepper bacchanal. Just be sure to order one of the several frothy, fruit-flavored milk drinks -- sweet, cool concoctions that put out the fire during your meal.

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Oriental Pearl Restaurant

Location: 621 W. Main St., Alhambra; (626) 281-1898.

Price: Noodles, $3.99 to $5.25; house specials, $5.25 to $19.99; Chongqing hot pots, $7.99 to $24.99; other dishes, $4.99 to $7.99.

Best dishes: Chongqing-style hot, chopped chicken; steamed sliced fish with soft tofu; kung pao chicken; Chongqing-flavored noodles; quick-fried shredded potato with vinegar.

Details: Open 11:30 a.m. to

10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday. No alcohol. Street parking plus a few parking spaces behind the restaurant. Visa and MasterCard.