Chengdu: One spicy city

Chengdu cuisine is famous for being the spiciest in China, and also among the most delicious. Most any chinese restaurant in America will have items on their menu with 'sichuan' in the name. Often there will be some sort of warning on the menu as to the spicy nature of these dishes. These foods originate from Sichuan Province, of which Chengdu is the political, economic, and culinary capital.

My first encounter with Chengdu cuisine was on its famed Jin Li alley. The streets of Jin Li were overwhelmingly crowded--the densest crowd of people I have ever seen, ever. On my first venture into Jin Li I fought my way through the crowds to sample the famous street food. When I returned to the street a second time to find it even more crowded, I decided to look for food elsewhere.

Entrance to Jin Li alley

Deeper into Jin Li, the crowd thickens

The street food on Jin Li was excellent. I wish I remembered to take more pictures. Besides the quail pictured below, I sampled spiced fish, squid, pork, all on skewers. The dumplings were amazing. The pineapple rice served in a pineapple shell was incredible. Overall great food experience. The food on skewers was the spiciest, but I could manage it as long as I took my time as opposed to devouring it.

Spicy quail on a stick

 I met my match when I had the noodles in spicy sauce. I could tell at the first bite that it was very spicy, but the noodles were delicious so I kept at it. Unfortunately it was one of those slow heats that continued to build long after I had thrown my half eaten noodles in the trash. I have never had anything so spicy, and my reaction to it was not typical. I usually tear up when I eat something spicy. This dish gave me light-headedness and a loss of balance. Tingling and numbness spread from my mouth across my body and my mind was reduced to one though: ice cream. I waded through the crowd for what seemed like hours in a desperate search for an ice cream stand. When I finally found one the heat had passed. I never got that ice cream.

Wendy? I never knew she was Itaeian.

HOT POT

The most famous dish in Chengdu is hot pot. Essentially it is a pot of liquids and spices set atop a burner to keep at a low boil. At a hot pot restaurant, you order raw meats and vegetables to drop in the pot until cooked and saturated with spice. I had my Chengdu hot pot experience in a really cool neighborhood that had dozens of hot pot restaurants to choose from. It was also my 23rd birthday dinner, so we went a little crazy with the menu.

Neighborhood gate with Chengdu in the background

Close-up of the gate

Looking down at the neighborhood street from a second story bridge

Hot pot, midway through the meal. That meat is raw.

My birthday cake. I am year of the dragon, so I get a frosting dragon on the cake

On note about hot pot. It is very spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. The chinese word for spicy is 'la', so many foreigners will order their hot pot 'bu la' - no spice. For me it is the use of sichuan peppers that can be overwhelming. These peppers are not spicy, but deliver a numbness that can overpower your taste buds and make every bite taste like sichuan pepper. The chinese word for the numbness delivered by these peppers is 'ma'. The ma and la are traditional complements in hot pot and Sichuan cuisine. I enjoy the spice, but I order my food 'bu ma'.