Food and Restaurants

Sichuan cuisine’s history can be traced back to the Qin and Han dynasties, and became a major school of cooking during the Tang dynasty. When chili peppers were introduced to China during the Qing dynasty, Sichuan cooking developed into the modern spicy feast.

As Chongqing lies in the heart of China's chili belt, local dishes are not for the timid tongue. Chongqing's specialty is the addition of the Sichuan peppercorn, which produces a numbing heat hence many dishes have the prefix, meaning numb and spicy. Many restaurants will tone down the spice count for tongues that have yet to be initiated.

The most famous Chongqing dish is a spicy hotpot called hala huoguo, a cauldron of red, bubbling soup in which diners cook raw meats and vegetables. The longer it simmers the spicier it gets and the custom is to save the leafy vegetables for last, watch out – they pick up all the spices. If this sounds a bit too much, many restaurants also serve a hotpot with one side red and the other a clear chicken broth. Many street vendors sell a cold noodle topped with cucumbers and drenched in a spicy sauce then sprinkled with chopped garlic. Barbecue is a popular way of cooking and can be less spicy. Small rice dumplings in a hot soup are usually filled with sweet sesame paste.

Chicken is cooked in a variety of ways and two popular dishes are spicy chicken and a spicy chicken appetizer that's served cold. Chongqing's spring chicken (mineral water spring, not the season) is a local specialty. It's so good there's a whole street dedicated to serving it. The chickens can be found by Nanshan Park at Huangjueya in the Nan'an District.

Other goodies to look for include simple noodles, Sichuan five-spiced beef jerky and huge pomelos.

Wuyi Lu is locally known as hotpot road and has numerous options. Along Bayi Lu by the Liberation Monument is a food market that teems with vendors selling everything from noodles to barbecue.