In Bizarre Foods Chengdu, part of the Delicious Destinations series featuring Andrew Zimmern, the host and his crew visited numerous restaurants in the city, showcasing a variety of unique and delicious dishes. Here is a convenient list of all the addresses and dishes highlighted in this exciting exploration of Chengdu’s food scene.
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DISH – Hakka Cuisine
WHAT IS IT?
Hakka (also Kuh-chia) cuisine is the style of cooking of the Hakka people in China. It focuses on the texture of food and also features a lot of preserved meat. Part of the Hakka tradition is to serve 9 bowls of different dishes: 3 cold dishes, 3 hot dishes and 3 steamed dishes.
WHERE IS IT?
Nine Bowls
No. 131 Luodai, Longuanyi District
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
NOTES – Bizarre Foods Chengdu
Nine Bowls is popular for serving 9 great bowls of traditional Hakka dishes. They usually top off the 9 bowls with a steaming bowl of pig intestines soup.
DISH – Mala Hot Pot
WHAT IS IT?
In Sichuan, diners can enjoy mala hot pot. Soup broth, chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns (aka hua jiao) are kept simmering in a sunken cauldron. Diners can then select skewers of beef, lamb, chiken, duck, organs, fish, tofu and vegetables to dip into the brew. Once in the brew, the skewers are cooked and they absorb all the spices and oil. They can be further dipped into a sauce made of vinegar, garlic, soy and cilantro.
WHERE IS IT?
Yulin Chuan Chuan Xiang Hot Pot Restaurant
26 Yulin St, Renmin South Road South Extension Line Leisure Catering Yitiao Street, Wuhou
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
NOTES – Bizarre Foods Chengdu
At Yulin Chuan Chuan Xiang, Andrew started with skewers of kidneys, chicken, chicken skin and mushrooms for the mala hot pot. He also tried pig brains.
DISH – Spicy Rabbit Heads – Andrew Zimmern Chengdu
WHAT IS IT?
Spicy rabbit head is a popular street food in Chengdu. Rabbit heads are grilled and seasoned with super-hot Sichuanese dry spices.
WHERE IS IT?
Mother Wang’s Rabbit Barbecue
No. 26 Yulin Street Wuhou District
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
NOTES – Bizarre Foods Chengdu
Mother Wang’s is one of the most popular places in Chengdu where one can enjoy a spicy barbecued rabbit head.
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DISH – Sichuan Cuisine – Andrew Zimmern Chengdu
WHAT IS IT?
Sichuan cuisine refers to the cooking style of the Sichuan Province in China. It is characterized by bold flavors, resulting from the generous use of Sichuan pepper, garlic and chili peppers. Notable examples of the Sichuan cuisine include braised pork ribs with konjac (moyu shao paigu) and tea-smoked duck (zhangcha ya).
WHERE IS IT?
Chef Yu’s Family Kitchen
43 Zhao Xiang Zi, Xia Tong Ren Lu
Chengdu, China
NOTES – Bizarre Foods Chengdu
Chef Yu Bo moved to the United States since the shooting of this episode.
He offered modern interpretative Sichuan cuisine to diners at his Chengdu fine dining restaurant right at his house. A full dinner consists of 64 courses, typically started with 16 Chinese antipastos of rare mountain vegetables. At Chef Yu’s, Andrew Zimmern enjoyed a dinner of rabbit in sesame and chili oil, spicy shredded pigeon, beef floss (dumpling filled with minced beef), corn cake topped with black truffle and grilled mushrooms, puffer fish soup with mountain yam, tapioca with pumpkin soup, Sichuan chicken soup, minced chicken and egg custard, steamed abalone, red braised pork, smoked duck with tea leaves, and porcupine shaped dumplings filled with chili bean paste.
DISH – Pig Brain Mala – Bizarre Foods Chengdu
WHAT IS IT?
Pig brain mala is a dish of stewed pig brains and bean curd (or tofu) in Sichuan sauce.
WHERE IS IT?
Ming Ting Fan Dian Restaurant
WaiCaoJia Alley Market
Chengdu, China
NOTES – Bizarre Foods Chengdu
The specialty of the house at Ming Ting is pig brains and tofu. One can also enjoy a dish of pig arteries with Sichuan sauce while at Ming Ting.
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