Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province, is renowned for its food. Designated in 2010 as UNESCO’s second City of Gastronomy, it is bustling with chili oil noodle shops, sizzling hot pots, and quick snacks sold off the backs of bicycles. The notable ingredient, Sichuan peppercorn, has a citrusy taste, and creates tingling and numbness in your mouth when you eat it. Locals claim the numbing effect allows them to tolerate even more spice in their dishes. With over 14 million people, Chengdu is much larger than any US city, yet most Americans know little about it. Robert and I have been eager to visit since watching Anthony Bourdain’s Sichuan episode of Parts Unknown. In addition to its incredible food, Chengdu is known for its Panda Research Base, home to more than 83 giant pandas. We spent three days and five nights in Chengdu (we also used it as a base for a day trip to Leshan, and one to Mount Emei). We spent a morning at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where we learned about China’s most beloved animal, and got to see many young and adult pandas eat and play. We also visited the Wenshu Monastery and had tea in its peaceful courtyard, and went to a very strange science museum with many floors of somewhat dubious (or maybe just poorly translated) information on things like the mechanics of an airplane and the various types of boat engines. There is a limit of things to do for an English-speaker in this city, so we ended up spending a lot of our time walking around exploring different neighborhoods, and trying as much of the food as we could stomach. These were some of our favorite dishes: Tian Shui MianThis apparently translates to “sweet water noodles.” The noodles are thick, chewy, and rough. They are topped with hot chili oil, numbing Sichuan peppercorn powder, a sprinkle of sugar, a pinch of MSG, sesame seeds, and dollops of a few other special sauces. The combination of flavors is so unbelievable that we went back for these noodles four times. Our favorites were at 洞子囗張老二涼粉 (Dòngzi wéi zhāng lǎo èr liángfěn) near our hotel. Sichuan Hot PotLike other versions of hot pot in Asia, a pot of simmering broth sits atop a burner on your table, which you use to cook various vegetables and meats, typically with a large group of family or friends. Unlike other versions of hot pot, Sichuan or Chongqing-style is so fiery hot that even the locals wouldn’t dare eat a spoonful of the broth. We were advised to order a 1 out of 3, which was still among the spiciest food we’ve had, to have milk or yogurt before the meal, and to have plain rice afterwards to soak up some of the spicy oil in our stomachs. We ordered tofu, thin-sliced beef, needle mushrooms, lotus roots, bamboo shoots, and large beers to wash it all down. The broth gets spicier as it boils and more capsaicin (the spicy compound in chilies) is released. Although it was very spicy, the flavors were so addictively complex that we both ate a huge amount. We went to a lot of the Food Ranger’s recommendations for meals at what are popularly referred to as fly restaurants (because people swarm to the casual, hole-in-the-wall joints like flies because of how good the food is). We had delicious noodle soups, wontons in chili oil, clay oven baked bread filled with melted brown sugar, chicken stir fried with garlic and hot peppers, Mapo tofu, and more. Nearly all of it prominently featured the Sichuan peppercorn. We had so much fun eating our way through Chengdu, but decided we should leave while our clothes still (barely) fit. We took the new fast train to Xi’an today – the 409-mile journey took a mere 3 hours and 15 minutes, saving us another night on the sleeper train.
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