Not as spicy as it looks and sounds. There's spiciness, numbness, but it's so much more than that. The most obvious taste is the umami actually, accentuated by the thick sauce. (Personally I haven't been a big fan of starch in sauces, but this particular one really convinced me otherwise. The way it coated the chicken was divine). It's a must try, goes so well with rice. Even those who can only take a little spice should try it, the heat isn't unforgiving at all.

Small rant: Some of these cuisines, esp regional Chinese and Indian, are really underrated and not as well known as they should be because of the translation. The translation really doesn't capture the nuances of the myriad of flavours and spices that go into the dishes, and similar names can actually taste so different. Idk about Indian cuisine, but the original names of chinese dishes doesn't lend well to translation as it doesn't even make much sense itself with regards to taste. Almost everything I ate today can be described as mala, but their taste profiles are so different that once you taste it, you can't deny they are clearly different dishes and taste profiles. I'm really guilty of this as well, so let's all try these unique dishes and built up an encyclopedia of reviews so that we develop a repository of understanding regarding these cuisines. E.g. this dish, literally translated would be fragrant chili chicken, but the taste is so much more complex than that. I know for sure that I'm gonna try more of these less well-known Chinese dishes in the future :D