What & Where to Eat

No matter where you are if you have been exposed to Chinese food even if to a small degree chances are that you will have heard of Sichuan food. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China. This is obviously the place to try out authentic Sichuan Cuisine and believe us when we say that you might just have prolong your stay here, just to sample more of this delightful cuisine that you are bound to fall in love with.

If the only kind of Sichuan food you have been exposed to is a stir fried dish with copious amounts of red food coloring and some kind of spicy sauce then the real Sichuan food will more than just surprise you. The Sichuanese style of cooking is also one of the most subtle styles. It is of course blended with the far-from-subtle ingredients like... you guessed it -Chili!

If you are not used to spicy food, Sichuan dishes can be a little hard on the palette. Chili when used in the right proportions brings out the flavors of a dish. Once you get used to the spice, it becomes easier to enjoy Sichuan food. The most famous dishes from the region include Spicy chicken with peanut (Gong bao ji ding), and spiced tofu with chili (Ma po dou fu).

A lot of preparations, use a fish flavored (Yu xiang) sauce that is made from vinegar, ginger, sesame and soy as a base. Hotpot is also very popular here, and there are numerous restaurants and stalls that sell spicy pots to locals and tourists. There are more ten different varieties of Chengdu hotpot including hotpot with boiled mutton, and hot pot with beer duck all are as spicy as they are delicious…so beware! Other preparations that you could try are Guoba Roupian, Mapo Bean Curd, Cold Noodles and Fuqi Feipian

One of the best places to try authentic Sichuan cuisine in Chengdu are Chengdu Restaurant and the Grandma Chen's Beancurd Restaurant. Other places that you could go to are:-

- Lotus Palace Bar and Restaurant, Chengdu
- Cafe Panam, Chengdu
- Chengdu Tong Ren Tang Imperial Meals Restaurant, Chengdu
- Shizilou Hot-pot Restaurant, Chengdu
- Caigen Xiang Restaurant, Chengdu
- Baguo Buyi Restaurant, Chengdu
- Fiesta Thai Restaurant, Chengdu
- Gingko Restaurant, Chengdu
- Grandma's Kitchen, Chengdu
- Kuaile Laojia Restaurant, Chengdu
- Rome Restaurant, Chengdu
- Tandoor Indian Cuisine, Chengdu
- Xizang Fengqing Wu, Chengdu